I like to read. I’m a sucker for page-turning novels, self-improvement books, and fantasy comics.

Given that, it surprises people when I say I never read a book from start to finish until my sophomore year of college.

Up until that point, I had used Sparknotes or had bullshitted my way through book reports and assignments. I’m a role model to kids across the nation.

Cut to: today, where I read practically every day—morning and evening. I fly through audiobooks. I take pages of digital notes while making my way through nonfiction tomes.

In 2020, I read 63 books. In 2021, I read 70. And this past year, with a goal to read 80, I finished…67.

Why the decline? Because I realized toward the end of the year that my goal was kind of stupid.

Maybe stupid is too harsh a word. We’ll say the result I was aiming for was misguided.

Why did I want to read 80 books? To beat my previous record? To commit even more to my discipline and habits?

No.

It was just to say I read 80 books.

It feels good to log what I read on GoodReads. And that’s the problem. I’ve been craving some sort of status. Deep down, I want to be seen as an intellectual who’s well-read. You know, the kind of guy who reads 80 books in a year.

But I can’t tell you what I got from 75% of the books I finished last year.

Finishing a book and understanding its insights are two separate things. I was just going for notches on my literary bedpost.

Sprinting through audiobooks at 3x speed. Whizzing through nonfiction without taking notes or stopping for any reflection. These are great ways to absorb nothing.

There’s an awful high school superlative: “Talks the most; says the least.” Well these past few years, I’ve been going for, “Reads the most; learns the least.”

I’ve obviously learned a lot. But only from a small amount of the things I’ve actually read. So it begs the question…

Would you rather read 50 books this year that give you little to nothing, or read 2 books this year that deeply impact your life?

I’m making some changes so I can lean into the latter option. From now on, I…

1. must take digital notes for each nonfiction book I read
2. have to keep a list of insights or changes I’ll make with each read (i.e. a ‘How Will I Use This’ list)
3. lowered my goal to only read 52 books this year

A book a week. Still quite a lot for some people I imagine. The average for American men is 8.5 books read in a year (yes ladies, I’m single).

It’s time to slow down and focus on depth, not breadth.

If you want to learn how to read more books, check out my previous blog.

If you want to follow me on GoodReads, then go do so you silly, silly goose.

Here they are…

1) Models: Attract Women Through Honesty

By Mark Manson (Goodreads link).

This book represents the newer, more wholesome era of dating advice. A decade or two ago, men had pickup artistry: scripts and tactics to woo more women and have more sex.

But that’s all super narcissistic. Pickup artistry sees women as prizes and status symbols—not living, breathing human beings with lives and values of their own.

I’ve been a single guy most of my life. I’m confident, I’m extroverted, and I consider myself to be reasonably successful. And the act of putting myself out there with women is almost always a terrifying one.

In Models, Mark argues that the key to attracting more women has nothing to do with pickup lines or suave tricks. Instead, it’s all about becoming the best version of yourself as a man. Don’t pretend to be someone you’re not; lean into your strengths and create a life that fulfills you. That’s what people find attractive.

A simple example of this is not texting back right away. We shouldn’t wait hours to respond to pretend to be busy. We should have an active life so we’re genuinely not always available.

This all sounds like common sense now, but being more attractive can really be boiled down to:

• working out
• having hobbies outside of work
• being excited by life
• flirting with physical touch and teasing
• never being needy
• being willing to say no and stand up for your values
• risking rejection
• smiling and laughing more
• asking curious questions

I’ve since used many of the principles in this book and have noticed way more fluidity in my flirting and conversations with women.

2) Becoming

By Michelle Obama (Goodreads link).

It’s really easy for me to see a well-known figure—an actor, athlete, or politician—and totally forget they’re human beings. They had a childhood. They have fears and insecurities. They want to raise healthy children. They want to be valuable.

Michelle’s storytelling abilities reminded me of Matthew McConaughey’s in his memoir Greenlights. Both of them make you feel like you’re at the dinner table or around a campfire listening to them talk about their lives.

