(Part 2) Reddit mentions: The best communication skills books

The first thing to understand is that there are two basic approaches:

1. Lecturing
   
2. Educating
   
   This is my problem with the school system growing up: for lack of a better word, many teachers are nerds about their chosen topic & "geek out" when explaining it. Because they have a crystal-clear understanding of the topic & everything makes sense in their heads & they have years of repetitively verbalizing it, they lecture "at' you, instead of teaching you. If I simply wanted to learn by lecture, I could just pick up a book & read it out loud to get the same effect. But I want to learn & be taught & get educated & ask questions, not just get lectured at!
   
   So the critical difference there is "excitedly spewing your knowledge" vs. "actually capturing someone's attention & explaining it in a way that hooks them & keeps them interested." There are a number of tricks to doing this, but first, let's address your core concern:
   
   >Before writing this post everything made perfect sense in my head and I was sure about what to write.
   >
   >...
   >
   >now that I am actually writing it it feels like my head just wants to put it all on the screen in once.
   
   So you've stumbled across something important here: the mental-to-physical conversion muscle. Translation of a thought into reality is a hard thing for a lot of people. And not just for writing, but for any type of idea. Take an inventor, for example - you have to take a concept you have & make it work. It's said that Edison tried a thousand different ways to make a lightbulb before finding a method that worked - he knew what he wanted to do (make an electric light) but had to find the right way to express it physically (filament in glass, powered by electricity).
   
   Likewise, entrepreneurs who start their own businesses do this...they take an idea & work to turn it into a reality. What you're trying to do is no different, whether it's talking to someone in person or writing things out on a reddit post. And in fact, being charming & witty & well-organized verbally, on the spot, is an entirely different skill than when you can sit down at a computer & take your time to write out a well-thought-out post. If you specifically want a procedure for how to write out a blog post, try this method:
   
   
3. Open a new Google Document (auto-saves, so if your browser crashes, it won't nuke your writing, which is especially important on a long post)
   
4. Create bullet points & start typing up ideas you have, as many as you can think of
   
5. Re-order those bullet points in a flow that makes sense, instead of being scattered all over the place; in our minds, we can see the whole picture & the "big idea", but in words, in America at least, we read those line-by-line, left-to-right, so information is poured into our brains in a steady but linear stream. So it helps to put your ideas in some kind of logical order so they make more sense when your reader is reading them as new-to-them information. This goes back to my issue with many school teachers...it's easy to just blab about your topic & unleash your excitement on someone, but that typically doesn't hook them or teach them anything, or even really clearly convey your point or points.
   
6. Create sub-indents of data points for each topic you wrote out. If you're writing about video games, you may want to talk about Pac-Man, Mario, and Pong. If you're talking about Mario, you may want to talk about Luigi, the Princess, and Bowser.
   
7. Once you've got that core structure arranged & filled out with some sub-data points, all you really have to do is translate that to English, the way you speak it. You wouldn't just read a list of bullet points, you'd normalize it with sentence structures & stuff. So just rewrite those lines into paragraphs, exactly as if you were reading it out loud to someone & explaining it to them.
   
   I've done that process so many times that that's just how I write reddit posts now. I'm pretty wordy to begin with, but generally I try to arrange my thoughts, flesh them out, and then make them readable. It's a skill you can develop, backed by a process checklist, as listed above. Go look through my reddit posting history if you want an example. I don't consider myself an articulate person IRL...it takes me 5 minutes to come up with a good comeback, for example; I don't think on-the-spot very quickly & need time to gather my disorganized thoughts together (that is, when my brain doesn't go blank when I'm in the spotlight, haha!). Writing is actually a lot easier for me because I can think about things & give birth to the ideas instead of just randomly spouting off potshots about my ideas left & right in a way that doesn't make sense to anyone listening to me, lol.
   
