MY BOOK, LIFE…DON’T MISS IT HAS BEEN REQUIRED READING AT ASU FOR 6 YEARS NOW. LISTED BELOW IS A TYPICAL RESPONSE WE GET FROM STUDENTS THAT ARE REQUIRED TO READ THIS BOOK AND WRITE A PAPER ABOUT IT AND SHARE THEIR VIEW. HERE IS A MOST RECENT PAPER FROM THAT ASSIGNMENT.
While this is about to sound like an unconventional response, I feel that this book really
resonated with me more than any motivational book that I’ve ever read. When reading the book
and reflecting on my own personal motives for money and material things, I ended up feeling
more sad than motivated. Now, I know that it’s not the intention of the book to make you sad,
and I do have a new outlook on some of my current behaviors. However, I think that the fact that
I was upset after reflection was a good thing, and realizing this at 21 years old is not a bad time
to rework some things.
The first key takeaway that I had was the value that I need to place on my at-home
personal relationships. There have been plenty of times in the last couple of years that I have
prioritized school and the fun that I was having on the weekends in Tempe over going home and
having dinner with my mother. Upon realizing this, I texted my mom and on Sunday morning I
will be going to brunch with my family in Scottsdale. I realized that overworking myself through
the various on-campus involvements that I am in, and over-stressing about the minute details of
my fraternity is not more important than pausing and taking the time to go visit my family or to
give them a call. While I’ve heard a less impactful and similar message from motivational
speakers before, this message made me immediately want to change.
The second key takeaway that I had from this book was regarding his message around
net worth and getting caught up in the corporate spin cycle. Since I was so infatuated with his
message on this, I took this project a step further and watched his video on youtube where he is
giving a talk to workers at Google. In this he points out that at Google they have a bunch of cool
things at work, and that their atmosphere may be very satisfying, but that all that mattered was
what happened when they got home. When I was listening to him say this I was thinking about
my current internship that is coming up with COX communications, and I was thinking about the
50+ hour workweeks that they have alluded to in the future. In saying this, I now plan to take a
look at the work-life balance of COX or any future employer and I will factor that heavily into my
decision on where I start my career. I realize that while I want to be a part of a big company, I
need to find a place that will set me up to have a great balance where I can maximize the time
that I can spend on doing things in life that are fulfilling.
In sum, I think that the biggest impact that this book had on me was forcing me to sit
down and reflect on the things that I find important. My favorite part about his message is that
he’s not telling you to work less hard, he’s basically telling you that if you are happy and fulfilled
outside of work, that it will lead to success in the workplace. I have been in the camp that
believes that success at work drove success in other aspects of life and this was the first time
that I have heard a message on this subject matter that is saying that both can be attained in
the same way. I don’t think that anyone will say that they don’t want to succeed in their careers.
Further, I really think that his message on death is really important as well. Obviously we are
going to die someday, but making sure that everyone remembers us for the fun and the energy
that we represented is way more important than how much money we had. You can’t show
anyone your bank account when you’re dead but they will always remember the memories that
you have with them. I feel that I can do a better job at shifting my money from spending it on
things to spending it on experiences. I want to focus on saying yes to a lot more things than I
am saying no to. This is a perfect time in my life where I am young and I need to focus on the
memories that I can make while finding the people that will be with me for the long run in my life.
Thank you for sharing this book with us.
