7 Books That Changed My Perspective
Non-fiction recommendations to get you out of a funk
Do you have that one book? You know, the one that came into your life at the perfect moment to comfort, motivate or inspire you?
Yes? Nice one!
No? Don’t worry, neither do I.
Unless you count the faux-scientific books of the Dragonology series that had me believing dragons were real until an embarrassing age, as a kid I was only ever interested in reading fiction. Cue University, cue a disdain for all long-form content, and by the time I was 20 almost any trace of a personal reading habit had vanished.
But I still identified as a reader. Reading was a hobby on my CV and dating profiles. Yet when a few years ago a friend asked, ‘what have you been reading lately?’ — it hit me.
I couldn’t remember the last book I read.
Wow, I thought. What a fraud.
Admitting this reality forced me to make a change. To recommit to who I used to be, who I wanted to be, and who I’d been claiming to be (oops). Sounds serious, but I’d honestly just forgotten the FUN of reading. In an attempt to escape the screens I was addicted to, unfu*ck my attention span and become a more open-minded, knowledgeable and — hopefully — interesting person, I was determined to fall back in love with fiction… and this time non-fiction was coming along for the ride.
And guess what? For anyone keen to tap into 5000 years of recorded knowledge, there’s some dang good nuggets of wisdom out there for less than $20.
While I don’t have any single title I hold dear as the one that ‘changed’ me, there are some books that have definitely shifted my understanding of how the world works. My recommendations aren’t the best books ever written, but personally they’ve helped end stagnant funks, altered my perspective or taught something important. If you’re looking for a similar jolt, maybe they can do the same for you.
Here’s a short list of books that have influenced me deeply in the last few years.
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
If I was forced at gunpoint to hold one book above all others, then fine, this would be it. 2000 years ago the most powerful man in the world sat down to write a private book of lessons about life — reminders to be a wiser, kinder, humbler person. And you can read that book! (the Gregory Hays translation is very accessible). Aurelius wastes no time trying to explain the the world, simply writing to himself about how to live a little better. This was my first foray into Stoicism and non-fiction in general, so I owe a lot to good ol’ Aurelius. I’m confident that anyone who reads it will walk away with some applicable emperor-worthy wisdom, or at least a pithy maxim, to apply when feeling a bit stuck or stressed. A well-worn copy lives on my bedside table.
“You don’t have to turn this into something. It doesn’t have to upset you. Things can’t shape our decisions by themselves.” — Marcus Aurelius
The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday
Choo-choo, all aboard the Stoicism train. The title is drawn from a line in Meditations, so on recommendation from a friend I read this soon after and found Holiday’s writing a motivating kick up the ass. ‘Self-help’ books can be a lot of whimsy hot air, but Holiday curates a powerful collection of stoic philosophies, punctuating them with anecdotes about historical figures who applied the same principles. You might not be the next President or Elon Musk, but reframing obstacles as stepping stones can encourage anyone to confidently deal with whatever comes their way. Think of it as a bit of tough love for yourself.
“Failure really can be an asset if what you’re trying to do is improve, learn, or do something new. It’s the preceding feature of nearly all successes. There’s nothing shameful about being wrong, about changing course. Each time it happens we have new options. Problems become opportunities.” — Ryan Holiday
Free Will by Sam Harris
In this intriguing little book, philosopher and neuroscientist Sam Harris appeals to reason while arguing the case against free will. Free will is a concept I never thought to question, but here we are. If you want to shake the foundations of what you believe, give it a go. Harris is an engaging writer and does a great job at getting you to inspect your own decision-making, so whatever your opinion he’ll certainly have you questioning assumptions that seem to make sense.
“The popular conception of free will seems to rest on two assumptions: (1) that each of us could have behaved differently than we did in the past, and (2) that we are the conscious source of most of our thoughts and actions in the present. As we are about to see, however, both of these assumptions are false.” — Sam Harris
Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss
If you’re familiar with Tim’s podcast you’ll know he’s spent years interviewing world class performers in all fields, the titular titans. Through conversation he deconstructs the most effective tactics that anyone can use to improve themselves, and in this tome of a book (literally, it’s massive) he records notes and his own asides from the best of the best. Arnold Schwarzenegger to Neil Gaiman, Amelia Boone to Seth Rogan, he’s got interviewees to entice anyone. If you want to shake up your outlook, this book offers plenty of perspectives to mull over. It’s full of practical advice to help tease out the happiest, healthiest, most efficient and fulfilled version of yourself, and is the kind of book you can flip open to any page for a good quote. At 700+ pages, thank goodness for that.
