Amina Thajudeen Book Review, non-fiction, Self-Help

Captain You: a course in Emotional Self-Reliance by Luca Bosurgi | Review

Clarity, self-reliance, happiness, high-performance. The Bosurgi Mind Fitness method offered in this book, Captain You – A Course to Emotional Self-Reliance, combines exclusive knowledge, exercises, takeaways, and tips with 21 Bosurgi Mind Fitness™ Virtual Reality sessions (included with this book) to help you train, clear, and optimize your mind, removing unnecessary emotional blockages. This is obtained by establishing your natural self-leadership and self-reliance, resetting obsolete emotional programming and imbalances, terminating Adult Emotional Dependency (AED), and improving emotions, thoughts, and feelings management. The process will help you clear associated mental struggles and byproducts, such as anxiety, fear, low confidence, overwhelm, depression, alcohol and drug abuse, and procrastination. Most importantly, it will free misused brainpower, which can be reinvested into confidence, high performance, and happiness.A Bosurgi Mind Fitness™ Virtual Reality 20-session Emotional Self-Reliance course, for mobile iPhone/Android app or Oculus Quest (100% unlocked), included with this book. *VR goggles not included

Title: Captain You: a course in Emotional Self-Reliance

Author: Luca Bosurgi

Pages: 120

My review

Our mind controls every thought, actions and our wellbeing. A healthy mind is essential for happiness. One step further, if you need a fit mind, this is the book you are looking for. How to achieve fitness for our mind? obviously, not by controlling it, because it will never work. We have to understand the functioning of our mind. How it works, how it controls our actions, how it changes etc. This book is a fine guide for this process.

One of my best takeaways from this book is, knowledge on adult emotional dependency. No matter how carefully I manage my mind and actions, I find myself in a break down once in a while. In those moments I rely on others for comfort. This dependency costs me way more than I admit. Emotional self-reliance is the only way out from this condition. I learned to eliminate this issue from this book. It was essential and it is the way forward.

Through self-love and self-parenting, the author connects our mind with the body. Before reading this book, I treat both of them as one. But it is possible to separate them and reconnect them whenever you want. The mind management techniques was an eye-opener for me. The knowledge that has poured through this book is unmatchable.

I can summarize this as a whole new level of wisdom.

Amina Thajudeen Book Review, non-fiction, Self-Help

How to Improve Study Habits by Christine Reidhead | Review

For students 13 through college graduation, Christine Reidhead’s guide to building study skills is an extremely important book for those who want to secure their future through good grades. Too many students’ grades are falling, especially in a time when regular classrooms cannot fully open. Parents everywhere are at a loss regarding what to do with their responsibilities in the face of the increasing downturn in their children’s grades. It seems as though, with the advent of social media, the attention of a lot of students has been shifted from their books to their smartphones or computers. Apart from social media, blame has also been put on a decline in the interest of students regarding education in general. Students, at the moment, do not have the motivation or zeal, as it seems, to even study. Good study habits, or skills, are solutions to the problems experienced by students. This has been true for a long time, but the world is changing rapidly, which also means that the tools employed during study have to be changed in order to keep up. This is especially true as a result of the covid-19 pandemic that has forced students to study and learn from home rather than in the classroom. E-Learning, or online learning, can be effective, but only if the student has the discipline and drive to succeed using the tools and materials they are provided by teachers. Without strong study skills the student will fall behind in the classroom. Online the failure to develop good study skills can be devastating, leading to an inability to achieve the success in life the student could otherwise achieve. This excellent guide walks students through skills and habits which a student, or a person, employs while studying in order to make the most out of the experience. The kind of skills employed by a person, whether good or bad, determines how successful they will be in the process of learning, and Reidhead shows how to understand study skills, discover what kind of learner you are, develop great study skills, avoid bad study habits, identify the best places to study, and how to keep up with Online Learning during the current ovid-19 pandemic. It also helps parents and students to identify when certain students are studying excessively, harming the effectiveness of their studying. This is a must book for students who want good grades. Both a guide and a self-help book, it can help any student of any age, middle school through graduate school, succeed in their classes whether they are held in a classroom or online.