   There are a ton of little tricks for improving your communication skills like that. For example, there's a show on Netflix called "Jerry Before Seinfeld", where he shows off all of the material he's developed over the years (fills up a whole street worth of paper!). He can talk about virtually any topic an audience throws at him because he's put on his Seinfeld-humor glasses & thought about each situation & written down his thoughts about it. Here's a sample clip from the show on Instagram, featuring some of his notes:
   
   https://www.instagram.com/p/BYFFfKnFKfM/
   
   A good approach to structuring your explanation involves a 5-step process to make what you're saying clear & memorable. There's a really good podcast with Andy Stanley here:
   
   http://buildingastorybrand.com/episode-122/
   
   As well as a written explanation here:
   
   https://michaelhyatt.com/five-questions-to-ask-as-you-prepare-your-speech/
   
   The core idea is this:
   
   

• What is your one-liner? What is your one key take-away? What does what you're trying to convey boil down to? What's the one thing that you want people to know here?
  
  To implement that, you ask 5 questions when preparing your thoughts:
  
  

1. What do they need to know? (information, aka your one-liner)
   
2. Why do they need to know it? (motivation)
   
3. What do they need to do? (application)
   
4. Why do they need to do it? (inspiration)
   
5. What can I do to help them remember? (reiteration)
   
   This is a great way to teach & to convey a message or a thought, because instead of bumbling around, it gives you (1) a specific topic to talk about, and (2) a 5-question structure that informs people, motivates people, teaches them how to apply it, inspires them, and helps them remember your topic.
   
   Another thing to work on is flair. A good starting place, if you're up for some reading, is a book called, "The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs: How to Be Insanely Great in Front of Any Audience":
   
   https://www.amazon.com/Presentation-Secrets-Steve-Jobs-Insanely-ebook/dp/B002Z8IWMS
   
   In his heyday, Jobs had a knack for capturing an audience, which has been widely replicated. Just look at any TED Talk out there...they use a lot of the same principles for capturing & keeping people's attention. On that tangent, there's another good book for creating Powerpoints called, "How to Design TED Worthy Presentation Slides: Presentation Design Principles from the Best TED Talks":
   
   https://www.amazon.com/How-Design-Worthy-Presentation-Slides-ebook/dp/B00FX3IMZY
   
   That author, Akash Karia, actually has several really great books for things like delivering a TED Talk, making small talk, and so on (if you have Amazon Kindle Unlimited, most of them are free to read digitally under that subscription!).
   
   part 1/2

Here is something I typed up previously. The book I am writing will talk about most of this stuff. I'll be posting some articles I'm writing about communication here soon. For now, my old post. I endorse these books:

-------

So this is a bit of an area of expertise for me. I'm actually a writing a book about communication and it is kind of a skills book, but not as you might traditionally think of one. I can tell you more if you like, but don't want to bore you.

Here's the thing with skills books when it comes to communication...most are ok, some are even good, but most are essentially the same...they put together some combination of "do these things" and "do not do these other things" and market you a book that ultimately isn't going to help you a whole lot...at least not to communicate better in the aggregate. (How to Win Friends and Influence People is an example of this.) I call these any "Do these 10 things to communicate better" books. There is no magic list of skills that if you just learn these things, you'll communicate better. Communication doesn't work like that.

That said, there are a few decent enough communication "skills" books out there that are worth your time. It really depends on the type of communication skills you're looking for...for example, there are books out there entirely dedicated to how to give a good presentation (say, at work). There are books on conflict resolution. There are books on persuasion. All of these, which I don't think is what you're looking for only give you part of a very big puzzle. As far as more general communication books there are a couple you might consider:

(A note that most of these are not likely to be at your local library, but if you as your local friendly librarian how to they could get you one of these books, they can probably easily help you. Ask! Librarians are awesome! Also, most of these should be available on Amazon for not much money.)

1. Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life
   Author: Marshall B. Rosenberg, Ph.D.
   A book with an overall good perspective. A little sappy and cloying at times, but in general the intentions are in the right place with this one. Could come off as a little bit squishily academic, but an ok read and a good perspective.
   
2. If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on My Face?
   Author: Alan Alda
   
3. (From M*A*S*H, The West Wing, and much more)
   I'm actually reading this book right now and it is a funny take on Alda's life and work and he relates his stories through (and about communication). Alda is actually pretty smart about communication and comes at it differently than most anyone else on this list. Funny and witty, what you might expect from such a great actor and comedian. Definitely worth reading.
   
