“Art is the kind of marathon where you cross the finish line and instead of getting a medal placed around your neck, the volunteers roughly grab you by the shoulders and walk you over to the starting line of another marathon.” Perennial Seller is a book by Ryan Holiday that tries to teach you how … Read more
Influence by Robert Cialdini teaches us about the science of persuasion. The author himself spent his life studying the most common techniques that were used by salesmen and persuaders, and the six most pervasive strategies were presented in this book. The Six Laws of Persuasion Reciprocation People feel obliged to give back. When you offer … Read more
Law 15: Crush Your Enemies Totally Wu Chao was born in A.D 625. She was a beautiful young woman, and daughter of the duke. But she was competing with the harem of Emperor T’ai Tsung, who were all competing to be the emperor’s favorite. This made the palace of the emperor a dangerous place. But … Read more
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell is about how ideas really spread. The argument is that it’s not the size of the advertising budget that determines how quickly ideas catch fire, rather it is the dynamic interplay of hidden factors at just the right time. The Law of the Few is an example of this. … Read more
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell is about our perceptions of success and genius. Gladwell’s take on the classic nature vs nurture argument, is that nurture wins. We have a way of looking at success stories and marvel at how some exceptional people were able to accomplish what they did, but really, they were merely products of … Read more
Blue Ocean Strategy is a book that argues for a better strategy in business, finding uncontested space rather than join the fierce competition that already exists. When a market is crowded, products become like commodities – they lose value and it becomes difficult to stand out. If you want to join the competition, you will be … Read more
10% Happier is a book about Dan Harris and his discovery of meditation. He takes us through his personal journey, starting with his addiction to the rush of adrenaline from covering live news events in dangerous locations to his subsequent breakdown on live TV as a news anchor. This prompted him to seek out the … Read more
Deep Work is a book about prioritization. It’s about structuring your day more thoughtfully and getting the most out of the finite attention you have. Things like social media and the many internet tools and distractions that exist today are a media junkie’s dream. And if you’re someone who uses those tools for work, you … Read more
What You’re Really Meant To Do is a short book that will help you reassess your career path. Kaplan asks us at the end of each chapter a series of questions to challenge our decisions. And those are the most valuable parts of the book. Completing these exercises will force you think more deeply about what … Read more
Principles by Ray Dalio (founder of Bridgewater) is a great book. One of the gems in the book was his reference to how the economic machine works, an excellent thirty-minute video that everyone should watch. Practical Thinking Throughout the book, Dalio shares his personal story, and then goes on to give us advice about work and … Read more