This Book Changed My Life

Love is the Killer App; How to Win Business and Influence Friends by Tim Sanders was given to me by one of my good friends, Ray Kniphuisen. It’s changed how I read every book. It’s a book I often recommend to others. I’m going to share with you some of the key points and notes that have been most valuable to me.

Using White Space

Tim suggests ruining your books by underlining anything that resonates with you and then to rewrite what you underline in the white space (blank pages) at the beginning and end of the book.

The Cliffing Process

Tim calls this cliffing. Cliffing is the process of writing down notes or quotables from the book in the white spaces at the front and back of the book. When you write it, put the page number next to your note so that you can easily reference back to the location your note came from (for additional context). You may not be able to let others borrow your book after reading it because of your notes.

Merely underlining isn’t enough for your brain to absorb information that you read. Re-writing it adds an extra connection that helps you remember that information.

Reread a Book in 20 Minutes

Once you have read a book, underlined, and wrote notes at the beginning and end, you can later (maybe even years later) feel as if you reread the entire book just by reading your notes.

Read More Below or Watch This Video

Trust

Page 49 – is what Tim calls ‘the love cat way’.

“Trying to change a biz person is difficult. Trying to change someone who doesn’t trust you is impossible.”

Of course, we know how important trust is, but I made a note about this as a reminder about how important trust is when trying to accomplish anything with other people.

Evangelizing

Page 95 – helps with getting more value from the books you read.

“The earlier you learn to evangelize a book, the more you will profit from it.”

This is all about telling others about the books that you read along with what you learned from reading the book. This is exactly why I am writing about this book today. I am squeezing additional value out of this book that I read years ago, just by reading my notes and telling you about it.

Give Away Your Contacts

Page 115 – is about how to take your networking to the next level.

“The purpose of collecting contacts is to give them away.”

Some people hold their contacts close to them as a prize possession. To add to this, Tim says,

“Instead of one plus one equaling two, it equals two to infinity.”

There is no greater feeling than connecting two people who need to be connected. The joy I receive is almost overwhelming to me when I can be a part of connecting two people who need to be connected.

Connect Fast

Page 132 – is more about effectiveness when networking.

“The faster I make a match, the less time others have to think of me as being calculating.”

Have you ever had someone connect you with someone but it feels like they are simply going through the motions so that they can fill a quota? There are some networking groups that unintentionally cause this behavior. It’s terrible and can damage a reputation when forcing something that doesn’t fit.

On the other hand, when someone connects me with someone else quickly, it feels more authentic. It feels like they genuinely feel that who they are connecting me with is a good match. I’ve even had people make the call immediately while I am still there. Do you think I am following up with that person? Absolutely!

How Are You?

Page 167 – is about having compassion for others.

“When asked, ‘How are you?’ answer with ‘I am only okay if you are okay’. “

It can be easy to simply respond with “I’m okay”, but to go to a new level of thinking of others by sharing that you want them to be okay too causes you to find out how others are doing. I don’t know that I would actually say “I am only okay if you are okay.” That does not sound natural for me, but this reminds me not to be so self-absorbed with me but to sincerely find out how the other person I am talking to is doing.

Take Action

Page 176 – is about taking action.

“Be spontaneous. The longer you take to think compassion through, the less credible is its ultimate expression.”

I have talked myself out of taking action more than I care to admit. I’ll have an impulse to do something for someone or to call them up to see how they are doing only to think it through and convince myself that I really don’t need to do it. I have really worked on this in the last several years. Honestly, when I take action, I never regret it. However, I look back at my inaction later and regret not pushing forward. Can you relate?

What will you do?

• Have you read this book? If so, what are some of your key notes?
• Which of the notes did I share in this post speak to you?
• What action does this post inspire you to take?

Let us know in the comments.