Over the last decade, I have had the chance to encounter a small number of books that changed what I value and how I think. These books have been transformative, challenging my preconceived notions and offering fresh perspectives on talent, success, personal growth, time management, and many other valuable things.
"Mindset" by C. Dweck
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"Mindset" by Carol Dweck is a groundbreaking study of the power of our beliefs and how they shape our lives. Dweck introduces the concepts of fixed mindset and growth mindset, arguing that our perspective on intelligence, talent, and abilities significantly impacts our capacity to learn, grow, and achieve success.
Dweck fosters a growth mindset, the idea that our abilities are not set in stone. They can be cultivated and improved over time with the right strategy and effort.
"Mindset" was truly mind-switching for me. It changed the way I perceive challenges and discomfort. Instead of viewing them as obstacles or proofs of failure, I began to see them as essential parts of the learning process.
I highly recommend "Mindset" to anyone seeking to unlock their full potential and cultivate a more adaptable, resilient approach to life. This book is particularly valuable for educators, parents, coaches, and leaders who want to foster growth and success in others.
"When you enter a mindset, you enter a new world. In one world - the world of fixed traits - success is about proving you're smart or talented. Validating yourself. In the other - the world of changing qualities - it's about stretching yourself to learn something new. Developing yourself."
C. Dweck, "Mindset"
"Black Box Thinking" by M. Syed
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"Black Box Thinking" by Matthew Syed is a compelling book about how success can be engineered through a systematic approach to learning from failure. Syed draws on examples from various fields, such as aviation, healthcare, and sports, to illustrate the power of embracing a growth mindset and creating a culture that values continuous improvement.
"Black Box Thinking" was a pivotal read for me, as it re-introduced me to the world of non-fiction books. The main takeaway from "Black Box Thinking" was that we should not hide our errors and mistakes. Instead, we should treat them as feedback, and reflect on them to improve in the future. Syed emphasizes the importance of creating an open and honest culture where failure is seen as an opportunity for growth rather than a source of shame.
What I also liked in the book was the idea of creating frameworks that make tasks more fail-proof, as opposed to depending on transient motivation or one's current good shape.
Errors have many different meanings, and call for different types of response depending on context, but in all of their guises they represent invaluable aids with the potential to help us learn.
M. Syed, "Black Box Thinking"
"The Duty Of Genius" by R. Monk
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"The Duty of Genius" is a comprehensive and engaging biography of the renowned philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein. Author Ray Monk delves into Wittgenstein's life, revealing a man driven by an intense desire to justify his existence through exceptional achievement (because only the real genius has a justified right to live).
I first read "The Duty of Genius" over a decade ago, during the final year of my philosophical studies. Wittgenstein's story showed me that being a philosopher is not just a vocation but a way of living, a constant search for meaning and understanding. I began to see that the pursuit of wisdom and personal growth are intertwined, and that genuine philosophical inquiry is deeply personal and transformative.
"If only you do not try to utter what is unutterable then nothing gets lost. But the unutterable will be - unutterably - contained in what has been uttered."
L. Wittgenstein, "Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus"
"Bounce" by M. Syed
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"Bounce" by Matthew Syed is an engaging exploration of the science behind peak performance, challenging the conventional notion that talent is merely innate. Syed draws on research and real-life examples from sports, music, and other domains to illustrate the power of a growth mindset and deliberate practice.
"Bounce" was a revelation for me, as it introduced me to the concept of deliberate practice. This book sparked my interest in understanding how talent is formed and the true nature of expert skill development. It triggered me to delve deeper into the works of Anders Ericsson and other authors who have explored the science of peak performance. "Bounce" served as a gateway to numerous non-fiction books related to this topic (e.g. The Talent Code, Talent is Overrated, Peak) expanding my knowledge and shaping my perspective on personal growth and success.
My following talent development research leaded me to write an article: The Myth of Natural Talent.
"In the 1990s researchers conducted a revelatory study into figure skating. They found that the major difference between elite skaters and their less elite counterparts is not to be found in genetics, personality, or family background. Rather, it is to be found in the type of practice. Elite skaters regularly attempt jumps beyond their current capabilities less elite skaters do not."
M. Syed, "Bounce"
"Four Thousand Weeks" by O. Burkeman
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"Four Thousand Weeks" by Oliver Burkeman offers a refreshing and insightful perspective on time management. It challenges the conventional wisdom that focuses on maximizing efficiency. Burkeman argues that the most important aspect of managing our time is not about increasing productivity. We should rather understand what kind of person we want to be and how to spend our limited time in the best way.
This book prompted me to reflect on my values, aspirations, and the activities that bring me the most enjoyment and fulfillment. The main idea that stood out to me was the importance of being selective. Burkeman argues that instead of trying to increase the tempo of our lives, we should step back and be more discerning about the activities we choose.
"Perhaps it seems melodramatic to compare 'addiction to speed', as Brown calls our modern disease of accelerated living, to a condition as serious as alcoholism. Some people definitely get offended when she does so. But her point isn't that compulsive hurry is as physically destructive as an excess of alcohol. It's that the basic mechanism is the same. As the world gets faster and faster, we come to believe that our happiness, or our financial survival, depends on our being able to work and move and make things happen at superhuman speed. We grow anxious about not keeping up - so to quell the anxiety, to try to achieve the feeling that our lives are under control, we move faster. But this only generates an addictive spiral. We push ourselves harder to get rid of anxiety, but the result is actually more anxiety because the faster we go, the clearer it becomes that we'll never succeed in getting ourselves or the rest of the world to move as fast as we feel is necessary."
O. Burkeman, "Four Thousand Weeks"
"Black Swan" by N. Taleb
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"The Black Swan" by Nassim Nicholas Taleb is a thought-provoking book of the impact of rare and unpredictable events on our lives and the world at large. Taleb argues that these "Black Swan" events, which are highly improbable and have a massive impact, are often overlooked or misunderstood due to our cognitive biases.
"The Black Swan" was a transformative read for me, even though I read it over a decade ago. Many of the ideas presented in the book have stayed with me and continue to influence my thinking and perception of success. Taleb's arguments challenged my assumptions and showed me the powerful role that cognitive biases play in shaping our thoughts and decisions.
One of the most impactful takeaways for me was the concept of hindsight bias. Taleb illustrates how this bias can make experts appear more knowledgeable and wise than they truly are. Simply because they can provide convincing explanations for past events. This insight has made me more skeptical of expert opinions and more aware of the limitations of our own knowledge.
The other interesting concept underscored by Taleb is survivorship bias. We tend to focus on the winners and write history based on their stories, ignoring those who did not succeed and cannot tell their stories. This bias can lead us to overestimate the role of skill and underestimate the role of luck and context in success.
„It takes considerable effort to see facts (and remember them) while withholding judgement and resisting explanations. And this theorizing disease is rarely under our control: it is largely anatomical, part of our biology, so fighting it requires one's own self. So the ancient skeptics' precepts to withhold judgement go againt our nature.”
N. Taleb, "Black Swan"