What book are you reading? Right now. Post up!

[MJ DeMarco]

FYI: Fooled by Randomness by Taleb is on sale via Kindle.

Will be my next non-fiction read.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001FA0W5W/?tag=tff-amazonparser-20

 

[LuckyPup]

Tools of Titans, i'm half way thought the book and i'm not sure if I should finish it. I've read many books this year but i still can't implement most of what i learned, now i'm rethinking which books i should read

Yeah, if you find yourself reading a lot of books, but not implementing what you've learned, you have a case of "action faking," as MJ puts it. Instead, read one book several times, until you develop the habit of implementation.

I'm not criticizing you at all. I'm an info junkie myself and have fallen into this trap many times.

 

[MTF]

@Fox's new book (and it's available for free). Full disclosure: I helped create it and publish it but I didn't write it.

Don't be fooled by the title. While it is primarily aimed at those interested in starting a web design business, this book delivers hugely important meta-lessons for every entrepreneur. I've greatly enjoyed reading it and found some lessons for myself despite being in a completely different business.

 

[Fox]

Just finished reading this and really enjoyed it. I read it over around 3/4 days.

Hit home hard with a lot of things. I have great parents but I was raised with very little financial advice about how to save or invest money wisely. We were a typical middle class Irish family where the main goal is just to get by.

It was super interesting to see how from a young age you are primed to think and act with money in a certain way and since it is quite a private topic a lot of people never find out their approach is terrible.

It was very interesting to see how many people live way outside their pay grade and get very caught up in the status game. They just assume their hyper consummation is normal but they don't know they are comparing their spending to the spending of people with 5-10 times their wealth.

This book was written in 1996 too so I would imagine the problem is 10 times worse now. I knew people did this in the 18-35 year old "Instagram" bracket, but seeing that a lot of high earning people do this right up until 65 and then have zero to retire was eye opening.

Also this book shows a common cycle of wealth with entrepreneurs going through the hard years themselves, then becoming wealthy but sometimes spoiling their kids, who grow up unable to do well themselves, and then have their own kids who are nearly back at zero.

For anyone else who read this book would love to know your takeaways.
Do you see yourself as a UAW or PAW?

 

[Antifragile]

Want to feel really stupid?

Listen to a Frederick Hayek audiobook.

When I listen to something I don’t understand, I don’t feel stupid. I feel the author sucks at explaining.

 

[MTF]

Just finished this one. Pasting my review from the random chat:

I just finished the book. While there were some interesting thoughts, there were also a lot of crazy conspiracy theories such as using people's private conversations or something like that to fuel AI translation services. I also found it funny when he said that CIA and NSA had information leaks but not Google or Facebook as if that's proof how evil they are (while in reality private companies simply have way better security than governments).

The general tone was as if social media companies (or rather the advertisers) were caricature villains who want to manipulate the world. I don't believe that. Maybe I'm too naive but to me there's no sinister motive other than making money off people's voluntarily provided data.

He also missed or glossed over many way more important arguments against social media such as the effect of social media on men (seeing hot women everywhere all the time isn't helpful), the effect of social media on women (thinking that selling your body is the only way to succeed), shortening attention spans, lack of subtlety, cancel culture, and many more.

I also don't agree with his Luddite views on AI and his claims that "robotic nurses" "exploit" human nurses who make less money and stuff like that.

Also, the guy is a painful leftist. He talks about social media turning you into an a**hole who has no empathy yet he couldn't help but viciously criticize Trump, his supporters and many other people (I don't care about Trump, it just annoys me the author is so hypocritical in a book that's supposed to teach you to get away from drama). I also can't treat seriously anyone who thinks that AOC is an "optimistic hopeful politician."

So in the end, I did finish the entire book but only the first 10-20% was worth reading and the longer I read it, the more pushy it felt with all his crazy accusations.

---

Also, I want to add that I'm generally very against social media so this book should have appealed to me. But the way it was presented sounded more like criticism of capitalism and appeasing leftist Silicon Valley bros with all the catchphrases like inequality, low pay, oligarchs, alt-right, etc. The guy hit all the tropes lol.

 

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[ZF Lee]

Get Sh*t Done by Jeffrey Gitomer.

(he also wrote The Little Red Book of Selling, another hit)

Probably the first book in a LONG time I managed to read entirely cover-to-cover.

While it's real weird that I am reading another productivity book, instead of something else MORE technical, I picked it up because I was in a very bad funk. I was sick like a dog, family and sibling problems sucking my mojo...and basically whatever work I had left on my plate felt SO burdensome that I procrastinated a lot.

