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Book Review: Brief Answers To The Big Questions by Stephen Hawking

By Amazon, Books & Authors, NatureNo Comments
Reading Time: 2 minutes
brief-answers-to-the-big-questions-stephen-hawking-book-cover Brief Answers To The Big Questions brings together a range of talks and presentations delivered by Stephen Hawking to answer these ten questions:

1. Is there a God?
2. How did it all begin?
3. Is there other intelligent life in the universe?
4. Can we predict the future?
5. What is inside a black hole?
6. Is time travel possible?
7. Will we survive on Earth?
8. Should we colonise space?
9. Will artificial intelligence outsmart us?
10. How do we shape the future?

Hawking starts by telling his story. Here’s a quote that I think is fantastic:

‘One of the great revelations of the space age has been the perspective it has given humanity on ourselves as a whole. We see the unity, and not the divisions. It is such a simple image with a compelling message; one planet, one human race.’
(From: Brief Answers To The Big Questions by Stephen Hawking, page 4, 2018)

Hawking discusses physics, mathematics, general relativity, thermodynamics and quantum physics. He explains on the laws of the universe and science, and what we know and don’t know.

Hawking makes predictions for the future and not just ones related to particle physics or the science we don’t yet understand. He makes predictions about the future of the human race. The first half of the book is science-heavy, almost like Hawking was flexing his academic knowledge and showing what he knows. The latter half of the book is more about inspiration, imagination and hope for the future.

Hawking explains scientific concepts in an engaging way, that stretches the mind of the reader and writes with passion that pours off the page.

You can buy Brief Answers To The Big Questions by Stephen Hawking on Amazon.

Blog soon,

Antony

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Tuesday 16 July 2019

Book Review: Dare To Lead by Brené Brown

By Amazon, Books & Authors, ReviewsNo Comments
Reading Time: 2 minutes

I first discovered Brené Brown when I saw this TED talk titled The Power of Vulnerability:

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Which Brown followed up with this TED Talk, Listening to Shame:

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dare-to-lead-brene-brown-book-cover So when I started on a leadership course at work, I decided to buy Dare To Lead by Brené Brown.

Dare To Lead is about leadership that is vulnerable, values-based, trusting and resilient. The book is split into four parts.

The first and biggest part is Rumbling with Vulnerability. In this section Brown discusses what vulnerability is, why it is important, myths about vulnerability, using courage to drop our armor as leaders, dealing with shame and empathy and curiosity grounded in confidence.

The second part is Living Into Our Values. Values are very important to me, so unsurprisingly this was my favorite part of the book. This section covers what our own values are, what organisational values can be and how to turn values into measurable

behaviours. The List of Values activity I completed with some of my colleagues at work and I found it an incredibly useful in terms of learning more about them and what they value. Since I have also contributed to a consultation at work around our organisational values.

The third part of the book is Braving Trust. This section of the book is all about building trust as a leader and recognising how trust is built up gradually over time and can be easily lost.

The fourth part of the book is Learning to Rise which is all about resilience. This part of the book is about recognising emotion within ourselves and others as a leader, being curious about emotions and being self-aware enough to recognise what is going on emotionally for ourselves and others.

Throughout Dare To Lead are many helpful strategies that if implemented would make you a better leader. Including strategies around: having difficult conversations, increasing self-awareness, being aware of the values of ourselves and of the people we lead, being aware of the stories we tell ourselves (that may or may not be true), how to build trust and courage in the people that you lead.

Dare To Lead is written in a way that feels like you’re having a conversation with Brown. She gives examples from her own experience and also asks open questions styled in a coaching method to encourage the reader to think about how these experiences relate to their own life.

About Brené Brown
Brené Brown is a Research Professor at the University of Huston, is a Social Worker and delivers talks and training on leadership around innovation, creativity and change. Brown has worked with Pixar (Disney) and Facebook around leadership. You can learn more about Brené Brown on her website here.

Dare To Lead by Brené Brown is available to buy on Amazon.

