Shane Parrish, has a fairly simple objective for his life:
I want to go to bed each night smarter than when I woke up. I also want to live a meaningful life and become a better person.
And how do you do that? Read. A lot.
Charlie Munger, *billionaire* business partner of Warren Buffett and the Vice Chairman at Berkshire Hathaway, weighs in:
In my whole life, I have known no wise people (over a broad subject matter area) who didn’t read all the time — none. Zero.
Buffett estimates that he spends 80% of his working day reading and thinking.
You could hardly find a partnership in which two people settle on reading more hours of the day than in ours.” – Charlie Munger
When asked how to get smarter, Buffett once held up stacks of paper and said “read 500 pages like this every day. That’s how knowledge builds up, like compound interest.”
All of this knowledge provides dots to connect.
In order for us to truly create and contribute to the world, we have to be able to connect countless dots, to cross-pollinate ideas from a wealth of disciplines, to combine and recombine these pieces and build new ideas. — Maria Popova
Business:
“Obvious Adams: The Story of a Successful Businessman” – Robert Updegraff
First published as a short story in the Saturday Evening Post in April, 1916 (Free PDF here). A great reminder that, in business, we too often make things much harder than necessary.
“The Art of the Pitch: Persuasion and Presentation Skills that Win Business” – Peter Coughter
Author Peter Coughter presents the tools he designed to help advertising and marketing professionals develop persuasive presentations that deliver business. Readers will learn how to develop skills to create the perfect presentation.
“Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike
Creativity:
“A Whole New Mind” – Daniel Pink
Arguing that business and everyday life will soon be dominated by right-brain thinkers. He identifies the six fundamentally human abilities that are absolute essentials for professional success and personal fulfillment.
“Ignore Everybody” – Hugh MacLeod
Provides a mindset and a mental framework for ignoring other people’s (and society’s) expectations of you to be creative and to tackle new ideas in a risk-averse world.
“Evil Plans” – Hugh MacLeod
A road map, or rather an evil plan, for unifying what you do for living with what you truly love.
“Steal Like an Artist” – Austin Kleon
“These are things I’ve learned over almost a decade of trying to figure out how to make art, but a funny thing happened when I started sharing them with others — I realized that they aren’t just for artists. They’re for everyone.” — Austin Kleon
Decision-Making:
“Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work” – Chip and Dan Heath
The Heath brothers introduce a four-step process designed to counteract the array of biases and irrationality that disrupt our decisions.
Education:
“In the Basement of the Ivory Tower” – Professor X
What’s the ROI on our college degree? Professor X makes the case that the college system as a business is bent on its own financial targets rather than the well-being of its students. Is a college education still worth it (for most people)?
“The Education of Millionaires” – Michael Ellsberg
Ellsberg argues that education is not the same thing as academic excellence and highlights 7 success skills that people can leverage (outside of school) to become financially successful in their own careers.
“Stop Stealing Dreams” – Seth Godin
The economy has changed and yet school’s haven’t. They still insist on rote memorization, crushing dreams, amplifying fear and churning out obedient factory workers that adhere to the status quo and fit into “the system.”
Entrepreneurship:
“Rework” – Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
Most business books give you the same old advice. Rework shows you a better, faster, easier way to succeed in business (i.e. stop talking and start working). I love the counter-intuitive way they’ve re-written business rules to achieve success.
“Built To Sell” – John Warrillow
The book talks about the three key criteria to transforming your business into one you can sell, but it really teaches you how to create real business value.
“Nothing to Lose Everything to Gain Book Review” – Ryan Blair
One-part memoir and one-part business blueprint that offers a kick in the pants.
Health and Wellness:
“Mindless Eating” – Brian Wansink
The average person makes well over 200 decisions about food every day. Traditional diet books focus on what dietitians and health practitioners know. This book focuses on what psychologists and marketers know. It will help you make more mindful food-related decisions, which will ultimately offer a sensible route to permanent weight loss.
History:
“The Lessons of History “- Will and Ariel Durant
Pultizer Prize-winning historians Will and Ariel Durant spent their entire lives studying and writing about history. Together, they’ve published more than 50 books. This book is a distillation of all of their works and lessons learned in one, short 102-page book. Prolific reader and CEO Patrick O’Shaughnessy says it’s one of the best “per-page” books in existence. I agree.
Marketing:
“The Cluetrain Manifesto” – Rick Levine, Christopher Locke, Doc Searls and David Weinberger
Markets are conversations made of human beings. The world, thanks to the Internet, has changed forever and brands must learn to adapt to these changes or risk becoming obsolete.
“The Impact Equation” – Chris Brogan & Julien Smith
The book provides a formula to get your ideas heard and to ensure you’re taking action to increase the influence of your presence, your work and your relationships. More actionable than Trust Agents.
“Growth Hacker Marketing: A Primer of the Future of PR, Marketing and Advertising” – Ryan Holiday
Ryan showcases how the marketing game has changed forever and how marketers must learn a new mindset or risk becoming obsolete. He explains the new rules and provides valuable examples and case studies for aspiring growth hackers.
“Hooked: How to Build Habit Forming Products” – Nir Eyal
A how-to guide for building better products written for anyone who seeks to understand how products influence our behavior.
Meditation:
“Sit Like a Buddha” – Lodro Rinzler
A concise, pocket-size guide that tells you everything you need to know about how to meditate.
Motivation:
“Die Empty” – Todd Henry (Coming Soon)
“The Dip” – Seth Godin
What sets superstars apart from everyone else is the ability to escape dead ends quickly, while staying focused and motivated when it really counts. This book will help you figure out if you’re in a Dip that’s worthy of your time, effort, and talents.
“The Icarus Deception” – Seth Godin
Obedience and conformity are no longer the keys to success. Learn how to thrive in an economy that rewards art, not compliance.
Narrative Non-Fiction:
“Shadow Divers” – Robert Kurson
One of the best narrative non-fiction books I’ve ever read. A true tale of two scuba divers risk everything to solve a great historical WWII mystery.
Neuroscience:
“Incognito” – David Eagleman
At first glance this book doesn’t have much to do with business or marketing, but what better way to tap into the mind of your customer than to look under the hood of the conscious mind and learn more about the circuitry of their brain?
Play:
“Play It Away: A Workaholic’s Cure for Anxiety” – Charlie Hoehn
Do all of your daily activities revolve around building a more successful career? Do you have trouble breathing, relaxing, and sleeping? Are you sitting still and staring at screens for most of your waking hours? read this book to discover the power of play and how it can dramatically reduce anxiety.
Philosophy:
“The Obstacle is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph – Ryan Holiday
The book draws its inspiration from stoicism, the ancient Greek philosophy of enduring pain or adversity with perseverance and resilience. Stoics focus on the things they can control, let go of everything else, and turn every new obstacle into an opportunity to get better, stronger, tougher.
Psychology:
“Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion” – Robert Cialdini
This book explains the psychology of why people mindlessly say yes, including 6 universal principles and how to use them to become a skilled persuader.
Relationship Building:
“Who’s Got Your Back?” – Keith Ferrazzi
You can’t get to the top, or anywhere for that matter, relying solely on yourself. The key to achieving your dreams comes from having “lifeline relationships.”
Self-Help:
“A Complaint Free World” – Will Bowen
Using the simple principles found in this book, you can eradicate the toxicity of complaining from your life. A Complaint Free World will explain what constitutes a complaint, why we complain, what benefits we think we receive from complaining, how complaining is destructive to our lives, and how we can get others around us to stop complaining. The simple habit of not complaining can transform your health, relationships, career and life.
“Atomic Habits” – James Clear (Coming Soon)
“The Gifts of Imperfection” – Brené Brown
Ten research backed guideposts on the power of Wholehearted living–a way of engaging with the world from a place of worthiness
“Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends on It” – Kamal Ravakant
Kamal explains that everyone has a truth that they need to share. And that his truth is to love himself like his life depends on it. He proclaims that the most important relationship we’ll ever have is with ourselves. He declares that loving yourself is a practice and that as you love yourself, life loves you back.
Social Media:
“Trust Agents” – Chris Brogan & Julien Smith
How to tap into the power of social networks to build your brand’s influence, reputation, and, of course, profits. Rooted in the theoretical, but also offers actionable steps and case studies.
Success:
“A Guide to the Good Life” – William Irvine (Coming Soon)
“Deep Work” – Cal Newport
Deep Work consists of professional activities performed in a state of distraction-free concentration that push your cognitive capabilities to their limit. These efforts create new value, improve your skill, and are hard to replicate. The ubiquity of deep work among influential individuals is important to emphasize because it stands in sharp contrast to the behavior of most modern knowledge workers.
“So Good They Can’t Ignore You” – Cal Newport
Cal debunks the long-held belief that “follow your passion” is good advice. He argues that not only is the cliché flawed, but preexisting passions are rare and have little to do with how most people end up loving their work— but it can also be dangerous, leading to anxiety and chronic job hopping.
“How Will You Measure Your Life?” – Clayton Christensen
“Essentialism: The Discipline Pursuit of Less” – Greg McKeown (Coming Soon)
“Linchpin” – Seth Godin
How to become indispensable in the workplace. The most important career book you will ever read.
“Luck By Design” – Richard Goldman
Luck is something you create for yourself, with hard work, determination, good timing, and trust in yourself and your inner voice.
“Life After College” – Jenny Blake
Featuring 10 keys areas of life (i.e. work, money, friends, health) Jenny’s book is a great resource for graduating students and young professionals trying to navigate life in their 20s.
Writing:
“Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t: And Other Tough-Love Truths to Make You a Better Writer
It’s not that people are mean or cruel, just busy. Once you realize the painful truth that nobody wants to read your writing, you’re able to start the transformation from amateur to professional.