I listened to 6 audiobooks in March. Here’s what I learned.
Hi guys,
It’s been awhile. I haven’t had a chance to publish regularly like I did in 2015 and 2016. In hindsight, not only did I underestimate how much content I have published, I realized I have the same amount of drafts that haven’t been published. I want to share those with you all, and I’m working towards a plan for that. They will come in time.
Any who, sometime early in March a friend of mine - (D'Andre), listened to a book called Hooked: How to Build Habit Forming Products. This is a book that I have heard of but had not caught my attention. D’Andre vouched for it, claiming it was a must-read. So I took him up on his recommendation and grabbed a copy on Audible. From that point on until the end of March, I would go on to read five other audiobooks about other topics that I was curious about. I’ll be sharing one, maybe two, but most likely just one thing I learned (TIL) by listening to each book. In no particular order.
Hooked: How to Build Habit Forming Products
One thing this book taught me is that apps are designed to be addicting, by being carefully crafted to affect your psychology. With that being said, I found it is an opportunity to enhance my life. Once I understood what drove us to be addicted, I deleted apps that were meaningless and caused distractions, and replaced them with apps that had the ability to improve my life. If I was going to be addicted to apps, I wanted to be addicted to ones that were for the betterment of my life and those around me. That lead me to continue using Audible, download Headspace and Insight Timer. These apps track your progress in reading and meditation. By becoming addicted to these apps, I learned to easily build habits.
ZERO to ONE: NOTES ON STARTUPS, OR HOW TO BUILD THE FUTURE
This book opened my eyes to how we create meaningful companies, and how to approach solving problems. One thing that I learned is that many companies are 1 to N, meaning that: they are taking something already done and slightly improving it. Zero to One means finding and starting with fundamental truths, and building upon those to create new things. I later referred D’Andre to this book, along with a biography about Elon Musk.
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
I love this book. Despite it’s bold name, Mark Manson did a amazing job at providing alternative perspectives on how to stop caring less. One TIL is that you choose what you care about and how you react to situations. For me, by understanding that I can’t control nor should I try to control circumstances that are unpleasant, ultimately my choices are what matters in times of adversity.
How to Talk to Anyone 92 Little Tricks for Big Success in Relationships
One of the goals that I write down everyday is to improve my relationships. This book helped tremendously with continually improving the way I communicate with family, friends, co-workers, and strangers. I learned about a trick called “Sticky Eyes”, in layman’s terms — imaging that your eyes are stuck to the person you’re speaking to with taffy. I’ve found when using this, people are much more open, happy, and feel comfortable sharing more in conversations. Making your conversations more meaningful.
The Power of Habit
Charles Duhigg really made a great book here — it’s on my list to re-listen along with Zero to One. In a lot of ways this was similar to Hooked because you dive deep into the psychology of people, and organizations. Whether it’s a company, community, or family. I learned that by identifying the root feeling you get to do something (cue), you can consciously swap out the behavior (routine), to get the feeling you were craving (reward). This made it extraordinary easy to pick up on new habits. I have picked up journaling and many other habits by using tips from this.
Elon Musk Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future
What inspired me to read this book was my curiosity about the leadership of an individuals who want to dramatically re-shape the future. I have heard stories from people who are friends with him about his character and personality. But, without having the opportunity to meet him myself I thought this was the next best thing. One thing that I realized by listening to this audiobook was that he cares deeply about humanity. When you look at the causes he supports, and his courage to approach the hard problems other won’t, you see that he is willing to make sacrifices for a better future. He inspired me to read deeper into previous inventors/innovators: Nikola Tesla, Leonardo DaVinci, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, and Benjamin Franklin.
So that’s about it guys. I plan to read another three to six books in April, so I will share all of what I learn in May. I cannot express how much value is in reading or listening to a book. It is one of the many things that is not so common, but worth the time.
Credits to: Charles Duhigg, Mark Manson, Ashlee Vance, Peter Thiel, Blake Masters, Leil Lowndes, and Nir Eya — for creating and sharing amazing work.
Take care, enjoy all of what April has to offer. See you all in May, maybe sooner ;)
-Rodney
