In 2020, these were the books I…
Image by @vnwayne on Unsplash
It’s hard to believe it’s been a year since my 2019 Reading Experiment. Reading remains a vital force in my life, helping me engage more fully with others, helping me relax, and helping me to better understand the magnificent world in which we live. During the craziness that was 2020, books were a beacon of sanity and calm. Here is a list of 7 books that made me think and act in new ways.
…immediately wanted to throw across the room, it was so good.
Working Out Loud by John Stepper was a book that came to me at just the right time, as we enter a New Year full of possibility, and with the launch of a podcast and other related work projects I have planned.
Billing itself as a “wildly popular, proven approach for personal and professional transformation that guides you to set goals and build relationships to help you achieve them.”
I found this book to be so much more. It’s a handbook for shipping the work that matters to you, with the people who inspire you and that you want to work with. It offers the reader a chance to create their own social glue for their work, to invite others to join them, and most importantly it describes how a posture of being “generous first” pays off, always.
Generosity and connection are at the heart of this book, but it’s not a surface-level treatment. It’s the key to unlocking new futures. In reading and applying this book (the author is BIG on application, and has a really great way of practically applying each chapter), you can learn how to “reach and engage people, how to experiment and deal with setbacks, and how to make yourself and your work more visible.”
Magic.
Note: This book also qualifies for the next section, which is…
…read and said out loud “Why did no-one tell me?!”
It turns out that breathing is super-important, and James Nestor’s book, Breath, is an epic book the describes how.
I was particularly interested in this book as I have been practicing breathwork every day as part of my morning lockdown routine. Nestor covers the history of discoveries about breath, how and why it’s important to our bodies (beyond the obvious), and offers simple ways to improve how we breathe, and therefore our overall general health, mindset, and outlook.
As I read this book, I constantly turned to my wife and told her some amazing tidbit of information, mostly shocked at how little I understood about something that I do tens of thousands of times per day
…read twice, and cannot wait to read again
I have been an uber-fan of Derek Sivers for years now, and was over the moon to discover that he was releasing not 1, but 2 new books in 2020! When I first heard about them on a podcast, I had an idea about what was coming - most likely something short, simple, and superbly-written that leaves you pondering their real meanings for days afterward, just like his first book Anything You Want.
The first book is Your Music and People (subtitle: Creative and Considerate Fame), and while the title might speak to musicians only, I found it to be an excellent book on the art of marketing. While it does a great job of being “a philosophy of getting your work to the world by being creative, considerate, resourceful, and connected.” on a deeper level, it taught me a lot about empathy, about seeing your work from others perspectives and about the act of thinking creatively about the possibilities that abound when you sit down and truly consider, “what is it for?” when it comes to getting your work into the hands of those who you seek to engage with.
It’s story-filled (and Derek’s stories are always well told, concise and informative), actionable, and also…worth a listen. So get the audio version too!
The second book is called “Hell Yeah or No” and in style, it’s similar to the above (which is to say…it’s an easy and thought-inducing read.). The idea of “Hell Yeah or No” has become Internet-meme worthy, and is over 10 years old now. From listening to Derek on various podcasts, it seems it’s been a recurring piece of work that he is known for widely. This book, subtitled “thoughts around what’s worth doing, fixing faulty thinking, and making things happen.” is a combination of decision-making strategies, perspective-shifting exercises, and thought-provoking stories. Derek is a fan of directives, of cutting to the chase of whatever it is that worth sharing, not messing with wrapping ideas in needless details, and this book could be read as such. The titles alone are takeaways, let alone the chapters themselves (which are all short)
Cracking x 2.
Bonus Book mention: His next book “How to Live” is being released in 2021! No small title :)
…am happy to add to my “short and powerful reads” list
Onward by Scott Perry is a book for the ages. I have known Scott mostly through his leadership and coaching work, and I'm always so glad when he releases another title.
I’ve been exposed to a good few difference-makers over the years, but have rarely read a book that shows you how it’s done. Scott takes us by the hand through themes of doubt and getting unstuck into the land of possibility, where I'm convinced Scott is the Mayor.
Looking to contribute and create a legacy? Read this book and be inspired to do just that
…would sneak up to the bedroom to read a few pages during the day
Stillness is The Key by Ryan Holiday brought me great comfort in 2020, not just because Ryan has such a strong writing style and really knows how to do his research, but also because this book engages with the deeper spiritual side of Ryans usual oeuvre, that of Stoicism.
Having dived into (and found great solace with) Pema Chodron’s Comfortable with Uncertainty during the early 2020 lockdown, Stillness had a similar effect on me in a year of shifting sands. The 2 books complement each other, as Ryan brings a Buddhist aspect to his deep Stoic understanding, showing us how the ability to be steady while the world whirls around you is something we can consciously cultivate.
He takes inspiration and advice from some of history's greatest thinkers, from Confucius and Seneca to Marcus Aurelius and Nietzsche. I particularly loved his insights into the life of Winston Churchill, Prime Minister, Painter, and Bricklayer.
If you are feeling overwhelmed in any part of your life, this book does a fantastic job of pointing the way to meaning and contentment.
…think should be given to every parent, asap
Monster Feelings by Laura Tyson and Michael Smith is technically aimed at preschool and elementary-aged children who are in the process of discovering their seemingly outsized emotions, but really I think we all could do with reading this. The topic itself is deep and worth understanding, and the magic of this book is that it helps you to do just that with a playful sense of fun.
Growing up can be hard! This book is a welcome "rope” for parents to help their kids climb those emotional mountains. The subtle design decisions of using a colour wheel with gradients to help kids place their feelings better is genius, and instantly useful.
As the saying goes, to be emotionally intelligent, you have to be emotionally literate” and this book is an easy entry for the “required reading” list.
…thought to myself “Oh yeah, this makes complete sense.”
The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick has one of the clearest and smile-inducing subtitles of any books I read this year - “How to talk to customers & learn if your business is a good idea when everyone is lying to you“.
And it does just that! I had heard of this book for a couple of years, but the recent launch of my podcast, The First 10, and working with more and more business builders meant that this book became centre-stage for me.
For a start, Rob’s writing style is honest, wry, and simple. He debunks basically everything you might have thought about how to talk to your customers, in a way that clarifies how you should be doing it, and why.
His starting point is that asking anyone about your business idea is generally a bad idea, because “everyone will lie to you at least a little…it's not their responsibility to tell you the truth. It's your responsibility to find it and it's worth doing right.”
This book above all else made me rethink my approach to customer conversations, and it’s a methodology I'm happy to spread in my work too. Getting those conversations right pays huge dividends, and thankfully we have this book, borne of years of hard-won experience, to show us how.
That’s it! Can’t wait to see what (books) 2021 brings!
