Book Review - The Art of Thinking Clearly

 I love this book. I have read it once and I am going to read it again and again and again. Written by Rolf Dobelli - a bestselling Swiss writer - this book is  sheer delight.

What started as a list for his own use which he compiled as an reminder how he can be mislead has grown and is now a best selling book.

Here is its opening :

 "This is not a how-to book. You won't find "seven steps to an error-free life...Although this book may not hold the key to happiness, at the very last it acts as insurance against too much self-induced unhappiness...If we could learn to recognize and evade the biggest errors in thinking...we might experience a leap in prosperity."

This book will entertain, surprise and most importantly educate.

I don't usually recommend books unless they are really good.  And this is one of the best I have read this year.

Go here to read the what others have to say about this book.

This Is Inevitable

Sitting in the lounge of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport a few years ago, waiting for our flight number to be called, my colleague was describing all the possible scenarios that can go wrong in a flight. He said he did not want to die, I told him neither do I and added that eventually we all will die. After I said the possibility of dying that night is real and that the airplane crashing is just one way of the countless ways we can lose of lives, he stopped talking and distanced himself from me.

We did not crash that night or the trip back. But the possibility of dying is as real and true today as it was on that day  for him, for me and for all who are living. It is inevitable, isn't it? However it is one eventuality that many of us refuse to accept. In some culture it is taboo to talk about dead. Some think talking about dead somehow increases the possibility of dying and if that is true, talking about money should then increase the possibility of getting wealthy.

I believe thinking about dead is a good thing. It gives us a whole new perspective about living. Accepting that we will die regardless of our station in life will make us all the more eager to seize our living moments and be grateful for our time on earth.

It will makes us appreciate those around us. Make us realize that nothing should be taken for granted. We will learn to give more and complain less.

Accepting the fact that we will be dead will makes us think of the legacy that we want to leave behind.