This is a spur of the moment word vomit. A shorter description don’t mean I’m less excited about a book, I just probably haven’t written about it before.
#1: The Bible
The Bible has had more influence on shaping me into who I am today than any other book. It is the source of God’s truth and the primary means of His working in our lives. A multitude of wisdom is contained inside.
#2: Atomic Habits by James Clear
I think this book has influenced me more than anything other than the Bible. Atomic Habits is all about how small habits can be very powerful over time. His focus is not on the specific habits themselves but who you become in the process which I find a compelling concept:
Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. No single instance will transform your beliefs, but as the votes build up, so does the evidence of your new identity. This is one reason why meaningful change does not require radical change. Small habits can make a meaningful difference by providing evidence of a new identity. And if a change is meaningful, it is actually big. That’s the paradox of making small improvements.”
James Clear is an advocate for 1% improvements over time, he says: “The most powerful outcomes of any compounding process are delayed.”
You can read more about Atomic Habits in other posts:
https://blog.joshmudge.com/2019/12/26/habits/
https://blog.joshmudge.com/2019/12/27/implement-your-intentions/
#3: Ultralearning by Scott Young
How to Learn Skills Deeply and Quickly through Intense Systematized Study (a one-sentence summary in title form). Golden.
#4: The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande
A riveting book about checklists. That’s something I never thought I would say. The book shows you how to make effective checklists work for you and avoid common pitfalls. I will warn you, there isn’t really a conclusion, the book just ends.
#5: The Power of Moments by Chip and Dan Heath
Can we create a “defining moment”? The authors would say you can. The book shows you how to craft moments that are memorable and meaningful. Elevation, Insight, Pride, and Connection are the key memory categories. The book talks about how to Build Peaks, Break the Script, Trip Over the Truth, Stretch for Insight, Recognize Others, Multiply Milestones, Practice Courage. Create Shared Meaning, Deepen Ties, and Making Moments Matter.
Here’s my paraphrase of a story from the book:
Two teachers wanted to create an educational experience that was as memorable as prom. The result was “The Trial”.
You’re sitting in English class in high school and your teacher drops a piece of paper on your desk. It’s not your homework for the week, it’s a legal document. It’s charging William Golding with slander for misrepresenting mankind in his book “The Lord of the Flies”.
Over the next two months you will prepare to play the role of the prosecutor, the defense attorney, a witness, or the judge. Witnesses are usually a person from history but occasionally from fiction as seen in a guest appearance by Darth Vader. After preparing your case or studying to be able to accurately answer questions as a witness you come to The Trial.
On the day of The Trial, everyone dresses up as their character. The lawyers dress in suits, the witnesses as the person they represent and so on. Buses would then take them to an actual courthouse where the trial would be held. The jury was composed of school faculty and popular students like the senior quarterback. Each side would argue their case and call for a verdict of guilty or not guilty. After their arguments are heard, the jury decides the case.
They did not create an educational experience that was as memorable as prom; it was more memorable. None of the senior speeches mentioned prom, and all of them mentioned the Trial. Students that used to drag their feet on their way to class were seen running with enthusiasm to get there. We notice the peaks and troughs of our experience. The really good and the really bad. In sports, players don’t remember the practices nearly as well as they remember the games (peak moments). People remember peak moments and the last thing that happens more than anything else (that’s the peak-end rule). The idea is to build in more peak moments and be careful about what we say last because that’s what people remember most. It takes work, it takes planning, but this book shows you how.
#6: Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath
This is the best book I’ve on communicating and especially writing. It shows you how to communicate so that people will remember what you say. 1. Make It Simple, 2. Make It Unexpected, 3. Make It Concrete, 4. Make It Credible, 5. Make It Emotional, 6. Tell Stories
#7: Dave Ramsey’s Complete Guide to Money by Dave Ramsey
This books shows you to how to manage money both for those who don’t know how, those who think they know how, and a lesson in simplicity for the experts. He’s good at teaching by telling stories. Don’t write off the principles if you don’t agree with all the details.
#8: Deep Work by Cal Newport – This book is about how to think deeply to perform at a higher level than most people attain. He was able to dramatically increase his academic publication output while maintaining high quality standards and achieve extraordinary things using these methods. My only disagreement with this book is that you don’t need to always be in flow. Sometimes, I prefer a Pomodoro type working flow (25 minutes working, 5 minute break). But for deep thought, entering a flow state and high performance there’s no better way. One of my favorite points from this book is that the more we practice a certain skill the more our brain will physically change to help us get better at it. This is only true if we struggle in focused practice when trying to learn some aspect of a skill. This involves tackling difficult tasks that are hard, but not too far our of our reach lest we become discouraged.
#9: So Good They Can’t Ignore You by Cal Newport
Passion is built, not found. this book shows you how to build career capital so you can do work you’ll love and become a desirable expert in your field.
#10: Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss
We negotiate several times a day. Deciding when to meet for coffee (or tea), I’ll do this if you’ll do that, etc. This book is on how to negotiate in a counterintuitive and very effective manner. One little snippet from the book is to ask no-oriented questions. Instead of “Is now a good time?”, ask: “Is now a bad time?”. We put our defenses up when someone asks us a “yes” question. Many times people will reject you before you begin or give a counterfeit yes when you ask a yes-oriented question. “No” is the start of a negotiation, not the end. Tactical Empathy allows you to offer non-monetary benefits in exchange for monetary ones. I would disagree with his use of some “white lies”, but this is an excellent book on negotiation.
#11: Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris
This book is a call to youth to rebel against low expectations and do meaningful hard things. A call to rigorously pursue excellence.