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

[Cameraman]

I don't like saying what I'm reading right now because I like to try out the ideas first.

I've just finished 4 weeks of testing the ideas from "Routine Machine" by John Lamerton.



There's nothing that I thought was new here, and I've read similar books in the past (but not followed through). What I like about this book is the author's direct, down-to-earth style so I decided to give his approach a try.

After 4 weeks of following the ideas, I've found I've achieved much more than I usually would and even surprised myself. I've ticked off my three 12-week goals and ended up setting more that I'm well on the way to achieving. I've even managed to complete a couple of goals that I'd been putting off for too long because I didn't know where to start/they didn't seem like fun.

Although it's early days, I'm going to continue using this system for a year to see how much I can achieve.

 

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[MitchC]

So I finished this, the title really oversold it. The book is basically just a programmer jacking off over himself about every tiny interaction he had with Steve jobs and a super long boring play by play of all his programming he did there and then he made it worse by trying to dumb it down for non programmers and compared it to making a recipe so you basically have to read what he did twice each time.

3 interesting things.

1. The book made it seem like basically Steve was just sitting in a room and people would present what they had made and he would offer opinions and set directions and then people would follow his directions come back and see him again with the updates until they had a final product. The guy who wrote this was in a couple of these so that was really all the interaction he ever had with Steve. It’s obviously only a tiny part and the other book I’m reading mentions what he was doing a lot more.

2. This dude made the keyboard for iOS which seems kinda simple but really hearing about all the different things they tried and how much work went into it really makes you appreciate it.

The tech is so good that you don’t really question how it works or how much went into it, it’s just like duh of course this is how a keyboard is meant to work, but that’s far from reality.

3. 25 people I think made the first iPhone. Or maybe just the software for it idk. Not that many anyway I thought. I thought it would be 100s at least.

This book starts off in jonys childhood basically saying he was a design genius and natural from day 1, carrying on about his school projects being better than people in the industry for 10 years.

I thought how boring what can I learn from this when dudes just a genius.

Anyway the book gets better later when he’s working at apple. It really highlights how innovative they used to be.

I mean we should really stop and appreciate that this was a failing computer company, Steve took back a fair amount of market share when he took over, then launched an MP3 player and crushed it with that, and then most importantly, this computer company made a phone which was a huge risk, and just destroyed every other phone company whos entire businesses for years had just been making phones. Blackberry, Nokia Motorola like wow these guys killed them all with 1 phone.

They highlight in this book how apple would launch a new product like the iPod or iPhone or iPad and then release new models so fast that the copy cats just couldn’t keep up.

Now they’re known to me as a company that’s way behind and slow to adopt innovations but when they do they do them right and properly and that’s what you pay a premium for. They’re also known to me as a company that has products that have random annoying limitations and are way overpriced but you still have to buy them because the design and quality is so good and everything else on the market is just absolute trash.

Still a good business but what a change since Steve passed. The furtherest thing I would know them for now is innovation. Maybe that’s just tech in general. Maybe it’s just come to a point where it won’t really get massively better because it’s close to its peak. I really don’t know what innovation I would want to see, I still have a iPhone from like 5 years ago and it’s fine.

There’s a heap of similar things to the keyboard book but where they’re talking about designs and processes and different ideas and how they became what they are, but I found it way more interesting than reading about that reading about programming.

The same can be said as the keyboard about the designs apple makes, they’re so good you don’t really question that they could have been done any other way, but reading about the 1000s of prototypes and different ideas and directions they had to try to get that final design is super cool.

That’s the process. The final product is the event.

You also appreciate what you are actually paying for a lot more when you read what goes into it, like sure you are paying for good design but what does that mean? It sounds like just a markup because it looks nicer but actually it’s a huge financial commitment to create the design and then making it is actually way more expensive too so it really doesn’t seem that bad.


Also this just blew my mind, I think even seeing something like this it would still just be impossible to fathom. 20,000+ cnc machines making millions of iPhones in a warehouse, 500,000 workers, that’s just insane.

I mean what other company would agree to mass produce something with cnc machines, like thats pretty cool, there’s no other company that would do that. We are lucky apple exists so we get to see and buy these products.

Anyway that’s enough apple fanboying.

If you like apple and design read the second book.