Title: How to Improve Study Habits

Author: Christine Reidhead

My review

This pandemic has affected our lives in unprecedented ways. Schools and colleges have been closed and online lecturing become new normal. But this also comes with many drawbacks. We are now dragged more and more into the internet and social media. This affects our attention span. The method of teaching was not changed, only the medium was changed. The transition from classroom to virtual learning was not smooth and this created numerous problems. Falling behind grades are not acceptable. This quick guide devise a perfect plan to overcome these problems.

It does not offer any shortcuts. In fact, the author herself specifies that success does not have any shortcuts neither the learning. What we can do is to build a discipline by understanding our uniqueness.

Learning how to learn is an integral part of this transformation. The author focuses on this part from the beginning itself. It also has a worksheet where we can assess ourselves and know where we stand. The next part is developing the right study skills. One important feature of this book is, the author has included a chapter about excessive studying and its adverse effects. This chapter is unique and essential. This helps us not to fall into that trap.

The last chapter discusses about online learning. I found this one most useful. Because I was struggling to keep up with online learning for some time. Every concept is explained with the utmost clarity. They are also illustrated through examples for better understanding. I loved this approach from the author. Also, there is a bonus planner at the end.

In a nutshell, this is quite a useful and handy guide for all students and parents.

Amina Thajudeen Book Review, non-fiction, Self-Help

Dear Stroke, You Suck: The Journey of A Fitness Trainer and Stroke Survivor by Tracy Markley

Dear Stroke, You Suck is an inspiring journey in stroke recovery of a Fitness Trainer and a Stroke Surivior. The stroke survivor in this journey really wanted his story shared to help other stroke survivors and their care givers. This book was originally named The Stroke of An Artist. It appeared as an Art book, So it has been Republished with this new book title, Dear Stroke, You Suck. There are a few minor changes, as in some changes in the anatomy illustrations and pictures, other wise it is the same story as in the original publication. This is the 2nd Edition of the book The Stroke of an Artist.

Title: Dear Stroke, You Suck: The Journey of A Fitness Trainer and Stroke Survivor

Author: Tracy Markley

Pages: 160

My review

Stroke recovery is not an easy task. The survivor has to regain mental and physical health. Since the brain is trying to create new pathways to cope with the destruction caused by stroke, this recovery is slower than usual. Due to this fact, many stroke survivors give up their efforts too early. This is an eye-opener for those survivors.

Gary was an acclaimed artist and he survived the worst kind of stroke. He had numerous physical limitations. Along with that, he lost his spatial awareness, proprioception, peripheral vision and sensations. But his sheer determination changed everything. He had a good support group around him. Their encouragement and his confidence was enough to overcome all difficulties. After every training demonstration, he asked one question, “Can I try it now?” This relentless pursuit leads him to a healthy body which had no signs of stroke injuries.

This heartwarming story is told without losing the emotions and intensity at any points. You can’t complete this book without dissolving into tears. Gary’s story touched the bottom of my heart. But his journey will not be complete without mentioning his trainer, Tracy. She is a perfect example of determination and persistence. She believed in her abilities and helped Gary with patience. She understood his needs and devised a plan exclusively for him. All her efforts rewarded with Gary’s quick recovery.

This story emphasizes on one thing- anything is possible with the right knowledge and determination. This is a must-read for all caregivers, stroke survivors and general audience who would like to increase their awareness on this subject.

Amina Thajudeen Book Review, non-fiction, Self-Help

Stroke Recovery: Regaining Arm Movement by Tracy Markley | Review

In Stroke Recovery, Rebuilding Arm Movements, Tracy share illustrations of the many muscles in the body that participate in the movement of the arm and exercises. In many cases, stroke recovery patients do not receive enough physical therapy to help them reach the full potential in their stroke recovery. This leaves many stroke survivors seeking help from other sources, such as personal trainers, Pilates teachers, and other professionals in the fitness communities. Tracy believes when a survivor gains more knowledge of muscles and movement and why specific exercises need to be practiced, it leads to a stronger recovery.

Title: Stroke Recovery: Regaining Arm Movement

Author: Tracy Markley

Pages: 103

My review

The arm is a very complex body part. It is designed to carry out more than 70% of our daily activities. We can lift weights and pick a needle using the same hand. The layers of muscle and bones are arranged to efficiently carry out every activity. Regaining arm movement is a difficult task for a stroke survivor. I know this fact because I witnessed this difficulty when my father had a stroke. We were more concentrated on walking gait. Although we didn’t ignore arm exercises, it was not enough. I learned these facts from this book. In all her books, the author stresses the importance of posture for a healthy body. Because the hand movements are directly connected with back and core muscles.

