Biju Jayaraaj's self help book, "Conquer Your World: 10 steps to a better you" is unique in the sense it is compact, precise, doable with worksheets after each chapter to enable you to take "small consistent action" and monitor progress for ensuring success. The 10 steps are enumerated in 10 chapters written in simple jargon free language, with live examples from day to day life including personal ones from the life of the author.
The steps discussed are (1) Focusing on daily effort breaking goals into manageable tasks (2) Creating 'real' happiness for those around you rather than merely ' preventing unhappiness' (3) Developing a correct approach to priorities in life (4) Being 'good' rather than 'neutral' while dealing with life circumstances (5) Importance and the art of eliciting ' Commitment' instead of just a 'Promise' from everyone you are dealing with (6) Power of initiative and acting without waiting to be told (7) Managing egos of others by saying 'Yes' initially (8) Art of offering help genuinely (9) Managing our moods through effectively utilizing the five senses and (10) Making new mistakes that give insights to succeed.
The book offers valuable insights into life in general that we tend to ignore or have taken for granted. The examples are from work scenarios and personal lives that any one can relate to be it a high school student, a working professional or one who has retired from service. To give readers a taste of the content, let us take a look at how the author distinguishes a 'Promise' from a 'Commitment'. A promise is often made in response to somebody else's request.
A commitment on the other hand is a decision that comes from within. Here Biju gives an example of an interaction between a mother and her teenaged daughter who is going out with her friends. "Be home by 7 Pm " says mother and daughter replies "Yes". This is a promise. Now instead of the above conversation, if the mother said "What time do you plan to be home?" and the daughter replies "8 PM". Here, she has made a commitment as the decision was made by the daughter. If the mother adds one more line "Don't be late", the 'commitment' has now been converted into a 'promise'!
The blurb introduces the author, Biju Jayaraaj as "an entrepreneur and motivational speaker who has experience in India, middle East and US leading diverse teams from over 24 nationalities". What I liked most about the book was that the author has eschewed high brow scholarly language but instead chosen to convey his ideas clearly and simply, reiterating them as summary at end of each chapter.
I would like to conclude this review with a remark on the title. It talks not about "conquering the world" but "Conquering your world". This has been clarified by the author in the preface that it is all about measuring success by your own standards and not by someone else's standards. Each person is unique with different aspirations, struggles and victories. True success is about defining your own understanding of success and pursuing it relentlessly.
The book can be ordered on Amazon through this Link
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