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Some inspirational books
By: James Bentley
Everybody has a favourite book, perhaps one that inspired them at a particular stage in their life or one that they come back to time and time again.
These five books have been, and still are, all special to me in different ways:
Jonathan is a non-conforming seagull who, bored with life, learns to fly really fast. He breaks away from his society, forming new friendships, learning new behaviours and gaining insights into life. Returning to his roots, he understands that the spirit cannot be really free without the ability to forgive, and that he can develop through becoming a teacher — not just through working hard as a student. Uplifting.
Pay It Forward is a book written by Catherine Ryan Hyde and it has been turned into a movie, but it's also an idea. Trevor, the 12-year-old hero, describes his idea for his teacher's project: "You see, I do something real good for three people. And then when they ask how they can pay it back, I say they have to Pay It Forward. To three more people. Each. So nine people get helped. Then those people have to do twenty-seven." Corny, but genuine.
A series of essays on a range of topics such as friendship, work, buying and selling, joy and sorrow, self-knowledge, teaching and giving. There's bound to be one or two chapters that make you think. A la carte insights.
On the face of it, Machiavelli tells us many shrewd and unscrupulous methods we can use to gain or maintain a position of power. But it's quite likely that Machiavelli wrote The Prince as satire. Whichever way you choose to interpret Machiavelli's own beliefs, this short work has many examples of what other people's behaviours might mean. Not your own, of course.
We've all got 'enemies' of one sort or another, however benign we are. An enemy is simply someone who is actively opposed to someone or something. Sun Tzu has many ideas on how to win without actually fighting. Enemies: be very afraid.
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