Jeffrey's book is not as elegant as Atomic Habits or many other habits/productivity book, but it surprisingly gave me some gems. I started working on them immediately:

'Switch from a NIGHT person to a MORNING person. and, assuming you go to bed sober, your productivity will double'

I realised I was either revenge-procrastinating (i.e. using late nights for my leisure after busy days) or doing too much of my work at night, till as late as 3-4am! Then I would wonder WTF happened when I woke up on late mornings and still feel like shit...or even got little done.

So last week I started sticking to a regular bedtime. By 11pm-12am, I am to be in bed.

While I didn't become super-productive just like that, I noticed I could wake up by 7-8am without an alarm clock! I could also find myself doing morning Bible study or starting up more writing work. And suddenly it felt as if I had 'more' time to get things done. Sure I still have a lot of stuff on my plate...but for once, they felt more doable.

I'm not sure how to manage Western clients, who have calls at late night.
Perhaps I could just keep their meetings to just a few mins on a few particular nights, then just go back to bed and finish up the work in the day.


'If you LOVE doing it, you will procrastinate less'
For this, I felt a bit troubled, considering how I couldn't exactly find joy in doing a lot of things, especially house chores and cooking home-cooked meals. In fact, hatred of the latter was having me order delivery too many times, till my tummy started growing fat...

Then I reflected and realised I could LOVE the results of the effort. The new person or new state of living that would turn out, once I took action.

In the case of house chores, didn't I love a fresh place?
Or if I had visitors or the parents came by, wouldn't I love it for them to be impressed?

Yesterday I started cooking pork soup, and it tasted GREAT. It was my first time cooking a full meal in months. It did me good to know the food I made also wasn't going to make me fat or unhealthy, since I picked my own ingredients and vege for it.

It was a simple resumption of some positive habits, but for me, it felt like everything.

I started thinking 'What else can I cook tomorrow'!


'Study fundamentals'
Jeremy's thoughts on solving problems was there were usually 2-3 simple things that went wrong behind the scenes.

It started me thinking questions like:
'Why am I writing slower? Which point in time or action that gets me slower during my writing?'
'What exactly on that sales call did I say that turned him off? Something I missed talking about? Did it come to haunt me back later in that project?'

Basically I started thinking about the basic ingredients that made up the results or work I wanted to get done.

Many of these questions did not give me answers right away.

But I realised that now SOMETHING can be done. I didn't need to procrastinate and delay out of fear.
SOMETHING can be done.


'It's not about time management, but TIME ALLOCATION'
From what I understood it, it was wrong of me to pathetically think of time as a scarce resource, and that 'I'm so doomed, I can't do many things with the little time I have...'.

That was a scarcity mindset, which begats more scarcity.

Time is not infinite, sure. But the word 'allocate' seemed to spark something in me.
Made me realise 'time' was like soldiers I could deploy out into the battlefield. The same way like money for the Paycheck Pot.

All I needed to do was to point out which activities I could WIN at (those that get me closer to my goals), and just spend the time there.

Honestly, it's shameful that a longtime Fastlaner like me has to sink so low like this.
But it's like what Jeremy said in Takeaway 3...study back the fundamentals to get back up to speed.

 

[Scout]

So I started to go through the thread to choose my next book and was getting lost so I took my lunch break and consolidated all the books mentioned to date. So with the list completed I'm now overwhelmed in what to choose next. :huh2:

Here is the list, I tried to put them in categories but having not read them they may be miss placed. Also if the title has a number in brackets in the front, they were listed by that many people.


$$$$

The Top 10 Distinctions Between Millionaires and the Middle Class, by Keith Cameron Smith
(2) Zero to One Million..., by Ryan Allis
Ready, Fire, Aim: Zero to $100 Million in No Time Flat, by Michael Masterson
Gold: The Once and Future Money, by Nathan Lewis
(2) The Richest Man in Babylon, George Clason
(3) RDPD, by Robert Kioysaki
(2) Cash Flow Quadrant, by Robert Kiyosaki
(2) Guide to Investing, by Robert Kiyosaki
Success Stories, by Robert Kiyosaki
Retire Young, Retire Rich, by Kiyosaki
Free File Hosting - File Dropper: File Host for Mp3, Videos, Music, Documents.
(5) How To Get Rich, by Felix Dennis.
How to Get Rich, by Donald Trump
(2) Think and Grow Rich, by Napoleon Hill
The Teenage Investor
Internet Riches
Your idea can make you rich
The Science of Getting Rich, by Wallace D. Wattles
Who took my Money,
(2) The Millionaire Maker, by Loral Langemeier
Trade Your Way to Financial Freedom, by Van Tharp
The Millionaire Mind, by Thomas Stanley
Getting Started with Options,
(2) Why We Want You To Be Rich,
Rich Dad Prophecy, by Robert Kiyosaki
Million Dollar Habits, by Brian Tracy
Intelligent Investor,
The One Minute Millionaire,
Million bucks by 30, by Alan Corey
Reminiscences of a Stock Operator, by Edwin Lefèvre
Trading for a Living, by Alexander Elder
Trend Following, by Michael W. Covel
How I Trade for a Living, by Gary Smith
The Little Book That Beats the Market, by Joel Greenblatt
Cracking the Millionaire Code, by Mark Victor Hansen/Robert G. Allen
The Warren Buffet Way, by Robert G. Hagstrom, JR.