Some of my friends know this, but I’m not a black woman who was raised in South Side Chicago. Despite that, I felt much more connected to Michelle’s story than Matthew’s.

Why? I love Matthew McConaughey but he has almost an unrelatable level of confidence.

My point is: Michelle spends every chapter being vulnerable. Sharing mistakes, frustrations, and anxieties. And being vulnerable is the only true way for others to relate.

When she and the Queen of England were complaining about their sore feet at an event. When she was trying to get Barack to quit smoking. When she was in her twenties and didn’t know what she wanted to be when she grew up. When her best friend died. When everything she wore made headlines. When she and her daughter tried to giddily sneak out of the White House.

I saw her. I saw these things happening. I laughed when she marveled at the little family moments. I cried when she was devastated.

One of the last sentences in this flawless memoir sums it up perfectly:

“I’m an ordinary person who found herself on an extraordinary journey.”

What a journey it was.

3) How to Quit Porn

By Brett McKay (Goodreads link).

Porn is wild. It’s something most people consume but don’t talk about.

I haven’t watched it in a long time because of the noticeable physical and psychological consequences. This book has been a huge help in breaking down the science of why we crave porn and how we can remove the habit from our lives.

(Since the vast majority of pornography is made for heterosexual males, it’s written for that audience; but it’s still an informative and fascinating read regardless of demographic.)

A teenager with an iPhone today will see more naked, beautiful women in 60 seconds than a man 100 years ago would see in his lifetime. Our brains aren’t evolved to handle that level of stimuli.

This dopamine hit from porn creates a plethora of issues:

• It creates unrealistic body standards for women.
• Watching a ton of it can make it difficult or impossible to get aroused without it.
• Men often feel deep shame immediately after.
• Watching porn reduces willpower, energy levels, and motivation.

The book describes porn as “sexual junk food.” It shouldn’t be seen as this shameful, disgusting addiction. That gives it too much power.

But on the whole, it is a net negative for most guys. Like any habit, this one can be broken. And since I broke it, I’ve experienced nothing but clear benefits.

(For anyone who wants to learn more about what porn does to the male brain, but doesn’t want to read this book, I’d recommend this short miniseries.)

4) Invincible

By Robert Kirkman (Goodreads link).

An action-packed comicbook series that they turned into a show. I tore through this one.

It’s like many other superhero comics but with murder, deep character development, and intricate world-building. It handles romance, betrayal, parenting, political corruption, friendship, teenage angst, and many other mature themes. All while being a funny and captivating page-turner.

5) Building a Second Brain: A Proven Method to Organize Your Digital Life and Unlock Your Creative Potential

By Tiago Forte (Goodreads link).

If this was the only book I read this year, it would be worth it.

Tied with Getting Things Done, Tiago’s Second Brain system has easily had the most impact on my productivity and workflow.

The idea is simple: we’re working with stone-age programming in a hyper-modern world. Our brains haven’t evolved much in the last 100,000 years. We still crave carbs, dopamine, and sex all the same.

But now that we have infinite access to all the information in the world, we expect our meat machines to catch up. But they can’t.

We’re not meant to remember every single thing that happens to us, every task we have to complete, or every idea we’ve ever had.

Enter: a Second Brain.

This simple personal knowledge management organizes anything you read, listen to, or think of. It categorizes things based on the projects you’re working on—whether it be finishing an essay, making a presentation, or redecorating the living room.

This book can be used as a step-by-step workbook. And I felt the result immediately: a feeling of decluttered peace. It’s also made writing blogs and making YouTube videos much easier.

I’d recommend this book to anyone who wants to take control of their digital lives—especially creatives or entrepreneurs.

📚

I read 64 books in 2020. Last year, I read 70.

So naturally, I stretched the goal this year and set my GoodReads challenge to 80 books.

I’m hitting a point of diminishing returns. Let me explain.

