The Reading Journal - entry #2 - The Power to Transform by Chris Majer

Embarking on a project on "mental fitness", Majer began his career as founder and CEO of the Human Potential Project. He taught athletes that their goal was not only to become physically fit but becoming mentally fit was just as important. Majer later taught his fitness practices to the military and to organizations.

The book highlights flashbacks and stories of practical examples of overcoming and remaining mentally strong.  Majer highlights that facing the moment of crises head-on despite the anxiety we feel is far better than 'cowering' before the situation.

Key points in our reading:

“...like centering, [and] accountability, avoiding the impulse to blame others for our problems, is a valuable skill, one requiring practice, but which yields great dividends.” And the world of obstacles that exist in our path may be as a result of how we perceive them in our minds. Therefore, the limitations that we face are “merely the limitations of our own minds.”

So what are the limitations you face? Realize this. According to Majer, they are not limitations but your struggle within. Maybe it's a struggle to simply get out of your comfort zone or to get over your fear. He rightly pointed out that "there is no learning inside your comfort zone."  We should aim to replace our laid back state of being with a more adventurous one. Fellow examiner Leila Rose-Gordon in her article Face Your Fears and Overcome Them, like Majer also stressed the importance of getting out of that constant, persistence of remaining in our comfort zone and daring once again to realize your dream!  

Majer reiterates that the only way to really learn is through practice. This book really works on the 'inner you', a transformational process over the course of 90 days. So don't just read the book, but also put into practice what you've gleaned from your reading and do the exercises. We hope you're reading along with us, as we are getting ready to delve into Chapter 3 to begin to put into practice what we've learned.

Visit the author’s website, Human Potential Project to know more about the book and the author. Video clips, forums, and the subscription to the newsletter are also available.

Happy Reading!

The Reading Journal - entry#1 - The Power to Transform by Chris Majer

Harnessing inspiration from a variety of sources such as other motivational leaders, teachers, and coaches, Chris Majer author of The Power to Transform embarks on a journey of self discovery, team management, and developing innovative and strategic concepts in realizing the human potential. Majer is founder and Ceo of the Human Potential Project, a project which is "designed to deliver transformational education for athletes, the military, and corporate organizations".

In The Power to Transform, Passion, Power, and Purpose in Daily Life, Majer shares his knowledge and formulates his program for the individual. Irrespective of your status or your career goal, this book offers "easy-to-use" concepts that will produce change.

As the first book in our Reader's Journal forum, we will highlight key points and profound statements without giving too much away! Minutes into reading The Power to Transform, several fundamental points arrest the attention and lead the reader to the core message of this book, that is, the individual's power to make choices that will bring about a transformation in their own lives.

1. We have the capacity to continuously reshape our lives. 
2. We are not forever bound by our circumstances or occurrences.
3. We can choose to reinvent ourselves and our futures. 
4. Excuses are usually as a result of fear.

 Although many of us are already aware of these points, we fail to apply them which results in unrealized dreams and goals. These fundamental points speak to the heart of all human beings, because we all have something in our lives that we'd like to change. Maybe you'd like to become a better parent; or get that first novel out of your head and on paper; or make your business more enterprising. Whatever your goal or whatever your lack, according to Majer, you have the potential to reshape your life and reinvent your future. Put fear aside.

Okay. So let's bring it down to an everyday, practical level. You have a deep desire to write a novel, but you have a fear that you might not be able to do it. Or you think that maybe the manuscript will be no good. Or you have a fear that it will be rejected by the publishers. Well, write anyway! Choose to step out of your comfort zone and get the words out of your head and on paper. Write what comes to mind, challenge yourself and write, write, write! Here's a tip: keep a notebook and think about your characters (they are real within the pages of your book) and writing about them should come naturally. Also, you should know that readers make good writers, that's because we already know what we want in a story.

This is only the Introduction! Should you choose to implement these strategies in your life, then Majer promises a journey that is exciting, intense and rewarding. But he is not only promising change; he is also promising transformation.

Read The Power to Transform along with us, and feel free to discuss your findings and how this book has helped to transform your life.

Resolving to keep your new year's resolution

At the beginning of each year, people make resolutions for the new and upcoming year they are about to embark on. But making a resolution is a big thing and here's why: Resolution - a resolving, formal statement, a determination. Unless you have a determination to accomplish your goal, then don't make a resolution you can't keep. 

So this year DBR Books wishes to do something new for our readers.  We would like to give you a more enriching reading experience! We want to inspire you into action! Whatever your resolution, whatever your goal, we want to help you achieve it by inspiring you with outstanding phrases we see in our outstanding reads. Reads that will not only interest you, but reads that will motivate you to take charge of your life and to inspire the greatness in you! Our new reader’s forum, The Reader’s Journal, will help you to aspire to greater heights.

The Power to Transform - Passion, Power, and Purpose in Daily Life by Rick Majer is our first choice. Follow along with us as we dig deeper for a more enriching reading experience.

We are also inviting you to a share your enriching experience with us on Twitter @DBRBooks, and on our Blog.

Happy New Year!

Congrats to all our readers!

2013 was a great year for readers and authors. We’d like to take this opportunity to thank all writers who participated in last month’s Nanowrimo (National Novel Writing Month) Competition! Whether you won or not, your next novel is on its way, and you should be proud! Congrats to you all!