Real Estate

Investing in Commercial RE, by Trump University
Investing in Real Estate for Dummies
(4) The Millionaire Real Estate Investor, by Keller
Real Estate 101, By Trump University
The Complete Guide to Flipping Properties, by Steve Burgess
Grow Rich with the Property Cycle, by Kieran Trass
(2) Nothing Down for the 2000's, by Steve Allen
The Pre-foreclosure Real Estate Handbook, by Frankie Orlando
Dictionary of Real Estate Terms, by Barrons
Real-estate Advantages
(3) ABC's to Realestate
The Landlord's Troubleshooter
(3) The Complete Guide to Buying and Selling Apartment Buildings, by Steve Burgess
(4) How to Buy and Sell Apartment Buildings, by Vollucci's
Landlording: A Handy manual for Scrupulous Landlords and Landladies Who Do It Themselves
Real Estate Investing in Canada, by Don R. Campbell
How I turned $1,000 into Five Million in Real Estate, by William Nickerson
How to Get Started in Real Estate Investing, by Robert Irwin
Tips & Tricks When Mortgage Hunting, by Robert Irwin
Tips & Tricks When Negotiating Real Estate, by Robert Irwin
(2) Every Landlords Tax Deduction Guide, by Stephen Fishman
Home Inspection Handbook, John E. Traister
The Complete Landlording Handbook, Socartes
Buying Real Estate Foreclosures, by Melissa S. Kollen-Rice
The Pre-Foreclosure Property Investor’s Kit, by Thomas J. Lucier

Strategy

(2) The Art of the Start, by Guy Kawasaki
(4) How To Win Friends & Influence People, by Dale Carnegie
The Power of Now, by Eckhart Tolle
Rule #1, by Phil Town
The Big Idea, by Donny Deutsch
The Greatest Salesman In The World, by Og Mandino
Mavericks At Work, by William Taylor and Polly Labarre
(2) 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People, by Stephen Covey
Selling the Dream, by Guy Kawasaki
Negotiating for dummies,
The ultimate sales letter, by Dan Kennedy
(2) Getting everything you can out of all you've got, by Jay Abraham
Art of The Comeback,
21 Ways You Can Out-Think, Out-Perform, and Out-Earn the Competition,
100 ways to motivate yourself,
(4) Awaken the Giant Within, by Tony Robbins
How life imitates chess , by Gary Kasparov
Successfull Interpersonal Communication - Another handbook
How to have kick-a$$ ideas, by Chris Barez-Brown
Succeed on Your Own Terms, by Herb Greenberg and Patrick Sweeney
Instant Systems, by Bradley J. Sugars
(2) Sales Dogs, by RD advisor
Plug Your Book, by Steve Weber
Raising the Bar,
The Tipping point, by Malcom Gladwell
Integrity-The Courage To Meet The Demands Of Reality, by Henry Cloud
The 48 Laws of Power, by Robert Greene
The Power of Focus, by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Les Hewitt
Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, by David Allen
Stop Procrastination Now!,
(2) Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive, by Harvey Mackay
3 Steps to Yes, by Gene Bedell
The MavHERick Mind, by Liz Pabon
Blue Ocean Strategy,
Coach Yourself to Success, by Talane Meander
The Law of Attraction, by Esther & Jerry Hicks
(2) Think Big and Kick a$$, by Donald Trump

Business

Every Business Is A Growth Business, by Ram Charan
Before You Quit Your Job, by RK
Smartest Guys in the Room, and on Idealized Design,
(3) Internet Riches, by Scott Fox
Start Your Own e-Business, by McGarve (old library book)
When Genius Failed: The Rise and Fall of Long Term Capital Management, by Roger Lowenstein
(5) The 4-Hour Workweek, by Timothy Ferris
(2) Guerrilla Marketing For Writers, by Jay Conrad Levinson
The Forgotten 500,
Marketing, by Trump University
The Birth of Plenty : How the Prosperity of the Modern World was Created, by William Bernstein
Gold and Iron, by Fritz Stern
Beating the Street, by Peter Lynch

