Why I chose to read this book?
To understand what makes people ignore their setbacks and remain passionate about what they want to achieve in life.
How the book is arranged?
The author Richard Reed catches hold of 68 famous personalities, who have been through the hard way of life, and asks for exactly ONE piece of advice that can be useful for others. Every person he interviews is introduced briefly as to what they are today, why are they popular and hardships they faced.
My Rating:
4/5
Personal take-away:
A great read and the idea of getting just one formula out from successful people is good too. Not everyone interviewed here are very well-known, but each of them seemed to have an inspiring story. However, at some points in the book, author seems to be talking more about the meeting when he interviewed people and not so much about them. It could also be a way to add a bit of humour to the content, so didn’t pinch a lot.
Summary:
This section carries a summary of entire book, each chapter or each person he interviewed is marked as a separate point. Each person, thereafter, is briefly introduced along with the advice he/she wished to pass on.
1) Bill Clinton:
- Background: 42nd President of the United States.
- Advice: See each individual- the person who opens the door for you, the person who pours coffee- acknowledge them, show them respect.
2) Marina Abramović:
- Background: International performance artist.
- Advice: Take the unknown journey where no one has ever been before- that’s how civilization moves forward.
3) Terry Wait:
- Background: Renowned author, survivor of a 5-year-long solitary confinement.
- Advice: Every disaster in life can be turned out to make something creative out of it. Of course, suffering is damn hard but it doesn’t have to be totally destructive.
4) Joanna Lumley:
- Background: TV and film actor.
- Advice: Love everyone you meet. From the moment you see them, give them the benefit of doubt and start from a position where you think they are lovely.
5) Mr. Fry:
- Background: Tech-geek
- Advice: If you are unhappy with someone, spend more time imagning what it is like to be him/her- this process will help you develop more empathy.
6) Esther Perel:
- Background: Author, Advisor-in-chief on handling intimacy in modern age.
- Advice: The quality of your life depends on the quality of your relationships- not on your achievements, your looks or your money. Ultimately, at the end of your life, people will commend you for how you made them feel.
7) Heston Bluementhal:
- Background: Owner of best restaurant in the world.
- Advice: Question everything! If you don’t question things, there is no knowledge, no learning, no creativity.
8) Annie Lennox:
- Background: Winner of five grammy awards, AIDS Activist.
- Advice: There will be several moments in your life when a light will blink to tell you- “I MUST do that”. It’s not because someone says you should do it, it’s because you are compelled to do it. If you find that light, acknowledge it.
9) Simon Cowell:
- Background: Originator of Britain’s got talent.
- Advice: Every person carries an invisible sign on his head which says- “make me feel important”. Remember that and you will sorted for life.
10) Shami Chakrabarti:
- Background: Lawyer who stands for human rights of criminals.
- Advice: Solidarity is the magic weapon to achieve change. If you remember that your human rights are same as mine even if we don’t act the same way, we all become stronger.
11) Ari Emanuel:
- Background: Hollywood’s super-agent.
- Advice: Be curious! You have to keep reading, listening, talking, thinking, finding out how people think and what they do- and chase down anything that seems interesting.
12) Martha Lane Fox:
- Background: First lady of internet, founder of Book Cheap Holidays, Flights, Hotels & City Breaks | lastminute.com.
- Advice: Be bold- there is a chance that you might screw up things, but you can also achieve much more. Even if you are a customer help desk executive, ask yourself how can i be bold? Find those small moments of boldness because they are everywhere.
13) Harry Belafonte:
- Background: Grammy award winner, confidant of Martin Luther King, AIDS activist.
- Advice: Being open to the strange, unusual and radical aspects of life gives us a chance to become more nourished.
14) Sandi Toksvig:
- Background: Writer, actress, producer comedian.
- Advice: Work hard and be passionate. Get up every morning thinking there are a lof of people you haven’t met, lots of music you haven’t heard, lots of books you haven’t read- and if you start each day looking for something to be passionate about, mostly you won’t be disappointed.
15) Sir David Attenborough:
- Background: World’s most revered naturalist.
- Advice: Not to loose excitement over environment, do what you can to always keep the sense of magic with our natural world alive.
16) Dame Judi Dench:
- Background: Well-known theater actor and designer.
- Advice: Look for pluses in life. If something bad happens, always say cancel, continue and get back on track. There is no good being negative.
17) Squaddie Banter:
- Background: Ex- British Army infantryman (a job that made him loose both legs and an arm), In-demand motivational speaker.
- Advice: Don’t look back on what has happened, instead look forward to what you can do.
18) Richard Branson:
- Background: Founder of Virgin group.
- Advice: Don’t waste any time in doing what you don’t want to do. And when you find the right thing, do it with the people you love.
19) Katie Piper:
- Background: Famous model, TV presenter, philanthropist, best selling author.