I love reading. It calms me down and makes me feel like I’m entering another person’s mind while applying lessons to my own life. I also keep an extensive collection of notes with each book I read.

But 80 books is a lot. For the first time in my life, it feels like I’m reading to meet a quota instead of reading because I’m feeling pulled to. (I never read a single book in school.)

Not that that’s always a bad thing. I don’t always want to go to the gym but I force myself to go three times a week. That’s a number I have to hit because I know it’s good for me.

But the difference with reading books has been my lack of retention. I looked through my 2022 GoodReads list the other day. There were at least three books I didn’t remember reading at all.

I’ve been flying through audiobooks. If I don’t take notes, then within a week or two, all that I learn has left my mind. And even when I do take notes, it’s not like I’m reviewing what I capture every week.

Would you rather read 50 books you forget about or 5 books that change your life?

My point is: “I read 80 books this year” sounds sexy. It sounds impressive. It sounds like something you tell your friend who doesn’t read to make yourself feel big.

But I won’t be doing it again. I’m sacrificing enjoyment for quantity. It looks cool on the outside and feels grey on the inside. It’s like a gorgeous Instagram influencer who’s severely depressed. (Does that make sense? I’m not depressed.)

Goals can be great. But we have to know why we’re pursuing them. “Because it sounds impressive” is a terrible reason.

One of my 2022 goals is to expand my knowledge when it comes to the world of tech, startups, climate, and business.

This newsletter may be my favorite content I’ve ever subscribed to.

It’s free, it’s concise, and it’s wildly entertaining and informative.

I refuse to be a 40-year old who doesn’t know anything about the latest technology. If I did nothing but read The Hustle each week between now and then, I’ll be in great shape.

This blog won’t be much different than the one I wrote last year on how I read 64 books in 2020. Well…the difference is about six books.

In my coaching conversations, I’ve heard many people say they want to work on their reading habit.

Let’s start with that last word.

1) I make a habit out of it. (i.e. I read every day.)

Even if it’s just two pages.

In a session yesterday, my client said, “.1 is more than 0.”

Something is better than nothing. Let’s put that into perspective.

If we read 10 pages a day, every day for a year, that’s 3,650 pages.

That means we could read Infinite Jest, Moby Dick, five 200-page novels, five 100-page stories…and still have 408 pages left.

I like reading for 10-30 minutes as part of my morning routine. Sometimes I’ll read as I wind down before bed.

Not everybody has the luxury of working for themselves like I do. People have jobs and families. But I find it hard to believe a person never has ten minutes to themselves for a bit of reading.

In short, it’s about consistency, not speed. I’m a wildly slow reader. Reading practically every day compensates for that.

2) I don’t read shit I don’t like.

If continuing to read something feels more like a chore or an obligation, I put it down.

I’m not saying other people should do this. I have friends who feel accomplished when they stick with dense and challenging reads all the way through. That’s great.

But personally, that’s not why I read. I want to enjoy myself. I’m not in school anymore and I’m not looking to challenge my brain. I want to be entertained, to be intrigued, and to learn things I can use in the real world.

Time reading something I don’t like is time away from something I could possibly love.

3) I keep book notes.

In my Notes app, I keep simple, bulleted takeaways from what I read.

I try to put them in my own words to make it easier for me to remember and apply them.

I’m not certain this allows me to read more, but it definitely makes me feel more engaged with what I’m reading. It also allows me to go back a year from now and revisit what I got out of a book.

4) I log what I read on GoodReads.

To anyone who cares about a reading habit, I strongly encourage making a GoodReads account.

There, one can…

• set reading goals
• see what their friends are reading/have read
• get recommended new books
• keep track of everything they’ve read

Be sure to follow me. 😊

Conclusion.

The most important two things are to read consistently and to enjoy it.

Reading because it’s “what someone should do” feels dull and pointless.

I got to enter many different worlds this year. Here’s to 70 more in 2022!

It’s 4:56am.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I’m thankful for you, reader. If you’ve ever spent ten seconds reading (or hating) my stuff…

Thank you.

