Reading is important. It is a way to fill in the gaps left by formal education and a meaningful way to better ourselves.
Reading is the raw material of the mind. What you put in shapes what you see and what you think.
Reading what everyone else reads is good for conversation, but it won’t help you think differently. And if you can’t think differently, you’ll always be a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest.
With that in mind, here are five books that will change your life and enable you to see things in a new light.
1. Collected Maxims and Other Reflections by La Rochefoucauld
La Rochefoucauld’s critical and pithy analysis of human behavior won’t soon be forgotten. A list of people influenced by his maxims includes Nietzsche, Voltaire, Proust, de Gaulle, and Conan Doyle. “The reader’s best policy,” Rochefoucauld suggests, “is to assume that none of these maxims is directed at him, and that he is the sole exception. …. After that, I guarantee that he will be the first to subscribe to them.”
2. The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene
I’ve never read this book in a cover-to-cover sense, but I’ve read each law. More than that, I’ve broken each of the laws. I’ll give you an example. The first law is “Never outshine the master.” Once, I worked directly for a CEO. I worked as hard as I ever had to show off my talents and skills, and at every turn, it backfired repeatedly. The lesson — “make your masters appear more brilliant than they are and you will attain the heights of power.” I wish I read this book earlier in my career.
3. Xenophon’s Cyrus the Great: The Arts of Leadership and War by Xenophon
This is the biography of Cyrus the Great, also known as Cyrus the Elder, who made the oldest known declaration of human rights. The book is full of leadership lessons. Here’s an example. “Brevity is the soul of command. Too much talking suggests desperation on the part of the leader. Speak shortly, decisively and to the point–and couch your desires in such natural logic that no one can raise objections. Then move on.”
4. Letters from a Self-Made Merchant to His Son
This no-nonsense collection of 20 letters from a self-made man to his son is nothing short of brilliant as far as I’m concerned. This is a great example of timeless wisdom. The broad theme is how to raise your children in a world where they have plenty, but the lessons apply to parents and non-parents alike.
5. Models of my Life by Herbert Simon
An autobiography of Nobel laureate Herbert A. Simon, a remarkable polymath who more people should know about. In an age of increasing specialization, Simon was a rare generalist — applying what he learned as a scientist to other aspects of his life. Crossing disciplines, he was at the intersection of “information sciences.” He won the Nobel for his theory of “bounded rationality” and is perhaps best known for his insightful quote, “A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.”
Two Bonus Selections
6. Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
A simple and powerful guide to life. This book was never intended for publication. It was written for himself. How many people write a book of epigrams to themselves? Get it. Read it. Live it.
7. Clear Thinking by Shane Parrish
A reader sent me this: “The most practical book I’ve ever read from beginning to end. Not only did I become more self-aware, but I learned the tools to take control of my results.”