We have to devote more time and adopt a variety of exercises to regain the arm movement. This book a smooth guide for everything we need to know. It has detailed explanations and illustrations on the muscle groups. This helped me to understand which exercise affects which muscles and joints. This in turn helped to comprehensively understand the anatomy. The author herself demonstrated every exercise and its variations. This resolved all my doubts.

Amina Thajudeen Book Review, non-fiction, Self-Help

The Power of Your Spine: How Back Strength and Posture Pilots the Entire Body by Tracy L. Markley | Review

In The Power of Your Back and Spine Muscles, Tracy shares illustrations of many important spine and back muscles. She also shares the physical movements these spine and back muscles perform for everyday activity. Tracy feels if we have the knowledge of our muscles and movements, it guides us to stay injury free during our daily activities and exercise programs. Having this knowledge will help fight against decline and weakness that often come with aging and/or disease. It will also assist in recovery and rehab from injuries, stroke, surgeries and rebuilding walking abilities. This anatomy book is a vital resource for all ages, including students, fitness fanatics, athletes, fitness professionals, physical therapists, chiropractors and medical professionals.

Title: The Power of Your Spine: How Back Strength and Posture Pilots the Entire Body

Author: Tracy L. Markley

Pages: 116

My review

What is the importance of Spine in our body? Its simple, everything originates and everything ends there. This book is a treasure in this subject. I was unaware of the importance of the spine until now. But in reality, Spine deserves more attention than anything in our body.

Movement is the basic function of our body. Proper movement is impossible without a healthy spine. Our body is designed to constantly move from one place to another. But our lifestyles push us to spend more time in front of a desk than walking or running. This deteriorates our health, especially our spine. All this points to one thing- we have to give more care to our spine.

This book is an all-in-one solution. What I meant by this is, it has A-Z details about spine. It has a beautiful explanation of the theoretical and practical aspects of spine health. The author has given special care to differentiate between wrong and right exercises. I found these things highly helpful while reading.

What makes this book a stand out is its content. It has detailed illustrations and explanations about the muscle groups, bone structure adjoining to the spine. Anyone who picks up this book can learn something new for sure.

Overall, I gained advanced knowledge and practical solutions for a healthy spine from this comprehensive book.

Amina Thajudeen Book Review, non-fiction, Self-Help

The Effort: Reprogram a New Beginning by Alex Porter | Review

“The Effort: Reprogram a New Beginning” is a relationship self-help book with an unbiased approach on resolving issues. A final fight to bring things back to how it should be With each other, Happy and in love. This book is a quick reference to assist in any situation in your relationship. To see things in a different outlook and take a different approach for a better understanding. The goal is to reprogram the way you solve issues or approach situation to keep a healthy relationship. To insure your both understanding each other, to come together as a team to find the solution. In this quick reference you will find a better way to communicate, understanding, and resolve. A better way to show your effort and get back to the same feeling you had at the beginning of your relationship. Show the effort to one another, Reprogram a New Beginning with your soulmate on this journey of life.

Title: The Effort: Reprogram a New Beginning

Author: Alex Porter

Pages: 26

My review

A good relationship is a dream for every human being. We are born to connect with people. We have to protect and nourish a relationship to sustain it for a long time. A healthy relationship gives us good mental and physical health. But the relationships only grow if we take proper care of them. If not, it will deteriorate over time. This is an A-Z guide to reprogram our existing and new relationships.

The first lesson from this book is how to build a strong foundation for relationships. Because only a strong foundation can handle heights. Communication is the foundation of a relationship. A relationship cannot sustain longer without it. We have to express our feelings.

One of the most important lessons we can learn from this book is to know when you have to step back and step in. Domination is one of the major reasons for unhealthy relationships. We all have that element rooted in our character. But there are two people in a relationship, not one. Knowing when to control your emotions and expressions is the key.

The second half of this book is dedicated to the details of love languages. The author stresses out, 5 important love languages which are the pillars of any relationship. Adopting these 5 methods in our daily life can bring magic to relationships. In the end, the author also dissects down the levels of anger that can ruin a relationship. The best solution for this is an apology. This short book ends by explaining the 5 languages of apology that we can use.

