Have just woken up to a new day. First day in New York out of many. It’s raining and it’s Monday, but that doesn’t bother me. I’m living in of the oldest houses on Manhattan and Central Park 14 floors beneath me. Marilyn Monroe used to leave here! Unbelievable. So what big thoughts, what big goals can I conquer whilst being here? I’ll keep you posted. Meeting with my publicist tomorrow, that’s one step. C u around!

Have you had enough of the volcano yet? I have. For the moment I’ve missed 3 flight connections, 1 Book Fair, 3 public speaking events etc etc. I know that in the big picture it’s nothing. Since I’ve had alot of time on my hand now, I’ve been pondering  about human existence or at least my own. Making me realise that to the public I’m nothing if I can’t fly and appear on different stages. So I have to make it where I am for the moment, meaning dig where I stand. Today I’ve for instance spent time at a refugee centre, talking to immigrants. I would never have met them if it wasn’t for the volcano.  Can you say Eyjafjallajokull? It’s pronounced ay-yah-FYAH’-plah-yer-kuh-duhl 

‘How to keep cool if you lose your job’ by Kathryn Jackson, published by Shaol Bay Books,2009.

In the “old days” people often stayed with the same employer all their life. Today is a totally different scenario where we find ourselves working on different projects and when one project finishes we need to find another way of earning our income. It’s quite a stressful way of living.

Kathryn Jackson’s book starts from her own experience when she was made redundant from her job in Scotland and she discusses the pain of not having a job to go to and the thought of feeling useless, etc.  Kathryn was made redundant many times and has taken from her experiences and that of others to put this book together. The book is offering both a solution for the hurt soul and practical, creative tools to find a new job.

What I like about this book is all the practical tools that she offers and that one can feel the author’s genuine heartfelt experience related to being unemployed. This book should be a “must” for anyone who has been unemployed for a long period of time and needs an injection of new ideas in their search for a new livelihood.  I think, because of all it’s merits it’s a shame that it was sloppily edited. A proof reader and an editor would have given this book 10 out of 10, however now it sadly ends with a 6.5 stars rating.

‘The Art Of Raw Living food’ by Doreen Virtue & Jenny Roos, Hay House 2009

Well one has to admit that Doreen Virtue is going from strength to strength. She previously only wrote books about angels but now she has moved over to the food industry. Great. I have personally been thinking for some time to go from being a vegetarian of 22 years to only eating raw food. That’s how I got this book into my hands.

The pictures are what makes this book utterly beautiful and a joy to read. As I have been a vegetarian for so long, I have a great deal of knowledge about food, nutrition, vitamins, etc, as I have always had to make sure that I have enough proteins and carbs since I don’t eat bread for instance. However, I can’t help thinking that without my own knowledge on the subject I would have been a bit lost in reading this book. Even though it produces plenty of inspiring recipes with fruits, vegetables and nuts it lacks a serious medical discussion about eventual ricks of only eating raw food. Everything is presented so beautifully with almost seducing pictures that the hard facts seem to be forgotten. I would not recommend anyone to make a serious decision from purely reading this book. However, if you want new inspiring & healthy recipes this is a great book to have close to your salad bowl. I mean who can resist a fig smoothie, almond cheese, pumpkin pie or maple-pistachio cookies? Yummi!!!!

Due to lack of serious medical discussion, but thanks to the wonderful images I give this book 7 stars.

ABC Radio ‘SmartArtz’

On Friday, I had the wonderful opportunity to be interviewed by  Scott Levi and Yianni Johns live on ABC Radio “SmartsArts programme. We had a great time chatting about all number of topics especially with regards to my latest book “From Nobel prize to Ride on mower”. Discussed the possibility of my own segment on the subject of  ‘Private Economy’. Very excited about this opportunity. Will keep you all informed! I will post the podcast of recording of the show asap!

“Most people are so busy looking for the right person in their life, the right job, the right house and the everlasting happiness, that they forget to look in the only place they can find it…within.”    Gunilla Miranda

Extract from ‘Nobel Prize to Ride-On Mower’ p47

A New Book!

I have been contacted by Olle Olson, http://www.sensodetect.se, to write a book together about innovation companies. Initially this book will be written for the Swedish market, but we also see possibilities to adjust it to many other countries as well. The book is both a handbook for the innovator and how to deal with investors, patent, market plans and economy. We will also explore all pitfalls and how to get around them. More news about the book in my coming newsletters! Don’t forget to subscribe via my website http://gunillamiranda.com

If you are thinking about starting a company and have limited experience from business life, then Steven Little’s book “The 7 irrefutable rules of small business growth” is a valuable companion. Steve Little has for many years been a guru if not the guru for small companies.

Little starts off with killing a few myths. One of them, which I always believed in, is that small business practically creates most of the jobs in the U.S (and Australia). However, it turns out that over an 11 year period, the percentage of people who works for companies with less than 99 employees has fallen with 8 percent. During the same period, people working for companies with more than 500 employees, has increased with 7 percent. So much for that belief.

Thereafter Little identifies the 10 “I’s” of effective growth entrepreneurs. It is probably here that I start to be a bit bored. It takes a lot of looking in to dictionaries to find all these words starting with I and then apply them to business growth, but Little manage that like no one else I know of or maybe it is because I’m jealous and doesn’t possess all of these qualities. Who knows?

What I like in the book is all the cases. It makes it more real and vivid. It breaks up the reading as well since they interwove in the text. Little also write in entertaining way and sometimes with a sarcastic tone that I like. This book is probably a good companion for entrepreneurs like me, who has taken some steps towards business growth. The only problem is that entrepreneurs often want to create instead of reading books and therefore might miss a few valuable tips.

So I’ve been waiting for his next book. Looking out for it in the book stores every time I’ve been there. Suddenly it’s there, Mitch Albom’s new book, “Have a little faith” (HarperCollins). I rush home to read it. It begins with an unusual request that Albom gets from an 82-year-old rabbi: to deliver his eulogy. Albom wants to understand the rabbi better and starts to visit him, which throws him back into a world of faith he’d left years ago. Meanwhile, closer to his current home, Albom becomes involved with a Detroit pastor – a reformed drug dealer and convict – who preaches to the poor and homeless in a decaying church with a hole in its roof.

As usual the book is well written, easy to read, describes the character in detail and there is a strong story that needs to be told. However, this time Albom doesn’t manage to move me as he did for instance in “Tuesdays with Morries” I continue to read and before I know it, it’s over.

I think the main difference in this book is that the reader is an observer instead of participating in the book. Like seeing a drama at the theatre but having a veil in front of your face. It never gets close to me even though I have great respect for Albom’s realisation that there is a unity between the Jewish and Christian world.

Yes, I’m a bit disappointed not so much in this book, but how long I have to wait to experience the same sensation as I did with “Tuesdays with Morries”.

I have had a exciting time at the recent Frankfurt Book Fair, launching my latest book ‘From Nobel prize to Ride On Mower.’  The fair itself is the biggest book fair in the world – with more than 7,000 exhibitiors from over 100 countries, so it was a wonderful opportunity to share my story with a global audience.Since we have had a great deal of interest in translation rights for the book. Very promising!