I’m an achievement addict. And I love books. So no surprise that I read books that will help me achieve my goals [no matter how ridiculous they are].
The four that I’ve read recently are high on my list of must-read. Like read them and you’ll get lit. In a good way. Passionate.
In other words, you’ll get a case of “rage to master.” I explain below.
How We Decide | Lehrer
The better of Jonah Lehrer’s two books [the other one, “Proust Was a Neuroscientist,” was a good thought, but a bit of a stretch…I abandoned that book about 40 pages in], How We Decide claims to use the discoveries of neuroscience to help us make better decisions.
That’s up for debate.
However, he does a good job showing that our best decisions are not rational nor emotional, but usually a combination of both, depending on the situation.
For example, it’s best to let our unconscious mull over the many variables when it comes to buying a house. Picking stocks? Let reason guide you. The trick is to determine when to use the different parts of the brain.
Note: Lehrer starts this book with Tom Brady in the pocket during the winning drive of his first Super Bowl. I hate Tom Brady. I hate him because he beat my beloved Rams in that game. I almost didn’t read the book because of that. Glad I was able to mature for the ten minutes to plow through that part.
Outliers | Gladwell
Way more academic AND trigger happy when it comes to chance and never-to-happen-again opportunities [giving you the impression that if you didn’t grow up in the same circumstances as Bill Gates, Tiger Woods or Jewish lawyers in Manhattan during the Great Depression, you will never be successful at any thing], but Outliers is an exciting read nonetheless.
A good friend, who was close to 40, recommended the book to me and said, “It gives an old fart like me hope.”
This book is long on the story of success and exquisite bits of trivia [like why most pro hockey players are born in January], but short on application. Don’t look to it for advice. Look to it to wind you up and grit your teeth to master your craft…even if you aren’t Bill Gates, Tiger Woods or Jewish lawyers living in Manhattan during the Great Depression.
Bounce: The Science of Success | Syed
I had a hard time reading this book because of the chronic echoes of Outliers. Actually, I’m surprised Syed didn’t get sued for plagiarism. He’s lifted a lot of the Outliers. Of course he gives credit where credit is due, but if you’ve read Outliers already, you don’t want to read it again, do you?
The three gems that make Bounce: The Science of Success a must read, however, are the Polgar Sisters, the concept of deliberate practice and the art of choking. Let’s discuss each briefly.
- The Polgar sisters are three women who were raised for one express goal: to become chess superstars. Their father was a scientist who managed to find a woman who would agree to his experiment. Of course I’m not going to tell you if he succeeded. You’ll have to read the book.
- Deliberate practice is a form of practice that involves a clear purpose, meaningful feedback and loads of opportunity to make mistakes. This is not the practice you and I grew up, but it gives us hope. [It’s like my strange writing advice I offered way back when.]
- Greg Norman’s epic collapse in 1996. John Elway in Super Bowl 1990. Bill Buckner in the 1986 World Series. Why did these guys choke at the very moment when they least could afford to do it? Syed explains. But not sure it will ever keep me from choking.
Talent Is Overrated | Colvin
There is a reason I put this one last. It marries everything above into one nice, succinct, entertaining read. And if you read only one book, read Talent Is Overrated.
Colvin takes on the mystery of exceptional performance by first tackling the two myths behind it: hard work and innate ability. He exposes them both and then turns the corner to show you how you can adopt the habits of people with high ability in sports, business and the arts.
He elaborates on the “deliberate practice” by showing how popular and historical figures like Benjamin Franklin and Chris Rock used the concept. Really fun reading.
The only let down is he doesn’t promise you you’ll become a piano virtuoso overnight. It takes hours. Months. Years. Which many people aren’t willing to commit. And I think it was from this book that I picked up on the phrase “rage to master.” That’s what Colvin calls the passion to excel.
I like that.
Future Books to Read
Have you read The Talent Code or Mindset: The New Psychology of Success? Are they worth my time? Do you have a copy of The Cambridge Handbook of Expertise and Expert Performance? Can I borrow it? Better yet, will you buy it for me for Christmas?
Share any books you think are worth reading concerning this topic.
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No I won’t buy it for you for Christmas. But thanks for the recommendations, Demian, as I love books that push me to reach my goals too. I haven’t (yet) read any of these so thanks!
I’ve heard of “Outliers” several times – I’m trying to remember the name of that other book Gladwell wrote?
The debate to whether talent, ability or hard work or a combination of these elements (and more) is a really interesting one in terms of achieving your goals. One could argue it’s only your decision making that sets you apart from others which is why I’m intrigued to the Lehrer concept of choosing unconscious decision vs. reason in certain circumstances.
Whilst this selection perhaps focuses more on strategy (do they?) I would be eager to jump in and say that other books (biographical or otherwise) could also inspire reaching our goals by getting an insight to how other people did things (differently?)
I’ve just started reading “Rework” by Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson which I hope will help me to see how to approach work and business differently but we’ll see. At first glance it looks good.
Yeah, the books above are more about what to do…in each there are examples of how individuals do it, so worth the read for that purpose, too. ReWork was on my short list of books to read.
What’s really interesting about Colvin’s book is he ends it with the question “what do you believe?” If you believe genes are destiny, then you’ll never achieve exceptional performance, so it does come down to how we think.
Colvin’s book sounds interesting and I would be interested learning more about his take on “hard work” which can sometimes mean “smart work” e.g. as a creative person learning more about business or relationships or communicating can be sometimes be more effective than simply improving at our art. That can be hard work!
It often comes up, I find. This concept of dedication and commitment. The whole 10,000 hours stuff. Like getting up an hour earlier each day to write a page and having a book in a year.
Exactly. 😉
I love reading such books which compel me to refocus and do the things which I am not doing right. At present I am immersed in reading about Steve Jobs – he was no genius but he was very good at adapting whatever was suited the best for his and Apples’ progress. Until now I have concluded that he was an exceptional marketer and he knew how to adapt to variations which were necessary. I will know for definite if Apples’ success was sheer luck or his hard work.
But reading his biography did remind of me the quote, “people buy people first not products” and he sold him self very well.
Nice quote. There is a lot to that. How is the biography coming? I don’t think I care enough about Jobs to read it. 😉
I’m currently reading Blink by Gladwell now. I’d actually stalled on it thinking it was just another ‘trendy’ book to read with not much to offer… but holy *(*^% it’s good. It’s engaging, well written, interesting, packed with cool stories that drive the points home… love it. Highly recommended.
Yes, I’ve heard great things about it, too. But the question is: Does it give you a case of rage to master? 🙂