Please enjoy your holiday. 😊

I just finished Douglas Murray’s book The Madness of Crowds. Here’s my review.

It’s one of the most important books I’ve ever read.

I’m not a super political person, but whenever people ask me where I stand politically (which is an impossibly loaded question), I say:

“My dad thinks I’m a Communist and my friends think I’m a Trump supporter.”
(Neither are true.)

I have a lot of problems with ‘the Left’: social justice warriors, woke culture, etc. Despite being well-intentioned and fighting for seemingly just causes…I find most of what the loudest voices are doing and saying are in fact shoving us backward, not progressing us forward.

Unfortunately, many of the books or videos I’ve seen with this same opinion have the vibe of: Leftists and liberals are brats and snowflakes and here’s more detail on how stupid they are.

This book was not that.

Another reviewer of this book summed it up well:

“Murray is basically saying ‘Look at this insanity. This is going too far. And here are strange and startling examples why.'”

Douglas gives us an articulate, elegant, and well-sourced reminder that the social issues we’re facing today are complex and incomplete. The rules are not yet solidified or agreed upon, yet the mobs on Twitter and on college campuses are acting as if these rules should be common sense at this point.

I’d recommend this book to anyone who believes in social equality and liberty, but who doesn’t think shaming, canceling, or silencing is the best way to achieve that.

I certainly don’t.

10/10

Keep a list of your favorite quotes in your phone.

I’ve had one since 2016 and it’s lovely to go back and see hilarious things my friends said and insightful quotes I read from my favorite books.

2020 was a chaotic year for too many people.

As strange as it sounds, I was extremely lucky enough to take advantages from the lockdowns. I quit my full-time job and started two businesses. I worked on passion projects. And among many other incredibly useful habits, I solidified my routine of reading.

I will surely write a blog about my favorite books from the year, but in the meantime…

Here are the specific tips and tricks I used to read over a book a week:

1) Read every day.

I don’t read particularly fast. You don’t have to if you read every single day.

The easiest way to do this is to make a routine of it. Make it part of your morning. Read a chapter as you sip your coffee. Read a chapter as you wind down for bed. Do both if you can.

There were many days where all I read was one chapter of Harry Potter. That’s about 20 pages. 20 pages every day for a year is 7300 pages. That’s like reading Infinite Jest 6 times and Moby Dick once.

Everyone has different schedules. I’m lucky to structure my own days so I give myself plenty of time to read. But all you need is 10 minutes a day and you’ll be reading way more than the average American.

2) Read what you enjoy.

This might sound like elementary advice. But you’d be surprised how many people approach reading as some sort of chore–traumatized by school assignments and essays.

I had a coaching client ask me to help him build a reading habit. He wanted to dive into all these business and personal development books, but he hated reading.

He kept talking about willpower and grit. I asked him, “Well, what do you enjoy reading?”

He said, “Honestly, my guilty pleasure is the Divergent series. I’ve read through them like 4 times. I love all the blockbusters. Harry Potter. Hunger Games...”

“Great,” I said. “We’ll start there.”

He was confused. He didn’t want to waste time reading simply for pleasure.

But if reading isn’t a part of your daily life, and you want it to be, then you have to attack the habit first, then the content.

Before worrying about best sales tactics or goal-setting techniques, we spent two months getting him used to just sitting down each and every day, and reading at least 10 pages of Lemony Snicket…or whatever he wanted.

This made it as easy as possible to build the habit. He looked forward to it. It wasn’t a chore. Then, slowly but surely, he replaced a few reading sessions with some of the denser books he wanted to read. After two months, he was reading for both work and pleasure every single day.

If you’re dreading what you read, you’ll never make a habit out of it. Turn your guilty pleasures into pleasures and embrace them.

3) Listen to audiobooks.

I fought this for the longest time. Books on audio just didn’t do it for me. I’m not exactly sure what flipped the switch but when it did, I was hooked.