If you want to bore yourself to death and listen to a programmer jack off over himself and his boring career read the first one.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Currently reading

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/W/WEBP_402378-T2/images/I/8138FlghokL.jpg

@MTF you might find value in this book to help you with some of the mind battles you face daily.

I'm about 1/2 thru it and it's had some interesting points.

The Fearless Mind (2nd Edition): 5 Steps to Achieving Peak Performance: Manning, Dr. Craig L.: 9781462121496: Amazon.com: Books

The Fearless Mind (2nd Edition): 5 Steps to Achieving Peak Performance [Manning, Dr. Craig L.] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Fearless Mind (2nd Edition): 5 Steps to Achieving Peak Performance

www.amazon.com

 

[MTF]

Currently reading

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/W/WEBP_402378-T2/images/I/8138FlghokL.jpg

@MTF you might find value in this book to help you with some of the mind battles you face daily.

I'm about 1/2 thru it and it's had some interesting points.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1462121497/?tag=tff-amazonparser-20

Thank you, this sounds like right up my alley. Any reason why you're reading this book? I see it's fairly obscure and I've never heard about it (despite browsing through literally hundreds of books in that niche).

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

Thank you, this sounds like right up my alley. Any reason why you're reading this book? I see it's fairly obscure and I've never heard about it (despite browsing through literally hundreds of books in that niche).

I actually found it at my local Costco and oddly, there was only 1 for sale. It looks like there's a local Utah connection here (BYU) so maybe that's why they carried it.

 

[Soniayekkalar]

Not sure if anyone is interested in the tax topics but if you want to take advantage of the existing loopholes for the real estate investors, I recommend this book: Advanced tax strategist, volume 2 by Amanda Han and Mathew Macfarland.
After reading this book, I feel I was really unfair to Trump He had some serious problems but I don’t think that tax fraud is one of his problems as a president because I now know you can avoid paying tax if you spend time on understanding the rules or have enough money to hire a professional tax expert.
For sure, if I was still someone woking 8 am to 5 pm to make money in the rat race system, I would have been paying about one third of my income to IRS because I could have not been able to spend any time on learning anything like this. The authors offer online group sessions but to be honest in my case, it didn’t worth the money. I didn’t learn anything beyond what was already in the book.

 

[Foz]

The Korean Way in Business, Boyé Lafayette Demente

 

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[Guyfieri5]

I'm getting through three books right now:

A biography about Andrew Carnegie:

Meditations:

Lincoln's Mentors:

All three books are excellent reads and packed with wisdom.

 

[xShepherdx]

Just finished a few books that were notable.

#1 - Profit First by Mike Michalowicz

I'm almost embarrassed to admit that I was a "by the seat of my pants" owner who didn't really budget or know where their money was going. This book really changed my perspective on that.

The buckets/envelope idea is really simple and isn't groundbreaking at all. However, his mindset and approach showed me why I needed to implement it TODAY in order to make smarter decisions. And my decisions and profits have improved from reading it.

#2 - Pre-Suasion by Robert Cialdini

I loved his first book Influence, so I was excited to dig into this one. It did not disappoint!

Pre-Suasion and Influence are two halves of the same whole and I learned a ton of little tricks and tactics from this book. If you touch marketing or sales in your business, this is 100% worth reading. Probably twice.

#3 - Never Split The Difference by Chris Voss

As someone who came from the "Getting To Yes" school of thought, this book was revolutionary. It also aligned with everything my girlfriend has told me about connecting with people in counseling/therapy, which caused more than a few lightbulbs to go off in my head.

The tactics in this book helped me improve my relationships in almost every aspect of my life (even with my parent's dog) so I can't recommend it enough.

 

[Antifragile]

#3 - Never Split The Difference by Chris Voss

As someone who came from the "Getting To Yes" school of thought, this book was revolutionary. It also aligned with everything my girlfriend has told me about connecting with people in counseling/therapy, which caused more than a few lightbulbs to go off in my head.

The tactics in this book helped me improve my relationships in almost every aspect of my life (even with my parent's dog) so I can't recommend it enough.

Excellent book.

I've attended a 2 day negotiations seminar and instead of using the methods taught by the presenter, I used the above book "Never Split the Difference" methods. I had just finished it and thought real world test was a good idea.

