The truth will set you free. Depending on the mood, situation, or time of day I go through cycles of a handful of some of these favorite books – reading, and audio that help me push through. As much as we all love Kenny Powers, add these into your collection if you haven’t already.
As a kid I hated reading: Eventually and thankfully, life took a dark path during junior high and I headed down a bottom pit where The Autobiography of Malcolm X was waiting. I remember picking it up just because I liked the cover art, not knowing anything about it until something forced me to read. Malcolm X’s story changed my life since, and it was the seed that planted my aggressive reading habits today. It doesn’t matter if you’re white, black, brown, yellow, red or green, Malcolm’s life story is about universal lessons and the one that impacted me the most was of personal transformation.
There is no spoon: Siddhartha has been a classic that I’ve read many, many times over. Hermann Hesse paints a beautiful portrait of Siddhartha Gautama, the original Buddha of India and infuses life’s journey through the trials of the spiritual leader. Again, a story about transformation and self realization. This is one of those you find something knew every time you go back, and inspires a level of stillness that reflects the real Buddha’s teachings. No burning bushes, walking on water, 72 virgins or anti-god religious dogma in this book. Just a genuine story about a normal man who goes through real life to discover the simple truth.
Design matters: Some new books I’ve gone back through recently is Jony Ive’s biography. The soft spoken but distinct, high caliber presence of Ive we all know from Apple, but few know his true story that makes him a genius. Many make the mistake of associating aesthetic and design of Apple products with Steve Jobs, but the truth behind the beauty of the device you’re reading this post through belongs to Ive. Anyone leading a creative life, or working related to design, art etc should read this book. Like Dieter Rams was to the 60′s, this generation is lucky to have a designer like Jony Ive leading the path – whether they know it or not.
Pivot or persevere: Another fresh book is Eric Ries famous The Lean Startup that’s become like a bible for all entrepreneurs. Giving an insightful, and specific guide to taking a lean approach to starting a business through mobility, conserving resources and validating the assumptions one makes in creating an idea or product. This is a great practical book to go back through repeatedly to train new habits in thinking, and is a good contrast to the Steve Jobs’, change the world method of doing things. Although it focuses a lot on the Silicon Valley tech software scene and not so much on industrial design products it points out key realities that no strategy can ignore.
Reality distortion field: Of course, everyones staple go to book for inspiration. Job’s legend speaks to everyone in our time, and will continue long after. A lot of people critique his life on his aggressive approach, or on the basis of how they interpret what his motivation was to live the way he did in comparison to the ‘normal way’. And that’s their first mistake. Those who subscribe to living in this world by the standards of other people, who accept mediocrity as ‘the way things are’ and who are convinced it can’t be changed, molded or advanced forward, can’t fathom the fire that made Jobs a genius. If your’e a rebel and one of the crazy ones, this is a monthly read.
The strong rule the weak, but the wise rule the strong: Marcus Aurelius meditations has become a therapeutic read into the mind of one of the greatest leaders in history. A rare situation of a man with extreme power balanced with extreme wisdom. Aurelius is a tough example to live by because his values were elite, and solid as a rock far ahead of his time. This book also clarifies how far humanity has fallen from a standard of values even as we evolve in technology. The more the technology, the dumber we get out of convenience, and the more we revert back to eat, sleep, fuck, fight or flight mode. In the times where you need the Don Vito Corleone rationale to conquer the emotional Sonny Corleone in you this is a great read.
Emotion is your enemy: The Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi is another old classic. In those warrior beast modes of life, when you’re on the Spartan 300 path of living, add in the mentality of one of the greatest Samurais of Japan. There was a time when I was younger where I took this more literally, but reading now is more for the poetic nature of the writing. The way Musashi infuses combat with a visceral death gives a deeper insight into life and every precious moment. In the days of the Samurai you could literally die by an enemy warrior the next day in a duel, so death was a real factor that made you appreciate the small things in life much greater. As a result you live like everyday is your last – not the popping bottles, wolf of wall st way – the bushido way.
Personal legend: Finally, The Alchemist – one of the most inspiring stories of all time is one I read over every few months. What makes this book so amazing is its simplicity, and its message that is universal about chasing your dream, or what the book calls your ‘personal legend’. The book is a nice blend of western and eastern philosophies and is a deep source of creative inspiration. It has all ingredients of a masterpiece, and can help direct you on a path much greater then yourself. No freedom can be obtained without sacrifice, no victory without loss, and the actions you take at each step today will shape the path you lead tomorrow.