4. Simply Said: Communicating Better At Work and Beyond
   Author: Jay Sullivan
   More about work than other contexts but good advice overall. I only skimmed parts of this one so can't speak to every aspect, but appeared to be decent enough quality when I reviewed it.
   
5. The Art of Communicating
   Author: Thich Nhat Hanh
   Different from the others on the list, this one is written by a Buddhist monk who takes a more spiritual view of communication. It is a good philosophical approach. I found parts of this book enlightening. It is not scientific-ish enough for me and it makes no claims to be. It is a philosophy book on communication, but an easy, accessible read and worth your time.
   
6. Crucial Conversations Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High
   Author: Kerry Patterson
   A good enough book if you're looking to navigate conflicts/difficult conversational things at work or in relationships. Deals more with the challenging aspects of communication, but for what it is, good enough advice.
   
7. How to Talk to Anyone: 92 Little Tricks for Big Success in Relationships
   Author: Liel Lowndes
   Similar to the book above, but more about making conversation with people. As far as these types of books go, this one is ok enough and actually has some good advice on things to try when attempting to communicate with others.
   
   Books like Men are From Mars, Women are From Venus, which comes up when you look for communication books should be avoided entirely. That book, and other books like it, are trash. You might as well get your advice from Cosmo.
   
   Sorry for the length here, but like I said, this is an area of expertise. I hope you found this helpful. I can answer questions about any of these books if you like.

Yes, do it. but taking a loan is worth getting to the higher income more quickly. 20 yr old, and I only make 1k a month- working 30-40 hrs a week. Advice:(though I could stand to take some from you)

1test for credit if you can teach yourself, it's about $75 for a shot at 3-4 credits. look up which tests your school accepts. My community college accepts most, but my state school doesn't, and they transfer stuff on a class by class basis, except the state transfer program MNTC, which they take as a unit, so I'm appyling them to that.

2 re-take placement tests if you can, and do serious studying beforehand. you probably won't get credit for the stuff you bypass but it's something you don't have to take/ pay for. I understand not bothering and taking the easy classes, but then you're just wasting your education

3 plan how it will transfer try to get certifications/degrees as you progress so you end up with maybe an certification, asoociate's, and bachelor's in 4 years

apply for a crap-ton of scholarships- the more specific, the better. Go for stuff that only a few people are eligible for. At my community college that has 12.5k students, they didn't award a few of the 130-ish scholarships because not enough people applied. go for local stuff, specific to your major, race, financial situation, anything. Google scholarship search engines. Be smart about your odds and amount of time needed to apply compared to potential payoff. They are not giving it to you for charity just to you. They expect a return, just not as money. They expect you to do something useful with it for your field, community, culture,exc. Get volunteer/ leadership experience. FMSC is great for low commitment/flexible volunteering. If you're not especially rich, or your parents don't have 4 yr degrees, apply for TRIO. Worth it.

4 If you're not in school now, learn something useful if you want to move up. Anything. Coding or a foreign language are common choices- preferably something useful for your region, but if it's kinda obscure you won't be easily replaced if you find a niche- an instrument, learn to cook and shop frugal, teach yourself drafting/autocad, or just work out. Consider getting a certification that you study on your own time then test- pharmacy tech, anything in IT or medical, something in a field you enjoy. Any of these will either increase your earning potential, help you spend less, or just be happier.

5 Learn to write and research. This is critical to most jobs and all of college. Reading critically/ analyzing is a big part of this. most useful textbook i've had also, before you ever pay for a MLA formatting guide,use this free online guide

6 work on your communication with people. Some of that means just getting out and practicing, and if you act like you know what's up, people generally believe you. good and worthwhile analysis in communication is this also invest a little time and $ to make yourself look "upstanding" or just project an image that will be effective. People stereotype. It's inaccurate, and it sucks, but it happens, so use it to your advantage and stop doing it

7 buy the older editions whenever the professor is ok with it. They usually are, and they're occasionally using an older edition than what the bookstore tells you to buy. Always get the international edition if you can (same thing, different cover, maybe different pg #'s)

8 Joining campus clubs or student gov looks great on an application, and it's the easiest way to meet people with a common interest. Also networking. At least try a club or 2, there's no commitment; they're just glad you showed up

9 most schools offer free or discounted software or deals at local businesses. state colleges give you free access to software that otherwise costs thousands (photoshop, autocad, solidworks). Use it. Community college has some, ya just gotta ask a professor or the tech dept.

