Weekly Non-Fiction Reading List 5.15.23
This week, I finished four books by some amazing authors. We learn about the science of storytelling, how we can fight bias, and how to be better without being perfect. The list starts with a so-so self-help book for entrepreneurs. Enjoy!
Each of the links to the books are affiliate links, so if you use my link to purchase any of these books, some comes back to support what I do (and it also helps fund my reading habit).
The Common Path to Uncommon Success: A Roadmap to Financial Freedom and Fulfillment by John Lee Dumas
I’m torn on this book. If you’re an entrepreneur just starting out or just need some advice, this is a pretty decent book. I’ve heard quite a bit about Jonn Lee Dumas, but I’ve never consumed his content. He’s a podcaster who interviews entrepreneurs to help other entrepreneurs. There’s a lot of solid advice in here, but sometimes it just gets too far into the “If you’re not succeeding, you’re not hustling hard enough” vibe.
The one thing none of these books will tell you is how much luck is involved in success, and you also need to know when to quit. You can follow every step in this book religiously and still fail horribly due to nothing you did or didn’t do. What’s wild to me is that in addition to the author, he references other entrepreneurs who have made an insane amount of money helping other entrepreneurs. So basically, they’re claim to fame is making a ton of money just by talking about being entrepreneurs, but their success comes from that alone. This means they don’t have specific advice for specific people (for example, someone who wants to open a clothing store or become an author), so all their advice is basically for entrepreneurs who want to coach other entrepreneurs? It’s a weird pyramid scheme-type situation.
The Science of Storytelling by Will Storr
This was one of the few books by the amazing Will Storr that I hadn’t read. It was on sale, so I grabbed a copy and binged it in a day or two. This is one of Will’s most popular books, and it lives up to the title. Storr discusses how we humans are wired for storytelling, and not only does he reference a ton of awesome research, but he also intertwines it with different works of fiction to give examples and strengthen his arguments. Although I don’t read or write fiction, this book was fantastic, and I definitely recommend it.
The Person You Mean to Be: How Good People Fight Bias by Dolly Chugh
Last week, I read Dolly’s second book, so this week, I read her first, and I loved it. This book is about one of the most important topics many of us never even consider. We all want to be good people and we all think we’re good people, but we regularly don’t live up to that ideal and have no clue why. Some of us ignore that fact but others recognize it and want to work on it. If you’re in the latter group, this book’s for you.
Dolly’s an amazing social psychologist and discusses why it’s difficult for us to live up to these standards and how we’re often hurtful toward others without even knowing it. This can be by our actions or our inactions. Dolly references a lot of great research and anecdotes that help the reader become “the person they mean to be”. It’ll teach you how to fight bias as well as how to be a better ally and source of support for people in your life. This one’s going on the list of books I want to read with my son.
Better, Not Perfect: A Realist's Guide to Maximum Sustainable Goodness by Max H. Bazerman
I love Max’s books, and this one’s no exception. Max takes a look at how business leaders as well as ordinary folks like you and I can be better. Max leans on effective altruism, or as Josh Greene calls it “deep pragmatism” to discuss how we can do better in this world. What I love about this book is it aligns with my views on effective altruism, which is that we should always be mindful of what we’re doing and ask how we can maximize the good. We do this while also acknowledging we’ll never be perfect people, but we can all make better decisions and small changes in our lives to make this world just a little bit better a place for all living things.
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