“Psycho Cybernetics” And Other Book Recommendations.

I very often get asked for book recommendations.
After all: all my students, family, and friend all know that I’m a voracious reader.

Here are 10 books that you absolutely have to read.
Those books will help with your guitar playing, with life, with becoming more successful or just simply inspire and motivate you beyond current levels of inspiration.

These 10 books have done wonders in my life and have made my life easier, more productive, and more successful.

Pycho Cybernetics (Maxwell Maltz)
My best friend David Crocco recommended me this book a couple of years ago.
The amazing premise of the book: “All your successes, failures, hardships, disagreements, tension, and everything that happens or that doesn’t happen on your life’s journey, is the result of your self-esteem or lack thereof”.
The Power of The Subconscious Mind (Joseph Murphy)
My mom recommended that book to me when I was a teenager. I’ve read it countless times since.
Applying principles taught in this book, caused fantastic progress in my guitar playing.
This blog following explains one of those guitar successes that happened as a result of this book.
Using Visualization For Maximum Progress.
You can find out more about this amazing book here:
Secrets of Closing The Sale (Zig Ziglar)
This book might maybe be slightly dated as a sales book, but there is still a whole lot one can learn from this book.
It’s also a fun read and very motivational
Doctors, housewives, ministers, parents, teachers … everyone has to “sell” their ideas and themselves to be successful. This book is not just about “sales”: it’s about “getting what you want”, and focuses on the most essential part of the sale — how to make them say “Yes, I will!”
Extreme Ownership (Jocko Willink)
This has become one of my new favorite books.
I read it as soon as it came out last year.
The gist of this book: “Discipline = Freedom”
One of the most motivating and inspiring books I have read in years.
Focal Point (Brian Tracy)
One of my guitar alumni, Cliff Tang, recommended this book to me many years ago.
This is the one book I try to read once every year, just to make sure I stay on track with my goals.
it’s a book about focus, productivity, and getting the maximum out of your life.
“The true secret of high achievers is that they know how to find their “focal point”
Awaken The Giant Within (Tony Robbins)
I’m in love with this book.
This book will change your life forever.
The acknowledged expert in the psychology of change, Anthony Robbins provides a step-by-step program teaching the fundamental lessons of self-mastery that will enable you to discover your true purpose, take control of your life, and harness the forces that shape your destiny.
If this book doesn’t motivate and inspire you to be the best you can be, nothing else will haha. 🙂
The Power of NOW (Eckhart Tolle)
This book is a masterpiece.
I’m still as blown away by this book today, as I was when it first came out and I read it for the first time.
The description on Amazon says:
“Eckhart Tolle awakens readers to their role as a creator of pain and shows them how to have a pain-free identity by living fully in the present. The journey is thrilling, and along the way, the author shows how to connect to the indestructible essence of our Being, “the eternal, ever-present One Life beyond the myriad forms of life that are subject to birth and death.”
One of my many favorite quotes in this book: “There are no problems… only situations: a problem is what you make when a situation happens”.
This Is Your Brain on Music (Daniel Levitin)
This book is mind-blowing.
It will make you a better musician, performer, songwriter.
“This is Your Brain on Music” focuses heavily on relating music theory to how our brain works. Why do we like different kinds of music? Why is music even a part of our lives? How do we distinguish between different voices and instruments?
Levitin uses a variety of musical references to answer these questions: Bach, The Beatles, Mozart, Led Zeppelin, Ludacris.
Levitin begins the book by providing a general set of musical terms for reference: pitch, tempo, rhythm, timbre. These terms set the stage for the rest of Levitin’s book. The subsequent chapters address rhythm, the brain, anticipation, categorization, emotion and music, musical expertise, taste in music, and musical instinct respectively. Levitin infuses these chapters with personal anecdotes and different scientific and psychological studies.
Emotional Intelligence (Daniel Goleman)
I’ve read this book 3 times already.
It’s an eye-opener, it’s thought-provoking, it’s going to change your world and your life.
Everyone knows that high IQ is no guarantee of success, happiness, or virtue, but until Emotional Intelligence, we could only guess why. Daniel Goleman’s brilliant report from the frontiers of psychology and neuroscience offers startling new insight into our “two minds”—the rational and the emotional—and how they together shape our destiny.
Through vivid examples, Goleman delineates the five crucial skills of emotional intelligence and shows how they determine our success in relationships, work, and even our physical well-being. What emerges is an entirely new way to talk about being smart.
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. (Stephen Covey)
This is another life-changer.
This book is based on the idea that there must be timeless principles that are true in every circumstance and situation and apply to everyone.
The 7 habits are simple: be proactive, focus on goals/results, prioritize, pursue win/win solutions, understand others, seek synergy and renew your whole person.

Conclusion

Hit me up anytime at vreny@zotzinmusic.com if you have any questions, or if you would like to book a lesson.

These free lessons are cool, but you will never experience the progress, joy, and results that my students experience in lessons when you’re learning by yourself from blogs and videos.

That is why people take lessons: way better results and progress, much more complete information, exposed to way more creative ideas than you can get from a blog or YouTube video.
There is only so much that self-study can accomplish.

If you want to see amazing results and progress in your guitar playing, buy your first lesson here and get started ASAP.