10* Get a planner. Use it, write your assignments from the syllabus on it. Schedule regular time to be undisturbed and get stuff done. You are paying thousands for the opportunity to learn. Do not waste it. Show up to class on time, know people in the class who will let you get notes if you skip. Only skip if you absolutely have to- calculate exactly how much you paid for that hour of instruction and see what you're wasting. Go over what they're going to talk about that day ahead of time. This isn't high school, nobody gets it all on the first time hearing it. That homework that's not being graded? understand how to do it, and do some of it. If you don't practice, you'll never finish exams on time, even if you "got it." did I mention to learn discipline and keep a schedule? It's the single most important thing here. even if you son't feel like doing it now, just start, then it gets easier. Cramming sucks, and doesn't end well

edit: if your college allows you to take anywhere from 13-18 credits for the same price (pretty common), consider taking 18 credits and not working much, if you can. it'll be cheaper

Mostly awesome suggestions in here! Just a reminder - if you're stocking up, be sure you include some nonfiction books, or at the very least, realistic fiction. We seem to be a lot of fantasy lovers in here (myself included!), but some kids just aren't into that.

One set that I recommend is "The Survival Series for Kids" by Joy Wilt Berry, which are all dealing-with-regular-life or etiquette stuff, such as cleaning your room, learning first aid, "getting dressed" (ie choosing appropriate clothes and caring for your clothes), taking care of a lawn, and so on. They are informative, have cute pictures, and funny dialogue between the characters in the margins.

For younger readers, the same author has a series of what are basically graphic novels, called the "Ready-Set-Grow" series (partial set linked here for <$20 on ebay!). Those ones have just a few lines per page. They are more of making sure kids grow up confident and understanding how life works. They cover subjects like decision making, recognizing and handling emotions, handling differences of opinion, understanding that people are all different, dangerous things, verbal and nonverbal communication, being creative... it's hard to convey in such a small space, but they basically cover a lot of topics that well-adjusted parents usually go over with their kids on their way through life, helping the kids become well-adjusted. Some of them are a bit outdated, but even then they're pretty good. For instance the one introducing the concept of gender is titled "You're Either One or the Other" which would scare people nowadays, but the actual text spends the whole book explaining that people are just people, some guys like football and some like dancing, some girls like dressup and some like climbing trees, etc - in other words, be accepting of differences.

The best thing is that they're written in a way that kids can understand and relate to, with enough humor to not be stuffy.

I cannot recommend these books highly enough, especially for kids who are in less-than-ideal homes. They are incredible.

> Just because something hasn't been peer reviewed and isn't evidence based, doesn't mean it has zero value in the world.

Authentic faith isn't some leap into nothingness, or some 'holy hoping for the best' - it's the result of careful, reasoned, intentioned thought.

Plenty of evidence for the authenticity of the bible:

Secular sources verify historical claims[a]
Some opposed sources alluding to the supernatural acts of Jesus[a]
There are flood accounts in very many cultures that agree largely with [b], and scientific evidence suggesting the plausibility of[b1], the flood of Genesis
There's also the aspect of prophetic writings that undeniably came true in history that is currently past but had not come to pass at the time of the prophetic writing. [c]
Further, current science that backs up certain miracles in the old testament - but at the time of the writing they had no access to such knowledge. Two examples of this are the commands around food and hygeine[d], and the tree sweetening bitter waters in the wilderness[e, e1]
As a third example, the parting of the Red sea has been shown as feasible through natural phenomenon[f]
In the preceeding 3 cases the naturality of the occurrences doesn't diminish the miracle - it rather reinforces it. In the case of the tree making waters drinkable and the hygeine concerns, they flat out did not have the knowledge at the time to know to do these things - so if the source isn't man's knowledge, that leaves us with scarce options aside from that the source of the knowledge is correctly ascribed to God.
in the case of the parting of the red sea, the timing seems rather impossible aside from supernatural intervention. In all cases then, at least given that these events occurred, our current scientific knowledge shows the plausibility of these, while still upholding the miraculous nature of them due to knowledge and circumstances.

