5 Books that Changed My Life in 2019 and the Podcast Guests Behind Them
The Right It by Alberto Savoia
The Right it makes clear that we go about trying to make our ideas succeed is backward. We get caught up in opinions, and our cognitive biases get in the way. As a result, we don’t pay attention to what the data reveals to us. Data is a powerful source of truth. Ignoring data isn’t optimistic. It’s delusional. And those who are creative are often guilty of this (myself included).
The Formula by Alberto Laszlo Barabasi
We all like the idea that there’s some formula for success, even though we know that there isn’t one. Most books on success fall into two categories. A successful person shares their life story with the lessons from it. An author shares stories of other successful people (my books in many ways). The Formula takes a data-driven approach to success. By leveraging his knowledge from being a data scientist, Alberto came up with the Formula and 5 Universal Laws of Success.
The Bullet Journal Method by Ryder Caroll
All of us spend so much damn time online, we don’t actually think about what we’re allowing into our lives. I became a huge fan of the bullet journal even though I still use productivity apps. I start every morning with a bullet journal. It’s an excellent way to be much more discerning about the tasks you put into your productivity apps. Ryder poses three questions we should all ask ourselves at the beginning of every day
- s this vital?
- Does it matter?
- What would happen if I didn’t do this?
Your to-do lists become shorter. And you work on the things that matter.
How to be Single and Happy by Jennifer Taitz
Amazon surprises me with how creepy the algorithm can be. How to be single at happy showed up on my list of recommendations. I guess Amazon assumes that I am single and unhappy. But I wasn’t after reading this book. It was a different book than any other book in the category. I love the fact that it was based on actual psychological research and science. I am a much happier person just by implementing some of Jennifer’s suggestions, and I’m not obsessing as much about trying to meet somebody
Digital Minimalism
I’ve always been a fan of Cal Newport. His work has had a profound impact on mine. When I got an early version of digital minimalism, I quit social media for 30 days. I found that I was less anxious, much happier, and more productive. That’s not a bad ROI for a 15 dollar book. But this isn’t just another book about digital distractions. It’s about adding more meaning to your life.
