In 2017, I made the second best decision of my life.
I read the book Essentialism, which argues that almost everything in life is not essential. It got me thinking about my reading, and I defined essential as a book, article, or otherwise that I remember 3 years later.
After some thought, I came up with 31 books and 6 articles. Books are essential, articles not so much.
I decided to focus my reading on books. I stopped goofing around online, canceled my magazines and focused on the essential. Besides asking my wife to marry me, it was the best decision of my life.
Clearing out my reading clutter allowed me to finish books during football season, something that rarely happened since I started working in sports. Shoe Dog by Phil Knight was amazing, and it wasn’t even the best business book I read during football season.
I recommend these books that I discovered in 2017.
Hamilton by Ron Chernow
2017 was the year of Hamilton in my family, as we started blasting the music from the musical non-stop in early January and then saw the musical twice.
I got so wrapped up in Hamilton fever that I devoted 40 some hours to the 832 pages of the Ron Chernow biography that inspired the musical. The book is every bit as brilliant as Lin-Manual Miranda’s musical. It sweeps you away in glory as Hamilton becomes the first Treasury Secretary and then leaves you in sadness with his death.
I didn’t like everything about the book. I don’t understand why historians need to use so many big words to seem smart. Also, a reviewer on Amazon commented how the book made it seem like Thomas Jefferson never did any good. It’s a fair criticism, as a book has its point of view.
However, I enjoyed Hamilton’s journey from poor immigrant to founding father. It gets even better as Hamilton ran the government from his law practice after he left office. Moreover, it got me thinking about how Miranda turned this arcane history into a cultural phenomena.
I could speculate for 4000 words on Miranda’s creative process, but let’s just cover 3 points that I’m still contemplating 8 months after reading the book.
First, Angelica, Hamilton’s sister-in-law, probably wasn’t obsessed with him. She was the smart, too hot for her own good type. Do those types end up with the bookish scholar that becomes Secretary of the Treasury? Or do the end up with the swashbuckling Brit who fled his homeland for killing a man in a duel then amassed a fortune in America? She married the latter. Her affection for Hamilton is clear, but not to the extent portrayed in the musical.
Second, Jefferson wasn’t getting high with the French during the Revolutionary War. He was running from the British in his home state of Virginia. I understand that Miranda took liberties in crafting his historical fiction, but I’d like to ask him why he didn’t fix simple factual errors like this.
Third, the musical does a masterful job capturing the inner emotions of these man. “I imagine death it feels more like a memory, when is it going to get me, ten feet ahead of me?” Hamilton felt that his entire life. Near the end, he no longer held office, and I bet he had depression from how his Federalist party lost power after the Adams administration. There’s some evidence that suggests he might have wanted to die in the Burr duel.
I’m now a huge Chernow fan, and I have Washington and Grant sitting on my shelf, waiting for my schedule to open a 50 hour chunk of time.
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
“Anything essential is invisible to the eyes.” I loved this story about the prince who traveled far to find meaning in his relationships.
Two notes on this story. First, the movie is disappointing. They had to extend the story to make it feature length, and the extension just doesn’t cut it. Think of the Michael moves to Las Vegas part of The Godfather.
Second, I try to focus on the essential, and I’m still thinking about the full consequences this sentence: essential is invisible to the eyes. It’s not my family that is essential, it’s the bond that I share with each member that is.
I’m blessed my eight year old introduced me to this story after he read it at school.
Essentialism by Greg McKeown
“An essentialist thinks almost everything is nonessential.”
The book focuses on business decisions. Choose what’s important. Either hell yes or no.
However, the more important application of essentialism is to other aspects of life. I’ve already talked about reading.
I’ve tried applying essentialism to running. How many longs runs do you need to run a fast half marathon? In 2017, I tried zero before Dexter-Ann Arbor. It wasn’t enough, as I struggled around mile 9. So maybe I’ll try 2 in 2018.
I also apply essentialism to belongings like clothes and books. As Marie Condo writes about clothes in the The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, it either sparks joy, or dump it. From McKeown, keep a book only if you would buy it again.
And now I’m thinking how this book fits with the idea that the essential is invisible to the eyes. Essentialism is a life long project.
Shoe Dog by Phil Knight
I needed a gift for my Dad. Since Bill Gates recommended this book, I thought there was a slight chance my Dad would read it.
I was wrong. The book ended up back in my house, and I picked it up on a whim during my busy football season.
Then I couldn’t put it down. The first chapter sweeps you off your feet, as Knight finds inspiration to forge his own path on a run. The last chapter is motivating, as he talks about the genesis of the book as a bucket item.
I found a lot of great lessons from the Nike founder.
First, he was a reader. He got his management style from studying generals. “Don’t tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results,” said George Patton.
Second, Knight never had the confidence he saw in others. Really? You built a billion dollar company from scratch. Sure, luck helped along the way, but I’m always amazed the lack of confidence in some people.
Last, the book is so well written. I respect the effort that this executive put into becoming a writer.
Monster Loyalty by Jackie Huba
This is the best business book I’ve ever read.
The typical business book focuses on growth. Better marketing. Grow your email list. Yada, yada.
However, word of mouth is the best marketing. Huba writes about how Lady Gaga focuses on core values to connect with her top fans, which naturally prompts them to tell others.
Core values. I don’t discuss these anywhere on my sports analytics site (neither does Huba on her site). That’s a big problem.
Then how do you use these core values to engage the top 1% of fans? You probably don’t have the resources to make a dedicated social network like Lady Gaga created.
However, Huba gives excellent examples of how other companies have used similar ideas to engage their top customers. For example, Maker’s Mark has an Ambassador program which gives business card and other bonuses to their top drinkers.
I’ll end with my favorite quote from Lady Gaga: “When you make music or write or create, it’s really your job to have mind-blowing, irresponsible, condomless sex with whatever idea it is you’re writing about at the time.”
Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
I loved this novel. It’s an easy read, yet funny and poignant.
After Slaughterhouse Five, I tried to get into other Vonnegut novels. I didn’t like Sirens of Titan, as it was boring and not funny.
I got two thirds of the way through Cat’s Cradle, but I accidentally left it on a plane. I took it as a sign that I didn’t need to finish it.
