Mindfire: Big Ideas for Curious Minds Paperback – October 26, 2011

I had read and thoroughly enjoyed Scott Berkun's "Confessions of a Public Speaker", which is among the first books I'd recommend on the subject, but I haven't followed his blog regularly. This isn't because his writing isn't consistently entertaining and insightful -- it absolutely is -- but only because things slip off of my radar. I'm glad I found his latest work, which reminds me why I consider him a favorite. "Mindfire" is a remarkably easy to read, concise distillation of his perspective on a wide range of topics. As others have said, I didn't resonate with every view he conveyed, but his writing aspires to be thought-provoking above all. Where other authors may use the opportunity to pepper their views with self-aggrandizing anecdotes, Scott's writing is a study of self-effacing humility. This creates an unusually honest style that makes him also seem very accessible -- someone who'd be genuinely interested in engaging in a discussion of the issues he raised in his book and learning from it, rather than doggedly defending his ideas. I also enjoyed the format of his essays, which were long enough to develop independent ideas, but short enough to convey his points briefly. In contrast with some books that seem like one idea bloated into an unnecessarily long format, I felt as if "Mindfire" contained many worthwhile insights in one book -- which I found quite efficient. Finally, I appreciated that his work was self-published and involved some risk. For someone who talks about overcoming our cultivated fear of failure, it's refreshing that he follows his own advice and pursues a less conventional approach for "Mindfire", which I was certainly happy to support with my purchase. I need to remember to spend more time at his website.

This book is just a blog compilation backed up by kickstarter project.But Scott is really a serious guy when it comes to making things happens.Provoking, intelligent, entertaining. If only he would put some more fun in this thing...Not the best. But if you have time for a thought-generating book, give it a try.

One of the most thought provoking books I've read in a long time, Scott Berkun's Mindfire is well worth an investment of your time. From the title(based on Emerson's reference to the creative mind as a fire) to the epilogue, the book is filled with essays about topics of interest to any and all readers who are willing to truly "think" about where their ideas came from and perhaps even be willing to challenge them. For starters, there's the essay entitled "How to Be a Free Thinker," a personal favorite.The writing is clear, crisp, and easy to understand. As a psychology instructor at a community college, I'm accustomed to reading texts and other types of psychological literature that is often pedantic and ponderous. Berkun's writing is so refreshing juxtaposed to my usual fare! Simple and deep at the same time, the essays provoked my thinking without using a lot of obscure jargon.As a teacher, I'm always on the prowl for ideas to use in my classes, and I found several in Mindfire. For starters, I used this quote as a discussion prompt when covering factors affecting longevity: "A funny thing about the human mind is that it tends to believe what it wants to believe....We worry about snakes, or getting on airplanes, when the real threats to longevity are cheeseburgers, chocolate shakes and long hours lounging on the couch." While the text said basically the same way, it didn't carry quite the same punch.All of the essays are fantastic, and I hope to incorporate ideas from them into my courses next semester...and into my thinking for the rest of my life.

There is very little new in this book, and yet it is a wonderful book to read. In Mindfire, Scott Berkun notes that all creative ideas build on earlier ideas and that is certainly true of the essays inside. In a literal sense, the book collects and polishes some of his best existing essays and, philosophically, they build upon a gamut of introspective wisdom derived from many sources. What Mindfire does particularly well is deliver this wisdom in a slim, balanced collection of essays that brings a light tone to deep thoughts.I enjoyed the first section best and thought it did the most to challenge my habits of thought, not with new insights, really, but with a fresh call to put those insights into action. [Favorite: "How to be a free thinker"] The second section opened similarly but then meandered a bit with essays that mused more and inspired less. I enjoyed the essays, but the call to action was weaker. [Favorite: "My surprise inspiration: Death"] The third section felt most prescriptive and the essays were generally longer. Each was great individually, but after the wonderful first section, this third section seemed to lecture more and enlighten less. [Favorite: "Creative thinking hacks"]To be clear -- these are the relative strengths and weaknesses of an overall excellent book of essays. I highlighted dozens of passages throughout and every essay had at least something interesting or fun to take away. Sometime just a turn of phrase was enough to make me smile inside. My favorite quote came near the end: "Integrity is the proximity of your beliefs to your actions". Indeed. Thank you, Scott, for sharing your beliefs with us.

I found Scott after a Google search looking for people talking about how most humans are not communicating or thinking very presently. I watched his Ted talk first and found him relaxed. Simply being himself. I found his book to be very similiar. I'm living this way entirely, alone and deep so for me it was hearing him share in his own voice about these ideas.

Delivers on what it states, interesting ideas that had me excited to keep picking it up and reading more. Not a life changing read, nor super inspiring, but It was a great read a great ideas that have been well written. would love to see a part II !

Gets you thinking outside the box of the boring norm. Well written. Concise. Easy to follow. Addictive. Short essays that don't bore.

This book is all about looking at most things from a different standpoint, revealing some valuable truth. Even so most of the content was not totally new for me, it is still very good to read it in such a condensed way and to remember what I sometimes already forgot to care about.If you love to reflect about common knowledge and question it, this book is for you, providing nice new insights. Grab a copy!

Incredible book! A must read! Really great insights by Berkun. I do not agree with everything he says in the book, but, nevertheless, it's amazing!