As for the non-historical claims of the bible, they can still be observed and reasoned about/tested to an extent with the laws of logic as well as general reasoning. Some of this brings personal experience into play and is not up to the standard of the scientific method but is also not devoid of evidence and reason.

I think that atheists especially, in general, think that all religions are equally devoid of real truth/logic. However, through the methods above, the vast majority of religions (at least) - can be fairly easily invalidated as man-made.

There is one objective truth in the world - and I hold that there is one God who created and ordered the universe and everything in it, and that He gave us a way to seek and know him through His word, the Bible (as well as through the glory of His creation itself[1,6]). His commands are good for us[2], but all people at the depths of their heart hold some if not all forms of evil[3,4], and above all naturally seek the good of themselves above the glory of God[5,6]. I believe that sin separates us from God, because He is so Holy and perfect that sin cannot exist in His presence[7]. In order to satisfy justice, He sent His Son to live the perfect life that we find ourselves unable to live, so that He could be an acceptable substitute for the Justice every single one of us rightly deserves for rejecting God[7].

pardon the spotty citation. i plan to expand it, having trouble finding a few specific sources I'm looking for.

[a] https://probe.org/ancient-evidence-for-jesus-from-non-christian-sources-2/
[a0] http://www.ancient-origins.net/history-important-events/egypt-remembers-ancient-accounts-great-exodus-002295/page/0/1
[a1] - independent secular verification of the plagues on egypt - https://www.gotquestions.org/evidence-ten-plagues.html
[b] one example - the gilgamesh account https://www.icr.org/article/noah-flood-gilgamesh/
[b0] [ctrl-f 'traditions around the world'] (https://answersingenesis.org/the-flood/flood-legends/a-comparison-from-secular-historical-records/)
[b1] James Trefil - 'Evidence for a flood', Smithsonian.com
[c] https://www.allabouttruth.org/bible-prophecy.htm
[d] McMillen, M.D. - 'None of these diseases'

[e] Bush - 'Notes, Critical and Practical, on the Book of Exodus' - p197
[e0] one specific suggestion - https://godasagardener.com/2011/09/05/moses-and-the-mangrove-tree/
[f] Kate McAlpine - 'How wind may have parted the sea for Moses', newscientist.com


[1] Ps 19:1-3
[2] Romans 13:9-10
[3] Mark 7:20-23
[4] Jeremiah 17:9
[5] John 3:19-20
[6] Romans 1:18-22
[7] Romans 3:21-26

It's kind of shame that there aren't more good books out there on these topics. And that a lot of what is out there is shameless self-help-style wankery.

Here's what I'd suggest: Jump straight into good stories about finance, and pick-up the lingo and concepts as you go. Investopedia -- despite the cheesey name -- is a great resource for when you encounter an idea with which you're unfamiliar.

Good stories about finance include:

• Michael Lewis has, to my knowledge, never written a bad book, but Liar's Poker and The Big Short are great places to start.
  
• Roger Lowenstein's When Genius Failed is a good story about the hubris of hedge funds.
  
• James Stewart's Den of Thieves does a great job of covering the bond market and the white-collar insider-trading scandals of the 1980s. His Disney War is also a great introduction to corporate governance, in addition to being a novel-esque good read.
  
  On a more abstract, less story-based level, you might also look at:
  
  
  
• Taleb's Fooled by Randomness, the precursor to the much-lauded "Black Swan" (and in my opinion, the much superior book).
  
• Bernstein's Against the Gods, which gives a broad (and accessible) tour of how humans throughout history came to understand and build whole markets around probability and risk.
  
  Good luck!

