Reading List 2023
Well… almost another 365 days have passed, and that will bring to a close the craziness that was 2023.
This was a year marked by extreme highs — like coming out of stealth mode and launching our product — and extreme lows — like shutting down our company right before the Thanksgiving holiday.
In times like this that I’m thankful for my Stoic practice. It allows me put things in perspective, to see things objectively rather than emotionally, and to see things for what they are rather than as I’d want them to be. This helps bring acceptance to limits and external factors that are out of my control, no matter how hard I try.
“You have power over your mind — not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.” ― Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
In spite of some doubts and fears in the present, I feel the future is wide open and full of paths to explore.
A brand new set of 365-days full of new adventures, interest to discover and skills to develop while I continue to grow and, like a shark, always moving forward. If we stop, we die.
It’s with this positive mindset that I intent on taking on 2024.
Speaking of extremes…
“Call me a joker, call me a fool
Right at this moment, I’m totally cool
Clear as a crystal, sharp as a knife
I feel like I’m in the prime of my life
Sometimes it feels like I’m going too fast
I don’t know how long this feeling will last
Maybe it’s only tonight
…
Sometimes I’m tired, sometimes I’m shot
Sometimes I don’t know how much more I got
Maybe I’m headed over the hill
Maybe I set myself up for the kill
Tell me, how much do you think you can take
Until the heart in you is starting to break?
Sometimes it feels like it will
Darling, I don’t know why
I go to extremes
Too high or too low
There ain’t no in-betweens” — I Go To Extremes by Billy Joel
Here’s a partial list, in no particular order, of some of the 50+ books that I read this year:
Amazon Links:
Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott (Paperback)
Stoicism: A Philosophical Guide To Life. Including DIY-Exercises On Practical Stoicism For The Realization Of Life’s Actions. by Robert Green (Kindle Edition)
The War of Art by Steven Pressfield, Shawn Coyne (Kindle Edition)
Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World by Adam Grant, Sheryl Sandberg (Kindle Edition)
Forever Employable: How to Stop Looking for Work and Let Your Next Job Find You by Jeff Gothelf (Kindle Edition)
Put Your Ass Where Your Heart Wants to Be by Steven Pressfield (Kindle Edition)
What The Heck Do I Do With My Life? How To Flourish In Our Turbulent Times by Ravi Venkatesan (Kindle Edition)
The Passion Economy: Nine Rules for Thriving in the Twenty-First Century by Adam Davidson (Kindle Edition)
Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t: Why That Is And What You Can Do About It by Steven Pressfield, Shawn Coyne (Kindle Edition)
Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert (Kindle Edition)
Still Writing: The Perils and Pleasures of a Creative Life by Dani Shapiro (Kindle Edition)
Jonathan Livingston Seagull: The Complete Edition by Richard Bach, Russell Munson (Kindle Edition)
The Imposter Syndrome: How to Stop Feeling like a Fraud at Work, Build Your Confidence and Stop the Inner Critic by Phil Roberts (Kindle Edition)
Purpose: Design a Community & Change Your Life — -A Step-by-Step Guide to Finding Your Purpose and Making It Matter by Gina Bianchini (Kindle Edition)
Radical Candor: Fully Revised & Updated Edition: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity by Kim Scott (Kindle Edition)
The Future Leader: 9 Skills and Mindsets to Succeed in the Next Decade by Jacob Morgan (Kindle Edition)
Never Search Alone: The Job Seeker’s Playbook by Phyl Terry, Marty Cagan (Kindle Edition)
Leadership and Self-Deception: Getting out of the Box by , The Arbinger Institute (Kindle Edition)
Moonshot: What Landing a Man on the Moon Teaches Us About Collaboration, Creativity, and the Mind-set for Success by Richard Wiseman (Kindle Edition)
The Crux: How Leaders Become Strategists by Richard P. Rumelt (Kindle Edition)
Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything by BJ Fogg, PhD (Kindle Edition)
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein (Kindle Edition)
The Good Enough Job: Reclaiming Life from Work by Simone Stolzoff (Kindle Edition)
Creating Business Magic: How the Power of Magic Can Inspire, Innovate, and Revolutionize Your Business by David Morey, Eugene Burger (Kindle Edition)
Zucked: Waking Up to the Facebook Catastrophe by Roger McNamee (Kindle Edition)
Chaos Monkeys: Obscene Fortune and Random Failure in Silicon Valley by Antonio Garcia Martinez (Kindle Edition)
Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World by Stanley McChrystal, Tantum Collins (Kindle Edition)
Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds by David Goggins (Kindle Edition)
Never Finished: Unshackle Your Mind and Win the War Within by David Goggins (Kindle Edition)
The Art of Resilience: Strategies for an Unbreakable Mind and Body by Ross Edgley (Kindle Edition)
The Comfort Crisis: Embrace Discomfort To Reclaim Your Wild, Happy, Healthy Self by Michael Easter (Kindle Edition)
You’re Too Good to Feel This Bad: An Orthodox Approach to Living an Unorthodox Life by Dr. Nate Dallas (Kindle Edition)
The Mountain Is You: Transforming Self-Sabotage Into Self-Mastery by Brianna Wiest (Kindle Edition)
Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike by Phil Knight (Kindle Edition)
Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity by Peter Attia MD (Kindle Edition)
Making Waves: Irving Dardik and His Superwave Principle by Roger Lewin (Kindle Edition)
Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence by Anna Lembke (Kindle Edition)
The Molecule of More: How a Single Chemical in Your Brain Drives Love, Sex, and Creativity — and Will Determine the Fate of the Human Race by Daniel Z. Lieberman, Michael E. Long (Kindle Edition)
Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things by Adam Grant (Kindle Edition)
101 Essays That Will Change The Way You Think by Brianna Wiest (Kindle Edition)
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable, 20th Anniversary Edition (J-B Lencioni Series Book 43) by Patrick M. Lencioni (Kindle Edition)
Meditations: A New Translation by Marcus Aurelius, Gregory Hays (Kindle Edition)
May 2024 be full of love, wonder, astonishment and MAGIC!
Diego
