How To Take Smart Notes
How To Take Smart Notes
4/5
It is a useful resource for anyone who reads and wants to retain and use the information from what they read.
Students, researchers, and creatives of all sorts will benefit from reading this book or looking more into the idea of taking smart notes using a commonplace book.
The key takeaway from the book is that you should have an intelligent note-taking system that allows you to connect new ideas together and retrieve information when you need it.
This includes creating a workflow that you can stick to and formatting system for your notes and not changing it once it works.
The Wealthy Entrepreneur
The Wealthy Entrepreneur by Bob Gauvreau is a great overview of some of the fundamental financial principles that startups need to consider in starting and growing businesses. The framework the Gauvreau has created offers a solid way to look at the big picture goals you have in your business and break them down into actionable steps to accomplish both in the mid-term and short-term.
The book does a really great job of walking you through step-by-step the Vision To Results framework with guidance on how to implement it into your system.
I feel like Bob has some very interesting stories to share and some better storytelling would have definitely helped this book.
If you’re looking to start your own business or already an entrepreneur, this book is a valuable resource to have and a quick read which makes it easy to implement. It’s free on Kindle Unlimited, so very easy to check out.
Rating 4/5
Quiet
Rating 5/5
I put off reading Quiet by Susan Cain for a number of years because I assumed I knew all I needed to about the introvert/extrovert divide and experience in the business world.
Extroverts and those with higher energy who talk more have always been perceived as smarter and as leaders. This book challenges those assumptions and shows how these perceptions are flawed and limiting great business leaders who prefer to operate with less publicity.
The information about nervous system differences between introverts and extroverts was fascinating. Introverts are more sensitive to stimuli even from infancy and this is one part of what contributes to the displayed quietness.
This book is also one of the first to dispel the shyness and introversion myth and show the differences between shyness which is more of a social anxiety issue with introversion being a tendency to recharge your batteries in solitude rather than with others.
In Quiet, Susan offers up practical advice for introverts on how to find balance and thrive in the business world which has also been reportedly very beneficial for extroverts who read this book and better understand and respect the needs of the introverts around them.
When it comes to being an introvert, know that you don’t have to follow the status quo with your leisure time by going to the bar with friends. It’s ok to get into nature alone or curl up and read a book. Also carve out restorative niches for yourself - these are places and activities in your work and home environment that help you to recharge.
Read this if you identify as an introvert and feel like it is holding you back or you have quiet children. This book is also hugely valuable for any leaders or business owners to understand their team better.
This Is Marketing
This Is Marketing is the latest book by Seth Godin and might be the most valuable thing I’ve ever read on the subject of marketing. Seth is a marketing genius who practices the art in the most ethical and conscientious way possible. He is not a guru and his wisdom puts to shame anyone who peddles “top secret marketing hacks.”
For anyone running a business or in the marketing field, this book deserves a place on your bookshelf and perhaps perpetually sitting on your desk. Seth’s to-the-point writing style makes each page relevant and poignant. You can literally flip to any page in the book and get something out of it that you can immediately apply.
Seth is a great storyteller and so this book is entertaining and memorable through and through.
Leaders Eat Last
Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek is an exploration of leadership and a call for the urgency of more leaders being needed in the world.
I found the title of the book confusing because even though Sinek briefly refers to how some leaders in the army eat after their subordinates, the book seemed to be more about the neurochemistry of human interaction and examples of good and bad leadership. I guess that means the title still works in the sense of eating last being one of the principles of leadership but it still confused me throughout listening to the audiobook.
Not a bad book about leadership but not great either.
Dichotomy of Leadership
Jocko and Leif are back at it with a follow-up book to Extreme Ownership, which still stands as one of my favourite business books of all time because of the real-world parallels they were able to draw between leadership on the battlefields of Iraq and leadership in the office of corporate America.
After four or more years since the release of Extreme Ownership, Dichotomy begins where it left off and reigns in some of the extremes from the previous book as the authors found business owners struggling when taking the concepts of the first book far too literally.
Dichotomy sets to soften some of the blows by being “in control, but not rigid” and helping readers see the gray area that is often where true leadership lies.
I liked this book but not as much as how fresh the idea was when I read Extreme Ownership. While the business principles are still solid, many of the stories from Iraq that Jocko and Leif tell sound familiar and rehashed to me. Some of them are from the previous book and it could just be that I’ve recalled them from some of the Jocko Podcast episodes but I think that it is more so from the previous book. Sure, they’ve retold the stories from the dichotomous perspective but I’d still have liked to get more fresh stories from the book than feeling so much like a repeat of Extreme Ownership.
Anything You Want
Anything You Want by Derek Sivers is collection of short stories and lessons about how Derek built CD Baby, his online music store for independent musicians. CD Baby became renowned for its customer service as Derek built it to great success.