- Advice: Barriers we put for ourselves don’t really exist- they only exist in our head. They tend to trouble us because we choose to feed them.
20) Mike Bloomberg:
- Background: Founder of Bloomberg.
- Advice: You really have to work hard, and do something that you love. Get up early morning and get to it.
21) Diana Athill:
- Background: Finest editor and a prize-winning writer.
- Advice: Don’t be possessive, the trick is to love your people, not possess them.
22) Andy Murray:
- Background: Renowned tennis player, his peak time in career coincided with three of the biggest tennis players in history.
- Advice: Always believe when you completely apply yourself, you can achieve anything. Make sure you give 100 percent and work as hard as you can in everything.
23) Maki Mandela:
- Background: Daughter of Nelson Mandela, survivor of tough times in life when her father spent 27 years in jail.
- Advice: Strength and power comes from within one’s self. Deal with your inner demons, bitterness and anger to be a better person.
24) Dalai Lama:
- Background: Spiritual leader, human manifestation of peace and compassion.
- Advice: We all are a part of humankind, therefore pay less emphasis on secondary differences like religion and state. That is how we can live much more peacefully.
25) Col. Lucy Giles:
- Background: First female commander for one of the most revered institutions in the world.
- Advice: Life is about doing the right thing on a difficult day, and that too when no one is keeping an eye on you.
26) Anthony Bourdain:
- Background: Chef, Writer and TV presenter.
- Advice: If you are fucked up in life, make sure you recognise the lucky break when you get one- and then work really hard at not fucking it up.
27) Alexander McLean:
- Background: Founder of African Prisons Project.
- Advice: The seemingly unfortunate people are filled with gifts and talents beyond imagination. Love such people as yourself.
28) Edna O’Brien:
- Background: Irish writer.
- Advice: For each person who aspires you to do anything, retain the innocence and conviction of when you started. Never forget the thing that bestirred you.
29) Nitin Sawhney:
- Background: Internationally acclaimed guitarist.
- Advice: Don’t be defined by others expectations of you or by what you have done in the past. Tune in yourself and define yourself by being authentic at any given moment.
30) Jo Malone:
- Background: Famous fragrance-maker.
- Advice: When bad things happen you can either let them beat you or you can stand and fight. And if you do the later, you will always turn things around.
31) Bear Grylls:
- Background: Ex- solider, Everest Climber, Adventurer.
- Advice: There is always someone faster, smarter, taller and more experienced than you, but rewards in life don’t always go them. Rewards go to the dogged, determined, those who never say die.
32) Dambisa Moyo:
- Background: Global economist and best-selling author.
- Advice: Put in the hard work, discipline and focus. There will be numerous people in the world out there, who are rooting for you to stay strong, and to prove naysayers wrong.
33) Mickey Hart:
- Background: Drummer of the band Grateful Dead.
- Advice: Life is about rhythm, develop a well-stretched ear and listen to it.
34) Clare Balding:
- Background: Sportsperson with participation in Olympics, Paralympics, Winter Olympics and Wimbledon.
- Advice: If you think someone else is dull, you are asking the wrong questions.
35) Nancy Hollander:
- Background: Lawyer, constantly fighting for people locked up in prisons without any proven charge
- Advice: Don’t confront by shouting, but confront by using intellectual powers and powers of a better argument.
36) Jude:
- Background: Movie star, philanthropist.
- Advice: If you are late, enjoy being late. Relish every moment and be in that very moment.
37) Joan Bakewell:
- Background: BBC presenter, writer and member of House of Lords
- Advice: Don’t drag circumstances that are not just falling in the right place. Listen and then act upon the inner spark.
38) Ahmed Kathy Kathrada & Dennis Goldberg:
- Background: Nelson Mandela’s fellow freedom fighters.
- Advice: Fighting for the right thing will inevitably lead to success- no matter what the sacrifices are.
39) Lily Ebert:
- Background: Strong survivor from the war with Nazis.
- Advice: Make always the best from what you have, no matter how little it is.
40) Richard Curtis:
- Background: Script-writer, Philanthropist.
- Advice: Don’t underestimate your ability to make an impact on another person’s life.
41) Jude Kelly:
- Background: Artistic Director.
- Advice: Women must honour their own potential- don’t define yourself by stepping aside to accommodate someone else. Make the best out of your own life.
42) Michael McIntyre:
- Background: Highest grossing comedian in the world.
- Advice: Surround yourself with people who bring the best in you.
43) Noella Couraris Musunka:
- Background: International model, philanthropist.
- Advice: Focus on quality education can make people real agents of change and great leaders.
44) Indra Nooyi:
- Background: Ranked by Forbes as the most powerful woman in the world, CEO of PepsiCo
- Advice: Don’t take holidays- rather give yourself sometime to read books on your industry, rest of the time you should just work.
