2019 Reading Recap
These are the most impactful books I read in 2019.
The Path of Least Resistance - Robert Fritz
This is a book I have hesitated to recommend too much because of its power. It was a true “quake book” for me. Fritz walks us through the Creative Process and how we can strive towards building what we want in any personal or professional situation.
Creating is crucial to the human spirit and he provides a framework we can apply immediately.
He explains how problem-solving and creating are two totally different outcomes. By spending our efforts to solve problems that pop up, we are only reacting to outside circumstances. This may help us feel busy and productive in the short-term but eventually, we will feel a lack of fulfillment and become disengaged from our daily life.
If you pick up this book, shoot me a note. I’d love to hear what you take away and apply in your life. If nothing else, my notes will help outline some of its ideas.
Keep Going - Austin Kleon
This is a modern complement to The Path of Least Resistance. Kleon's 3rd book in his creativity series and every word hits home. He's a master at simplifying things we have all been told, but need to hear one more time. I recommend the trilogy, starting with Steal Like an Artist.
Range: How Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World -
David Epstein
Epstein challenges the popular belief that specialization in any field is the best way to be successful. His findings can and should be related to almost anything; career path, parenting, sports training, personal growth, or cultivating a sense of community.
We should seek out new ways of learning and creating experiences by reading, experimenting, pursuing curiosities, and meeting people you normally wouldn't interact with. The slow and vague feedback loops created are more in line with how life actually happens.
It's more effective in the long run to pursue tangential curiosities, aim for excellence in any task at hand, and keep an open mind rather than optimizing for one single path to achieving a goal. Life moves non-literally, and that’s ok. Plus, it’s more interesting this way.
Living Life Backwards - David Gibson
Living with the end in mind can improve how we live now. Life and all its aspects are a gift and Gibson describes it beautifully.
This guide through the book of Ecclesiastes was truly an incredible read. It contains plenty of reminders similar to stoicism and lines that are so clear they hit me in the heart, where they belong.
The book reminds us that we should be grateful and enjoy all the good things that come our way but most importantly to share them. The value of life is not what you earn but whom you relate to. Life is a gift, not gain.
“To be human is to be a creature, and to be a creature is to be finite. We are not in control and we will not live forever.” We ignore this reality with our actions. Instead of living the life we have now, we long for a life we think we can have; which we have no real control over.
“You are not what you think you are, but what you think, you are.” Who or what do we spend most of our time thinking about?