Sometimes the best books you can read on a subject, are not technically about the subject. Everyday I try to read something to inspire me to forgo standing in my own way. It’s a great day when the right quote or message can make you laugh at how melodramatic this all seems. Having the body you want is rarely as simple as “eat less, move more.” Let’s be honest, it is never that simple.

These are some of my favorite books that make me feel stupid, in the best of ways.


My personal favorite. I have read most of Thoreau’s work, but this book has more cracks, stains, and love than any of them.

Quote: Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.

Quote: I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion.

Quote: It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.

This is a book I have only recently read, but has inspired a ton of  writing and research on motivation. While it is geared towards business, look past it and see what it can tell you in regards to how you look at motivation in general.

Nisargadatta has a method of saying something that makes you become friends with a self induced face palm.

Quote: Nothing can trouble you but your own imagination.

Quote:  Leave it all behind you. Forget it. Go forth, unburdened with ideas and beliefs. Abandon all verbal structures, all relative truth, all tangible objectives.

Passage From The Tao of Pooh:

“When you wake up in the morning, Pooh,” said Piglet at last, “what’s the first thing you say to yourself?”
“What’s for breakfast? said Pooh. “What do you say, Piglet?”
“I say, I wonder what’s going to happen exciting today?” said Piglet.
Pooh nodded thoughtfully.
“It’s the same thing,” he said.

I am a firm believer that the happiness you possess in your job, reflects the way you carry yourself. I think people box the work of Tim Ferris based on the book title.  Look past the four hours, and look into all of these things which can apply in someway towards what you do. Lastly, when polled people would rather have a personal assistant, than a personal trainer.

I go back and forth on what my favorite Gladwell work is. Right now, this one is winning. If you need an introduction to Gladwell, I encourage you to ask yourself – What do you know about pasta sauce?

At first sight, this book might seem to speak only economists or business moguls. I believe it’s heart lies in existentialism.

Quote on how “nudging” can make a difference: Well, to name just a few: better investments for everyone, more savings for retirement, less obesity, more charitable giving, a cleaner planet, and an improved educational system. We could easily make people both wealthier and healthier by devising friendlier choice environments, or architectures.

If there can be such a thing as a favorite audiobook author, it would be Seth Godin. I have only ever “read” one of his books and I plan to keep it that way as long as it is an option. Godin is the king of marketing, but does so by harnessing a deep insight into the human condition and story telling.

Quote: The most common response to the Dip is to play it safe. To do ordinary work, blameless work, work that’s beyond reproach. When faced with the Dip, most people suck it up and try to average their way to success.

You don’t have to subscribe to any religion in order to find greatness of this book.

Quote: The more honest you are, the more open, the less fear you will have, because there’s no anxiety about being exposed or revealed to others. So, I think that the more honest you are, the more self-confident you will be.

Quote: Knowledge has to acquire urgency before it leads to action.


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