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What to Say When You Talk to Your Self by Shad Helmstetter, Ph.D.
BATB score: 5/10 ❤️🩹 second time reading this book and still 50-50 love/hate this book; Shad Helmstetter - truly reaping the goodie passive income of this book since 1986 (before I was born) and then upselling with his self-talk plus app with a monthly subscription of $19.99, payment via his own website to bypass Apple Store and Google Play store 30% transactions fee; you ahh, business man much Best to: there’s many ways to self-hype: silent self-talk (voices in your brain)


Die With Zero: Getting All You Can From Your Money and Your Life by Bill Perkins
BATB score: 9.5/10 🤯 interesting indeed, “Die with Zero” is the idea that we make all that money, we spend all that money within our prime health, and we die with zero (not negative but zero excess) in the bank - yolo Best for: you’ve did it! you’ve already made way too much money! - now please spend more and “make ‘maximize total life enjoyment’ your mantra” Best to: build more net worth for who again? “wealth will decline to zero by the date of death” anyways BATB lingerin


The Good Enough Job: Reclaiming Life from Work by Simone Stolzoff
BATB score: 9/10 🥹 second time reading this beautiful reminder to reclaiming life from work (that awful work that will never love you back) Best to: have other defining identities beyond work, ask “what do you like to do?” over “what do you do” > I am a avid reader, author of Beauty and The Book page, a travel the world enthusiast, a beloved friend to some / a mean friend to some, a good asian daughter and daughter-in-law, I have sailor-moon energy to share, some call me sun


Feel Good Productivity: How to Do More of What Matters to You by Ali Abdaal
BATB score: 7/10 😬 okay but not wow about how feeling good boosts our creativity and productivity Best to: only part 1 out of 3 is a BATB 10/10, part 2 was a knock off copy of Atomic Habits by James Clear, and part 3 was Designing Your Life by Bill Burnett; every section in this book is an elevator pitch BATB lingering thought: book recommended to BATB by a renowned c-level.. could it be that he only read part 1? Best as: take a break by taking a walk esp. take park walks al


The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins
BATB score: 3/10 😡 oh my god shut up please Best as: a white entitled american auntie repeating “Let Them” 850 times and “Let Me” 575 times BATB lingering thought: I am going to Let Her write and love this book; and I am going to Let Me complaining about it on BATB. The chapters on finding love were exponentially cringey. Best to: search Mel Robbins on Instagram and watch maximum 3 reels [one for the core Let Them theory, one for the Friendship theory (proximity, timing, ene


Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel H. Pink
BATB score: 6/10 ↗️ Best to: the difference between extrinsic motivated / Type X person vs an intrinsic motivated / Type I person; and how you should strive to be the latter “My hope is that at our 25th reunion our class will not be known for how much money we made or how much money we gave back to the school, but for how the world was a better place as a result of our leadership.” Best as: why rewarding your team’s hard work with monetary gains can be detrimental and toxic;


Dopamine Nation: Why Our Addiction to Pleasure is Causing Us Pain by Dr Anna Lembke
BATB score: 8/10 👏 Best to: what better way to learn about addiction from addicts; why our addiction to pleasure is causing us pain - easy, clear, simple, I understood everything Best as: why nicotine is better than sex (and probably why people smoke after sex), why drug addictions cause prolonged pain that becomes too painful to live ever without the drug - vicious cycle Best for: we are all addicts in one way or another, the first cure is to be honest about it (at least to


CEO Excellence: The Six Mindsets That Distinguish the Best Leaders from the Rest by Carolyn Dewar, Scott Keller, Vikram Malhotra
BATB score: 10/10 👑 written by senior partners at Mckinsey (so you know it’s expensive in-depth research) Best as: a conclusive playbook on what makes a great CEO, inclusive of techniques on how to onboard oneself, manage board members, motivate the team, run a business, retired yourself, and keep sane as CEO 🥹 Best for: if you are in close proximity to a CEO, reporting into a CEO, working closely with a CEO, and/or scouting to climb the damn corporate ladder for that CEO r


The Way Thais Lead: Face as Social Capital by Larry S. Persons
BATB score: varies based on your nationality BATB score: 4/10 if you are Thai, born and raised, you don’t have to read this book we know this by heart BATB score: 8/10 if you are an expat in a leadership role in Thailand, also wtf are you doing in my country taking c-level roles that are better off lead by true-thais?! just because we are developing doesn’t mean that you-developed can march in and claim supremacy; why? just because you have a soothing English accent, oh god,


You Can Be Happy No Matter What: Five Principles for Keeping Life in Perspective by Richard Carlson, Phd
BATB score: 2/10 😡 an ancient book - published in 1992 aka 33 years ago! 🕵️♀️ Best to: thoughts shape your mood, low mood dismisses wisdom, wisdom comes from staying in the present; yeah, that’s about it BATB lingering thought: okie this a key life lesson, when asked what is a book you’ll recommend, knowing that the person asking and/or the audience listening would never read that book anyways, always recommend a book with a title that is a full sentence in itself; instant


