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Book notes: Memoirs and Misinformation by Jim Carrey

Memoirs and Misinformation by Jim Carrey book summary review and key ideas.

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Memoirs and Misinformation: A Novel by Jim Carrey

Synopsis:

““None of this is real and all of it is true.” (Jim Carrey)

Meet Jim Carrey. Sure, he’s an insanely successful and beloved movie star drowning in wealth and privilege – but he’s also lonely. Maybe past his prime. Maybe even…getting fat? He’s tried diets, gurus, and cuddling with his military-grade Israeli guard dogs, but nothing seems to lift the cloud of emptiness and ennui. Even the sage advice of his best friend, actor and dinosaur-skull collector Nicolas Cage, isn’t enough to pull Carrey out of his slump.

But then Jim meets Georgie: ruthless ingénue, love of his life. And with the help of auteur screenwriter Charlie Kaufman, he has a role to play in a boundary-pushing new picture that may help him uncover a whole new side to himself – finally, his Oscar vehicle! Things are looking up!

But the universe has other plans.

Memoirs and Misinformation is a fearless semi-autobiographical novel, a deconstruction of persona. In it, Jim Carrey and Dana Vachon have fashioned a story about acting, Hollywood, agents, celebrity, privilege, friendship, romance, addiction to relevance, fear of personal erasure, our “one big soul”, Canada, and a cataclysmic ending of the world – apocalypses within and without.” -Audible

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Book notes: 10% Happier by Dan Harris

10% Happier by Dan Harris book summary review and key ideas.

10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found a Self-Help That Actually Works by Dan Harris

Synopsis:

“Nightline anchor Dan Harris embarks on an unexpected, hilarious, and deeply skeptical odyssey through the strange worlds of spirituality and self-help, and discovers a way to get happier that is truly achievable.

After having a nationally televised panic attack on Good Morning America, Dan Harris knew he had to make some changes. A lifelong nonbeliever, he found himself on a bizarre adventure, involving a disgraced pastor, a mysterious self-help guru, and a gaggle of brain scientists. Eventually, Harris realized that the source of his problems was the very thing he always thought was his greatest asset: the incessant, insatiable voice in his head, which had both propelled him through the ranks of a hyper-competitive business and also led him to make the profoundly stupid decisions that provoked his on-air freak-out.

We all have a voice in our head. It’s what has us losing our temper unnecessarily, checking our email compulsively, eating when we’re not hungry, and fixating on the past and the future at the expense of the present. Most of us would assume we’re stuck with this voice that there’s nothing we can do to rein it in but Harris stumbled upon an effective way to do just that. It’s a far cry from the miracle cures peddled by the self-help swamis he met; instead, it’s something he always assumed to be either impossible or useless: meditation. After learning about research that suggests meditation can do everything from lower your blood pressure to essentially rewire your brain, Harris took a deep dive into the underreported world of CEOs, scientists, and even marines who are now using it for increased calm, focus, and happiness.

10% Happier takes listeners on a ride from the outer reaches of neuroscience to the inner sanctum of network news to the bizarre fringes of America’s spiritual scene, and leaves them with a takeaway that could actually change their lives.” -Audible

*~If you enjoy my summary, please consider buying me a coffee via my Ko-Fi link! (click the button below – no transaction fees). I appreciate every donation as it goes directly to the maintenance costs of my blog. 😊

Book notes: How to Stay Motivated by Zig Ziglar

How to Stay Motivated by Zig Ziglar audio summary review and key ideas.

How to Stay Motivated: Developing the Qualities of Success by Zig Ziglar

Synopsis:

“How to Stay Motivated provides you with clear and proven techniques to use to enhance relationships, improve your self-image, set and achieve goals, and so much more! Apply these winning steps from the motivational master himself to build a better, more productive, satisfying life for yourself and your family. Change your picture and change every facet of your life.” -Audible

3 Tips for Being an Effective Agile Scrum Master

How to thrive as a scrum master in an agile scrum team.

I’ve been a Scrum Master for almost 4 years working with 10 different teams across 3 different company cultures.

