Bill Gates has a section dedicated to book reviews on his blog. Here are some of his favorites. ‘The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined’ by Steven Pinker “Although a lot of people have never heard of Borlaug, he probably saved more lives than anyone else in history,” Gates says. “It’s estimated that … Read more
investors – large and small – should instead read Jack Bogle’s The Little Book of Common Sense Investing”I insist on a lot of time being spent, almost every day, to just sit and think. That is very uncommon in American business. I read and think. So I do more reading and thinking, and make less … Read more
Hey Musk, how do you learn to build rockets? “I read books…” ~ Musk Interview ‘The Lord of the Rings’ by J.R.R. Tolkien “The heroes of the books I read always felt a duty to save the world,” – Musk ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’ by Douglas Adams I guess when I was around 12 … Read more
Learn how to think effectively from one of the best books on the topic Relative value Our mind always tries to compare one thing with another one to try to estimate its value, attractiveness or whatever it tries to identify. This is the relativeness of everything. What’s more, often our brain picks the laziest option possible, something … Read more
Learn to reason more rationally Have you ever wondered why people make stupid mistakes? You might have observed how even a very smart person does an obvious mistake. This book will help you to upgrade your reasoning skills. Correlation is not causation Whenever we encounter two things which correlate (occur together) we tend to assume … Read more
Learn why big picture-holistic thinking is, and will become even more important in the future. People have assumed from ancient times about a division in our brain. Namely, a left and a right hemisphere. Modern science has supported a neurological divide although we know that in every activity we engage in both hemispheres cooperate. While there … Read more
This book will explain to you how to attain a perfect satisfying work experience or help you improve other activities and your overall happiness. This book is a good follow-up from the book DRIVE. If you missed that summary, you might want to check it out first. Humans seek happiness in a variety of ways. There are … Read more
Learn why it is important and in our best interest to admit our mistakes People tend to justify their mistakes Cognitive dissonance is the term used to describe the uneasiness people feel when they have two conflicting ideas or views. After making a mistake people tend to justify their decisions which lead to the mistake even if they … Read more
Learn from the classic book of Success “One of the most common causes of failure is the habit of quitting when one is overtaken by temporary defeat. Every person is guilty of this mistake at one time or another.” — Napoleon Hill Desire Desire/Passion is crucial if you want to accomplish your dreams. Thomas Edison went through years, and … Read more
Learn about preparation from one of the people who are the best at preparation, an astronaut The author explains in an entertaining way and great detail the arduous but fascinating path to becoming an astronaut. If you want to become an astronaut the odds are stacked against you from the beginning. You have to complete … Read more
Learn how to network from the modern day “How to win friends and influence people.” The book Getting a Job outlines a classic study where 282 men are asked how they found their jobs. 56% had found their jobs through personal contacts, 19% through job advertisements and only 10% had found their job through applications … Read more
This is one of the most inspiring and impactful books ever written “The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.” ~ Albert Einstein Change comes from the inside out You can’t take shortcuts for real personal growth. You could master some outside skills like communication … Read more
Myelin, neural pathways, and skills Everything we think, feel and do is a result of electrical impulses traveling through our nerve fibers. We call this connected fibers “circuits.” Each circuit is responsible for a certain action, for example, thought or feeling. When we move a part of our body, it is the result of electrical impulses … Read more
People with a fixed mindset — those who believe that abilities are fixed — are far less likely to flourish than those with a growth mindset. Mindset There are some things over which we have little control like the body features we are born with. But there are many more over which we do have control, for example physical and … Read more
Mental strength isn’t about acting tough; it’s about feeling empowered to overcome life’s challenges. Here is a list of things Mentally strong people don’t do. Waste time feeling sorry for themselves Give away their power Shy away from change Focus on things they can’t control Worry about pleasing everyone Fear taking calculated risks Dwell on the past Make the same mistakes … Read more
This book explores the science of productivity, and why managing how you think is more important than what you think. Learn to stay on track Have you ever felt excited about something, for example, a new project, but after a while that excitement faded away? Researchers at Columbia University found that people feel more motivated when they have … Read more
In this book, you will learn how your thoughts shape your life. Man is the sum of his thoughts. Do you know someone who always seems to have bad luck in life? Now tell me, has that person an inherent optimistic and positive attitude, always striving for more, never giving up? Or does he/she lean towards a … Read more
This book explores the life-changing effects curiosity can have on every person’s life. Why is it that we stop wondering about the world when we grow up? As children, we ask questions all the time. But as we grow up we tend to loose this thirst for knowledge and learning. A curious mind shows you why … Read more
This book explores the ability to focus without distraction on cognitively demanding tasks. Multitasking does NOT equal productivity! Sophie Leroy’s (Univ. Minnesota) research showed that when we switch our attention from task A to task B, our attention stays attached to the first activity. This hurts our performance as we are only half-focused on the … Read more
Focus on the essential. Read more of the things which will actually serve you. Here are some useful questions to ask yourself before reading something. Why am I reading this? Why do I need this information? If you can’t come up with good answers for this two questions, don’t read it. Use previewing Pre-viewing non-fiction material before … Read more