52 in 52 Book Summaries

Letters from a Stoic by Seneca

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Letters from a Stoic by Seneca Print The Essence Classic text from the Hellenistic Greek philosophy known as Stoicism. It is an application of the core tenets of Stoicism from the perspective of one of the acclaimed practitioner, Seneca. These letters are a set of essays written as to a friend about how to live a more virtuous life. Humans have what they need within themselves and anything else ought to be taken in moderation. Stoicism is a practical guide to harness the power of our minds to attain a […]

52 in 52 Book Summaries

Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind by Shunryu Suzuki

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Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind by Shunryu Suzuki Print The Essence Zen Mind Beginner’s mind is not only an essential text in the introductory work of Zen, but it’s also a modern spiritual classic. An organized series of lectures by the late Zen Master Shunryu Suzuki. In Zen an open state of mind is imperative. One that is simple, pure, what is called a Beginners mind. It is only through a beginner’s mind that we can accept the reality ‘as it is’. Many times, our states are bogged down by ‘expertise’ […]

52 in 52 Book Summaries

To Sell Is Human by Daniel Pink

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To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others by Daniel Pink Print The Essence No matter what you do, the 21st century now calls all of us to persuade others to take action in one way or another; we’re all in sales now. The ability to sell ideas to those around you is how we maneuver in a social environment. And with an increasing amount of information available, it is no longer the seller who will manipulate the transparency of information to his benefit. With equality of information […]

52 in 52 Book Summaries

The Paradox of Choice by Barry Schwartz

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The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less by Barry Schwartz Print The Essence As we bask at the amount of information now at our fingertips, we mustn’t forget that with great power comes great responsibility. One would normally think that no amount of additional information could be anything but a blessing. But as The Paradox of Choice shows, the burden of decision-making amongst a now infinite number of choices leaves us cognitively overworked and overall less happy with our choices. Research now shows that offering more choices doesn’t translate […]

52 in 52 Book Summaries

Animal Spirits by George Akerlof and Robert Shiller

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Animal Spirits: How Human Psychology Drives the Economy, and Why It Matters for Global Capitalism by George Akerlof and Robert J. Shiller Print The Essence Economics has long too often been based on models that lack bases for real-world application. It is even sometimes said that its normative claims make it more of a religion than a social science. Why the disconnect? It is in part due to the rigid models used to predict human behavior. Economics has long viewed humans as absolutely rational decision-making machines. Though science now teaches […]

52 in 52 Book Summaries

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

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How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie Print The Essence How to Win Friends and Influence People is the most successful and influential business book of all time. Master-communicator Dale Carnegie outlines the key principles and techniques for engaging with others in business and in life. As social animals, all roads involve handing a tough conversation at one point or another. Dale effectively breaks down exactly what we each need in situations like these and much other interpersonal interaction. To do better in any facet of life, […]

52 in 52 Book Summaries

How We Know What Isn’t So by Thomas Gilovich

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How We Know What Isn’t So: The Fallibility of Human Reason in Everyday Life by Thomas Gilovich Print The Essence Why do our friends always call us while we’re in the shower? Is that basketball player really ‘hot’ when he makes a bunch of baskets in a row? Can people who claim to have ESP backed by empirical study really read our minds? Social psychologist Thomas Gilovich straightens out the ‘why’ behind such our methods for explaining phenomena like these and many of the other the lines of reasoning and […]

Failure

Quitting Our Commitments

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Quitting Our Commitments Many of us stay in relationships for too long, jobs that make us miserable, or pridefully sustain habits for the sake of not being a ‘quitter’.  We are all part of things at one point or another that cause tension in our lives. So why do we choose to muddle forward? What stops us from quitting our commitments ? Perhaps it is because we understand that sticking with our choices helps build resilience. As we endure through hardship, we can develop the tolerance to believe. And when we […]

Meditation

The Importance of Meditation as an Entrepreneur

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The Importance of Meditation as an Entrepreneur Deadlines, Fast place, High Stake, being an entrepreneur means working in the midst of chaos. As an entrepreneur, you need to learn to snap into focus, let go of slip-ups all while keeping a leveled head. It’s all a balancing process. And believe it or not, the most practical skills for an entrepreneur are not developed in business school or field work, but on the meditation cushion. “Creativity is not coming from the ‘working the brain’ and the ‘I will work hard and […]

Habits

Entropy: A Practical Model for Intentional Living

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Entropy: A Practical Model for Intentional Living Murphy’s law Anything that can go wrong will go wrong The heuristic has been popularized through movies like Interstellar. Yet what are we actually implying when we state that what is wrong is bound to occur? The hard sciences have discovered a useful way of measuring randomness that is particularly pertinent to intentionally living as a mental model for considering how disorder naturally arises. It is the force that leads to many of the problems in our universe and governs a majority of […]