“I always advise young people to become good public speakers (top 25%). Anyone can do it with practice. If you add that talent to any other, suddenly you’re the boss of the people who have only one skill.” — Scott Adams via Tim Ferriss in Tools of Titans
Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl
This famous memoir from psychiatrist Victor Frankl chronicles his life as a prisoner in Nazi concentration camps. Humanity breaks down as he and fellow prisoners experience the limits of human suffering, and Frankl analyses survivors to find out what keeps them going. It’s a moving story and the perspective he gains on the meaning of life leaves many readers with a renewed sense of purpose and hope. It’s also helped me complain less about things that don’t matter — always a good thing. The world needs less moaners and more champions for the human spirit.
“Don’t aim at success. The more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side effect of one’s personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one’s surrender to a person other than oneself.” — Victor Frankl
The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
Loved by artists, writers, entrepreneurs, athletes and creators of all types, this bite-sized book gets pretty self-helpy but still packs a ego-shattering punch. Pressfield writes to stir the creator inside you to defeat what he calls ‘The Resistance’. No, not a Star Wars foe, but the force that’s stopping you from doing the work you want via procrastination, doubt, fear etc. For some readers it might be too spiritual, superstitious or bullying, but I personally found it an insightful, dense little guide into the psychology of creation that’s easy to refer back to. If you’re in need of one, this book is a pretty solid kick up the ass.
“It’s better to be in the arena, getting stomped by the bull, than to be up in the stands or out in the parking lot.” — Steven Pressfield
Factfulness by Dr Hans Rosling, and Ola & Anna Rosling
This is the kind of book you want to give to everyone after you read it. The subtitle, ‘Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About The World, and Why Things Are Better Than You Think,’ reflects Rosling’s thesis that most of us have a very skewed perspective about how humanity is doing. Rosling starts with a multiple choice quiz about global trends with questions including ‘In all low income countries, how many girls finish primary school?’ and ‘How did the number of deaths per year from natural disasters change over the last hundred years?” that he encourages you to do. You’ll be surprised at how poorly you score. Don’t worry — he’s done the same quiz with thousands of people at all levels of society, and most have a very misaligned view of the current state of things. In each chapter Rosling explores why we interpret data wrong, i.e. our instincts for negativity, generalisation, urgency and blame, using simple graphs and entertaining anecdotes to shed light on how the world is actually faring on a macro scale. Want to change your perspective and be factually informed? Read Factfulness to load up with some cold, hard — but surprisingly optimistic — statistics to whip out at the next dinner party. It’s very good for the soul.
“People often call me an optimist, because I show them the enormous progress they didn’t know about. That makes me angry. I’m not an optimist. That makes me sound naive. I’m a very serious “possibilist”. That’s something I made up. It means someone who neither hopes without reason, nor fears without reason, someone who constantly resists the overdramatic worldview. As a possibilist, I see all this progress, and it fills me with conviction and hope that further progress is possible. This is not optimistic. It is having a clear and reasonable idea about how things are. It is having a worldview that is constructive and useful.” — Dr Hans Rosling
What books have shaped your worldview? Share your recommendations in the comments below!
P.s. I do realise all the books listed are written by men. I’ve read plenty of work by incredible female authors— Virginia Woolf, Gretchen Rubin, Susan Sontag, Brené Brown — but when coming up with this list I went with my initial gut reactions to books I feel have influenced me the most. Do I enjoy the fact they’re all written by men? Absolutely not, but it didn’t feel right to force a book into this short list for the sake of inclusion. I’m actively trying to read more work by women though, so please help a sister out & comment with your recommendations.
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I’m a photographer / writer based in Sydney. I’m @annaholling pretty much everywhere, and you can see my work here https://annah.co/.
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