Books That Have Inspired Me (Part 1)
Self, Everything, Leadership, Business, Governance
See my second reading list post: Books That Have Inspired Me (Part 2).
This weekend, I’ve been fortunate to spend time in Joshua Tree with friends. Through reflection and observation, I’ve come to realize how much of our personal tragedies, triumphs, wonders, and woes shape our identities. Moreover, our essence, thoughts, actions, and beliefs are created and reinforced by a complicated tapestry of knowledge.
The information we choose to consume has a profound impact on our beliefs. Learning something and gaining knowledge can profoundly shape our lives—driving our decisions and motivations toward new portals of growth.
Lately, much of my media consumption has come through podcasts, articles, research papers, and threads on Twitter that lead me down internet rabbit holes. But books hold a special place in my heart.
To surrender oneself entirely to a book is a magical experience. The act of reading can carry you to distant realms and timelines brought to life by the canvas of your imagination. In these pages, decades of knowledge and wisdom are collected, synthesized, and artfully crafted. It’s enriching and invigorating. Knowledge is power.
The following is a selection of books that have influenced the way I think about self, humanity, society, business, the planet, the universe, and the enigma of reality. The texts have helped me establish the fundamentals and foundations of my professional career, coaching style, and life mission.
As an eternal student, I’ll continually augment this list over time.
Stay tuned for Part 2 in a future post, which will focus on books that have shaped my perspective on Health, Relationships, and Parenting.
Self, Psychology, & Consciousness
Thinking Fast and Slow - by Daniel Kahneman
This book was a revelation. It helped me understand the multitude of inherent cognitive biases we all have. If left unchecked, these heuristics can lead to poor decision-making and negatively affect our happiness, career, and relationships. Kahneman is a captivating writer, and the book is full of fascinating studies and anecdotes.
Mind Over Mood: Change How You Feel By Changing the Way You Think by Dennis Greenberger & Christine Padesky
During the darkest days of my depression, I sought help from any place I could. As part of this search, I discovered Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Until I hit rock bottom, I didn't fully appreciate the importance of emotions and therapy. This book provided a powerful toolset to help manage my thoughts which impacted the emotions and mood I felt.
Daring Greatly by Brené Brown
While exploring psychotherapy after my divorce, I began to understand the value of honesty, transparency, and vulnerability. Brown, an incredible writer and speaker, inspired me to embrace openness with myself and others.
With her words, I learned to be OK with imperfection and to see the humanity in my mistakes and failures. Sharing my fears, doubts, and shame, once a terrifying experience, became a beautiful discovery. I realized that everyone is going through their own struggles. You are never truly alone.
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson
The title of the book says it all. Life can be tough, and society does a great job of adding stress to our lives. This persistent stress can lead to mental and physical health issues, from minor to life-threatening illnesses. One remedy is to adopt the right mindset and learn to let go of things that aren't truly important.
Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
This is a harrowing and inspiring account of life in the Holocaust concentration camps, and it contains perhaps the most important reflection and wisdom from that experience. Frankl illuminates how one can still find bliss even in the most nightmarish scenario.
Much of it comes down to perspective and mindset, particularly finding your purpose. The ability to reframe your story is perhaps the most powerful tool you have in finding meaning and joy in your life.
Stealing Fire by Steven Kotler & Jamie Wheal
Meditation and psychedelics have had a profoundly positive impact on my life. My good friend Mike gave me this book which was an affirmation and an accelerant on my journey as a psychonaut. I find myself pushing the limits of consciousness to heal my traumas, break past patterns, maximize my performance, and explore the more esoteric elements of our universe and reality.
This book takes a broad, pragmatic, scientific, and economic view of altered states of consciousness and is full of fascinating insights and discoveries. It helps to demystify some of the stigmas around psychedelics and opens up a pathway to achieving peak performance.
Big Picture Thinking
The Penguin and the Leviathan - How Cooperation Triumphs over Self-Interest by Yochai Benkler
This book gave me hope that we can change the world for the better, and that change doesn't have to come from the top down. Benkler argues that humans are intrinsically driven by self-interest but also a sense of cooperation and community.
In fact, this theme is consistent throughout the healing power of nature, where abundance emerges through reciprocity, regeneration, and balancing forces. This is counter to the modeling of our economic and political systems, which tend to value, reward, and idolize individual accumulation of power.