It's a 10/10 method that works. Simple as that. The book is a must read.

 

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[Rhydian Edwards]

Currently Re-reading Millionaire Fastlane by The Man Himself MJ DeMarco
Also reading the Rational Male by Rollo Tomassi
Recently finished 1984 by George Orwell

 

[MattR82]

Currently listening to audiobook of The Referral Engine but rather ironically got busy with referrals before getting very far into it yet.

At the moment I'm not really liking it as much as I thought I would as it's a bit more big picture rather than actionable strategies, and some of the examples given, I've experienced myself as an employee when I later realised the company was full of crap, so it's kind of tainted it a bit for me. Although I have read a lot of reviews saying the last few chapters are excellent.

Next on my list, I'm thinking of reading something by Joe Dispenza. I heard Andy Frisella speak highly of him and visuslisation/manifestation on his podcast and am curious. There's a lot of people calling him a quack though, especially as it seems he somewhat apparently likes to make it seem his title of Dr is from neurology when it's actually from chiropractic.

 

[MitchC]

Currently listening to audiobook of The Referral Engine but rather ironically got busy with referrals before getting very far into it yet.

At the moment I'm not really liking it as much as I thought I would as it's a bit more big picture rather than actionable strategies, and some of the examples given, I've experienced myself as an employee when I later realised the company was full of crap, so it's kind of tainted it a bit for me. Although I have read a lot of reviews saying the last few chapters are excellent.

Next on my list, I'm thinking of reading something by Joe Dispenza. I heard Andy Frisella speak highly of him and visuslisation/manifestation on his podcast and am curious. There's a lot of people calling him a quack though, especially as it seems he somewhat apparently likes to make it seem his title of Dr is from neurology when it's actually from chiropractic.

Watch his series on Gaia streaming platform rewired, you’ll get a good sense of what he’s about

If you like him after that watch becoming superhuman it’s on Gaia too

 

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[MattR82]

Watch his series on Gaia streaming platform rewired, you’ll get a good sense of what he’s about

If you like him after that watch becoming superhuman it’s on Gaia too

Thanks, will track it down. Looks like they have a free trial.

 

[Andy Black]

Listening to this at the mo. Really enjoying it and will get the paperback as well.

 

[Cameraman]

Listening to this at the mo. Really enjoying it and will get the paperback as well.

View attachment 45560

Just found it on Scribd and added it to my books to read. Thanks

 

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[kebman]

#3 - Never Split The Difference by Chris Voss

Just the other day a pupil of mine started loudly screaming and yelling because he'd missed a class while violently waving clenched fists in a complete tantrum fit. Not what you expect from a 16 year old. Everyone looked up and I quickly got up from the other pupil I was helping, briefly excusing myself with, "Sorry, I gotta deal with this."
When I got to the other pupil, I employed what I'd learned from the book about tactical empathy and labelled how I perceived him with, "You look really frustrated."
Then I waited.
He immediately calmed down and started to explain his situation, and it was quickly resolved from there. He even accepted that I had to tick the lost class as truancy, though my boss later told me to just write it off as there had previously been a misunderstanding.
So in other words, the stuff really works. I've already been in countless negotiations and discussions where mirroring works wonders, for instance. I'm still learning though, but so far it seems very promising.
I also really like Cialdini's work.

 

[redshift]

Listening to this at the mo. Really enjoying it and will get the paperback as well.

View attachment 45560

@Andy Black, What are you using to create this paper cutout border effect?

 

[Andy Black]

@Andy Black, What are you using to create this paper cutout border effect?

Snagit. I bought it bundled with Camtasia. You can buy it separately though.

 

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[Cameraman]

Snagit. I bought it bundled with Camtasia. You can buy it separately though.

I use both Snagit and Camtasia and they are excellent.
Cost-saving tip - have you signed up for the annual maintenance contract on these? Camtasia costs me $49 per year and Snagit is $12 (I think). For that, you get the latest version of the software each year.

 

[Andy Black]

I use both Snagit and Camtasia and they are excellent.
Cost-saving tip - have you signed up for the annual maintenance contract on these? Camtasia costs me $49 per year and Snagit is $12 (I think). For that, you get the latest version of the software each year.

