Speckles n Spectrum: Books

Showing posts with label Books. Show all posts

Destination Success

A friend asked me if I was crying a while ago and I wonder why?

Well, probably because of the last status I posted on facebook. It made me laugh... I'm just having tantrums it's too shallow for me to shed tears on matters like that. It's confirmed I'm still pretty much immature because I'm acting like a spoiled brat not getting what she wants and throwing fits.

I have a few friends not talking to me these past few days because of something I've done. (My faults vary from person to person. I guess I've been too naive and childish to disappoint quite a few in such a month of festivity... pesky me!) I already said sorry but then how many times do I really need to say sorry to be forgiven? I'm not even sure if what I'm saying sorry for is the real issue because it's really too petty if it were. I thought we're friends but then I guess... that sucks... sigh =(

I said I won't go online on facebook but I can't help it I need gr8quotes and jokes to brighten my day so I'm just hiding haha and too bad I can't like and comment on stuff. Crazy me hayyy

Anyways I actually went offline for a few hours and it's a good thing because finally I was able to read the book my cousin gave me on my birthday (that is which on the above photo with pretty wrappings and all, so sweet of him =) I was supposed to read it yesterday but then I got preoccupied so today thanks to thy being moody I did it yey.

I started reading it about 4pm then at 10pm I was done. It is so inspiring and truly whiles away my time. I didn't expect it to be that leisurely to read. I thought I'll have to drag through the pages just so I can finish it. Surprisingly it was quite entertaining to read with a few bits of biographical stories of famous people like Oprah, Columbus, etc.

Destination Success is a book I know my cousin personally chose for he knows it's perfect for me or rather I badly needed it haha. I admit I needed the concrete realization from the book because I've been too easy go lucky for quite sometime now. Although I was heading there before I've even read this but still it's such a nice feeling to have read something like this with a very clear perspective about success.

It made me think what success truly means for me. My idea is just too vague and maybe too idealistic. Success for me is happiness. It's being with your love ones, having enough to get by everyday and a few of the whims, safe and sound, and doing what your heart truly desire.
But the book gives me more profound ideas about it. Success needs effort, diligence, perseverance, determination, and you have to sweat it out to achieve it. I know all of these stuff but for a while I'm not getting serious on the financial aspect of it because of some personal reasons (which is too personal to share haha)

Anyways, all of that will be changing soon because I'm getting tired being a subtle rebel.

What's Your Fascination Triggers?

by kris10na ☮♥☺ Thoughts (0)

" The more accurately you identify your personality triggers, and the more intelligently you hone them, the more influential your message becomes. In the battle to fascinate consumers, brands apply triggers, too. Volvo uses trust. Godiva uses lust. Fedex uses alarm. Apple Computers uses several triggers, most notably prestige and power. Triggers help companies sell products off shelves, persuade shareholders to invest, and convince key employees to stay."

I was able to stumble upon this fascination test from twitter. I think it's accurate though I was surprised that Trust is my dormant trigger, maybe my other triggers are just too dominant that it left that one so much behind. That's one thing I would like to refine and it won't be too impossible since I'm clearly on the right track doing the 3 ways to infuse it in my writings but I'm having difficulty with #1... try watch this vid and see why...

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My RESULTS

MY TRIGGERS

Your primary fascination is LUST. (Nicely done, you.) Even without realizing it, you’re already instinctively applying this trigger when trying to persuade others. Your secondary trigger is MYSTIQUE, and your dormant trigger (the one you’re least likely to apply in your personality and behavior) is TRUST.

Once you understand your own unique combination of personality strengths, you can start to create more influential ideas and messages.

How to refine these natural talents for swaying opinion? Start by discovering your primary, secondary, and dormant triggers with the tabs up above, and check out the video over there on the right.

