I am continuing along my path to read fifty books in 2020 and I’m way ahead of where I thought I would be. Today I tell you about books eleven, twelve and thirteen.
Game Changers: What Leaders, Innovators, and Mavericks Do to Win at Life
Some people are content with who they are. That’s fine. However, some are always striving to be better, always growing. They believe that if they are not growing, they are dying. They are not trying to be better than anyone else. They are trying to be better than they were yesterday. Better spouses and parents. Better leaders and innovators. Faster, stronger, smarter, wiser. Wealthier, more experienced, more traveled. The list goes on and on and the journey never stops.
Now take that up one level and there are people who aren’t tying to do those things just through brute force. They work tirelessly but they also look for hacks that can help them get there more efficiently. That’s the category in which I find myself. This is a book for crazies like me.
I’m constantly experimenting. I’m always biohacking, testing new supplements, diets, workouts and other things that generally suck and don’t feel great. I’m always looking for ways to expand my mind, find peace and make better decisions. I want more energy. I want to lead better. I want to love more.
I loved this book because it’s full of advice from game changers across industries who are doing extraordinary and uncommon things every single day. That’s the key – doing uncommon things. The way to be uncommon isn’t to occasionally do uncommon things. It’s to do uncommon things all day every single day. It’s about thinking and acting differently than everyone else. That’s what this book is about and it’s exactly what I want to do and what I want to be.
Very few books are perfect and this one is no different. Asprey can be all over the map. Parts of the book don’t exactly flow well. I won’t be be doing LSD or enacting some of the uncommon sexual advice. But there’s so much I will be trying.
This book isn’t for everyone. It’s for those who want to be better than they were yesterday by trying uncommon techniques. If that’s you, get this book today.
Growth Hacker Marketing
This one is a little longer than a toilet read. Maybe a three potty read. I’m trying to finish all Ryan Holiday books this month and this is one of his two marketing books, the other being “Trust Me, I’m Lying” which is full of unreal stories of media manipulation.
I cannot say I learned a lot of new stuff with this one as most of these strategies I’ve been implementing for years. But I’m different. I’m a media manipulator. I would recommend this book for anyone else in the business, especially those just starting out. I also enjoyed a lot of fun stories about start ups who have hacked the system to blow up their businesses. It’s very short but also very useful to have you thinking in a different way.
Ego Is the Enemy
I just finished my third Ryan Holiday book, not including his daily stoic meditations that I’m now reading a second time, and he’s quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. I wish I would have read this one years ago. This should be required reading for every kid coming out of college. I know I’ve employed a couple in recent years that need this book.
So many times it’s our own egos standing in the way of our success. We deserve this. We are owed that. We are too good for the grunt work. We want everything now without putting in the time.
There’s a reason CS Lewis called pride the worst of all sins. All other sins stem from it. Holiday does a great job explaining why. Thinking you are so great can, and probably will be, your ultimate downfall.
I definitely recommend this book. Also check out Ryan Holiday’s The Obstacle Is The Way.