| I try to read 1 book per week. I don’t always stick to it perfectly (for instance this year I hit 41 – possible 42 if I can finish this over the holidays), but that’s about 1 hour of intense reading each day, with 5 or 6 hours on the weekend. No, I don’t speed read. Yes, I take lots of notes. (If you ask nicely, I might share some) Reading for me is like eating. If I don’t get my fill, I feel tired and empty. With today’s constant barrage of HD, 5G, Facebook binge sessions, it’s really easy to get distracted – or insulated – by all the eye-candy out there. But reading a good book is the eye-protein we all need, whether we’re aware of it or not. So, here are the 10 most delicious mental feasts that I chewed on this past year: * 1. The Four Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss This is an easy #1. Tim Ferriss’ book was definitely the most important read for me this calendar year. FHWW radically changed how I thought about time management, building a career, and leaning into life's obstacles. There are a lot of pseudo-"lifestyle design" types out there. Tim Ferriss is not one of them. For $15, you're investing in taking back your time, life's most valuable and scarce resource. It's about re-focusing your workplace habits to let you be productive vs. simply active vs. even worse - reactive to other workers’ agendas. Ferriss' helped me increase my productivity easily 3X over where I was at this point last year. Since then I've written a book, started a blog, and stuck to a workout regimen for 8 months {unheard of for me}. His simple mental exercises and productivity techniques have made me less fearful of unforeseen obstacles and life's unknowns by maximizing time investments each day. * * 2. Casino Royale by Ian Fleming James Bond suddenly knew that he was tired. He always knew when his body or his mind had enough and he always acted on the knowledge. This helped him to avoid staleness and the usual bluntness that breeds mistakes. So begins the first mission of the now-immortalized hero, whose seductive charm and violent coldness have intrigued 3 generations. With 23 blockbusters since Sean Connery starred in the first movie: Dr. No (1962) it may come as a shock that James Bond was first a hero of literature. While serving in the British naval intelligence division during WWII, Ian Fleming declared, "I am going to write the spy story to end all spy stories." Casino Royale was that story. Fleming's writing is nearly constant acceleration. He pushes Bond deeper and faster into the underworlds of criminals, psychopaths, terrorists, and femme fatales. It's a swift edge-of-the-page story but with substance. Fleming's Bond is much deeper than the films' one-liners, sexual innuendos, and car chases make him out to be. Think more Daniel Craig's portrayal of cerebral observation, emotional vulnerability, and physical prowess. {If you're curious, my favorite movie is actually Casino Royale w/ Craig. Dr. No is a close second.} Live and Let Die, Fleming's sophomore novel is brilliant as well. His third, Moonraker, is miles above the movie. * * * 3. Trust Me, I'm Lying by Ryan Holiday Ryan Holiday is a self-described 'Media Manipulator' whose notorious marketing tactics have helped build million dollar brands - icons like national bestsellers Tucker Max (I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell), Robert Greene (The 48 Laws of Power), and Tim Ferriss (The Four Hour Work Week). His debut book is part-confessional and part-how-to. He recounts his lie-campaigns that drove millions of advertising dollars via boosting site traffic. Whether it was paying off celebrities to tweet about his clients, riling up feminist blogs to publicly boycott a client's "misogynistic" movie premiere (then tipping off local news about the rallies), or just plain making stuff up to provoke bloggers into writing his clients into the most shocking headlines possible, Ryan Holiday shows his dirty hand in full. Agree with his tactics or not, I've never read anything as potentially disturbing and true as Ryan's lies. I think that short of adopting his tactics, he's spot on with many of his concerns about news blogs and the seemingly absent presence of truthful reporting. * * * * 4. The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman I could say a lot about this book but I’ll stick to just one central idea that has stuck with me: people communicate their love in different ways regardless of how others may want it communicated. Some people show their love through touch, or gift-giving, or verbal affectation. Others still may share their feelings through acts of service or quality time. And those same people who show their love one way may wish to receive it in a different way. Keeping in context this idea has helped me to be much more sensitive to my own preferences and those of my loved ones. By tracking these differences, I've delivered a successful wedding toast that left both the bride and groom in tears, managed to convince a beautiful, successful girl to let me call her 'girlfriend', and I've given gifts to friends that were their instant favorites. The point isn't to categorize people into fixed types. The point is to keep in context how one nurtures relationships with people who have radically different emotional wants and needs than other people, including yourself. * * * * * 5. The Lean Startup by Eric Ries You don't need to have a business background to understand this book, nor do you have to be an entrepreneur or established manager to benefit from the Lean methodology. This book completely changed by perspective on