Other

Hold'em Wisdom For All Players, by Daniel Negreanu
e book. http://www.robbooker.com/books/Mirac...Discipline.pdf
Ulysses, by James Joyce
The Naked Gentleman, by Sally MacKenzie
(2) The Secret,
Chain of Blame,
The E-Myth Revisited, by Michael Gerber
Panzer Battles, by F.W. Von Mellenthin
On War, By General Carl von Clausewitz
An Introduction to Psychology
(2) Harry Potter
Spook Country, by William Gibson
Writing Non-Fiction, by Dan Poynter
Self-Publishing Manual, by Dan Poynter
Animal Farm , by George Orwell
Culture Warrior, by Bill O'reilly
Parenting the Hurt Child,
(2) World is flat, by Thomas L Friedman,
THE DIP, by Seth Godin
Big Russ and Me: Father and Son: Lessons of Life, By Tim Russert
The Age of Turbulence,
The Long Tail,
Interred with their Bones,
The Driver, by Alex Roy
(2) Atlas Shrugged,
The Fountainhead,
The Bridal Quest, by Candace Camp

 

[JasonR]

Just Finished:
Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future - easily the best biography I've read, Highly recommended
Power of Habit: Was pretty good
80/20 Marketing by Perry Marshall: Great book
Confessions of an Economic Hit Man: Excellent book

Marine Sniper: Excellent if you like that sort of stuff
Sled Driver: Again, excellent

Currently Reading:
Richard Branson Losing My Virginity: Excellent Book

On The List:
Breakthrough Advertising
Never Eat Alone
Don't Make Me Think
And a bunch more...

 

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[Invictus]

Recently Finished
Fellowship of the Ring
The Hurt Artist: My Life From Suicidal Junkie to Ironman

If you want to read about someone who completely reworked themselves from a heroin addict and alcoholic to a professional athlete, then The Hurt Artist is a fantastic choice. It's also a pretty easy and (relatively) light read.



Currently Reading
Average is Over: Powering America Beyond the Age of The Great Stagnation.
The Two Towers
FU Money


My Recent Recommendation
Atlas Shrugged

The thing is a damn behemoth and is probably the longest book I've ever read. Tolkien is nothing compared to Rand.

In my opinion, there are problems with Atlas Shrugged, most notably its length (about halfway through it starts to feel a bit repetitive).

However, I really cannot recommend it enough. Especially to my fellow millennials who have been raised in a society that now upholds victimization and self-sacrifice as our highest values.

And, unlike what some people may think, you don't need to agree with everything Rand says to find value in her work.

In fact, one of the most striking themes that I found in the book? The one that no one mentions?

The way we look at love.

Probably because of our current media, we are often expected to 'give' love to someone who does not deserve it. We are expected to love someone because of their flaws or our own. Either because they overlooked our problems or we 'love' theirs.

We should love someone as a 'person'. Their everything. Not the things they do or the ways they make our lives better. But for 'themselves'. Whatever the hell that means.

"I don't want to be loved for anything. I want to be loved for myself - not for anything I do or have or say or think. For myself - not for my body or mind or words or works or actions."

Does that sound like our society?

No. We should love someone because of their strengths. Because they are funny, sexy, or intelligent. They can also be angry, broken, or depressed, but that is not what defines them.

Love should not be freely given. Because we *all* have known people who simply take and take and take. Love should be earned. On both sides.

Do you want someone to love you because of your flaws? Or because of the way you fight those flaws? The way you make that person laugh?

Someone should earn your love and you should earn theirs.


A few quotes that the Fastlane might enjoy:

"That I happen to suffer, doesn't give me a claim on you."

"To the last minute, everyone had hoped that someone would save them from it."

"I don't gamble on incompetents."

"They'd never try to reach what they had felt. I wouldn't want to seek it from a painting. I'd want it real. I'd take no pride in any hopeless longing. I wouldn't hold a stillborn aspiration. I'd want to have it, to make it, to live it."

 

[million$$$smile]

Currently listening to: Measure What Matters by venture capitalist John Doerr. It details OKR's (Objectives & Key Results) and how it has helped some of the largest tech companies achieve explosive growth. An interesting read. The application of OKRs in a business makes much more sense to me than mere goal setting just for goal setting' sake.
There are so many books on goal setting and yet most seem to me rather unrelatable due to vagueness to the reason 'why' we want to attain a particular goal. This book goes a bit further and helps one to formulate the 'why' of setting a particular goal with Objectives coupled with Key Results.
A good read.

 

[lowtek]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1787125939/?tag=tff-amazonparser-20

 

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[Ray Richardson]

$100 startup

It was okay. It was more of the "follow your passion" message. Sure these people quit their day jobs, but doing what i love just to get by is not part of what im trying to build. However these people got something off the ground putting them way ahead of me.

 

[focusedlife]

The books I've read recently that have blown my mind (and have ACTUALLY HELPED me level up):

1. The Great Libertarian Offer (by Harry Browne) - never heard of dude before and wish I had, earlier. Would vote for him in a heartbeat. Simply read the description here and let me know if it doesn't, at least make you curious what he's storing up for you inside.