You can listen at double, sometimes triple the speed. Depending on the content and the reader, this does nothing to stifle your comprehension.
(I typically don’t like to go too fast with fiction books––1.75x at the most.)

Laying down with your headphones in. Cleaning. Cooking breakfast. These are great ways to knock out chunks of audiobooks.

4) Get an online library card.

And a Kindle.

With this, you can borrow an endless supply of eBooks and audiobooks for completely free.

Connect your online card number to Libby, and you can place holds on what you want to read or listen to.

Since getting my Kindle and library card, I have read over 30 books in 3 months…without paying a cent.

5) Read with a pen or visual pacer.

If you leave it up to the voice in your head to set the pace, you can only read as quickly as you speak.

With a visual tracker like a pen, you force your eyes to move well above that rate.

6) Get a GoodReads account.

GoodReads is a social media that doesn’t rot your brain.

It’s a great way to connect with friends to see what they’re reading, what they think about what they’re reading, and what they want to read. It will also recommend books to you based on what you’ve enjoyed in the past.

My favorite feature though is the ability to set challenges for yourself (e.g. 20 books in 2021). This is like a subtle form of accountability. I liked that people could see that I was reading a shit ton of books. It made me read even more.

Tell me I’m good.

That’s it.

There’s not really any magic to it. Just sit down and read.

I don’t think you have to read anything you don’t want to, but I firmly believe that everyone could benefit from making it a consistent part of their lives. It makes me feel sharper, more articulate, and more aware of the world I live in.

Whether it’s People magazine, The Lord of the Rings, or 50 Shades of Grey…get out there and start reading.

Expelliarmus.

(From GoodReads)

I think I need to stop saying that books have changed my life so frequently. My friends seem to be more hesitant when I recommend they read what I just read. But Getting Things Done has changed my life like no other, simply because I have actually been implementing the system since I picked up the book.

By doing so, I have had nothing but a crystal clear understanding of all the things I need and want to get done, which eliminates 95% of the stress.

The most impactful concept is this: We have anywhere from 30-150 inputs at any given time. To-dos, tasks, obligations, things to learn, calls, meetings, events. The human memory is terrible. Yet we shame ourselves for not being able to perfectly organize and structure all 150 of these inputs in our heads.

We have to Capture everything. Everyyythingg. By simply writing down each and every thing I have coming up (from “Donate box of books to bookstore,” to “Choose new primary color for website homepage…” The simple art of defining each Project into clear, actionable steps has lifted all the weight off my shoulders.

At the heart of the GTD process, you must create a system which you accurately and constantly Capture all your inputs, and then you regularly review that system (weekly).

This all might sound super robotic, especially for the go-with-the-flow types. David makes it very clear though:

“GTD is not about getting more things done necessarily. It’s about having a harmonious, stress-free relationship with the things you want to accomplish.”

For about 8 years, I have been adamantly opposed to eReaders, Kindles, or eBooks of any kind. The feel of a real book in my hands and the look of a shelf full of books were qualities I was convinced I would never want to sacrifice.

Yesterday, my first ever Kindle came in the mail. Holy shit…see title.

I’ll always appreciate the aesthetics of a full and vibrant bookshelf, but here are the immediate benefits I experienced:

• It’s compact and lightweight so it’s effortless to hold and read in every possible laying and standing position.

• Its front light allows me to read in the dark; which I absolutely love just before bed. No more trying to find the right lighting for the page without being burdened by the same light.

• I connected my Kindle to my library and GoodReads. This allows me to borrow (for 21 days) a plethora of eBooks and audiobooks for totally free. You just place a hold on whichever book you’re interested in if it’s not available quite yet. It is all instantaneous. GoodReads also saves the highlights you make in each book you read.

• Which reminds me, you can fucking highlight and make notes! I cover my books in pen: ideas, notes, reminders, suggestions, diary-like entries at the end of chapters…With a Kindle, you can do all of this without marking up a book, decreasing its value, and making it slightly less-enjoyable for the next reader.

