The Conscious Parent
An enlightening approach on how to grow as a person through parenting. Dr. Shefali Tsabary shares her approach on the foundation of one’s parenting: how to be present, how to engage and how to build a relationship with your child. She emphasizes seeing parenting and childhood “as is”, vs what we want it to be.
This book will forever change how I interact with my kids. It’s a great warning against using a child’s performance to make a parent feel better about themselves. I want to strive to accept them as is. This acceptance is in contrast to constantly labelling their experiences and asking more of them.
Meditations
From Marcus Aurelius, I learned practical strategies to distance myself from my ‘stories’, my experience of reality. This approach of highlighting what you can and cannot control can help you truly live your life, as it is.
Some of my favorite quotes:
-“Everything you’re trying to reach — by taking the long way round — you could have right now, this moment. If you’d only stop thwarting your own attempts. If you’d only let go of the past, entrust the future to Providence, and guide the present toward reverence and justice.” (12.1)
-“When you need encouragement, think of the qualities the people around you have.” (6.48)
-“No matter what anyone says or does, my task is to be good. Like gold or emerald or purple repeating to itself, ‘No matter what anyone says or does, my task is to be emerald, my color undiminished.” (7.16)
It’s incredible how this book survived through the Middle Ages, and is still read today.
Finite and Infinite Games
I loved reading this unique perspective about the contradictions and patterns behind the games we play. James P Carse shows that some games we play on purpose, and others by accident.
Reading this book helped me step out of my stories. Most importantly, I have a new respect and admiration for the games that we play. Even the games that, at the surface, seem evil or wrong. For a person to act out of free will, in my opinion, they need to step out of these stories and observe them for what they really are.
One question I’m left with is: what if certains things that feel broken or upside down in our world are actually that way by design? As someone who tries to be a changemaker, I feel it’s important for me to realize why things are the way that they are. In some cases, when things seem upside down, they might actually serve us, in some ways. That doesn’t mean there isn’t a lot left to change in the world. It just means I need to understand human and world dynamics, a little bit more, or a lot more when I am trying to make change happen.
The Effective Altruism Handbook
An early attempt at uniting the effective altruism community and defining some of its main principles. Effective altruism is a fascinating idea worth pursuing. In making it’s case, the book claims quite a moral high ground that boasts clearer thinking and better logic. Unfortunately it does not deliver on this promise (at least in this early iteration). The definition for positive impact is still lacking, as many of the ‘best in class’ solutions and charities proposed do not address systemic, structural or sustainability issues at all. In this way, the definition of ‘effective’ doesn’t align with mine.
Brave New World (audio book)
Through this story, the reader can explore an alternative future where humanity has lost touch with its nature. One could imagine that this future is a real possibility if we are unable to define and prioritize what we value.
For example, Aldous Huxley’s dystopia highlights what could happen if we prioritize happiness and order over everything else. The ‘happiness’ future he creates required unimaginable trade-offs: genetic engineering, class systems, hiding the truth, and more. In this way, I found the book to be a celebration of anti-happiness: the opportunity to be sad, to be wrong, to fight for the right to dissent and to battle for power.
Published in 1932, it’s interesting to reflect on what the book got right and got wrong in its predictions for the future. There’s an opportunity for science fiction to continue to help us imagine our future, forecast our challenges and opportunities and illuminate our path. This type of writing can guide our short term decision making and help us all tune into more important conversations.
Reading for SparkPath
The Adaptation Advantage
I love Heather McGowan as a speaker. She offers a great case why preparing people to adapt will be the most important factor for success in the future of work. The book makes the case for constant learning, working to learn and actively creating our identity. Her concept of purpose-driven identity — a sense of self that transcends job title and skillsets — lines-up directly with my TEDx talk on purpose and impact.
Her ideas impact individuals, the education system and organizations and how they should prepare for what is coming next.
Range
What is the best recipe for success: becoming a specialist (being great at one thing), or becoming a generalist (good at multiple things)? David Epstein makes the case for how our society has focused too much on the latter: the myth that becoming a specialist is the only way to have a great career. In this sense, he’s right: being a specialist is not the only route to success.
This book makes a great case for the value of generalists. He presents a counterintuitive approach to building a great career. One that, as he argues, is more in line with what the future of work is looking for.
The reality is that there are multiple ways of building a great career. Young people will have countless opportunities to choose between developing breadth or depth at different stages of their careers. The specialist way is not the only way.
I also enjoyed learning about (and letting go of) the cult of the “head start”: fast tracking kids to become specialists, as soon, as early, and as fast as possible. This idea of a head start was never a recipe for success; it just seemed like it from the outside. As a parent, letting go of this idea allows me to step back and focus on better parenting strategies. Instead of forcing my kids to specialize early, I can encourage them to explore. I also believe that the ability to explore meaningfully will be a key skill for the future.
The Messy Middle
Key insights on growing a technology business. Great interviews and perspectives from experienced founders. I particularly enjoyed Ben Silberman (CEO of Pinterest) who creates company “chapters” instead of goals and Nicholas Negroponte who said: “Creativity comes from unlikely juxtapositions.”
I want to revisit this book later on, to get insights for different stages of growth. This book gave me what I was looking for: a powerful connection to the startup world.
Sell More Faster
A case for truly getting to know the people who you wish to serve. This book challenged me to go deeper, and better understand the schools and educators that I want to help. It served as a guide to building a replicable, scale and systematic sales organization.
The Hard Things About Hard Things
A compelling story about a founder’s failures and successes. I learned practical advice about why most advice is not practical (!). Ben Horowitz shares how he dealt with this problem, and numerous other issues, on his path to building and selling his companies. The book features mindsets for founders that can be applied to many other contexts. I enjoyed the detailed account of what it takes to build a great company: the sacrifices, the pain, the trade offs, the courage, the accountability and the high standard one should set for themselves.
This was a fun read and probably the book I enjoyed the most this year.
30-Day Future Self Project
(complimentary course to Personality Isn’t Permanent)
An evidence-inspired invitation to set goals, shape your identity and make a difference in the world.
Started but didn’t finish
The 100 Year Life
Since starting this book, I now ask people: “How long do you want to live?” This is because the expansion of our lifespans should change our short term decision making. Understanding that people will live 10, 20 or 30 years more should also shift how we structure our policies and educational systems.
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