→ Click here to read the description of the book

I never knew what a Libertarian was, what their values were or why I should even consider their party. That's all changed. I'm a fan. Love Harry Browne.

2. The Secret of Selling Anything (by Harry Browne) - This was the first book I bought from dude. He got it. He was a master sales guy, a master at sales psychology and knew how to write copy. I'd recommend incorporating this book into whatever your sales training if nothing more than filling in basic blanks that so many other trainings just plain miss.

It's gold and coupled with the next book on my list, you will be a unstoppable and very dangerous sale force to compete against.

→ Click Here to check out the description

3. No: The Only Negotiation System You Need For Work and Home (by Jim Camp) - Frequently referred to as one of the world's most feared negotiators (he passed in 2015), I MUST admit, this book has become my negotiating bible and I use principles to help me craft my own high ticket proposals that RARELY fail (usually if they do it's because I got impatient and tried to cut corners somewhere).

This is MUST read reading that I would recommend to someone who's paid me to coach them and, sadly, not enough people know about this amaze balls book.

The other thing to note about this book is it's NOT available on Kindle, which takes it's value up a notch due to it's exclusivity and, quite possibly, it's rarity.

If you can find it...get it.

Worth 1000X whatever the current price tag is.

4. Tools of Titans (by Tim Ferriss) - The book is basically a compendium and summary of past folks Tim has had on his podcasts and the wonderful lessons they've had to impart.

You can skip the book and just listen to the podcast and read his blog to get the same content, but the book is more of a convenience than anything and the wonderful insights you get from each of the contributors (who've all made amazing accomplishments throughout their lives) is well worth the read.

Inspirational, insightful and counter-intuitively thought provoking.

Recommend.

5. The 365 Stoic (by Ryan Holiday) - If you've never read anything about stoic philosophy, this is an excellent intro into the subject matter.

It's all about how to live an even keel life and how to maintain your emotional levels no matter the situation.

Dealing with life as it happens and keeping your emotions in check.

The way it's written is brilliant...read one chapter (about 2 pages long) each day. Get a little lesson, a little perspective and maybe a helpful lesson that could actually help you deal with your own personal adversity, no matter how big or small.

It's helped me deal with my own feelings a great deal.

6. Value Based Fees (by Alan Weiss) - Good lord...why does anyone charge for anything any other way?

Charging by the hour is actually a conflict of interest (if you ask me). If the service provider is good and can do a job quickly, they penalize themselves. If they suck, the client gets penalized and pays more for something that someone else could have handled sooner?

It's just not smart.

It also helps folks get a handle on how to evaluate and anchor value in the world of your prospect so that you can comfortably and confidently ask whatever you think you're worth for whatever it is you offer.

Must have for service providers, coaches, consultants, and anyone that is trying to understand how to reframe or at least better articulate value (MJ talks about skews, etc).

Game changer.

7. Building A Story Brand

---Oops...I gotta run so will finish this later.

Hope you dig so far and would love to know your thoughts about these recommendations, even if you dislike.

 

[Xeon]

Just finished reading 2 books in the past few weeks and about to finish the 3rd one tomorrow.

1) StoryBrand : This is the book to get if you're heavily into branding. The concepts taught in the book are very similar to the kind of abstract and philosophical "hard-to-get" concepts written by rpeck90 here. The book is very highly actionable; they've "worksheets" for you to fill in with your branding concepts for your company. By the end of the book, you'll basically have a very streamlined and clear branding direction for your business and where you want to take it etc.

2) Visual Hammer : This book talks about the concept of the Visual Hammer and Verbal Nail in marketing. I will definitely be going back to read this one again next week. The idea is that marketing in the world focuses too much on the written word even though humans can remember images way better.
Basically, a Verbal Nail (what you intend your brand to be about and what it stands for) + Visual Hammer (the type of imagery customers associate with your brand) = Extremely powerful brand almost invulnerable to competition.
On every single page, the author throws about 1 - 4 different companies as examples. So choke full of examples that my mind is in a mess now. F*ck. I've never seen a book like this. It exposes a lot of new concepts which I've never thought of. The best thing is : the author boldly criticizes a whole ton of companies, what they did right and what they did wrong. This is rather unusual for a book as most authors usually refrain from talking about the bad points of how Company A did X amt of things wrong and what they could have done better.
Note, the term "Visual Hammer" doesn't necessarily refer to logos or icons in the book.

3) The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing : Another really good book. Written by Al Ries (Visual Hammer is written by his daughter) in the same style : critiquing a ton of companies in the world and how we can learn from them. I feel if one takes the lessons in the book to heart, one can really go far with branding. One section about quality vs branding makes me realize that quality is not everything.

IMO, I would rate all 3 books 5 stars.
I've now become a fan of Al Ries and will be reading more of his and his daughter's books.

