Notes & Summaries
These are notes I've taken, or summaries I've made of the things I read or listen to. Parts may come straight from the source, while others are written by me.
I do this to get the author's high-level idea, to brush up on something, or for people who don't feel like reading / listening to a whole book.
Never Finished
David Goggins
Can’t Hurt Me, David Goggins’ smash hit memoir, demonstrated how much untapped ability we all have but was merely an introduction to the power of the mind. In Never Finished, Goggins takes you inside his Mental Lab, where he developed the philosophy, psychology, and strategies that enabled him to learn that what he thought was his limit was only his beginning and that the quest for greatness is unending.
Meditations
Marcus Aurelius
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius is (probably) the best book ever written. Authored in 170 AD by the most powerful man in the world. And unlike essentially every other book ever written, this was a book never intended for publication. It was not written for an audience, but for the writer himself.
Elon Musk
Ashlee Vance
The first official biography of the founder of SpaceX and CEO of Tesla based on conversations between the author and friends and (former) employees of Musk, and ofcourse Musk himself. It highlights his complicated childhood, the way he makes decisions and navigates the world, and how he managed to disrupt multiple industries, all with the goal of saving humanity.
Astrophysics for People in a Hurry
Neil Degrasse Tyson
There's no better guide through mind-expanding questions about the universe. Today, few of us have time to contemplate the cosmos. So Tyson brings the universe down to Earth succinctly and clearly in digestible chapters consumable any time and anywhere in the busy day. I took the title of the book a little too literally because I forgot my copy while commuting the train to a student job. 😕
The 48 Laws of Power
Robert Greene
Three thousand years of the history of power into 48 essential laws by drawing from the philosophies of Machiavelli, Sun Tzu, and Carl Von Clausewitz. Some laws teach the need for prudence, others teach the value of confidence, and many recommend absolute self-preservation.
Zero to One
Peter Thiel
The next Bill Gates will not build an operating system. The next Larry Page or Sergey Brin won't make a search engine. Doing what we already know how to do takes the world from 1 to n, adding more of somehthing familiar. But everytime we create smething new, we go from 0 to 1.
Can't Hurt Me
David Goggins
Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Minds and Defy the Odds is the story of David Goggins, he transcended poverty and abuse to become one of the world’s top endurance athletes. His story reveals how mastering your mind, hard work, and becoming friends with pain can help you achieve the unimaginable.
The Dip
Seth Godin
Every new project (or job, or hobby, or company) starts out fun…then gets really hard, and not much fun at all. You might be in a Dip—a temporary setback that will get better if you keep pushing. But maybe it’s really a Cul-de-Sac—a total dead end. What really sets superstars apart is the ability to tell the two apart.
The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck
Mark Manson
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life (first published in 2016) is the second book by blogger and author Mark Manson. In it, Manson argues that life's struggles give it meaning, and that the mindless positivity of typical self-help books is neither practical nor helpful.
12 Rules For Life
Jordan B. Peterson
12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos is a 2018 self-help book by Canadian clinical psychologist and psychology professor Jordan Peterson. It provides life advice through essays in abstract ethical principles, psychology, mythology, religion, and personal anecdotes.
Atomic Habits
James Clear
No matter your goals, Atomic Habits offers a proven framework for improving--every day. James Clear, one of the world's leading experts on habit formation, reveals practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviors that lead to remarkable results.
Discourses and Selected Writings
Epictetus
Despite being born into slavery, Greco-Roman philosopher Epictetus became one of the most influential thinkers of his time. Discourses and Selected Writings is a transcribed collection of informal lectures given by the philosopher around AD 108. A gateway into the life and mind of a great intellectual.
A Brief History Of Time
Stephen Hawking
Hawking writes in non-technical terms about the structure, origin, development and eventual fate of the Universe. He talks about basic concepts like space and time, basic building blocks that make up the Universe (such as quarks) and the fundamental forces that govern it (such as gravity).
How To Win Friends And Influence People
Dale Carnegie
The core idea is that you can change other people’s behavior simply by changing your own. It teaches you the principles to better understand people, become a more likable person, improve relationships, win others over, and influence behavior through leadership.
Rich Dad Poor Dad
Robert Kiyosaki
This book advocates the importance of financial literacy, financial independence and building wealth through investing in assets, real estate investing, starting and owning businesses, as well as increasing one's financial intelligence. Rich Dad Poor Dad is written in the style of a set of parables, based on Kiyosaki's life.
The Magic of Thinking Big
David J. Schwartz
Dr. Schwartz presents a carefully designed program for getting the most out of your job, your marriage and family life, and your community. He proves that you don't need to be an intellectual or have innate talent to attain great success and satisfaction, but you do need to learn and understand the habit of thinking and behaving in ways that will get you there.