Playing Books

In this episode of  Playing Books , we dive deep into the revised and updated edition of the groundbreaking #1 New York Times bestseller  The Startup of You: Adapt, Take Risks, Grow Your Network, and Transform Your Career  by Reid Hoffman (LinkedIn co-founder) and Ben Casnocha (venture capitalist). This isn’t another career-advice cliché. It’s a masterclass in thinking like an entrepreneur—whether...

What does it take to turn a single dime store into the largest retail empire in the world? In this episode of Playing Books, we dive into  Sam Walton: Made in America —the candid and inspiring autobiography of Walmart’s legendary founder. Sam Walton wasn’t born into wealth. He built his success from grit, determination, and the heartland values of hard work, honesty, and thrift. In his own words,...

Are you hunting for a job, dreaming of a career change, or simply longing to make your daily work feel more meaningful? You're not alone. In this transformative episode of Playing Books, we dive into one of the most influential career guides ever written: Richard N. Bolles's What Color Is Your Parachute? With over ten million copies sold, this book is far more than a manual for writing resumes and...

This episode dives into the profound financial lessons learned from Robert Kiyosaki's 'Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What The Rich Teach Their Kids About Money--That The Poor & The Middle Class Do Not.' We'll unpack the core philosophy of having your money work for you, rather than solely working for money. Discover how Kiyosaki's unique upbringing, influenced by two contrasting father figures – his own...

How does the son of a flamboyant, bigamous snake-oil salesman become history's first billionaire and one of its greatest philanthropists? John D. Rockefeller, Sr., is one of the most monumental and enigmatic figures in American history. Was he the cold-blooded monster who built a ruthless monopoly on the backs of his rivals? Or was he a quirky, devout, and misunderstood man who gave away his immen...

What if the secret to career success, influence, and opportunity isn’t talent, luck, or even hard work—but the people you surround yourself with? In  Never Eat Alone, Expanded and Updated , Keith Ferrazzi reveals how the world’s most successful leaders—from CEOs to cultural icons—leverage authentic relationships to get ahead. In this episode, we uncover Ferrazzi’s bold strategies for transforming...

Welcome to another practical episode of the Playing Books podcast. This episode is a conversation about John Gray’s Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus: A Practical Guide for Improving Communication and Getting What You Want in Your Relationships The Core Differences: Understand the key distinctions in how men and women communicate, process emotions, and express their needs, guided by Gray's f...

Welcome to another practical episode of the Playing Books podcast. We discuss the autobiography of Lee Iacocca, a man whose name became synonymous with resilience, innovation, and decisive leadership in the American automotive industry. From his groundbreaking creation of the Mustang at Ford to orchestrating the miraculous turnaround of Chrysler, Iacocca's life is a masterclass in overcoming adver...

This practical episode uncovers the fundamental longing in every human, the need and development of relationships with others.  Since infancy, everyone lives with the desire to relate to others. No one can outgrow this principal desire. We want meaningful human connections. We may think we need more money, a beautiful house, a high-paying job, influential position, but underneath that is the burni...

Welcome to the Playing Books podcast, where we offer practical episodes from bestselling books to challenge you to sustain a healthy self-esteem and expend all your potential in making yourself, loved ones, and the world a lot better. Using the story of Adam and Eve, women continue to symbolize everything evil and stressful. You hear the phrase, ‘Fear women’ in conversations about women to emphasi...

Negative experiences, a bitter past, a bleak future, laziness, people’s opinions, fear, selfishness, loneliness, frustration, and confusion often provide people with compelling reasons to accept whatever life throws their way. They’ve accepted and adjusted to poverty, a manageable health condition, dissatisfaction, and constant complaints. Consequently, living at the mercy of life and circumstance...

Have you been following your passion in your career? Are you having true fulfillment in your career? Don't you have dissatisfaction from failing to utilize your personality, skills, experience, education, and expertise? Layoffs. Job insecurity. Competitive job market. Massive unemployment. New graduates flooding the job market. Have any of these and other reasons prevented you from pursuing, getti...

