Book Summaries & Notes

Bird by Bird

Anne Lamott

In “Bird by Bird”, Anne Lamott shares first-hand, timeless insights on writing and living, sprinkling some witty humor along the way.

Outlive

Peter Attia, MD

Healthspan (how well you are in later years) is one of the most important aspects of your life. In this book, Attia provides scientific details on optimizing your health and fitness to live longer, healthier.

The Coaching Habit

Michael Bungay Stanier

There are seven fundamental coaching questions you can use within your work and personal life to foster growth and development. Through them, you can help individuals discover their own answers by penetrating to the heart of challenges and promoting autonomy and resilience.

The Surrender Experiment

Michael A. Singer

Each of us actually believes that things should be the way we want them, instead of being the natural result of all the forces of creation.

24 Assets

Daniel Priestley

Scale and fortify your business by developing the 24 Assets that make every great business dominate the market.

Four Thousand Weeks - Time Management for Mortals

Oliver Burkeman

Your life on Earth is finite, and so are the choices you make. Liberation from the time management trap arrives when you drop your constant chase for efficiency.

Implementing Value Pricing: A Radical Business Model for Professional Firms

Ronald J. Baker

Professional firms must move away from hourly timesheets and fully embrace value-based, fixed prices. This benefits them, and customer too. That is the core argument of this book, which is explored further in this book summary.

Company of One

Paul Jarvis

A company of one is a business that questions growth. Growth is not the answer to your existential doubts about your business. A company of one understands the importance of aligning your business with your overall lifestyle choices.

Reboot - Leadership and The Art of Growing Up

Jerry Colonna

Becoming a great leader is a process that requires inquiring within, deeply and unapologetically. Rebooting is about approaching life back from the first principle. The job of a leader is to understand themselves deeply in order to understand others and lead effectively.

Beyond Order - 12 More Rules for Life

Jordan B. Peterson

Excess order in life can be just as dangerous as excess chaos. Having a clear set of mental models to follow to navigate life and all its challenges can empower us to add meaning to our existence.

A World Without Email

Cal Newport

What would a world without email feel like? This would have been a very simple question to answer a bit more than two decades ago before email became an incredibly widespread tool the majority of organizations and individuals would rely on daily, with a hyperactive hive mind approach.

The Coddling of the American Mind

Greg Lukianoff & Jonathan Haidt

There have been 3 bad ideas (implicit Untruths) becoming widely adopted in our society in the last couple of years: what doesn't kill you makes you weaker; always trust your feelings; life is a battle between good and evil people. Let's talk about them and deconstruct the proper way to raise children and live in a healthy society.

The Elephant in the Brain

Kevin Simler & Robin Hanson

The elephant in the brain is the metaphoric representation of the hidden, unacknowledged motives that actually push us to do things. An introspective taboo everyone feels is there but no one has enough consciousness to reveal.

On Becoming a Person

Carl R. Rogers

To become a person “means to be a fluid process, not a fixed and static entity; a flowing river of change, not a block of solid material; a continually changing constellation of potentialities, not a fixed quantity of traits.” Becoming a person corresponds to letting go of inner resistance and masks, digging deeper into your true nature.

Feeling Good

David D. Burns, MD

All our moods are created by our cognitions (thoughts); our thoughts tend to be pervasively negative when we are depressed; negative thoughts cause negative emotions, which are, however, wildly distorted. How can we live a more meaningful life in which the thinking mind is not preminent?

The Almanack of Naval Ravikant

Eric Jorgenson

“Wealth creation is an evolutionarily recent positive-sum game. Status is an old zero-sum game. Those attacking wealth creation are often just seeking status.”

Dare to Lead

Brené Brown

A leader is anyone who takes responsibility for finding potential in people and processes, having the courage to develop that potential embracing vulnerability and leveraging courage.

Simone Smerilli 11/2/24 Simone Smerilli 11/2/24

Bird by Bird - Some instructions on writing and life (book summary) | Anne Lamott

In “Bird by Bird”, Anne Lamott shares first-hand, timeless insights on writing and living, sprinkling some witty humor along the way.

Simone Smerilli 8/24/24 Simone Smerilli 8/24/24

Outlive (The science and art of longevity) - Book Summary

In "Outlive," dr. Peter Attia presents a comprehensive approach to extending healthspan and improving quality of life. Healthspan is the length of time you live in good health conditions (free from disease). Quality of life is your momentary experience, involving how you feel about your life.

Simone Smerilli 12/22/23 Simone Smerilli 12/22/23

The Coaching Habit - Book Summary

"The Coaching Habit" by Michael Bungay Stanier presents seven fundamental coaching questions to foster growth and development. It aims to transform leaders into solution guides by helping individuals discover their own answers. This method penetrates the heart of challenges and promotes autonomy and resilience. It's not just for leaders, but anyone who values the power of questions and self-discovery.

Simone Smerilli 12/1/23 Simone Smerilli 12/1/23

The Surrender Experiment - Book Summary

Explore the remarkable journey of Michael A. Singer in his book, "The Surrender Experiment." Discover how embracing meditation and surrendering to life's flow transformed his existence, leading him to spiritual enlightenment and the creation of a groundbreaking software company. Learn the power of letting go and living in the present through Singer's compelling narrative.

Simone Smerilli 4/22/23 Simone Smerilli 4/22/23

Four Thousand Weeks - Time Management for Mortals — Book Summary

Your life on Earth is finite, and so are the choices you make. Liberation from the time management trap arrives when you drop your constant chase for efficiency.