45) Ueli Steck:
- Background: Mountaineer
- Advice: Never live with your mistakes.
46) Margaret Atwood:
- Background: Booker-prize winning novelist.
- Advice: Know your audience well and figure out what they want, before giving an advice.
47) Tony Blair:
- Background: Ex- Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
- Advice: Remember people don’t become successful accidentally. Figure out your passion and work hard towards it- if your passion can also make a difference to others, there is nothing else that can be more fulfilling in life.
48) Ruthie Rogers:
- Background: Cook-book writer
- Advice: Treat everyone as individuals: understand how they are and encourage them. People can achieve more in a work environment with hope rather than fear.
49) Jony Ive:
- Background: Head of Design at Apple Inc.
- Advice: Focus! Just do one thing- and aim to become the best at it!
50) Helena Kennedy:
- Background: Advocate of civil liberties and human rights.
- Advice: Never treat anybody as lesser and never accept anyone who treats you lesser, respect the humanness of other person.
51) Lord Waheed Alli:
- Background: UK’s most successful entrepreneur, gay rights activist.
- Advice: Work hard and be lucky- no one is successful without these two things. But the most important thing of all is maintenance of aim, fight the distractions and keep coming back to your thing.
52) Olivia Colman:
- Background: Actress
- Advice: If you ever get lucky enough to be successful in what you choose to do, don’t believe the hype and remember that it can all stop tomorrow. Do whatever you do to the best of your ability.
53) James Rhodes:
- Background: Convert pianist
- Advice: Hope everyone gets lucky and survives when they don’t want to, because things do get better in the end. Just survive the hard times, survive any way that you can.
54) Libby Lane:
- Background: First ever female bishop in the UK
- Advice: Don’t live life out of fear, remember that we all are loved by God. If you allow that truth to settle in, it will enable you to find freedom from fear and live out of gratitude.
55) Alian de Botton:
- Background: Writer, philosopher
- Advice: Find one thing that drives you- signals will come in from something that feels like a ghost deep within us. That ghost is our true self trying to come out, bring that ghost to life and listen to it.
56) Ruby Wax:
- Background: Actress, writer and comedian
- Advice: Depression is normal and natural, don’t suffer from it. Every one in four human beings suffer from such a mental state of mind. Take strength and solidarity from these numbers.
57) Shep Gordon:
- Background: Most loved man in Hollywood
- Advice: If you want to have a good life, you have to find out and then do what makes you happy.
58) Sarah-Jayne Blakemore:
- Background: Professor of Cognitive Neurosciene at UCL
- Advice: Teenagers might look like adults, but they don’t have brains of one so give them some allowances. Don’t hurry and give them some space, their adult brains will thank you.
59) Lawrence Dallaglio:
- Background: Former Rugby Captain for England
- Advice: You have to hate loosing, it has to make you feel physically ill. Ask yourself if you have done everything, and meaning everything, to win- the answer has to be yes always.
60) Margaret Busby:
- Background: Writer, Broadcaster, Literary critic, founder of Allison and Busby publisher.
- Advice: It’s amazing what people can accomplish if they don’t care who takes the credit.
61) James Corden:
- Background: Actor, presenter, writer
- Advice: Search for the thing you are good at and then don’t stop. If you don’t give up, you will never fail.
62) Nicola Sturgeon:
- Background: Scotland’s First Minister, Ranked as second most powerful woman in the UK by Forbes.
- Advice: Stand-up for what you believe in, and speak in your own voice, in your own words, in a way that makes sense to you.
63) Bill Gates:
- Background: Founder of Microsoft, Philanthropist
- Advice: Foster a love for reading- it’s a gateway to everything else and allows curiosity to follow its natural course. Start as early as you can and keep on reading.
64) Patrisse Khan:
- Background: Artist, freedom fighter, Co-founder of Black Lives Matter.
- Advice: Stay healthy- do whatever you need to do to be fit, eat well and exercise. Stay strong to be in the fight for long.
65) David Eagleman:
- Background: Neuroscientist, author of eight books, founder of four tech-start ups and Silicon Valley’s go-to guy.
- Advice: Stay aware of the vastness of ignorance- there is so much we don’t know. Listen to the inner voice that says- “I really know very little about what’s happening here”, that humility will help you learn.
66) Laila Ali:
- Background: Most successful female boxer in history.
- Advice: Look fear in the eyes and say- I am coming for you.
67) Niklas Zennström:
- Background: Founder of Kazaa and Skype
- Advice: Don’t just do what everyone else is doing, be contrarian. Challenge the current way of doing something- not only will that be more exciting, but will also give you some sense of mission and purpose.
68) Caitlyn Jenner:
- Background: Winner of gold medal at 1976 Summer Olympics, referred as the ultimate American male
- Advice: Wake up in the morning and be yourself. Live your life unashamed of who you are without any burden of secrets.