No matter the product, business area, or company environment, there are several common skills needed to be an effective scrum master and help your team deliver value to the customers.

Here are three of the biggest tips for helping your scrum teams thrive.

Book notes: White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo

White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo book summary review and key ideas.

White Fragiliy: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo

Synopsis:

“The New York Times best-selling book exploring the counterproductive reactions white people have when their assumptions about race are challenged and how these reactions maintain racial inequality.

In this “vital, necessary, and beautiful book” (Michael Eric Dyson), antiracist educator Robin DiAngelo deftly illuminates the phenomenon of white fragility and “allows us to understand racism as a practice not restricted to ‘bad people'” (Claudia Rankine). Referring to the defensive moves that white people make when challenged racially, white fragility is characterized by emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt and by behaviors including argumentation and silence. These behaviors, in turn, function to reinstate white racial equilibrium and prevent any meaningful cross-racial dialogue.

In this in-depth exploration, DiAngelo examines how white fragility develops, how it protects racial inequality, and what we can do to engage more constructively.” -Audible

Book notes: The ONE Thing by Gary Keller

The ONE Thing by Gary Keller book summary review and key ideas.

The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller

Synopsis:

“This is an audiobook for busy people. If you want less on your plate and more for your life and career, tune in to the #1 Wall Street Journal best seller, The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results. The ONE Thing will bring your life and your work into focus. Authors Gary Keller and Jay Papasan teach you the tricks to cut through the clutter, achieve better results in less time, dial down stress, and master what matters to you.” -Audible

Book notes: This Is What America Looks Like by Ilhan Omar

This Is What America Looks Like by Ilhan Omar book summary review and key ideas.

This Is What America Looks Like: My Journey from Refugee to Congresswoman by Ilhan Omar

Synopsis:

“lhan Omar was only eight years old when war broke out in Somalia. The youngest of seven children, her mother had died while Ilhan was still a little girl. She was being raised by her father and grandfather when armed gunmen attacked their compound and the family decided to flee Mogadishu. They ended up in a refugee camp in Kenya, where Ilhan says she came to understand the deep meaning of hunger and death. Four years later, after a painstaking vetting process, her family achieved refugee status and arrived in Arlington, Virginia.

Aged 12, penniless, speaking only Somali, and having missed out on years of schooling, Ilhan rolled up her sleeves, determined to find her American dream. Faced with the many challenges of being an immigrant and a refugee, she questioned stereotypes and built bridges with her classmates and in her community. In less than two decades, she became a grassroots organizer, graduated from college, and was elected to congress with a record-breaking turnout by the people of Minnesota – ready to keep pushing boundaries and restore moral clarity in Washington, DC.

A beacon of positivity in dark times, Congresswoman Omar has weathered many political storms and yet maintained her signature grace, wit, and love of country – all the while speaking up for her beliefs. Similarly, in chronicling her remarkable personal journey, Ilhan is both lyrical and unsentimental, and her irrepressible spirit, patriotism, friendship, and faith are audible in every minute. As a result, This Is What America Looks Like is both the inspiring coming of age story of a refugee and a multidimensional tale of the hopes and aspirations, disappointments and failures, successes, sacrifices, and surprises of a devoted public servant with unshakable faith in the promise of America.”

Book notes: Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi

Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi book summary review and key ideas.

Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi

Synopsis:

“Some Americans cling desperately to the myth that we are living in a post-racial society, that the election of the first Black president spelled the doom of racism. In fact, racist thought is alive and well in America – more sophisticated and more insidious than ever. And as award-winning historian Ibram X. Kendi argues in Stamped from the Beginning, if we have any hope of grappling with this stark reality, we must first understand how racist ideas were developed, disseminated, and enshrined in American society.

In this deeply researched and fast-moving narrative, Kendi chronicles the entire story of anti-Black racist ideas and their staggering power over the course of American history. Stamped from the Beginning uses the life stories of five major American intellectuals – Puritan minister Cotton Mather, Thomas Jefferson, abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison, W.E.B. Du Bois, and legendary activist Angela Davis. – to offer a window into the contentious debates between assimilationists and segregationists and between racists and antiracists.”