Book Reviews: How to Win Friends and Influence People, Inside the Magic Kingdom and The Servant

A few more reviews from my readings from my 2014 reading list. I decided to group together my reviews of the books that I read with the purpose of improving my employee/employer self.

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
I enjoyed this book, it was an easy read and a good reminder of the simple things you should be doing anyways when working with others and even more simply how to best treat others. As I was reading the book I kept thinking, I used to be good at that but I need to start to practice it again, I try to do that, etc. It was nice to see that I already practice some of these things but also a reminder of what I desperately need to work on. It was also fun to think of others in my life that I admire and think, "They are so good at this." A lot of the topics in this book talk about being sincere, being positive, lifting others up, being genuine, challenging yourself and more. There are three sections of principles in the book and at the end of each section the principles for that set are listed for a nice review. I would recommend this book.
My dad loves this book and I can actually see a lot of things from this book that he has been teaching myself and my siblings while we grew up in his home.

Inside the Magic Kingdom by Tom Connellan
This was not on the list but we read it for work and I absolutely loved it. It is written in story format and it is basically tells how Disney run's their customer service. It is amazing how Disney looks at every little detail and how it puzzles together the big picture and they have a team attitude among all of their employees. Nobody is too high up to have to stop and pick up some trash because the main goal of the organization is to make sure their customers have the best experience they can have; it's a very selfless environment. It was really neat to read about the little details that Disney takes care of in their parks each night to make sure that whether it is your first time at DisneyWorld or your 20th time, the park and environment is still at it's best; for example: re-painting posts in the park every night and scientifically measuring the moisture in the air to make sure they are finished painting by a certain time so that the paint is dry by the time the park re-opens in the morning.
This is a fast read, very fun and extremely interesting. After reading the book I wanted to go work for Disney.

The Servant: A Simple Story about Leadership by James Hunter
This book was also written in story format and I loved this one as well. The main idea of this book is to lead others by loving them. When we treat others with love and respect, they will be more willing to follow and do what they have been asked to do. As I read this book I thought a lot about the student leaders that I lead and those that I have taken the time to love and sacrifice for are those who work even harder. Something else I liked about this book is it stresses that you can demand authority and manipulate people for what you want but that will only last for so long; it is love and service that will last a life time. One of my coworkers is very good at manipulation and he openly talks about it and how he will very carefully word his conversations with others to get what he wants. All this has done for me is to be very cautious around him and almost question when he is being sincere of if he is just trying to get something out of me that he wants. It has been a lesson to me to be sincere with others and to always look for win-win situations when I need to negotiate things.
This was a quick read and a good reminder of how to conduct my self everyday and with everyone... not just in the work place.

It Means I Love You

When I was little, one day at church I was sitting next to my mom on our pew trying to hold still, but really wanting to be wiggling, dancing, playing and well whatever else a tiny person wants to be doing, when I noticed on the back of my mom's hand this little dark pink dot over one of her blood vessels and I quietly asked my mom what it was. She bent over and whispered in my ear that if I pressed it would go away. Sure enough, after I lightly pressed it, it disappeared.

I immediately looked up at my mom, wide-eyed, worried as to where it had gone. She then bent over again and said, "If it comes back, it means I love you." Slowly the red mark reappeared and I looked up at my mom with a huge smile on my face because it came back and that meant something. Throughout my childhood I would often touch my mom's pink dot to see if it would ever not come back but it always did. It was a constant reminder that I was loved.

My mom never treated my siblings and I like we were more important than others, no, she taught us to love others, look for the good in them and appreciate their differances. My mom never spoiled us, but instead taught us how to work hard for the things we got in life. BUT she always made sure we knew we were loved, in so many ways. My mom raised my siblings and I with so much love; a home full of love. I can't wait to one day do the same for my kids.

I was actually rock-climbing at a gym a few weeks ago and was climbing a more challenging route and tried to jump to a hold but instead missed it and some how cut the back of my hand during my fall. The scab that formed on the back of my hand was in the same place and shape as my mom's little pink dot. I actually secretly hoped it would turn into my own pink dot. But it didn't. Oh well, I'll just have to figure out and different subtle way to constantly tell my kids I love them.

Oh Jimmy

When I went to live with my friend for a month in Connecticut we attended the Yale YSA branch and were instantly engulfed into their "family" unit. It was fun to get to know and spend time with all of these people from around the US who were attending college, employed as nannies or born and raised in the area. One of these fine, but interesting, people was Jimmy. Jimmy was a very kind but innocently honest person and it became a very funny thing with my friend and I.

At one church event I was sitting, eating, and talking with a group of people and Jimmy came up behind me and looked down at the top of my head and announced, "Oh wow Amy! You sure do have a lot of grey hairs on your head."

Another time I was talking to Jimmy and when I was in the middle of a sentence he interrupted me and said, "Umm, you have this glob of mascara or something on your cheek, Yuck." and then he made a fake gagging sound.

And there is a hilarious trail of these incidences.

Now you may think, this person sounds so stupid and rude but honestly we found it comical because we were pretty sure Jimmy didn't realize how awkward and rude these comments and moments were. He was just innocently honest but had a heart of gold. It soon became a thing with us to say, "Guess what Jimmy said..." haha and then we would reply with a chuckle-sigh and say, "Oh Jimmy,"

I sure do miss my "Jimmy" moments. And I really want to make it a thing to say, "Oh Jimmy" when someone does something that's maybe slightly socially awkward or acceptable and then laugh/shrug it off, rather than get your feathers ruffled.

Jimmy and I bowling on my 26th birthday.