 

[million$$$smile]

"A Framework For Understanding Poverty" A Cognitive Approach.
Ruby K. Payne, Phd.

All I can say is WOW. This book is so insightful regarding the hidden rules between poverty, middle class and wealth classes. This book is geared mainly to educators, service providers, etc. but as an employer, I gained tremendous insight in the differences between the different 'castes' in our society. One key takeaway was that the maternal grandfather's occupation is a key predictor in intergenerational poverty.
(Hint: It is because the mother is so instrumental in the early nurturing of the child, and where do you think her access to knowledge and experiences came from?)

It's understanding oftentimes the 'why' we think in different classes, be it poverty, middle class or wealthy.

Highly recommended as to understanding self sabotage patterns and what it takes to break free of generational classes....

 

[Siddhartha]

This book changed me.
I read his earlier work "Love yourself like your life depended on it" and it was mildly useful for changing my self-talk and engaging some more self-respect/conviction, but it was just that, mild. Here Kamal managed to find the perfect g-spot between truth, hopes, life, and carrying on that gifted me a peace that I hadn't had since I read Herman Hesse's "Siddartha" when I was 19. I can tangibly feel that things will work out, and things will especially workout once I leave my gig to put all my effort into my venture.
Highly recommended, and this is free with a kindle unlimited subscription.

Completely solid book that I would recommend to anyone in a heart beat. It's a relatively short read but well layed out and sprinkled with anecdotes that help you latch onto the meaning and the process of getting over fears. Interestingly enough, author has ties to Kamal Ravikant and James Altucher.

Another critical book; People like Peterson would want you to believe that learned helplessness and pessism (and it's counterpart [mild-servere]-depression are innate and not easily overcome without a prescription course and multiples of psychiatrist visits.
In "Learned optimism" Seligman shows you decades of research, much of it his own; and how he could produce lasting, powerful results in mere weeks. He also shows statistics and evidence on how optimists are almost always more successful, higher-earners, and much more healthy; and also stories of people who started as poor-performing pessimists or depressed people that were re-trained and let loose back out into the world to success. This book helped me understand a bit more of the "Blind, reality distorting optimism streak" I see come up again and again with all successful entrepreneurs from Trump to Branson to Jobs; and I'm re-engineering my beliefs to adopt some more of this magic.
Glad Tony Robbins mentioned this in "Awaken the giant within" which I'm back to reading now.

Stay frosty and get at it y'all

 

[MJ DeMarco]

The Untethered Soul, Singer

 

[MTF]

The Almanack of Naval Ravikant: A Guide to Wealth and Happiness - Kindle edition by Jorgenson, Eric, Butcher, Jack, Ferriss, Tim. Religion & Spirituality Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

The Almanack of Naval Ravikant: A Guide to Wealth and Happiness

By far the best book I've read this year so far. So much knowledge on wealth, happiness and philosophy. And so much more to dig into after reading the book (a LOT of great resources in the bonus section).

Highly, highly recommended. I feel very introspective now.

 

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[Andy Black]

@Andy Black - I've seen you recommend that one Twitter looking book several times and now I can't find it.

What is it again? And why did you find it so valuable?

I think it is "The art and business of online writing" by Nicolas Cole

Yes, that’s the one @monfii. Thanks!

@MJ DeMarco ... I’ll skim the book for my notes and add more here later.

I got halfway before getting distracted/bogged down. I will start from the beginning again and get through it.

I like how Nicolas publishes content to find out what the market wants, and dials it in over time. It’s very much in keeping with your message of not following your passion but following the market need.

There was a year where he had more impressions than any other contributer on Quora. He leveraged that to build a ghostwriting business for high net worth people or business owners.

One of my big aha’s was that the money is not “in the list”, it’s in our library of content that builds the list. He has his content in his own vault/bank and can take it to a new social platform and drop it in and get a similar result (and rebuild his list). His content is his asset, even more so than his list. Kind of like how your books could be republished and would get the same traction because they’re productocracies.

There was a very thought provoking chapter that was unexpected. Nicolas broke down his criteria for deciding whether to invest his time into a social platform. Go in too early and there’s a risk of it not taking off and you wasting your time. Go in too late (like after it gets a lot of funding) and the platform’s goals change and visibility gets throttled for organic posts. Smart thinking.

I got bogged down with the detailed chapters about different types of content to create, which I should just skim and come back to when I need the detail.

I subscribe to his way of thinking. I came to TFLF from another forum that announced it was shutting down. I came with my suitcase of Google Ads articles which meant I got known quickly as a Google Ads Guy in here. I’m aware I published them too quickly but hadn’t thought how it could look like a lead gen tactic.

I also do what he suggests and have been writing about it for a long while - go help people in forums and Facebook groups, find where you repeat yourself, publish that as standalone articles, and end up building a bank of content that’s battle-tested.