This short book / audiobook contains a lot of important lessons for any entrepreneur to pay attention to and is worth reading through a few times at least. At lot of books belabour their points with overdrawn arguments but not this one. So if you’re short on time but need to absorb a lot of knowledge from a successful entrepreneur, you’ll enjoy Anything You Want.
The audiobook is also read by Derek who’s a great storyteller and so I highly recommend checking out the audio version if you can.
Life Value 5/5
Entertainment Value 5/5
Who
Who by Geoff Smart is the definitive guide to hiring employees. I’ve heard Tim Ferriss recommend this book countless times to anyone in HR or entrepreneurs needing to hire employees and now that I’ve read through it I can see that it’s for good reason.
Who is a great step-by-step process for finding and hiring the right employees to fit the needs of the job you are looking to fill. By understanding more deeply the role you are looking to fill, how it fits in to your company culture, and the outcomes expected from the job, you will be able to better narrow in on what are called the A Players who will lead your company to greater success.
Who is a great step-by-step process for finding and hiring the right employees to fit the needs of the job you are looking to fill. By understanding more deeply the role you are looking to fill, how it fits in to your company culture, and the outcomes expected from the job, you will be able to better narrow in on what are called the A Players who will lead your company to greater success.
Who is a great step-by-step process for finding and hiring the right employees to fit the needs of the job you are looking to fill. By understanding more deeply the role you are looking to fill, how it fits in to your company culture, and the outcomes expected from the job, you will be able to better narrow in on what are called the A Players who will lead your company to greater success.
The book provides detail on each step of the hiring process from identifying your needs to finding the right candidates to hiring and retaining the right employees. If you ever hire employees, it is worth it to get a copy of this book to refer to when you are preparing new job postings and going through the interview and recruitment process.
Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook
Jab Jab Jab Right Hook by Gary Vee is a great book on building and representing your brand on social media. This book gives rock solid advice on being creative and generous with your social media content instead of always trying to sell and have a call to action with everything you do.
While a little outdated now as far as discussing the algorithms and features of the different social media sites presented in the book, the core essence of each of the platforms Gary talks about remains the same and so this book still remains valuable for both the rules to follows and the excellent case studies each chapter provides on what to not and what not to do.
This book is well-worth reading if you do any social media marketing.
Permission Marketing
Seth Godin is one of the most prominent online marketers today and has held that position since the early days of the internet when he saw the potential of the start up companies and this medium as it was taking off.
Permission Marketing is all about doing right by your customers through offering incentives and information in exchange for their permission to share more and market directly to them.
Written almost two decades ago, Permission Marketing was spot on when it was written and has become even more appropriate in today’s world of overpriced and highly competitive world of marketing. By creating a unique value proposition for your potential customers and then educating them on your products while keeping their attention, you cut through the distractions and other marketing attempts and win the hearts of your followers.
There is plenty of great advertising and marketing advice packed into this book and it is well worth reading if you are involved in any marketing efforts and want to stand out from the rest of the crowd.
22 Immutable Laws Of Marketing
If you listen in to Tim Ferriss at all, you’ll here him go on and on about the 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing by Al Ries and Jack Trout - but make sure you get the original and not the copy updated for the modern age!
This book deserves the crown and a place on the stack of marketing books for any serioius marketer or entrepreneur. 22 Immutable Laws is short and to the point but drills home all of the considerations that you need to make as a marketer if you want to be successful. With great examples and simple explanations, following the advice in this book will set you apart from all those who violate the rules of this little handbook.
The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People
The Seven Habits by Stephen Covey is a perennial seller in the management and personal improvement realm for good reasons. This book is the grandfather of most of the concepts you will read in self-help and management books that line the shelves today.
Whether you are trying to improve upon yourself, build a better business, or become a stronger leader, this book outlines the seven habits that a lifetime of research and reflection has led Covey to identify as the core to effectiveness and living a good life.
You’ve certainly heard of this book before and probably even seen the pages and concepts laid out within it a time or two before and I was surprised after reading it that it took me so long to actually sit down and read this book. Stephen Covey is a great storyteller and writer so this only furthers the support that this great book should line everybody’s bookshelf.
The book is longer than I think it needs to be but it makes more sense considering the number of stories and examples that Covey packs into each chapter from a lifelong pursuit of experience and reading on the subjects he expounds upon.
Life Value: 5/5
Entertainment Value 4/5
Managing Oneself
Managing Oneself - Peter Drucker
This little book is a quick read with many great take-home points for anyone struggling to manage themselves or others.
It breaks down a few key points from which all things surrounding managing yourself exist.
Know your values
Know how you learn/perform best
Know your strengths and weaknesses
In work you should find a company that resonates with your values
In relationships of the work of the personal kind, you should know the strength and values of the other person and respect them.
I think everyone can value from considering the points in this book if they struggle to have an answer to any of the above points and it takes less than an hour to read. Pretty good for people who are already busy.
Start With Why
Start With Why - Simon Sinek
Life Value 4/5
Entertainment Value 4/5
“There are leaders and there are those who lead. Leaders hold a position of power or influences. Those who lead inspire us.”