I have a lot to say about technology and the evil it presents us; but I have just as much to say about the beauty it provides our modern lives.

I was lost but now I am found. Thank you, Kindle.

27/30 – What are 3 books everyone should read and why?

• The War of Art by Steven Pressfield

In this hour-long read, Pressfield masterfully illustrates why it is so hard for us to do the things we know we need to do…Resistance. It is our #1 enemy. It is why we skip the gym, why we hate sitting down to write, why we procrastinate on the projects we need to get done.

You have two lives: the life you’re living and the life you deserve to be living (i.e. the money you should be making, the relationships you want to have, the health you want to experience). The only thing standing in the way of those two lives is Resistance. It tries to kill you every day; and every day, you must unsheathe your sword and slay it like a dragon.

• Deep Work by Cal Newport

Newport has an almost disturbing ability to be perfectly and mathematically articulate with his ideas and arguments. In Deep Work, he highlights the absolute necessity for long, uninterrupted, and focused work. This includes building, learning, creating, writing, etc.

With whatever we’re trying to accomplish, we rarely have a focus problem. We usually have a distraction problem. Meetings. Chit-chat. Phones. Internet. Social media. News…

To get real results, turn all that shit off, go into hiding, and enter a flow state for a few hours.

• Show Your Work by Austin Kleon

It’s impossible to read this beautiful little book without a smile. If you have ever had an inkling to create anything, Kleon implores you to stop thinking and just start making shit. It may in fact be shit, but you owe it to the world to share your ideas, perspective, and creativity. If you don’t feel like you have any of those things, it’s probably because you haven’t ever tried putting it out there and developing it.

A year ago I started a YouTube channel. I had no idea what I was doing, what it would be about, or what value it would bring me or others. Today, I post daily. I get to share my ideas, and improve my storytelling abilities. It’s still super small, but I can feel myself improving and developing my voice, my style, and my rhythm. Start creating. It’ll be terrifying for a million different reasons; but a year from now, you’ll be glad you started today.

Not shitting you. This works. It will take practice, which loses a lot of people. But who wouldn’t want to double their reading speed (without losing comprehension)??

1. Read comfortably(using your finger or a visual pacer) for 4 minutes. Set a timer and read as you normally would. When the timer goes off, mark where you stopped with a pencil.

2. Now, set your alarm for 3 minutes. (Again using a visual pacer) Try to reach where you stopped at step 1 before the 3 minutes are up

3. Set your alarm for 2 minutes. This time, don’t worry about comprehension Try to get to that same point in 2 minutes. Go line by line and have your eyes follow your visual pacer as fast as possible.

4. Set your timer for 1 minute. Same thing. Don’t skip and lines and don’t worry about comprehension at all. Just follow the pacer with your eyes line by line as fast as you can to get to the same ending point.

5. Chill. Set your timer for 2 minutes again. Start from where you made the pencil mark. Read comfortably with your visual pacer for 2 minutes with comprehension. Count the number of lines you read, multiply that by the amount of words per line (add up the words from three lines then divide by three to average them out), then divide that number by two. This is your new reading rate per minute.

   I got this from Jim Kwik’s book Limitless. It increased my reading speed by 52%.

In this order:

1) Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

2) Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

3) Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

4) Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

5) Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

6) Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

7) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Coming up with analogies to life can be dramatic or cheesy, so forgive me…

I think many of the things we have to do in life are like books…e.g. obstacles, tasks, goals, pursuits, dreams. Some are ten pages long and can be completed with ease in a matter of minutes. Others are tomes of hundreds upon hundreds of pages. These are the ones which intimidate and repel.

But the size and density of a book says nothing about your ability to finish it…just the amount of time it will take you.

If you picked up Infinite Jest (981 pages), and read one page everyday, you would eventually finish it.

The only books which don’t get finished are the ones that sit on the shelf untouched. The same is true for your goals, dreams, pursuits, etc…