PRABE Reflection 10

This week I began reading a book called “Chose Yourself” by James Altucher. I guess it would technically fall into the “self help” or business category of books, but those often get a bad rap and so far I have found this very interesting and helpful for anyone trying to navigate our changing world and find success and happiness.

            The first few chapters of the book, which I read this week talk about how the world and economy is changing significantly in our current time—and how this will affect each of us as we try to become successful and plan for the future. The author talks about a time in 2002, when he was working as a stockbroker on Wall Street and the market came crashing down—he had no friends and suddenly—no money. The main message of the book so far seems to be that in today’s society, we have the option to not be enslaved by the powers that be—the hegemony that big business once held over people (and the market) is vanishing and individuals have opportunities never seen before. The author is calling readers to action, suggesting  that the only real hope is to stop placing our hope and futures in other people’s hands and begin to choose ourselves.

Reflection

The past 10-12 weeks of reflecting on my weekly reading on this blog have been helpful to organize my thoughts. It has also helped hold me accountable to continue reading on a regular basis. I am an avid reader to begin with, so to be honest—the assignment to read 90 minutes “for fun” each week is like a dream come true. Especially while I am taking 18 hours of classes, I read this assignment and thought, “I am required to read for fun every week? And it CAN’T be something school related? Awesome!” Perhaps the most beneficial aspect of this was seeing how my own thought processes became more inflective as I wrote down my thoughts and ideas about what I have read on this blog—this is a practice I will likely continue in some manner as I feel it helps organize and retain things that we read, especially if you are someone like me who reads 3-4 books a month.