Start With Why by Simon Sinek is a book for leaders who are taking over or starting up a company. The thesis of the book is that a company and its leaders must start with why - the belief and cause of the company in order to become successful. The WHY lies at the centre of WHAT your company does and HOW it does it.
To fully embody the why of a company means to hire around others who also believe the same thing that you do. By having the company culture embody the core belief, others will come to understand your WHY and follow you as well.
This book is pretty interesting and Sinek has a few good case studies that he develops his thesis around but he does stick to the same companies as examples throughout the entire book - he is clearly an Apple fan - and could have benefitted from branching out to a wider range of industries.
I’ve listened to Sinek speak in podcasts and on videos before and I believe that he is better suited to delivering his message through audio. I think that this book is more of a dictation of him talking than a great written work.
Deep Work
Deep Work - Cal Newport
Deep Work is an important read in an age where distraction is the norm and we are rapidly approaching a time where most simple tasks and jobs will be taken over by AI. With these trends in the modern age, the necessity for intense, intellectual focus in the workplace is becoming more and more important.
With the new economy shift, the core abilities that will help individuals to thrive are the ability to quickly master hard things and produce work at an elite level both in terms of quality and speed. These factors necessitate what is called Deep Work.
Deep Work closely resembles and has much in common with achieving a flow state with your work. By putting intense effort into singular focus, one can accomplish much more high-quality work than those who allow themselves to be distracted by notifications and attempts to multitask.
The book is divided into two parts with the first addressing the thesis of why deep work will be so important for those who want to thrive in the new economy and the second part of the book offering practical methods for incorporating deep work into your own routine. This book is quite short, but excellent and packed with compelling information.
Poor Charlie's Almanack
Poor Charlie's Almanack - Charles Munger, Peter Kaufman
I've been on the search for Poor Charlie's Almanack for years and finally was able to get my hands on a copy of this one of a kind book. Charlie Munger is Warren Buffet's business partner at Berkshire Hathaway.
While you're hard-pressed to find someone who doesn't know the name Warren Buffet, Charlie has preferred to live in relative obscurity despite being whole-heartedly considered equal to Warren.
This book is aptly named as a nod to Charlie's idol Ben Franklin and is a must-read for anyone interested in personal finance and investing. This almanac includes a biography of Charlie Munger, sections on his principles on life and investing, and an impressive collection of his most popular public speeches. Charlie has amassed an incredible amount of wisdom over his lifetime - much attributed to his lifelong pursuit of reading and learning.
“The acquisition of wisdom is a moral duty”
You'd be a fool not consider what Charlie has to say, even if you just take the time to listen to one of his commencement speeches, like this one for USC:
Crushing It!
Crushing It! - Gary Vaynerchuk
Gary is the king of boisterous social media gurus but he backs up everything that his larger than life voice spews from his lips with proof that he and the people he advises are in fact crushing it. This book is a short, easy read but full of tons of valuable information (and as my friend Drew points out, it’s great to get the information without hearing Gary’s voice if you can’t stand him). If you need actionable steps to grow your following on any of the big social media platforms of today, this book has the nuggets that have got you covered. Take them, apply them to your own pages daily for a long time, and watch your followers grow.
This is your social media playbook if you're trying to grow your business or own personal brand. You could listen to hundreds of hours of Gary's YouTube videos or podcasts to gather most if not all of this information but the case studies of people crushing it on each platform and all of the things you can implement being compiled all in one book is worth the cost of entry.
Principles
Principles - Ray Dalio
“Problems are like coal thrown into a locomotive engine because burning them up - inventing and implementing solutions for them - propels us forward. Every problem you find is an opportunity to improve your machine."
Principles is one of the best practical guides on life and management that I've read and one of my favourites in recent memory because of the extreme effort that went into making it as readable as possible.
This feels very much like a modern-day take of Stoic philosophy. Ray's own approach to business and life clearly has been influenced heavily by the Stoics.
The best part of the book is how each principle is clearly displayed as a chapter heading followed by each sub-principle or example subdivided even further to make it simple to pick out whatever information you need to apply in a given moment. This comes into play even more importantly in the second half of the book that's designed to be used as a business and management reference guide for how to handle different situations that are another "one of those."
Growth Hacker Marketing
GHM is a cool little handbook for anyone who is involved in marketing, whether as an entrepreneur or simply out of interest for a critical component of how the top companies in the world got to be so big.
Growth hacking is what Ryan calls the new age of marketing, as the old-school tactics don't allow for the same analytical approach to determining what works and what doesn't with your customer base.
The three keys to growth hacks versus the old marketing playbook are using things that are testable, trackable, and scalable. While all three factors are important for modern growth hacks, being scalable really matters when the best way to stand out is to bake virality into the thing you are making.
The book is very short but worth its weight in gold. Understanding the principles behind what makes something go viral and which companies become successful today is the foundation that needs to be fully comprehended in order to stand out.