There might be no cheaper, easier, and more efficient method to gain new insights, absorb new ideas, and to push the boundaries of our own understanding than reading.
It’s important to take in new ideas. And also to do some deep thinking with the help of long-form content.
That’s why books are so great. In whatever form you might like–paper, electronic, or even audio book format.
I try to read as much as possible, and I always find it worthwhile. It’s nice to get off the short-attention-span treadmill that is so prevalent these days and to enjoy a good book.
With that said, here are my recommendations for April 2018:
Having your finances together provides many benefits, not the least of which is great stress relief. I plan to dive into this in much greater detail in a future post. For now, take the stress out of investing by considering Bogle’s advice in this book.
The inventor of the index fund explains in great detail why he favors a simple approach to investing for the long term.
While the book has some depth, it is largely a one-sided argument. So you may want to balance this against other approaches.
But to consider this idea in-depth, there’s probably no better argument to hear out than John’s.
River Out of Eden: A Darwinian View of Life (Science Masters Series)
This book provides another deep dive into a popular idea.
Richard Dawkins’ compelling exploration of Darwinism provides great insights into this often over-simplified topic.
But what I liked even more was his amazing ability to present ideas with clarity and concision.
I found most chapters in the book to be great examples of critical thinking, explained in compelling detail yet with great economy.
Also, anytime I read anything on this sort of time scale, it helps me to keep the bigger picture in mind. Whatever it is you are all worked up about today, probably doesn’t matter so much in the long run.
Which is a perfect lead-in to my next recommendation…
The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph
My favorite book in this roundup is this one from Ryan Holiday.
A modern implementation of ancient ideas, this book will help you in your every day life and in your biggest challenges.
Based on the Stoic Philosophy, Holiday teaches us how to deal with anything that comes at us in the most constructive way possible. Not only are obstacles to be expected, but they are to be welcomed. Because these obstacles are all here to teach us valuable lessons–if we approach them the way he suggests.
Broken into three parts–Perspective, Action, The Will–this book is very approachable and very practical and actionable.
Beyond Books
Here are some other resources that I found particularly insightful and inspiring lately.
Tim Ferriss and Daniel Pink — How to Make Better Decisions and Be More Creative Tim interviews Dan in this wide-ranging discussion from two of my favorite thought leaders. Although I’m a big fan of each of them, I’d never heard them together before.
I was not disappointed. I listed to all two hours and nineteen minutes and enjoyed all of it.
Forget Productivity. Think Impact. Yours truly wrote a guest post for the Heller Search blog. It’s all about achieving what I like to call Maximum Personal Impact. You might like it.
And, just for fun, a favorite tweet:
Happy Pi Day – I thought I’d celebrate with one of my favourite pie charts 🙂 pic.twitter.com/zm4DlTio16
— Michelle Dickinson (@medickinson) March 14, 2018
