Those who do not read good books have no advantage over those who can’t read them

“Those who do not read good books have no advantage over those who can’t read them.

— Mark Twain, 1895″

I reference many books in Surviving to Thriving – Mental Toughness, for this blog I have selected ten, in alphabetical order, that you may consider reading.

1. Ariely, D. (2008). Predictably Irrational. New York: Harper Collins.

Ariely’s book gives a better understanding of how many irrational decisions one makes and indeed how often we can cling to irrationality despite claiming we are rational beings!

In one of his examples Ariely writes that when things are not going well, it is all too easy to think I need to cease what I am doing, find or another job with more money.  He claims that we give up too easily, thinking the answer lies in making drastic changes (Ariely, 2008).

2. Breggin, P. (2014). Guilt, Shame, and Anxiety: Understanding and Overcoming Negative Emotions: Prometheus Books.

Peter Breggin’s book reminded me of the conflicted capacities we have for close-knit relationships and for incredible aggression.

A quote from Breggin claims, “Wilfulness and violence are in our DNA. Each of us is born with impulses to inflict devastating harm upon other creatures and other people, including our family members. Both physically and emotionally, we can and do tear each other apart.” (Breggin, 2014).

3. Goldacre, B. (2008). Bad Science. London: Harper Collins.

Although Peter Breggin’s book was written 13 years ago Goldacre’s Bad Science provides a credible source for the importance of good research in attaining knowledge. He adds that evidence can be distorted and cherry-picked. Nevertheless, the scientific method is the best system we know for substantiating or falsifying claims. You propose a hypothesis and then through testing over time you see if it survives attempts to falsify it. It does not pander to beliefs or assumptions of truth.

Goldacre claims his research aims at addressing problems, clarifying myths, separating the effective from the ineffective and the safe from the dangerous (Goldacre, 2009).

4. Harford, T. (2011). Little Brown Book Group.

Peter Breggin’s book that we must embrace criticism and failure, and be grateful for the opportunity to learn and improve from our mistakes. He claims the route to our intention must be subject to adaptation, particularly when randomness plays such a large part in determining success. He adds consistent success comes from developing more than one way to achieve your intention, if plan A is failing, adapt to plan B, then plan C, etc.” (Harford, 2011).

5. Harari, Y. (2018). 21 Lessons for the 21st Century. Harvil Secker.

I am very aware of how easy it is to blame externalities when things are not going according to what we want from life. Invariably we feel the boss, the government, or some evil source is manipulating and wants to control us. But Yuval Harari feels we will be missing the point in the future. He writes: “The main struggle in the 21^st century will be about becoming irrelevant, not about being exploited” (Harari, 2018).
View this recommended book in Good Reads review here...

6. Kim, W. C. (2005). Blue Ocean Strategy. Harvard Business Review.

I use Chan Kim’s book, Blue Ocean Strategy (2005), as a strategic framework for a surviving to thriving guide. Kim’s blue oceans’ metaphor defines a blue ocean as a less contested space.  In this space, the opposition is not as relevant, and you thrive (Kim, 2005). I believe one can apply blue ocean strategies at an individual level as well as a business one.

Kim explains that we mostly operate in highly contested Red Oceans, whereas in Blue Oceans there is less competitor activity. He uses four quadrants to categorise what action we can take to exit Red Oceans and enter Blue Oceans.

7. Kiyosaki, R. (2000). Rich Dad, Poor Dad. First Warner Books Printing.

Most of you will have heard of this book. Kiyosaki describes the income earning methods of two fathers. The essential message is organising your financial affairs around creating income streams for yourself rather than being trapped in decisions that result in personal debt (Kiyosaki, 2000). Visit https://www.richdad.com

8. Kumar, R (2019). The Business of Changing the World. Beacon Press Books.

One of the takeaway values of this book is how the extremely rich are “giving away” their money. Having read this, I am much less likely to brand this group as evil or buy conspiracies theories about how the rich are trying to manipulate the poor.

The book also exposes you to options where markets created by rich and middle-class people can be leveraged and expanded to provide services for the poor.

9. Macy, B (2018). Dopesick, Little Brown and Co.

Addiction is an awful problem, whether its to chocolates, alcohol, recreational drugs, or medicines. In this book my fears about pain killing opioid medicines and addiction were largely substantiated by Beth Macy. She claims; once you are addicted there is no love strong enough, no hug big enough to change the power of the pill. (Macy, 2018).

10. Zakaria, F. (2020). Ten lessons for a Post Pandemic world.W. Norton and Company.

The most current reference I use is Zakaria’s latest book. He provides so many gems and valuable insights. Here are a few:

“To succeed in this world, we will have to learn to manage diversity and gain strength from it rather than feel threatened by it.”

“Science is, above all, a method of inquiry, a process of posing questions and rigorously testing these hypotheses. With new and better data, we arrive at new and better conclusions.”

“We are entering an era where AI and Biotechnology will exponentially impact on many of the jobs we know. To survive and thrive humans need to develop human savvy i.e., 21^st century competency skills along with techno savvy. we need to magnify attributes, like critical thinking, unpredictability, warmth, and intimacy, that make us human and for the foreseeable future, will differentiate us from machines. The movement to digital life is broad, fast and real. But perhaps one of its deepest consequences will be to make us cherish the things in us that are most human.”

“the path to making America—or any country—great again is to move forward, not backward. Several Americans seek a return to some of the ways of the past—usually an imagined time of greatness. The reality is, there was never a Garden of Eden, and the periods that people recall nostalgically were far more difficult than is remembered. Think of what life was like in the 1950s if you were a woman or a minority or gay.” (Zakaria, 2020) View the Norton and Company book review here.