managing business (not just Start Ups but even programs within big companies). Basically, Lean methodology is the application of the scientific method to profit-making. Your goal is to learn what problems people have by observing their measurable behavior (quantitative and qualitative). Solutions (products) are essentially hypotheses (assumptions about the problems' solution) that need to be tested. Only by testing through the shortest possible feedback stages, can you maximize learning. Then, either test a new hypothesis based on what you've learned (pivot) or optimize those correct assumptions (persevere). That's it: Test your assumptions in the world and learn as fast as possible before your capital runs out. Everything else (design tweaks, website color schemes, scaling before confirming you're on track) is a form of waste. * * * * * * 6. Meditations by Marcus Aurelius He's often regarded as one of the greatest emperors of Rome, and yet for leading the pinnacle of civilization for almost two decades, Aurelius was completely averse to fame. His Meditations were most likely never intended for anyone's eyes but his own. His reflective self-analysis displays a man who was truly a life-long learner, focused on defeating his own shortcomings, and improving his strengths. Like Seneca, Aurelius subscribed to the Stoic school of thought, although I find it interesting that he speaks of it critically at times and is brave enough to explore rival ideas often. In this sense, he was confident in his own confusions and sought out obstacles to overcome, as a true Stoic would. * * * * * * * 7. Confessions of an Advertising Man by David Ogilvy It’s a tour-de-force of best business practices and more broadly, life strategy. It’s less than 200 pages, but I've returned to it for inspiration and guidance many times since reading it last year. Ogilvy’s rags-to-riches story is captured so dramatically and economically. I journeyed through his then twenty-five years of business experience in just one afternoon. As I've mentioned on my site, Ogilvy steered his agency with honesty, honesty, and more honesty. Ironically, his confessions are not so much Don Draper-type facades, but examples of how maintaining fidelity to facts (not appearances) made him millions and gave him a rewarding personal life. It doesn't matter if you’re not an Ad Man, everyone can benefit from his strategies. * * * * * * * * 8. Letters from a Stoic by Seneca Seneca lived in the First Century A.D. He was a Roman statesman, dramatist, and philosopher. His personal letters are filled with practical wisdom as relevant now as it was 2,000 years ago. His letters are fixated on self-improvement: Bridling your emotions, correcting your faults, disregarding others’ opinions, regarding your own, and tracking your progress. I've read the Penguin Classics translation, but Seneca’s personal tone is easily accessible. He is one of the few non-cryptic philosophers I've come across, as well as one of the few pursuing practical life strategy. * * * * * * * * * 9. Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill This book is a distillation of 13 How-To-Be-Successful lessons by Andrew Carnegie, the 19th century steel magnate, and one of the richest men in Mankind’s history. From forming a Mastermind group, exponentially increasing your intelligence, to vanquishing self-doubt with short mental exercises that yield high returns, this book has helped make 2013 one of my most productive years yet. On the topic of facing your fears, one exercise comes to mind immediately: Read this paragraph aloud each morning in front of a mirror: If I had the courage to see myself as I really am I would find out what is wrong with me and correct it and I might have a chance to profit by my mistakes and learn something from the experience of others. For I know that there is something wrong with me or I would not be here...if I had spent more time analyzing my weaknesses and spending less time building alibis to cover them. * * * * * * * * * * 10. Mythology by Edith Hamilton Icarus' tragic fall. Midas' wealth. Helen's beauty that launched a thousand ships. Prometheus' gift to mankind. Hercules' strength. Achilles' heel. These stories are eternal. They're the original source material for Hollywood's blockbusters and Shakespeare's plays. Luke Skywalker (circa the finale of Empire Strikes Back) disregards his elder's advice like Icarus and pays the price. Romeo and Juliet are re-engineered versions of Pyramus and Thisbe, the original star-crossed lovers. The Greeks' myths are cautionary tales and epic journeys, filled with heroes and villains, jealous gods and ambitious humans. Four thousand years haven't dated them a day, because they tap into universal human ideas and conundrums. Because they exalt man. They didn't fear the gods so much as they loved life on earth. Aesop explains the Greek spirit best in this fable: An Astronomer used to go out at night to observe the stars. One evening, as he wandered through the suburbs with his whole attention fixed on the sky, he fell accidentally into a deep well. While he lamented and bewailed his sores and bruises, and cried loudly for help, a neighbor ran to the well, and learning what had happened said: “Hark ye, old fellow, why, in striving to pry into what is in heaven, do you not manage to see what is on earth? I hope you get as much out of these three books as I do. Whether you pick one up today or a year from now, I’d love to hear your thoughts especially if you have a recommendation of your own. Happy Holidays! |
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