“Let it sink…”

Guilty. This should be my first tattoo.

Power Moves

I read. A lot.

I love reading.

I read books, articles, ads (oh yeah, I pay attention to the words they use to take my money), essays (hello, Paul Graham), etc.

There is a problem, though.

I read slowly. I am the slowest reader I know.

I take my time. I take notes.

Fast reading is not my thing (as if it’s anyone's thing). I’m convinced it’s more of a bragging technique than a learning one.

You’re welcome to prove me wrong.

Anyway, given this bottleneck, I can only get through a limited number of books each year. No, not "both"! A bit more. But not that many more...

And each year, a lot of great books are published - with new research, evidence, and thoughts. I want it all!

I can’t wait to get my hands on those books. What a shame we can’t absorb knowledge like eating a book. I’d be fat and witty.

So what do I do? I needed to create ground rules for myself. Here they are (but don’t try to apply them yourself - patent pending):

1. I don't read for fun, I read to acquire knowledge. For fun, I only listen to audiobooks, and only on the go when it’s tricky to take notes. And podcasts (huge fan of My First Million, not sponsored, because they can’t afford it yet).

2. I don’t just want to collect knowledge. I need to turn knowledge into action, which brings me to the most essential point:

3. Lots of inputs and a strong filter. Oh yeah, my favorite “control your inputs” in action!

What does that mean?

There are days, even weeks, when I don’t start any specific book.

I’m waiting.

I need a big question to arise.  

In the meantime, I don’t waste time - I knock out short-form reading from my pipeline (have you tried omnivore.app? It’s great!).

So, I wait. And then - BOOM!

- How do I organize my collection of notes? - Build a Second Brain book

- How do I write better emails? - Copywriting Secrets book

- How to stay focused? - Deep Work book

- Why did I spend so much money on things I could live without? - Thinking, Fast and Slow book. (Still need to finish this one. Very condensed...)

Easy, right?

Yup.

And don’t forget: “Poor people read for pleasure. Rich people read for self-improvement.”

I wish I had come up with that saying.

Till next time!

Productivity Lifesavers

Short & Sweet

38 ways to win an argument - 8 mins read.

The 38 Stratagems are excerpts from "The Art of Controversy" by German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer. A good asset for becoming more discerning listeners and debaters.

How to Beat Worry - 20 mins read.

Is worry taking over? It turns out that awareness alone isn’t enough. So, what steps can you take to fight it? Here’s the answer…

Five Rules for Life - 6 mins read.

Without spoiling too much, I realized that I need to remind myself more often to stop complaining. Life isn’t fair, and things don’t always go as planned, but complaining only adds unnecessary poison to the situation without offering any real solution.

Add this to your shelf

Fresh off the press, this is a series of four books that teach mental models - frameworks for thinking that can be applied to solve problems and make better decisions. The series covers a wide range of topics, including general thinking concepts, physics, chemistry, biology, economics, and art.

Behind the Scenes of Cool People

Oprah Winfrey.

From Zero to Hero: Talent, plus hard work and strict discipline. A well-balanced routine.

Click-Worthy Clips

There’s no need to stress how important stories are in our lives. But how do you turn a story into a great one? Everything you need is in this two-hour video. The best part is that you don’t need to watch it; just listen on the go.

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