Discover the extraordinary lives of the women who shaped the American West in our latest podcast episode, Heroic, Courageous, & Intelligent Ways American Pioneer Women Survived the Wild West: Strength, Sacrifice, Stories, & Lessons for Modern Life. Inspired by William W. Fowler's American Frontier, this episode explores the often-overlooked heroism and resilience of these pioneering mother...

Do abuses from past relationships influence your emotions and shape your identity? Do you truly empathize with others? Do you feel guilty when you’re indifferent at critical moments? Or are people already judging you for being nosy? Do you have personal stories you’ve left unfinished, and what feelings come up when you think about the stories you haven’t concluded? This episode explores emotional...

This episode is not for reading, discussion, or entertainment. It is for those who earnestly desire success, wealth, influence, and power. Do you have a clear purpose, and do you want to achieve it? Then, this episode is for you. Toil. Labor. Sweat. Long waits. Disappointments. Betrayals. Discomfort. Relationships. Education. Skills. Inheritance. Experience. Background. Location. Each of these pla...

This episode is practical, relatable, and helpful. Life depends so much on dealing with people. Relating to others influences emotions, health, finances, decisions, faith, and the future. This episode will help you better understand yourself and people. You will learn how to determine the personality of people, whether they are Red, Blue, Green, or Yellow, and communicate and relate with them acco...

Welcome to another practical and applicable episode of the Playing Books podcast. Seeking or affirming the validation of at least one person or some people can largely influence our entire life, decisions, choices, food, accommodation, purchases, education, career, and relationships, like marriage. Living this way is bondage. This episode discusses how to accept yourself and have the courage to be...

This is a reflective episode. The 2025 Fourth of July Independence Day celebrations have just concluded. Flag parades, barbecues, and fireworks followed the observance. Everyone seems well, happy, hopeful, grateful, and eager to see what the United States will bring to them and the world. We often forget that each time people gather to celebrate any major national holiday in the US, some citizens...

Since untapped talents, unwritten books, unsung songs, unstarted enterprises, unfulfilled destinies, unbacked mission, and other unused human endowments collectively make the grave the wealthiest place with wealth unparalleled by the oil-rich Middle East and other affluent regions worldwide, this episode presents revolutionary concepts to dare, harness, and utilize human talents and resources in a...

This podcast is practical. Your outdated ignorance and assumptions have come a long way enough. Labeling people, assuming there is a them and us, and other biases should come to light for your admission, then, accepting the facts and learning how to be factful in looking at people and things. Ignorance and assumptions prevent the mind from learning the truth about the world, which affects relation...

We have an exceptional, practical, and useful episode for you. Emergencies, sudden violence, looting, massive protests, tornadoes, fire, fuel scarcity, and food crises might only get worse. Shouldn't you have a trusted plan, preparation, and an in-house safe place when any of this hits? In the past, people reserved gas for getting away to distant lands where no trace of the disorder they escaped f...

Everyone cherishes the idea of healthy living without fear of falling sick, dealing with any diagnosis, having anxieties over medical expenses, and going through painful remedy processes. But in reality, only a handful even in advanced countries eat right, avoid smoking, and excessive alcohol; regularly exercise, and speak healthy or positive words on formal and informal bases. Studies show that i...

Why didn't Nikola Tesla win the Nobel Prize? Why hasn't the Nobel Committee awarded him posthumously? What is Tesla's legacy? Was Tesla wealthy? Did Tesla invent anything extraordinary? Why is Tesla referred to as the prophet of the electronic age? This episode lets Tesla speak for himself. Based on Nikola Tesla's My Inventions: The Autobiography of Nikola Tesla, this podcast goes far back to Tesl...

Big conflicts didn't start big. They started small. Small conflicts often went unresolved and escalated into larger conflicts. This podcast is about dealing with small to big conflicts. The episode offers reliable insights, tactics, strategies, and experience for high-stakes negotiations, deals, contracts, critical conversations, and game-changing standoffs. However, the application extends beyond...

This podcast discusses the greatest obstacle to lasting success and fulfillment for anyone: ego. Ego leads to self-deception, stagnation, and irreversible defeat, in contrast to humility, which nurtures a positive attitude, opens doors, empowers, and results in continuous victories.  Discover why Ryan Holiday uses historical examples to emphasize the importance of combating this fearsome foe, ego....