Hey. I can recommend a good book for you. After you read it, check the notes in the back; there are a bunch more great books referenced.

"The book of Tells" by Peter Collett. Its not a 'self help' book, it doesnt have an agenda like "You'll get laid!". Its not a dry tome either though; its friendly and approachable, while presenting the hows and whys of peoples behaviour.

There is actually a good deal on sexual body language, but again, he isnt teaching anyone to be a stud, and doesnt pretend to.

For example, if the person was romantically interested in you the invite to coffee would be accompanied by availability tells, body language that expresses romantic or sexual interest.

There are clear photos and diagrams too. Great book, I couldnt recommend it more.

Here is an amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Book-Tells-Peter-Collett/dp/0553814591

there are a few really great resources that were mentioned already.

I found Tufte books a little bit abstract and more geared toward data visualization philosophy and not as practical as some of the other resources out there in terms of creating interactive, business-focused data visualizations. While I really like them, it may not be the first ones you grab.

I highly recommend books and blogs by these people---all but Stephen Few are active on Twitter (bolding the highest 3 recommendations):

Stephen Few:

• Book: Information Dashboard Design
  
• Book: Show me the Numbers
  
• Blog: Perceptual Edge (really succinct and opinionated articles. you can learn a lot by his support and criticism of visuals or books. Read the comments. He can be abrasive, but usually pretty enlightening)
  
  Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic:
  
  
• Book: Storytelling with Data (already shared but repeating for convenience) Super good at helping draw attention to the point you're trying to make within the visual and ensuring that you're using opinionated titles if in a presentation like Powerpoint or Keynote.
  
• Book: Storytelling with Data: Let's Practice (recently came out and is very hands on)
  
• Blog: StoryTellingWithData
  
  Stephanie Evergreen:
  
  
• Effective Data Visualization: selecting the right chart for the right data
  
  Alberto Cairo:
  
  
• Truthful Art (good followup to his "functional art" book)

Oh hey, I just did something super similar at my first job.

One of the most valuable things I found was Steve Krug's usability testing script. I really wanted to get the best feedback I could, and this went a long way to help me coach the folks I was talking to. He also wrote two real good books about UX, with "Rocket Surgery Made Easy" focused on testing

Another great resource was Ross Unger's talks, book, and articles on Guerrilla User Testing.

Basically, I go through the script, and get the people (never call them "users" directly) talking out loud while they accomplish tasks. If you can get a second person to take EXTREMELY good notes or record it, that'd be even better.

As for the Starbucks vs. visiting the trails, it depends on your target market. Do you want folks already using the trails to get more out of them and have a better experience? Or do you want to get more people from the community using these resources? I know most people would want the latter, but if you focus on the former you can start to iterate a better experience for everyone and then have a broad push for larger audiences.

Anyway, I digress. But usability testing doesn't have to be expensive or super formal to get a lot of it.

Sure, the new iWork suite has removed quite a few features that was otherwise available in the old version. But it might only be temporarily.

The new version is rewritten to revisit and enhance the suite of tools going forward, but it has made it necessary for Apple to not include all features at first launch. That's why the old version was not overwritten when the new version first launched and presented as an update in the App Store.

Much wanted features like Apple Script support was only recently reintroduced, and details like the one you mention here might also come in a later update.

Until then, consider using the old Keynote(it still works on Mavericks) if you can't do without this feature. Personally I do not fancy these "bullet reveals" during presentations and would encourage you to try out some new styles of presentation to keep an interest in the lecture. The best lectures are usually built on a solid written and rehearsed and slides that are build to enhance it even further.

Some book recommendations to that end:

• Lend Me Your Ears by Max Atkinson
  
• Presentation Zen by Garr Reynolds
  
• Resonate by Nancy Duarte

From what I've found, the best thing to do to bring in more clients in terms of the actual design of your site, is to make it very clear what you do and how to navigate the projects. Some of the best designers in the world have completely simple sites. See here for examples:

http://www.davidairey.co.uk
http://feltron.com/
http://jessicahische.is/
http://www.draplin.com/
https://frankchimero.com/

David Airey wrote a great book called Work for Money, Design for Love he has some amazing tips on how to present and position your work. His book was a big inspiration for my redesign.