Although this is a very short guide, it touches all the levels and addresses every possible problem that can occur in a relationship. It has to the point solutions. Knowing the mistake and rectifying it is the core of every relationship. This handy guide shows us the proper way to handle it.

Amina Thajudeen Book Review, Memoirs, non-fiction, Self-Help

Abandon Brandon: A Memoir by Brandon McDermott | Review

Brandon spent his childhood as a ward of the state, living in and out of foster care. The abuses, poverty and lack of support he experienced as a child molded and motivated him to do more and be more than he was shown. His story is one of survival, resilience, redemption, and hope. Brandon is a first generation high school and college graduate. He’s an award winning journalist, working in and out of the radio industry for nearly two decades. Currently he’s a statewide morning radio host in Nebraska covering the foster care system, education and politics.

Title: Abandon Brandon: A Memoir

Author: Brandon McDermott

Pages: 182

My review

Abandon Brandon is a brutally honest painstaking account of survival. Every living moment is a fight. A never-ending fight for the right to live. Each page is flooded with pain. This pain will overflow and it will drag our heart into its pool. The suffocation created from this pain, helplessness, and anger will break our hearts from the inside.

You can feel the roughness of this story from the first line on the first page itself. This story offers no comfort. It is not about motivation or hopes either. I felt only one thing; some people possess greater power to take all suffering. Yet they will not bow down to their circumstances. There will be some light left for them. They have the strength to hold on to that small light, with only one mission-survival.

It is not easy to survive physical and sexual abuse. It will break your health and mind, leaving long-lasting scars that will never fade. Witnessing abuse and being a victim of abuse later are two different experiences. But both of them will torment you throughout the later years of life.
Reading Brandon’s experience is not easy. He has narrated this first-person account with the utmost clarity. His unadulterated voice is too hard to digest. At some points, I was broken down into tears. I couldn’t read anymore. It was that much emotion. I couldn’t understand how he got the strength to overcome these terrible experiences even from a tender age.

We can’t choose the people we are born with. But we can choose the people we live with. We have the liberty to accept our situation or fight with them. In the end, what matters are our choices and our strength to hold on to them for good.  Loved this story and this message. This is one of the most underrated stories I ever read.

Amina Thajudeen Book Review, non-fiction, Self-Help

A Guide to Motivation, Happiness, Success & Resilience by Gavin Aubrey | Review

An action-oriented self-help book for those looking to seriously boost their motivation, happiness, success or resilience.

The brain is a magnificent thing. Unfortunately, it didn’t come with any instructions…

This book provides an easy to understand explanation of how our brains work when it comes to personal motivation, success, happiness and resilience.

So, if you want to know why some people jump the queue when it comes to job promotion, or why others are just, well… happier than you are, this quick and easy read will tell you all you need to know.

Title: A Guide to Motivation, Happiness, Success & Resilience

Author: Gavin Aubrey

Pages: 105

My review

A mind-blowing guide to crack the secret code to our brain

Brain is a fascinating part of our body. Unfortunately, we do not realize its potential in our lifetime. Everything we need is a mind game. Mastering in the control over our thoughts and mind is the path towards success and happiness. This is the journey to master this mind game.

Self-development is one of my favourite subjects for learning. I am always looking for original ideas in this field. But this book really surprised me. The methods and techniques devised are fresh and practical. The author has years of experience in training teams for better performance. This accumulates huge practical knowledge in this subject. Because of that, he knows what works and whatnot. These techniques are foolproof and backed by real-life opinions of people.

Our brain is deceptive. It knows our fears and insecurities. They drag us from reaching our goal. The author introduces techniques to eliminate these beliefs and fears. By applying these methods we can counteract with our belief system. It is the only sustainable way. The author uses the analogy of an iceberg to derive relations between our behaviour, beliefs, values, and feelings. This connection perfectly symbolizes our thought processes.

What I really liked about this book is, the methods to get out of the rut. No matter how motivated I’m, often I found myself in the ditches of rut. But these techniques helped me to eliminate this phase permanently. Understanding our brain and the origin of thoughts is the key.

