The 3 Pieces of Media That Most Impacted Me in 2017
A book report, of sorts.
This originally started as a book report for 2017, but to be honest, I didn’t get near as much reading in this year as I would have liked. I did dedicate a lot of time to podcasts, digital articles, video and a few books. So, in the spirit, I present the three things that really informed me this year both on and offline. Short and sweet.
Thanks to my buddy Jacob Gordon for prompting me and others to write these. I will link to all their 2017 book reports at the bottom.
Deep Work
by Cal Newport
This philosophy text is masquerading as a business book. It’s much more than that. Newport’s general thesis is accomplishing “deep work”; that is, meaningful, thoughtful in-depth problem solving and creative output, is a rarity in our fast-paced, always buzzing, always distracted, digitally noisy world we’ve created for ourselves. As humans, we often resign our work lives to just being routers of messages back and forth, all day, to feel a level of productivity.
There are countless historical examples, from Carl Jung on up to Bill Gates, of those who have maintained a practice of long, uninterrupted work and the massive impacts it had on their output. Carl Jung for example ran a busy practice where his attention was constantly in demand, but was only able to challenge his mentor Freud’s point of view by building a 2nd house in the country side where he would escape to for months alone to think.
I am constantly trying to stay proactive rather than reactive in my work life. Of course, I let the notifications, emails and dings get to me a lot of the times, but when I don’t, it’s night and day the level of work I can accomplish.
Best thing I read all year, hands down. You can get it here.
The Quiet Master of Cryptocurrency — Nick Szabo
Podcast — Tim Ferriss, Nick Szabo & Naval Ravikant talk about the history of money
This episode of the Tim Ferris show completely changed how I think about currency, money and the differences in the two. There is a ton of historical context. In addition to that, after months and months of research this year, it is still the best introduction to blockchain technology, cryptocurrencies, smart contracts and the technological changes they are bringing I have found. In fact, Szabo is credited with inventing the term ‘smart contract’ and much of the technology behind them. It’s worth the two hour listen.
Find it on Ferriss’ site here.
For I Only Needed Awakening
Shot & edited by Rachel Goldsworthy
At five minutes twenty two seconds, this is the most impactful video I saw online all year, and trust me, as someone who makes stories in that medium for a living, I watched A TON of video this year.
This is a collection of travel footage from trips to China, beautifully and rhythmically arranged by Goldsworthy in such a way as to take you to a place somewhere inside yourself and leave you feeling both inspired and a little sucker punched. At least, that’s the feeling I get every time I re-watch it. She overdubbed Alan Watts’ “The Dream of Life” along with the music and its just an incredible piece of work.
Find it on Vimeo here.
Other 2017 Book Reports