Gambling Man: The Secret Story of The World’s Greatest Disruptor, Masayoshi Son by Lionel Barber
BATB score: 5/10 🤷♀️ Best for: you have to be in the start-up venture capitalist business to appreciate the tissue-paper billion dollar deal, the all-or-nothing gamble based on gut feelings,and the crazy mad man founders and even crazier investors Best to: too detailed for the average joe on a don’t really need to know basis Best as: so this is what it takes; missing your own wedding twice, a narcissistic belief in yourself as ultra indestructible, never wanting to step dow


Dreaming Yourself Awake: Lucid Dreaming and Tibetan Dream yoga for Insight and Transformation by B. Alan Wallace
BATB score: 8/10 💠 you know some people intentionally have affairs in dreams? Best to: if we live until 90 years old, of which we would have spent 30 years just sleeping and 25% of that sleep in REM, we would have spent 7.5 years (literally) dreaming 💭 Best for: now you can be conscious in your dreams, imagine if you can control your dreams and put them to better use ie. entertainment, exploration (of unethical dilemmas), experimentation, and/or enlightenment 🤯 Best as: di


Open Book by Jessica Simpsons
BATB score: 5/10 💋 written by Jessica Simpsons for Jessica Simpsons Best as: a nostalgic ride back to the good years - 2000s; MTV billboard, skinny low waisted jeans, paparazzi, reality TV, unrelated music videos, lip sync but touching lyrics,success measured based on how many CDs you’ve sold Best to: Mickey Mouse Club The Disney Channel Season 6-7 1993-1995 has made big name celebrities: Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake, Ryan Gosling; and no, Jessica Si


Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?: And Other Questions About Dead Bodies by Caitlin Doughty
BATB score: 6/10 🐈⬛ Best as: a mortician answers every death related questions asked by innocent children Best to: hilarious but educational like will I shit my pants when I die Best for: well, don’t you want to know whether you will shit your pants when you die? BATB lingering thought: yes, you will shit your pants when you die and yes, morticians are cool with it; though they may put a pampers on / butt plug in you to make sure your funeral is decent


Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It by Chris Voss and Tahl Raz
BATB score: 7/10 ⚠️ Chris Voss, former FBI hostage negotiator, has all the legitimate street cred to write this book about How to Negotiate with Anyone Best as: however, this book was difficult to follow and hard to grasp any actionable insights; ie. from negotiating for hostage release to negotiating your salary within the same page, numerous anecdotes that at the end all sounds the same, difficult one-liner concepts too fast to hold onto Best to: is this a first draft? if y


What the CEO Wants You to Know : How Your Company Really Works by Ram Charan
BATB score: 4/10 🫥 Best for: the book explicitly said, written for Millennials, the world’s next leaders #aww Best as: started out very well as an Introduction to Business refresher, then tragically deteriorates in content quality and crushed all of the Millennials’ souls along with it Best to: a true example of generation gap in an organization in the format of a book; Gen X teaching Gen Y how to be leaders, cue Gen Y eye rolls BATB lingering thought: there are bits and pie


The Leader's Brain: Enhance Your Leadership Build Stronger Teams, Make Better Decisions, and Inspire Greater Innovation with Neuroscience by Michael L. Platt
BATB score: 8/10 👨🏫 hey hey not bad professor! short, concise, to the point, research-driven, fun, with key chapter takeaways, and super actionable 💯 Best as: listening to one of Professor Michael L. Platt, Director of Wharton Neuroscience Initiative, lectures Best for: as if you are an MBA student at Wharton Business School Best to: easy morning class and off you go, on to the rest of your day BATB linger thought: there is a clear gap between a researcher/professor and r


Real Talk: Lessons from a Therapist to Help You Heal by Tasha Bailey
BATB score: 8/10 ❤️🩹 Best as: affordable therapy in book form, DIY-self-therapist, pick a theme/chapter that suits your needs and read away 💯 Best to: explanation, examples, exercises; not all chapters would be applicable, but there’s a chapter for everyone BATB lingering thought: mine is chapters Family Drama, What Holds Us Back, Self-Esteem, Body Image, and The Ups and Downs of Stress 🫠 Best for: we all need therapy ❤️🩹 Best quotes: “Cringing happens when it feels too


The Wealth Money Can't Buy: The 8 Hidden Habits to Live Your Richest Life by Robin Sharma
BATB score: 8/10 👏 Best to: great words of wisdom from an old retired uncle vibe about the meanings of life (note that meanings is plural) Best as: sometimes old retired uncle contradict himself and repeat himself but we listen politely anyways Best for: anyone who is sprinting to chase success and at times wonders “wait why though”? Best quotes: “Reaching the summit of money but getting there feeling empty, lonely and unhappy, isn’t winning. It’s losing.” “We are all dreami


American Drug Addict by Brett Douglas
BATB score: 6/10 Best as: a complete memoir on how a drug addict is born, how it starts, escalates, cold turkey withdrawals, relapses; and how it effects everyone in your life 💯 BATB lingering thought: how pleasurably addictive is it that you don’t think about dying but merely to get high 🤔 Best to: he wrote this memoir in a psych ward upon his third suicide attempt Best for: aren’t we all addicts of some sort? - everything escalated from there Best quotes: “Drugs are my on
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