Amina Thajudeen Book Review, non-fiction, Self-Help

Marketing Strategy Ultimate Planning Guide : For Entrepreneurs & Small Business Owners by Scott Poniewaz | Review

A Marketing Strategy is at the core of any business and a marketing strategy is a must-have for any business owner or entrepreneur. This simplified, step-by-step guide to building, planning, and executing a marketing strategy is required reading for anyone trying to fuel growth and revenue for their startup or small-business.

Peter Drucker, the famous management consultant, said “Because the purpose of business is to create a customer, the business enterprise has two–and only two–basic functions: marketing and innovation.”

Many business owners and entrepreneurs think of marketing as an afterthought in their busy days. In reality, a well-planned, consistent marketing strategy is as necessary to keep your business growing consistently as a fitness plan is to keep your body healthy. In this marketing strategy ultimate planning guide, you will walk away with the tactics, tools, and tricks to build a plan that will be easy to follow, implement, and run even if you always struggle to maintain consistent marketing efforts. Boost your marketing strategy and grow your business in this unparalleled guide.

Title: Marketing Strategy Ultimate Planning Guide : For Entrepreneurs & Small Business Owners

Author: Scott Poniewaz

Pages: 71

My review

Marketing is the driving force of a business. If there are no customers then there will be no existence for the business. Converting an audience into potential buyers needs effective strategies. Being a sought after marketing specialist, the author draws wisdom from his years of experience to this book. Scott is a serial entrepreneur and marketing strategist. He has been on both sides of a business, such as building a marketable product as well as reaching out to the buyers. This unique knowledge led him to greater success in this field. This book is a concise summary of his battle-tested tactics. Because of that, I find these techniques, believable, practical, and most importantly converting.

This book addresses all entrepreneurs and business owners. Because the basic principles of marketing remain the same regardless of the nature of business. These strategies dissect down the business to its end. It helps to analyze your competitors, their products, their audience with your product and its unique features. Finding this gap is the first step.

Marketing is now technology-driven. So the author also explains the methods and plans that have to be adopted to use this technological arm for marketing.

One of the best features I found in this book is simplicity. The author explains A-Z details with utmost clarity, without giving any chance to raise doubts in between. But this is not a book with theoretical concepts. It has an implementation plan. This unique feature separates this one from others.

The completeness of this book is fascinating. The author has left no stones unturned while writing this book. A must-read for everyone who wants to learn or innovate their marketing skills.

Rating:5/5

Amina Thajudeen Book Review, non-fiction, Self-Help

Success Transformation Accelerator: 21 Day Blueprint by Dr. Alok Chandra| Review

Do you wish to achieve the successful life that you have always dreamed of by learning from the best? Would you like to reach the zenith of your career or profession but need expert guidance? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, keep reading …..
Let’s face it. Most, if not all, of us dream of leading successful lives. However, only a few are able to achieve it. It is no accident. The majority who do not attain greatness, do not have the essential guidance on what they need to do. The people who make it do so by learning from the best, leaving no stone unturned, and become exemplary professionals and excellent people. The rest do not realize their full potential and some keep dreaming for their entire lives.

After meeting with and studying great individuals, the author possesses a deep knowledge of what you need to materialize success in your life at breakneck speed. Therefore, this book was written to be extremely effective and simple to follow.

Title: Success Transformation Accelerator: 21 Day Blueprint

Author: Dr. Alok Chandra

Pages: 307

My review

Success is the only thing that is unquenchable in many minds. Sadly many of them never achieve what they want in life. I was always curious about achieving success and greatness in life. I admired people who have the grit to achieve their dreams. What is the secret code for success? Is there any hidden formula for achieving it? These questions lead my way to this book.

This is the voice of an extremely successful person. This blueprint presents the common success traits extracted from highly successful people as well as the author’s life. This book demystifies all myths around success. It demolishes all doubts.

The book begins with a chapter on luck. What a way to start a book about success! Because we all are in one way or another, ties success with luck. The more we fail, the more we blame luck or rely on it. But luck does not deserve any importance in success. This powerful tool has many chapters like this which establishes the author’s arguments, undoubtedly.

This is clearly a success accelerator. The author cites experiences from his own and from his students and mentees to support this. These experiences are narrated as raw and unadulterated. We can see and interpret how the author has defined his goals and draw a blueprint to reach those goals. But the important thing about making blueprint is they are useless without action. The last section of this book teaches us how to keep going amidst all odds. Loved the content as well as its presentation.