I’ve been messing about on Twitter for the last few months, testing to see what content of mine from the forum resonates on there. I’m also learning it’s got its own style and subtleties.

I personally think Twitter could be the goto platform to quickly test and iterate content ideas. Observe what gets no traction and do less of it. Observe what gets traction and do more of it.

 

[MakeItHappen]

Up From Slavery - Booker T. Washington
A great book about unimaginable hardship and incredible perseverance.

 

[MTF]

To explore the minds of fighters and understand their world better, I read these four books in the last week:



An interesting life story of one of the greatest BJJ fighters in the world who is wired so differently than me I was at times almost offended by what he did lol. Some valuable lessons how to deal with adversity and pursue excellence (the guy was completely obsessed with jiu-jitsu). Out of all the four books, this was by far the best one.



Another jiu-jitsu fighter. A quite dark and depressing book at times with some f*cked up stories. Made me realize how terrible growing up is for some kids.



It was interesting to see the world of fighting from the perspective of a guy who realized he was a better coach than a fighter. He himself dealt with a lot of difficulties trying to get MMA off the ground in Ireland. Also contains some interesting stories about Conor McGregor.



I wanted to learn more about this heavyweight boxer after seeing a video in which he opened up about his mental health issues. In the book he also covers his fight against depression and how it was scarier than his toughest boxing opponents.

 

[Ocean Man]

I've just finished Leading an Inspired Life by Jim Rohn. Here's my review:

As usual, I think Jim's content is good. But I feel like I've read enough books now in the self-development genre that they're now all starting to sound the same.

Don't get me wrong, Jim is great. And very helpful for mindset and belief. A good refresher. But if you've watched, read, or heard any of Jim's other content then you won't really find anything new or different in this book. A good refresher, nonetheless.

It really just boils down to taking action, observing your habits, and making good decisions every day. Breaking down your larger goals/dreams into smaller goals that you finish each and every day.

I was going to list down some of the quotes that I jotted down, but then I realized that I probably won't look at this list again.

If I think about it, the most important things to me were:
1. Observe my habits. Cut out the bad habits and add or remain steady in my good habits.
2. Continue to learn, even if I'm done with school. Even if I'm in my career already. Continue to develop my skills, attend conferences, read books, and grow as a person.
3. Character is not something you're born with. It's something you develop. Develop good character, have integrity and honor.
4. Separate your work and your personal life. When you're working, focus on doing good work. When you're spending time with your family or friends, give attention to them.
5. Nobody is going to be prioritizing your life. Even your family members. Nobody is going to worry about your retirement or health for you. Nobody is going to be investing for you. You need to be proactive instead of reactive and take action. I remember seeing some old thread here on the forum, years back, where there's a giant boulder. And to reach your goals you're going to need to push that boulder. Nobody is going to push that boulder for you.
6. A person who says they can't and somebody who says they can are both usually right.
7. Remain disciplined and discipline yourself every day.
8. It's all about staying disciplined, having resolve, accepting responsibility, and taking control of your life.
9. Being successful is easy. It's just about doing the easy things each and every day. But those easy things to do are also easy not to do.

I'm tired of reading self-help. I need to read books that'll help me level up, learn new skills, and grow my skills. And I'm not talking about books about leadership, character, etc... I'm just talking about needing to stop reading the 99% of self-help books which are basically rehashes of each other.

Time to figure out what habits I need to cut out of my life, what I should start, stop, and continue doing.

 

[MTF]

I didn't expect much as the second book after a first-time big bestseller is always worse.

This was much worse than Can't Hurt Me. I read it throughout the day because I'm sick but otherwise it's a struggle to read.

He jumps from one story to another, talks about the same stuff he talked in the first book. And paradoxically, despite this being closer to a "how-to" book it's way less practical than his autobiography. I think I remember maybe one practical tip from this book, the rest is just your typical Goggins speak.

Other than that, in this book David shows that he hasn't really learned much when it comes to irresponsible challenges. Still signing up for races when he can't even walk, still doing so little preparation he's practicing key stuff on the day of the race, still competing when he's half-dead, etc.

This, plus some really f*cked up behaviors like hiding his heart was malfunctioning so his girlfriend could enjoy Christmas. The next day, when he couldn't hide it anymore, they had to restart his heart in the hospital. So the guy was literally one step from dying but instead of going immediately to the hospital, he didn't want to ruin the Christmas for his gf. As if him dying wouldn't ruin it more.

I don't get this guy anymore. I thought I understood him better after listening to literally dozens of hours of podcasts with him.

If anything, this book only made it clear for me how much I would NOT want to be like him. I may agree with some of his views but overall, his life would be a nightmare for me. It has to be such a struggle to think that world is a f*cked up place and each day is a battle.