Review soon,

Antony

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Tuesday 9 July 2019

Book Review: The Book of English Magic by Philip Carr-Gomm & Richard Heygate

By Amazon, Books & Authors, Paganism, ReviewsNo Comments
Reading Time: 2 minutes
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View on Amazon.co.uk
 The Book of English Magic by Philip Carr-Gomm & Richard Heygate is a fascinating and comprehensive guide to English Magic, from the cave paintings of ancient man 12,000 years ago up until today.

Each chapter contains text, photos and diagrams and sections such as: Read about this Period in Fiction, Biographies of Key People, Activities (such as Hunting for Ley Lines), Stories/Experiences of People, Things To Do (including sites to visit) and a List of Resources.

In addition each chapter is extensively referenced, with a complete reference list in an Appendix at the end.

History is a topic that interests me, but even if it doesn’t interest you much, Carr-Gomm & Heygate’s passion for the topic comes through in what is a very engaging writer’s voice. Despite the book being over 500 pages long, I read it on an on and off basis, finishing it in about a month.

Some of the History of Magic is London-centric, but that’s not surprising considering historically and even today a lot of what happens is London-centric in England.

Pagans will find this brilliant book captivating and learn something new (no matter how long you’ve been a practicing pagan). This book goes into great detail about a wide range of topics including: Ley Lines, Dowsing, Druidry, Shamanism, Charms & Spells, Runes, Alchemy, Astrology, Astrological Magic, Spirits, Cunning-Folk, Herbal Remedies, Numerology, Spirit Communication, Tarot, Chaos Magic and Divination.

I would highly recommend The Book of English Magic by Philip Carr-Gomm & Richard Heygate to all. It is available to buy on Amazon and at all good book shops.

Review soon,

Antony



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Sunday 23 June 2019

June Has Been All About Mental Health Wisdom

By Amazon, Books & Authors, Happiness & Joy, HealthNo Comments
Reading Time: 3 minutes

June has been all about my book Mental Health Wisdom. Yesterday marked four months since its release. Over 70 copies have been sold, mostly in the UK. However the book has gone international, with a couple of copies sold in Germany & Australia.

The feedback from the book has been awesome. People have described it as: excellent, educational, informative, entertaining. Many have said that they have passed it on to their husband/wife/son/daughter/friends who are struggling with their mental health. Many have opened up and told me their stories of struggling, or their stories of their mental illnesses.

Before I published the book, I thought: if this book helps one person, or one person finds it useful, then all the effort, energy and time I put into the book will have been worth it. I’m proud to tell you that it has already helped more than one person.

So what have I actually done?

Local Book Club Talk – I did my first ever local book club talk. All the people at the book club were awesome, lovely and kind. Unexpectedly, everyone at the book club bought a copy of the book, meaning I sold out of my stock. I have since ordered more stock and it has been delivered.

Guest Blogger on NeedToLive – I was invited to be a Guest Blogger on NeedToLive. NeedToLive is a website aimed at supporting students around careers, education, enterprise, finance, lifestyle and well-being. I recycled some old, but still some of my favorite blog posts and sent them over. They published them all, all at once. Here are the articles they published:

Wigan & Leigh College Keynote Speaker – I was invited to be the Keynote Speaker at Wigan & Leigh College’s annual Student Conference. The presentation was titled How to Survive & Thrive.

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Image From & Copyright © Ball & Berry, 2019.

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Image From @WiganLeighCol on Twitter.

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A Tweet from Wigan & Leigh College Afterwards.

I entertained, educated and even got a couple of laughs from the audience. I’m still awaiting formal feedback from the presentation, but informal feedback has included the presentation being described as “brilliant.” They even talked about inviting me to speak at next year’s conference. They are also going to do some publicity to tell my student journey (me being a former student), which should also help promote the book.

That’s pretty much it. But I’ll leave you with a request: If you’ve already bought a copy of Mental Health Wisdom, I’d be grateful for review on Amazon or Goodreads, even if it’s just a star rating:

An Amazon review would be really appreciated. Amazon lists books with reviews higher than those without. You can leave a review in the UK here: https://amzn.to/2NRPz07

An Goodreads review would be really appreciated. You can leave a review here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44402963-mental-health-wisdom—developing-understanding-empathy?ac=1&from_search=true

Blog soon,

Antony

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Saturday 22 June 2019
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