MY PRIMARY TRIGGER: LUST

So lust is your primary trigger. That means you draw people closer with a warm and open style of interaction. You’re expressive with ideas, communicate well in person, and probably have a strong creative streak. Even when you mask your emotions, you feel passionately about your opinions.
You’re intuitive with information, often making decisions based on gut instinct rather than cold intellect. While other personality types prefer facts, you’re more attuned to the nuances of attitude, design, and a certain indefinable je ne sais quoi.
Lust is a powerful form of influence because it creates irresistible messages that overcome rational resistance. When you dial up your primary trigger, you have the ability to create messages that are extremely difficult to ignore.
You’re remarkably talented in creating messages that lead to a powerful intellectual, physical, and emotional response. For instance, you like to share experiences with others, and in conversation, you draw people closer with body language and eye contact.
By applying these natural strengths to your work, you can build warmer relationships and more trusting dialogue. And by applying to your ideas, you can create messages make people say, “I want that now!”

MY SECONDARY TRIGGER: MYSTIQUE

If mystique is your secondary trigger, you’re intriguing. Very. You make people curious to learn more, because they want to find out what makes you tick. You reveal personal information carefully, if at all.
Mystique sparks an intense desire to know more, hinting at possibilities without putting it all on the table. By activating this trigger, you entice people to seek out more about your message.
Because you reveal so little, people might have trouble knowing what you’re thinking and feeling, which can come across as cold. You might benefit from sharing your ideas more openly, and giving people more ways to engage with you. And, along the way, you’ll want to avoid sneakiness or mind games. (A delicate balance to be sure, but once achieved, you’re nothing short of mesmerizing.)
Curious about your natural ability to make others curious? Mystique is delicate balance to be sure, but once achieved, you’re nothing short of mesmerizing.

MY DORMANT TRIGGER: TRUST

One thing’s for sure: You’re definitely not boring.
People who score low on trust tend to be thrilling, passionate, and intuitive. They live in the moment, and rarely plan very far in advance. As a result, they can be unpredictable, impulsive, and volatile.
Of the 7 triggers, trust is the most difficult to earn, the easiest to lose, and the most valuable to hold.
Perhaps you don’t need to sway opinion through consistency. Many people and brands, especially those unconventional few who delight in immediate gratification and avant-garde style, don’t rely on trust. However, this trigger comes with many rewards, so take a look at ways to increase trust in your message, without losing the excitement and edge of your other triggers.

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"The question is not whether you're fascinating, but how. The F Score test reveals which fascination triggers you naturally apply, which others you should consider, and how to refine them to become more persuasive."

Based on national research in

Sally Hogshead's FASCINATE

Clueless like me and want to know which triggers are you using to persuade and captivate? Go here.

I Have Abandoned My Search for Truth, and Am Now Looking for A Good Fantasy

by kris10na ☮♥☺ Thoughts (0)

I was bored maybe not really but I wanted to do something else rather than sit or stretch-out talking to my laptop and I happened to notice my favorite book decomposing in the little corner of my jungle, yeah I call my room that since it looks like a wild forest anyways. I was sorry to see that the back cover had been rip-out thanks to my sisters who just happened to eyed it for awhile (hmmm, they don't even like to read for pleasure they read things because they need it for school but then I did their papers and projects most of the time so I know for a fact that they haven't read one book from cover to cover) so maybe this book is really interesting that they both have to borrow it and carry it almost everyday for a week I guess, and showing it to their friends.

I'm glad that they love my book and are actually reading for pleasure you don't know how much I wish there's someone in my immediate family who share the same hobbies with me so we can exchange ideas and have time for philosophizing. Don't get me wrong my sisters are intelligent and excel in school (but they have very different interests compare to me) in fact they have way better grades than me (our youngest graduated Cum Laude and my late sis was almost into it missing only a few points) while I can't even get an A because of excessive absences and constantly showing up more than 30 minutes late if ever I am not absent for that day. But that's another story for me to tell maybe one day I'll write about the reasons behind it if I found the mood for it :) Well, I am still proud to say that we were all scholars for all the 4 years we stayed in college except my late sister who chose to drop out of her full scholarship for her 3rd year because she had changed her mind on what to major in (that only her can do, it's impractical and selfish given that my mom is raising us single-handedly and it was the same year when all the 3 of us were in the same University but I envy her because I've been wanting to do that too but was never allowed, sure favoritism runs in the family, you can actually say that but parents for all we know would always deny that fact even with all the evidence.)