What sets our current era apart is leverage. Technology allows us to collaborate on a global scale, with low barriers to entry and at marginal cost. When united, we have the power to accomplish anything.
Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
Sweeping change is possible, but how can we initiate it? This book examines how ideas spread and the factors that contribute to a tipping point: the moment when a significant and often unstoppable change takes place in a situation, process, or system.
Gladwell is a compelling storyteller and provides a range of anecdotes and studies to help illuminate the concepts. The book flows and is a quick read. Although it isn't comprehensive and may reference some debatable studies, it offers a useful glimpse of small ideas bringing about big change.
Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven Levitt & Stephen Dubner
One of the most effective ways to manifest change in the world is through economics. It is one of the key mechanisms of how our global society functions, as well as a study of how humans interact at a social level.
This book (and its sequel Super Freakonomics) changed the way I understood economics—not as some gargantuan, confusing game of numbers exclusive to stock markets and big banks, but rather as a means to objectively understand human motivation and dynamics.
Beyond finance, the book explores economics in unexpected areas such as parenting, crime, and education. Its findings challenge conventional wisdom and taught me to value objective data, hard evidence, and critical thinking. It’s a powerful remedy against biases or compelling yet flawed narratives.
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari
Harari is one of the most captivating and clear thinkers of our time. His book provides a sweeping overview of humanity's journey as a species. I gained a profound understanding of the power of collective storytelling and imagination, which underpin all major systems that structure our society. This includes government, religion, and economy.
Moreover, Harari presents a compelling argument about humanity's impact on life on earth and the environment, emphasizing our inherent responsibility to treat it properly. All of his books & public speaking contain important ideas that could benefit humanity.
The Prophet by Khalil Gibran
This book is a masterpiece. It offers poetic vignettes on life, family, love, wealth, spirituality, and more. Every page contains multiple quotable phrases. The wisdom displayed by Gibran is so profound and expansive, I imagine it taking multiple lifetimes to let the words sink into knowing.
I often return to this work to reflect on life, refresh my perspective, understand the beauty in all things, and be inspired to be a better person.
Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson
Gaining perspective can foster both wonder and humility. And few things are grander than the cosmos, which is estimated to have a diameter of at least 93 billion light years.
This is a brief and accessible introduction to astrophysics. I would also highly recommend the TV series "Cosmos” or “Our Universe”, which offer a stunning visual narrative alongside fascinating scientific history.
Physics of the Future by Michio Kaku
I share Elon Musk's belief that we all need a reason to be excited about the future, something to imagine and look forward to each day. Kaku, with his deep understanding of physics and science today, envisions what the world will look like hundreds of years from now. This breathtaking and inspiring view of a better world gives me a sense of responsibility to help guide the development and use of technology for the greater good…
Leadership
The Art of Servant Leadership - Tony Baron
I live and die by this philosophy: a true leader prioritizes the needs of others and focuses on empowering and serving those around them. It seems counter-intuitive because this style of leadership isn’t modeled at the highest levels of our global and corporate leadership. But by serving others and leading from behind, you engender trust, collaboration, purpose, creativity, innovation, and so much more.
Peopleware - Tom DeMarco & Timothy Lister
When I began my professional career, one of the first books I read was Peopleware, and it taught me powerful lessons that I immediately applied at work. The many lessons go over cultivating a positive team culture, embracing autonomy, establishing a healthy work environment, and facilitating effective communication.
Through my experience, I have found that creating safety, trust, purpose, and playfulness in team culture can transform a group into an absolute powerhouse. This culture is infectious and can spread throughout an organization, and it all starts with a small, core team.
Your Brain at Work - David Rock
Learning about neuroscience and how it relates to productivity, clarity, and our mood was profound. This book highlights the role of mindfulness, prioritization, and managing emotions. Applying this knowledge in the workplace, and eventually in my personal life, empowered me to improve relationships, navigate tough situations, and think more strategically.
Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman by Yvon Chouinard
If only more CEOs shared Chouinard’s heart and holistic perspective on corporate leadership. I wholeheartedly embrace his views on building teams and companies with an incredible emphasis on values, environmental protection, and how to balance profit with purpose.
The book keenly hones into the idea that employees need to be treated as partners, not subordinates, as these two are inextricably linked with customer experience.
