Simple facts of life

There is something to be said about Robin Sharma's writing. Did you know that there was a time when Sharma would actually carry his books and cycle from shop to shop in a bid to distribute them? Or the fact that Robin Sharma's dad would tell him that it was okay to save money on rent and food, but not on books. That is honestly, one of the wisest statements I have ever come across. No wonder Robin Sharma today, is a name to reckon with in the publishing field.

The thing about Sharma's books is that they are so simple to read. Sharma's books are hardly jumbo size with fine print filling up each page. Like all his books 'The Greatness Guide' is a book that can well be used as a reference guide. Perhaps, the most remarkable thing about Sharma's writing is that the advice offered within his books is hardly rocket science.

Get up early, work hard, do something to make the world a better place� Yet there is certain earnestness in Robin's writing that is hard to ignore. Also, thanks to the little reading I've done I can instantly tell when a writer has done his research and Robin Sharma most certainly has.

Donald Trump gets up each morning and does extensive reading. Any guesses on which subject? Real estate? Stock Market? Or Business in general? In case you chose one of the three options, well, one would be wrong on all three counts. Donald Trump apparently gets up an hour early to read up on history.

Since this billionaire tycoon truly believes that history has a way of repeating itself. When I read this for the first time, I almost found it bizarre, but the fact that even multi-million dollar authors like Robin Sharma also feel the same way, says something isn't it?

Moving on to the next book, Malcolm Gladwell's 'The Tipping Point' has so many facets to it, even if I were to review this book 40 times, I probably wouldn't be able to do it justice. For instance, did you know that in a certain murder case in America, a woman was murdered in broad day light and there were actually 38 people who witnessed the incident? Shockingly, not one came forward to prevent the murder.

Gladwell, actually, goes on to explain that when there are other people witnessing a gory incident along with us, we are less likely to be pro active. True isn't it? At a subconscious level, we all feel that since there are others, someone is bound to step forward and help. I still remember the time when we had this 'live-in couple' in our apartment complex, both of whom would work in the night shift at a call center.

There was this one time when around ten in the morning we heard a woman loudly crying somewhere near the basement and like every middle class neighbourhood, within half an hour everyone had gathered in their respective balconies, to watch the drama unfold. Apparently the man had raised his hand on the woman and was physically trying to throw her out of the house.

When he again came threateningly towards her, my mom was the only one who hurriedly went downstairs to prevent the fight from escalating. The 40 odd people who stood watching pretended that they were mere spectators in some reality show.

In fact, when the woman was getting manhandled for the third time, I tried to raise an alarm only to be met with a partly amused yet uncomfortable silence from the crowd. Much like the dialogue 'nobody likes to get their hands dirty, cleaning crap' in the movie 'Rang De Basanti'. Though watching crap is fine. Such hypocrisy, really!

Finally, we have Bill Cosby's 'Fatherhood' which is a book that is a perfect present for a new dad. Using a quote from a blurb that Chetan Bhagat's first book had, this particular book is also '159 pages of pure fun. Read this book, Cosby's writing style is simply inimitable!

Like all his books, Robin Sharma's 'The Greatness Guide' is a book that can well be used as a reference guide. Perhaps, the most remarkable thing about Sharma's writing is that theA advice offered within his books is hardly rocket science