I'm glad it's working out for him but it's really, really messed up nonetheless.

 

[WJK]

The title sounds good and something i definitely need to learn. Although I have heard that no book can teach one how to communicate and one must develop it through experience. Whats your thoughts on that?

There are techniques and then practice makes perfect.

 

[smarty]

I just finished reading "Toxic Parents" by Susan Forward.

If you have had a hard relationship with either of your parents or both, if you feel or felt guilty, ashamed or angry for your past, if you have big goals but you feel trapped, unmotivated and confused most of the time, if you have developed any kind of social anxiety, if you start but don't finish things, if you feel inadequate or unworthy, if you feel like "you're not enough", if you often wonder WTF is wrong with you and why you have become the person you never intended to be... chances are your toxic parents caused most of it on your childhood years with what they did or didn't do and you haven't come into terms with it yet;

Chances are they are still manipulating you in more subtle ways. This book is a must-read, it deconstructs all the dynamics in an abusive or dysfunctional family so you can see how it affected you while growing up and what you can do to reclaim your life by the horns.

I believe it also would help you as a parent to be a better one.

Tons of "aha moments" and practical advice. Favorited & recommended.

 

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[Kreedos Phoenix]

Just got these two. Loved The Alchemist and finished it in a day and am now on to Outliers. The Alchemist really makes me respect the journey and the process.

 

[million$$$smile]

Just finished:
Grinding it Out-The story of McDonalds Ray Kroc
Talk about Fastlane, Kroc made it happen...

Now Reading:
More than a Hobby- The story of Hobby Lobby David Green
Good book on starting with $600 and creating an empire of 600 stores nationwide
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobby_Lobby

Lean Six Sigma Demystified Jay Arthur
I'm constantly looking for ways to ways to simplify, streamline and optimize my processes in my businesses. This book takes work, but is worth it.

Seems lately I have been focusing on the retail side of business more than normal. I think there is a tremendous science to merchandising both online and offline.

 

[OliverR]

What I've read since August (By reading I mean listening in audiobook format and usually in 2x speed which helps alot)
Added book title/author and some of the key takeaways I got

Mindset
Carol Dweck
- Great book to identify limiting beliefs,
Have a growth mindset, you can learn anything if you want, ask the right questions, failure is ok, it’s how we learn.
Edit: Also a great read if you have children and how some of the things you say and do to encourage them might actually be f*cking up their life


Money: Master the Game
Tony Robbins
- All weather portfolio, the only thing in your control is assets allocation, trying to time the market or pick a winner is a fools game, also investigate the 5 driving forces of men

Man's Search for Meaning
Viktor Frankl
- Find meaning in even the bad things that have happened to you

The Obstacle Is the Way
Ryan Holiday
- Good book on philosophies that have driven great men

Linchpin
Seth Godin
- Most valuable thing I took was him identifying the negative voice in the back of your head and how to fight back, don't let the resistance hold you back


The 4-Hour Work Week
Timothy Ferris
- Create your muse, build the business, know how it works in every aspect and then come up with systems to automate and free your time, follow the 80/20 principal in whatever you do, find the 20% that produce 80% results and focus on that.

The Millionaire Fastlane
MJ DeMarco
- The book that set me on my journey.


Meditations
Marcus Aurelius
- Probably need to read again as was difficult to capture over audio, a lot of thoughts

Mastery
Robert Greene
- Embrace the apprentice mindset and find a mentor. Study different fields and make unique connections. Mastery takes a lifetime of dedicated effort

The 48 Laws Of Power
Robert Greene
- Lot's of good insights into human behaviour difficult to pick one main thing I picked up

Start With Why
Simon Sinek
- Look up the golden circle theory when marketing a product or service, start with why and move outwards. Don’t start by talking about features and how you are better. We are innovators who just happen to build/do X.


Think And Grow Rich
Napoleon Hill
- Create a mastermind group and check out goal setting procedure from there


ReWork
Jason Fried & David Heinemeirer Hansson
- Found loads of good insights difficult to summarize in one point, maybe one thing that stood out was that you don't have to take massive amount of VC to be successful. Hustle your way to the top.

The E-Myth Revisited
Michael Gerber
- Great read after TMFL and FHWW to tie things together and how to approach building a business that is sellable (liquidation event)

 

[jsk29]

Currently reading Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari.

I'm only on chapter 8 and it's a fascinating read so far.

It answers many interesting questions, such as:

- What is the one human ability, above all, which allowed homo sapiens to conquer the world?

- Did our Stone Age ancestors have monogamous relationships and nuclear families?

- Why is it possible for millions of humans to cooperate and work toward common goals, but not chimpanzees?

I highly recommend Sapiens to anyone interested in understanding how humans evolved up to our present day selves (and how technology is leading to the next great revolution).

Here's a TED talk by the author: