At the end of the year, I take the time to reflect. This post, and the others like it, are my lessons for 2016. My hope is by reading them; you get a sense of what my overall lessons were. My hope is by writing them; I’ll have a place to archive my memories. In the future, they are quickly sorted and filed when someone looks for insight.
- 2016 in Review: Failure
- 2016 in Review: Successes
- 2016 in Review: Eleven Book Recommendations
- 2016 in Review: The Major Lesson
- Blog Direction for 2017 – New Year Themes!
Reading is fundamental
I used to laugh at that slogan, “reading is fundamental.” It always ended with me saying “fundamental for what?”
It took me years to get serious with my reading habit. Now, I read over 60 books a year. Reading made my life better.
I like to end the year clarifying my favorite books of the year. If you don’t read regularly, start. Pick one of these books.
Must reads
- A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr.– Sometimes one bright spot can blind us to other great work. The “I Have A Dream” speech may have propelled Dr. King into our country’s heart. However, the bright lights of inspiration blind us from the practical. This book contains selected sermons, speeches, and essays that lay out Dr. King’s platform, much of which is still relevant today. Read this a little at a time and consume it. It’s a masters class on how to make your point in the face of adversity and a great history lesson to boot.
- Seeking Wisdom: From Darwin to Munger, 3rd Edition – How often do you think about how to think? One of the tenets of leadership is “direction.” You use a map to give direction. In building a plan, it is important to think about the tools you use. Seeking Wisdom is an excellent primer for that, as Peter Bevelin takes great effort to distil several tools great thinkers have used, from Charles Darwin to Charlie Munger, to do that. This is an expensive book (cost me $50.00 or so) and worth every penny.
- Finite & Infinite Games – We play two types of games, finite and infinite. Finite games are winnable; the infinite game is not. The infinite game affects us much more than finite ones. However, we can catch ourselves bowing to finite games. We often give too much power to the smaller things in life, and let them affect the big picture. This is a great book to help you set perspective and add some play in your life.
- Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World – All work is not created equal. As much as we like to use time as a barometer, it fools us. Cal Newport gives you a recipe to help create the circumstances where getting a ton of stuff done is the “norm.” Why is this practical? Professor Newport used these tools to become a tenured professor at 34(extremely young) while writing and speaking all over the world. He also shuts off his computer every night at 5:30 PM.
- Turn the Ship Around!: A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders– The secret to leadership is your vulnerability, all things equal. If you need proof, I’ll suggest this book, where the author, David Marquet, takes on the “worst” submarine and makes it the “best” in a short period. Give respect, responsibility, and agency to the people around you, and often their success will far outweigh the risk.
- Getting Everything You Can Out of All You’ve Got: 21 Ways You Can Out-Think, Out-Perform, and Out-Earn the Competition – The key to fixing problems is to ask the right questions. This book from Jay Abraham gives you the tools to keep asking the right questions. This is my genius book, because every time I go into it and use the solutions, it makes me look like a genius. Seriously, the book is that good.
Nice to haves
What to Do When It’s Your Turn (and it’s Always Your Turn) – Seth Godin gives you a tome to help you execute. This book is beautiful and full of relevant information on performing.
Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future – Think big, do the work and risk it all. This book can inspire you to take action on the ideas worth doing.
80/20 Sales and Marketing: The Definitive Guide to Working Less and Making More – Eliminate. Always eliminate. The Pareto principle helps you work on the things that matter.
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life – Love yourself. The only way you are going to get to yourself is if you listen.
Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration – Pixar opens to the books to give a blueprint for consistent success.
From the desk of Adam Thomas 