7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
This book breaks down fundamental principles for cultivating personal and professional development with relevant anecdotes and exercises. I found the lessons to be helpful conceptually as I read them, and their true power came through as I began to practice and experience them. In brief, the habits are:
Being proactive
Beginning with the end in mind
Putting first things first
Thinking win-win
Seeking first to understand, then to be understood
Synergizing
Continuously improving oneself
This book is a reminder and reinforcement of building relationships through trust, respect, and reciprocity. These are the kinds of relationships that last and lead to abundance.
Business
Rework by Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson
This book challenges conventional notions and encourages you to rethink your work environment. The lesson that stuck with me the most was "Fire the workaholics". I was guilty as charged. It took me a while to fully understand why this concept is so important. Overworking is detrimental to your mental and physical health, degrades your perspectives, and impairs your judgment and decision-making abilities.
It's unsustainable and inevitably leads to a crash and burn. Aside from the damage to yourself, overworking can manifest externally and harm the people around you. Your behavior and mood can directly impact them, or you may indirectly affect them by modeling the wrong behavior.
This leads to feelings of guilt, shame, or unrealistic expectations. It took me years and many cycles of death and rebirth to overcome this mentality, but I am so much better for it.
Lean Startup by Eric Ries
Simplicity, speed, and continuous learning are essential in the startup world. However, the principles and concepts outlined in this book are also applicable in other work contexts, up to and including mega-corporations.
Unfortunately, I made the mistake of not reading this book until I was well into my journey as a startup founder, and I paid a heavy price by learning the hard way. I recommend this book as required reading for any founder embarking on their journey.
Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen
This classic recipe for organizing yourself may seem somewhat dated, but it has been a key advantage in powering my career and life. Being structured, methodical, efficient, and focused has allowed me to free up so much of my energy and mental capacity.
By capturing, inventorying, and accessing tasks, goals, ideas, and responsibilities outside of my brain, I am able to focus. This approach has enabled me to apply my mental capacity toward the critical decisions, actions, and relationships that are truly important.
While some individuals are excellent at multi-tasking, I believe that even for them, nothing beats the power of a clear mind and focused attention.
Inspired - How to Create Tech Products Customers Love - Marty Cagan
I’ve spent a significant portion of my career specializing in project and program management, but there’s always so much more to learn. To remedy this, I dedicated myself to reading and practicing as much as possible. Yet, I found that the most effective way to build my skills was by observing experts in the field and then applying their strategies to my own practice.
Despite this, I firmly believe that having a strong foundation in fundamental product management frameworks and mental models is crucial, and this book delivers these in abundance. Its insights and strategies have proven invaluable in my own work.
Governance
How Democracies Die by Steven Levitsky & Daniel Ziblatt
If we desire a better world, it's crucial that we reassess how we govern ourselves. While our democratic system is something to be revered, we must also acknowledge that it is in need of evolution.
Over time, my concerns have grown, leading me to believe that our social systems are spiraling toward collapse. Reading this book confirmed these fears, but also left me hopeful that change is possible.
Democracy 2.0: What It Will Take to Have Another 200 Years of Freedom by Lance M. King
This insightful analysis presents a structured model of the lifecycle of democracies, which allowed me to diagnose the current state of the US and other democratic nations.
While it's evident that we're in trouble, I found it inspiring to know that many individuals are contemplating how to preserve and develop our governance systems. The research presented in this book laid the foundation for me to develop governance models for my organizations and DAOs.
What I’m Doing This Week
Gratitude: I’m grateful for my soul mate, who is my ultimate partner, guide, cheerleader, teammate, lover, and best friend. She has taught me how to see, value, and care for myself. She’s helped me heal through traumas with understanding and compassion. She fills my life, my family, and my community with light. She inspires me to be my best self. I am forever changed and eternally grateful. I love you with all my heart.
Listening to:
For focus and flow state while working.
Watching: Sunset, stars, mountains, and trees.
Reading: Tarot cards. To explore the esoteric and experience shock, insight, and wisdom.
Self-care: Volleyball, sun, plants, friendship, journaling
Thanks again! What an amazing composition! I added 4 to my reading list: stealing fire, rework, penguin & leviathan, lean startup - and I really want to get back to my reading before sleeping routine!