The Hindu Business Line : Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers

Take the whole responsibility on your own shoulders, and know that you are the creator of your own destiny, said Swami Vivekananda. And Brian Tracy may agree. For, his book is titled Create Your Own Future, from Wiley India (www.wileyindia.com). It lists 12 critical factors to help. First factor says, `your potential is unlimited.' Your greatest limits are not external, but internal, within your own thinking, says Tracy. Not too different from the exhortation of Richard Bach in Jonathan Livingston Seagull: "Your whole body, from wingtip to wingtip, is nothing more than your thought itself, in a form you can see. Break the chains of your thought... "

Principle 2, "Clarity is critical." That is, know exactly what you want. "The primary reason for underachievement and failure is fuzziness and confusion about goals." Next factor, "Knowledge is power." Expand your knowledge by reading, advises Tracy. "Perhaps not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers."

Highly motivational.

Accounting for music rights

There aren't any specific standards to allocate costs and revenues for music rights, says Vanita Kohli-Khandekar in The Indian Media Business, from Response (www.indiasage.com). "The cost of an album or a piece of music can be allocated to the number of copies of the album produced in the first instance and charged to the revenue account in proportion to the units sold," reads one of the suggestions in the book. Alternatively, the company may decide to write off the entire amount paid, saying that there is no guarantee of full recovery.

"For example, if Sony-BMG writes off the entire Rs 60 million it paid for the rights of Lagaan in 2001 then the profits for 2001 will naturally be lower than they actually are." What about advances paid to artistes and others against future royalty? "Such advances are usually guaranteed minimum payable and hence non-refundable. These are treated as assets and amortised over the period of the contract," notes the author. She devotes chapters to different forms of media such as press, TV, film, radio, telecommunications and Internet.

Informative read.

Car alive in a watery cave

Sheila and Anirudh ride their bikes down the mountain slope, right up to the river. Behind "a huge boulder, resting about six feet above the level of the water," is what they're after: The Jaguar, in a cave! "It looked as though someone had driven it inside and parked it here many, many years ago and then forgotten all about it," narrates Anirudh. "It was rusty and corroded... the once beautiful chrome wire wheels were all twisted and broken." But something was unusual: "Its headlamps were blazing and the red taillights glowed eerily... Steam was still hissing from under the long bonnet."

Catch up with action in Ranjit Lal's The Red Jaguar on the Mountain, from Wisdom Tree (www.wisdomtreeindia.com).

Tailpiece

"I wish they connected our village's electrical lines to the VIP constituency's."

"Why?"

"To ensure uninterrupted power supply!"

http://BookPeek.blogspot.com

D. Murali

More Stories on : Books | Management | Reading Room

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page