My father loves to read newspapers and magazines and that's what we did everyday on his days in the hospital and I got the love for reading through him and his father Lolo Omat had been an inspiration too. He was a typist for the guerrilla during the Japanese time and worked as a notary public. He had a collection of Reader's Digest dated 1962 as far as I could remember and I used to spend my free time reading those when I was 6. After he died I was hoping to keep his Olympia typewriter and his book collections especially the digests but well I got the digests after the typhoon and the house were flooded and my mom thought they're all garbage even if some of it were still readable and so I wasn't allowed to take them home but I've sneaked and kept some then it was thrown (maybe given away, I'm not sure) later on when we moved to a different town when she had discovered it along with my paintings.

My mother was a little odd, she's a professor and she taught us how to read and require us to read but now that I am all grown-up and I love reading and made it as a hobby I often hear her complain about it and about my spending money on books and yet she's not saying anything about my younger sister's splurge on clothes, and what about her fetish for bags and shoes, isn't it unusual? And yes she doesn't love to read like my 2 siblings. The four of us are opposites when it comes to reading. The 3 of them reads because it is required while I read because I just love reading but I actually love to read things that aren't school related or academic. I love learning but I'm not into studying.

As I was saying, my sisters had borrowed my book without permission but when I saw that they were bringing it to school I didn't say anything I'm fine with it: them reading my books but sure they could have asked first. Anyways, as careless as they were after a week or so I've seen my book dumped in a corner and yes dilapidated... arrgh! At that time I was such a neat-freak, I always take good care of my things especially my books because I wanted them to last but you can't seem to make it possible with untidy and careless people living in the same roof who just like getting things as if they own everything and dumps it whenever they're done with it.

I love this book so much because every time I read it it makes me smile and it makes me think. It inspires me a lot even up to this day. This is the only book that I've read more than 20 times and I won't get tired reading it over and over and that comes from me who never read a book twice. I used to put this underneath my pillow because it's the first and last thing that I read everyday, it used to be The Bible but well, change of interests had caused it. As it says, enough of truth searching, it's time for a fantasy.

I've found this book in just the right time as it says in its title: I Have Abandoned My Search for Truth, and Am Now Looking for A Good Fantasy. Yes I was actually looking forward for the good things of the future and was done of searching for my truth so good one. (Actually it was my friend Cecile who found this while we were rummaging the pile of books on sale in Master Square (a used to be famous sort of like a mini-mall in our town until the big malls went into business here) and she gave it to me so I bought it for the cheapest price P25.00 and it was the best and most compensated peso I've ever spent. So I wasn't really splurging on books since I'm getting them through book-sale but when I was already working I had a membership with Powerbooks in Greenbelt and yeah, I've been a shopaholic and spent all my money for clothes, shoes and mostly books and women's magazines that my friends had borrowed and well never did returned and that's 2 stupid things again for me, all charge to experience.

I can relate much with the author: Ashleigh Brilliant was from a lower-middle class (just like me) but lives in London and California for the later part of his life. He's a professor and I was (I used to teach in a State College) and he actually made me realized or put into words why I used to despise my real name.

"as a child I hated Ashleigh Ellwood for some obscure and sensitive family reason. I was never called by either of these names, except in anger." --- Ashleigh Brilliant

And I love this author for the most part because he inspires me a lot to think and to write more. I love quotations, idioms, poetry or anything that involves playing of words that's why I was also addicted to scrabble when I was a child. My first few weeks reading this book over and over left my mind running full time there were nights that I have to wake up in wee hours just to write a pot-shot. I've written tons and I've written most of it at twilight with me holding a flashlight so my mother won't notice that I was still up. But sad to say I don't know where were my pot-shots it may have been included on my things my mom burnt along with the trash, tsk,tsk.

Oh, I wasn't able to mention that this isn't some novel book, it is a graphical book sort of like a comic book. It is a collection of epigram and the author called it POT-SHOT. And these are the 2 important rules in composing it:

no Pot-shot may exceed 17 words
the words and expressions used must be understood as easily as possible, by the widest possible range of people, with no impediment (such as rhyme, puns, or idioms) to translation into other languages

Here's a few of my favorite pot-shots: