I love the character Jack Reacher created by the author Lee Child. He's 6"5, ex-military sniper and police, he's all muscle and even though he is getting older - which makes him a bit older than me ;-), he's is pretty 'hot' - muscly, scarred (physically as well as emotionally which makes him a bit of a cynic) and fit.... He's an action-packed, no nonsense, sensible, logical, funny kind of guy - nothing like the short version - played by Tom Cruise in the blockbuster movie earlier this year.... So I was totally wrapt to come across a book called Reacher's Rules: Life Lessons from Jack Reacher - because the character is waaaaaaay cool - and the stuff he manages to do in these books are awesome!! Anyway here are some of my favourite life lessons that are taken from thousands of Lee Child pages:
WHEN TO SPEAK
Jack Reacher is the consumate 'silent type' letting his actions do a lot of his talking, and only when totally necessary so these lessons are abour the power of keeping your 'trap' closed ;-)."*If in doubt say nothing *Keeping your mouth shut is a devastating weapon *Your silence will make your opponent want to babble *You need a reason for speech but need more for silence." p 140
HOW TO TELL IF THEY'RE LYING
Jack Reacher relies on his training and years of honed observation of human nature and body language to get him through some tricky situations. This is how to do it: "*A liar usually has all the signs on display, gulps, false starts, stammers and fidgets. * A truthful person is perfectly capable of saying no, but generally they stop and think about it first. The one who says no immediately is usally lying... * The memory centre is in the left brain, the imagination in the rigt - so a glance to the left generally mneans they're remembering things, to the right their making stuff up." p 94
CONQUER YOUR FEAR
Reacher isn't scared of anybody and carved his way out of tight spots based on his ability to think ahead. His lessons: "*Focus on the job in hand. * A courageous guy is someone who feels the fear but conquers it. *Confront your enemies. *Take things exactly as they come, for exactly what they are and the best one *Sometimes if you want to know it the stove is hot the ony way to find out is to touch it." pp 29-30
HOW TO SHAKE HANDS
The combative grip - Right at the last split second pull your hand back a fraction and close around the knuckles, not the palm. The old army trick is that they go to shake your hand, but they're aiming to crush it. A macho ritual. The way out of it is to be ready. Pull back a fraction and squeeze back. Squeeze their knuckles, not the meat of their palm. Their grip is neutralized. They never stand a chance." - I know, helpful isn't it :-) p 61
BE PREPARED
*"Hope for the best, plan for the worst. *Never count on anything except surprise and unpredictability and danger. *Ring doorbells with your knuckles or elbows to avoid leaving fingerprints. [I know - thank me later ;-)] *Keep all exits in view. *Walk up the edge of stairs to minimize the changes of loud creaks. Stairs squeak at their centres where they're weakest." p 13
It's a great little book of 160 pages of pure Jack Reacher gems and I love it ;-)
Yours in friendship,
Mxo
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