>Post-Tribe Clans just so happen to have many built-in aspects (that I will further elaborate on in another post) that exasperate this problem to no end.

Exacerbate, bud.

> Clan Banks probably aren’t necessarily a bad thing. How could it possibly make any sense for me to even imply that in the context of this discussion, when I’m specifically referring to post-Tribe Clan Banks and the two aren’t inherently different?

You're never going to persuade anyone when you write this incoherently. Read Message Not Received or any other book on communication. You're far too wordy.

>And I’m apparently doing a very shit job of explaining this, because everybody seems to misunderstand my points.

Ldo, man, ldo. Seriously though, I get where you're coming from on this, but nuking some clans over others based on an arbitrary line in the sand is never going to go over well. I like many of the arguments for limiting clans, but the cat's out the bag already. This is yet another opportunity to get things right with a new server.

You can nitpick over the importance of community vs. economy all you want, but both are vital to an MMO. You said it yourself in your OP that clans provide free items, warps, crafting NPCs, leeching, etc. and make the game too easy. You also mentioned the wrecking ball vs. dynamite concept, which you instantly contradict with your suggestion of removing only some of the clans. Nuke them all via a new server, or very little changes. If there were only three clans for example, sure, the community would be less fragmented, but it would still be comically easy for new players. Games aren't fun when everything is handed to you.

Happy Saturday everyone.

My co-authored business book was launched this week and is on a Free Kindle deal until next Wednesday. Respect in the Workplace: You have to give it to get it, is a how to workbook that can be useful for any organization. It includes tips, techniques and stories to encourage us all to bring the best of us to work.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07X9CMTCV

I've already read this and absolutely loved it. I was just wondering if there are more like it, and if so, the titles. As for being more specific, I'm looking for a book that encompasses the whole "computer revolution"...so, 1940s to 1990s would be something that I'm really interested in reading about. I've found this, and heard good reviews: http://www.amazon.com/Computer-History-Information-Machine-Technology/dp/0813342643/ref=tmm_pap_title_0

I also would love to find something about the free/open source software movement. I already know of Raymond's Cathedral and the Bazaar, and also his book on Art of Unix Programming.

Learn how to network effectively. Read everything you can regarding networking and start now. The soft-skills will serve you well, and the most successful people know how to network and use their network, they know how to negotiate, they are diplomatic in their engagements and not hostile. You sound like a smart guy and you'll do fine.

There are just a ton of networking resources out there right now. Here is one book.


Remember, cash flow is king.

You neglected to make a motion to approve this video with the Guild of the Gays. Consequently, your approval has been nullified, re-submitted, voted on with a major majority in agreement, and ratified by our Fantastic Rainbow Coalition Committee. Good day, sir. And please, in the future, keep this in mind. Cheers.

There is a great book called, "Sweating Bullets," that I found very helpful. It breaks down common causes of anxiety showing how irrational they are helping you get past them, e.g. audiences want you to succeed, not fail because they prefer to watch interesting talks: https://www.amazon.com/Sweating-Bullets-Overcoming-Public-Speaking-ebook/dp/B00HE19IIS/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1538454147&sr=1-1&keywords=sweating+bullets

​

What is the best source for English language books?

I'm looking for this book which is significantly cheaper on US Amazon (about half the price even with shipping), but if I'm going to have to wait that long for shipping from the US then I might as well see if there's anywhere else in Japan that I can get it faster.

If you're interested in this kind of thing I just listened to this book https://www.amazon.com/Because-Internet-Understanding-Rules-Language/dp/0735210934 and it goes into stuff like this.

I finished Jia Tolentino's Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion yesterday and really just want to recommend it to everyone. Incisive essays that go in unexpected directions.

Then started Gretchen McCulloch's Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language and I'm enjoying it so far. Also looking at a few pages of this Yves Saint Laurent coffee table book each day because I'm a nerd.

Next, looking forward to Sady Doyle's Dead Blondes and Bad Mothers: Monstrosity, Patriarchy, and the Fear of Female Power.