Yeah, I pay for the annual maintenance too. I think there's some resources that come with it but I never checked them out.

 

[andyhaus44]

Am only 65 pages in and so far it's been great. Really like his piñata analogy, keep hitting the piñatas of your life because whether you can see it or not, you're making more progress than you think.

Also started thinking differently about time. To increase productivity, he recommends bending your time into 3 different days, his 3 days in a 24 hour period are from 6am-12, 12-6 and 6-12.

Updated my Structured app and Habitify tracker to this new time system and will update in a month or so to see if it increases my productivity.

Update: I have been more conscious of time by splitting it up into 3 different days. I now review each day and look at what I accomplished on each day and focus on getting a little bit better on every day.

 

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[DougRMR]

What are you reading?

Currently going through three books:

1) Lincoln by David Herbert Donald. Abraham Lincoln went through some very wacky stuff, to say the least. Really focuses on the mythical status that Lincoln has but also humanizes him. Pretty inspiring to read and also very humbling in the sense that all of us are essentially the same. If you're human you go through the same problems, worries and sorrows in life, no exception.

2) Retrain Your Brain: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in 7 Weeks. Technically a workbook. Pretty good DIY way of handling depression and anxiety. Currently through week 4.

3) The Quick and Easy Way to Effective Speaking by Dale Carnegie. Getting into public speaking and selling so wanted to dig my heels into this one. Pretty good and gives you good basic theory while also telling you to practice a lot.

 

[starttoday123]

Reading Anna by Amy Odell the biography of Anna Wintour

Learned how she has put at least one political article in every vogue magazine solving the need of people wanting a publication for smart people who are also into fashion. She also solved a need of making high fashion more affordable by popularizing high-low priced fashion paired together. She also gives business and fashion advice to her “Vogue brands” such as Tom Ford keeping them committed to the Vogue brand

 

[MakeItHappen]

The Laws of Human Nature by Robert Greene

The book provides good opportunities to reflect on yourself and learn more about yourself. I also like Robert Greene's writing style.

Pragma by Sebastian Marshall

Provided me with some insights. As productivity is something I want to improve I took notes, especially on this topic.

Arnold: The Education of a Bodybuilder by Arnold Schwarzenegger

If you read and liked his latest biography you might also like this book. It gives a lot more insights in his appraoch to success and his mindset.

Thirst by Scott Harrison

How a club promoter ended up creating a charity that raised over 300 million dollars to date. Interesting read, however, he talks a lot about his Christian faith.

 

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[Tommo]

This is a great book, only patway in and I enjoy the humour/humor he inserts.

 

[Cameraman]

I'm reading "Building a Second Brain" by Tiago Forte. I'm halfway through the book and I've already been applying it with some success.

​

In summary, it's about capturing information and storing it in a way that makes it easy to access (I'm using Microsoft OneNote) but more importantly actionable.

We all consume lots of useful information but how much do you retain? That's the role of the Second Brain, but also organising and summarising it in a way that makes it easy to access and use.

Initially, I was sceptical but the process doesn't require a lot more time/effort and is already paying off for me. It was when the author began to emphasise the purpose of collecting the information is to take action and put it to use that I began to see the real value in the system.

I've found some of the text a little long-winded in parts but I'm getting a lot of value.

Well worth reading if you tend to collect lots of information but don't do anything with it.

 

[David Fitz]

Currently listening to Die with Zero and getting the realisation that I need to be enjoying my life more while I'm still young.

Some experiences can only be made while you're young and healthy.

 

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[James007Hill]

Currently listening to Die with Zero and getting the realisation that I need to be enjoying my life more while I'm still young.

Some experiences can only be made while you're young and healthy.

I enjoyed that book. Loved the concept of the "memory dividend" that experiences pay. Gave me a different perspective on the cost of experiences. Suddenly things that cost thousands seemed cheap when I thought about the joy they provided not just in the moment but for the months and years after.

 

[Bohemi]

Im currently reading the Millionaire fastlane but I am also reading a book with my 13 year old kid about programming - he has to practice his reading and I wanted to get him a bit away from the computer while still supporting his interest in them (he also plays soccer a lot, but that I really dont fancy to read about ) It is actually quite interesting to learn about programming - who knew