A Quote & A Lesson from 10 Books I’ve Read This Year
I’m trying to read a whole lot more this year than I ever have before. In doing so, I feel as if I’m learning constantly and although I can’t recall everything from every book, I feel as if each book builds upon some sort of personal foundation. For myself, and for you, I’ve put together my favourite quote from each of 10 books I’ve loved this year and the key thing I learned.
I find books through recommendations, so if you have any recommendations — let me know!
Anything You Want — Derek Sivers
“When you make a business, you get to make a little universe where you control all the laws. This is your utopia.”
Key learning: creating a business is about making your own and other people’s dreams come true, so your core aim should always be to strive for happiness.
Black Box Thinking — Matthew Syed
“A failure to learn from mistakes has been one of the single greatest obstacles to human progress.”
Key learning: embracing failure is the ultimate way to learn, even if it means rejecting our natural inclination to ignore our downfalls.
The Obstacle Is The Way — Ryan Holiday
“If someone you love hurts you, there is a chance to practice forgiveness. If your business fails, now you can practice acceptance.”
Key learning: even in the worst of situations, bad turns of luck and catastrophic failures there is an opportunity to find a silver lining.
The One Thing — Gary Keller
“Getting extraordinary results is all about creating a domino effect in your life.”
Key learning: Success isn’t sudden, it’s the accumulation of many small triumphs that all work toward the same goal.
On The Shortness of Life— Seneca
“It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it.”
Key learning: There is a difference between living and existing, to live you need to act as if like everyday is the last.
Vagabonding — Rolf Potts
“Vagabonding begins the moment you stop making excuses, start saving money, and begin to look at maps with the narcotic tingle of possibility.”
Key learning: Quit your job, get out, see the world, live the dream — because in this day and age, we can.
I Will Teach You To Be Rich* — Ramit Sethi
*Ignore the title – it’s ridiculous and click bait worthy, I was dubious when I was recommended it but it was really worth a read to learn the basics of finance.
“One of the key differences between rich people and everyone else is that rich people plan before they need to plan.”
Key learning: You don’t need to make money quickly, make money purposely by planning ahead and practicing frugality.
The Alchemist — Paulo Coelho
“There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.”
Key learning: At any point in your life you can pursue a dream by following what truly makes you happy.
Maximise Your Potential — Jocelyn K. Glei
“Average is a steady state, free of highs or lows. Unfortunately, average isn’t very satisfying.”
Key learning: Your best work happens when you push yourself past your current capabilities.
Letters from a Stoic — Seneca
“It is not the man who has too little who is poor, but the one who hankers after more.”
Key learning: Humans are obsessed with wanting more — whether it’s money, possessions, skill or friends. Stop and realise what you already have.
If you like the list, press the little heart.