A special thanks to our readers who faithfully subscribed to and read every issue of The Books Magazine! Congratulations to the readers who participated in the 2013 Reading Challenge! We hope that you tremendously enjoyed reading outside your genre, we know we did! We had the opportunity to meet great authors and read some wonderful books. View the latest issue of The Books Magazine for a listing of books we’ve reviewed and authors we’ve interviewed in our magazine and on our blog. It is our hope that you will continue reading with us in the New Year! Already there is a new 2014 Reading Challenge issued by blogger enthusiast b00kr3vi3ws to challenge readers to get out of their comfort zones! Best of luck and keep us informed on your progress - follow us on Twitter @DBRBooks.

Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy 2014 from all of us at DB-R Designs, DBR Books, and The Books Magazine!


Happy Reading!

Book Review | The Little Bear and The Big Bear by Monica Dumont

There once were two bears. The big bear was always angry and the little bear was always happy. The little bear had wisdom to impart to a very grumpy big bear. The little bear recognized emotions such as frustration, anxiety, and anger, and he knew how to change the course of events by changing one’s attitude and response.

Sounds like a mouthful for a little book? Well, here’s the short version of it: happy little bear meets big grumpy bear; and little bear teaches big bear how to work out his problems and deal with his feelings.

Either way, long or short version, the book The Little Bear and The Big Bear written by Monica Dumont is designed to help kids’ ages 3 to 7 deal with feelings of frustration and anxiety. It’s a practical demonstration on how to identify negative emotions such as anxiety and sadness; and it is also an effective guide in helping kids to deal with their feelings one step at a time.

The book is also designed to help parents and caregivers recognize and assist kids with negative emotions. Author Monica Dumont notes that ‘the exercise (of taking one small step at a time) is meant to help parents bond with their child[ren] as well as to help their child[ren] develop new skills at dealing with everyday life. It is not meant to be used as a form of therapy.”

One should note also that the book encourages kids to share their feeling and help their peers to overcome negative emotions by recognizing the root cause of the crises. In verbalizing these emotions, kids are able to identify with them and deal with situations eventually on their own, which are good practical skills to acquire and develop.

The Little Bear and The Big Bear by Monica Dumont is available in soft cover paperback. Other children’s book titles by the author are:

·        Blueblah The Sleepy Raccoon

·        Emma The Bumble Bee

·        Alex and the Rabbit

Happy Reading!

Book Reviews | A Tale of Two Turtles and A Whale’s Tale by Richard Marman

Written and illustrated by Richard Marman, A Tale of Two Turtles, and its sequel A Whale’s Tale, are fun educational reads for kids ages 5 to 8.

Both books provide an effective teaching guide for parents and teachers to help kids know more about different species of fish and marine life found in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.  The books are illustrated by Richard Marman and they are simple, yet imaginative and creative.  The illustrations help depict the reality of daily life for all marine species in these waters, some of which are thought provoking and insightful.  The illustrations also help to convey to the reader, the message of environmental responsibility and awareness.  With an expressive style of digital airbrushing and watercolor techniques, the pages come alive with color and vibrancy which kids will certainly appreciate when reading the stories.

A Tale of Two Turtles follows the life story of a young female turtle named Wave, and a young male turtle (Web) who later became her friend, and the adventures they both face as they navigate tropical waters and encountered both natural and man-made hazards which are unfortunately typical to earth’s marine life.  A Tale of Two Turtles gives insightful tidbits about the turtle’s perilous life and the odds they face of even one in a batch surviving. The story is broken down successfully in order to educate kids about marine life and their responsibility in helping to keep the ocean safe. For example, Web’s chilling tale of chomping on a plastic bag thinking it was a jellyfish, is an effective way of getting the message across to kids and adults that littering the beach with hazardous waste material like plastic bags is certainly not a good thing.

In A Whale’s Tale, Wave and Web met a humpback whale (Davo) who shares his story and experience of his annual migration from Antarctica to the warm tropical waters of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.  Davo’s adventure provides insight about the dangers humpback whales face from human predators that, despite the law, still practice whaling as a sport and for consumption.  Readers will be educated on the dangers of whaling, and hopefully this thought-provoking read will motivate children and adults to take a stand against such practices, and eventually one day it will cease altogether.

Other books by Richard Marman are McAlister’s Way, McAlister’s Hoard, and McAlister’s Spark. See our Press Release on these books and visit with the author on his website for more information.

Happy Reading!

DBR Blog interview with ten year old author Jeremy Gordon

DBR Books Blog chats with ten year old Jeremy Gordon, author of The Boy Who Loves Rules!

1.  Are you a first time writer?

Yes

2.  You are the youngest writer we have ever interviewed! How does that make you feel?

It makes me feel good because I get to show my feelings to the entire world. I feel good also to know that I am the youngest writer you ever interviewed. I am proud that I started writing when I am young.

3.  What do you like about writing? Did you have fun writing this book?

 I like the chance to express my feelings. I had a lot of fun writing this book.

4.  Tell me a little about The Boy Who Loves Rules!

It is about a boy who loves rules and tries to keep them so that in life he will not get in trouble. He sometimes fails to keep the rules but he gets up and tries again.

5.  What did you learn from writing this story?

I learned that you should follow the rules and try to do the right things, because there are consequences in life when we break the rules.

6.  What do you want other kids and their parents to learn from your story?

I want other kids to learn that you should try to be good. I want their parents to know that it doesn't matter if you are old or young. What matters is you still have to try to do good. We have to try to do the right things because there will be consequences when we do not.  When you do the right things good things usually happen.

7.  What happens if you do the right things and bad things happen?

If you do the right things and bad things happen you should always get back up and try again.

8.  Are you going to write more stories?

I will write more stories so that I can reach out to others and share positive thoughts with them.