Newsletter #49: 25 Must-read books for upping your game in 2021
19 minutes reading time. Thoughts on startups, growth, and technology 🚀
Welcome to another edition of the Struggle.
The Struggle is a weekly newsletter where I share my thoughts and learnings from running a fast-growing startup in Southeast Asia.
In a quest to never stop learning, I read 25 books in 2020. Some of the books cover topics like business and self-development providing me with incredible insights into the people who have been there and done it.
Others helped me escape the daily reality, allowing me to tap into sci-fi and fantasy worlds.
Here are the 25 books I read, that can help you grow with the next year, categorized into five key themes:
Books for Thinking Differently
Memoirs and Biographies
Books for Continuous Improvement
Startups and Business
Fantasy and Sci-Fi
Books for Thinking Differently
Nowadays people tend to have a quite dark view of what’s going on around the world. Especially given the COVID pandemic and impact of the global economy. Yet, there are incredible opportunities and breakthroughs that we often do not hear about. The world we are living in might not be perfect but is in a much better state than we might think.
Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think
by Hans Rosling, Ola Rosling, Anna Rosling Rönnlund
4.35 ⭐️ · Rating details · 108,775 ratings · 9,606 reviews
“When asked simple questions about global trends - why the world's population is increasing; how many young women go to school; how many of us live in poverty - we systematically get the answers wrong.
Inspiring and revelatory, filled with lively anecdotes and moving stories, Factfulness is an urgent and essential book that will change the way you see the world.”
Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think
by Peter H. Diamandis, Steven Kotler
4.11 ⭐️ · Rating details · 9,535 ratings · 944 reviews
We will soon be able to meet and exceed the basic needs of every man, woman, and child on the planet. Abundance for all is within our grasp. This bold, contrarian view, backed up by exhaustive research, introduces our near-term future, where exponentially growing technologies and three other powerful forces are conspiring to better the lives of billions. An antidote to pessimism by tech entrepreneur turned philanthropist, Peter H. Diamandis, and award-winning science writer Steven Kotler.
Memoirs and Biographies
We often take the views and attitudes of the people around us, hence why family and friends are such good predictors of our future. Reading memoirs and biographies feels like we are able to handpick and surround ourselves with the most incredible mentors, in the comfort of our own homes.
The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company
by Robert Iger, Joel Lovell
4.41 ⭐️ · Rating details · 34,043 ratings · 2,875 reviews
“In 2005, Robert Iger became CEO of The Walt Disney Company during a difficult time. Morale had deteriorated, the competition was more intense, and technology was changing faster than at any time in the company's history. "I knew there was nothing to be gained from arguing over the past," Iger writes. "The only thing that mattered was the future, and I believed I had a clear idea of the direction Disney needed to go." It came down to three clear ideas: 1) Create the highest quality content Disney could produce. 2) Embrace and adopt technology instead of fighting it. And 3) Think bigger--think global--and turn Disney into a stronger brand in international markets.”
Dapper Dan: Made in Harlem
by Daniel R. Day, Mikael Awake
4.37 ⭐️ · Rating details · 992 ratings · 203 reviews
“The story of a legendary designer who pioneered high-end streetwear, from a storefront in Harlem to the red carpet in Hollywood, dressing everyone from Salt-N-Pepa and Eric B. & Rakim to Beyoncé and Jay-Z along the way.
By turns playful, poignant, and inspiring, and featuring two incredible eight-page color photo inserts, including the only existing, never-before-seen images of the notorious Mike Tyson-Mitch Green street fight, Dapper Dan's memoir is a high-stakes coming-of-age story, spanning more than seventy years and set against the backdrop of an ever-evolving America.”
I Can't Make This Up: Life Lessons
by Kevin Hart, Neil Strauss
4.11 ⭐️ · Rating details · 24,837 ratings · 2,653 reviews
“It begins in North Philadelphia. He was born an accident, unwanted by his parents. His father was a drug addict who was in and out of jail. His brother was a crack dealer and petty thief. And his mother was overwhelmingly strict, beating him with belts, frying pans, and his own toys.
The odds, in short, were stacked against our young hero, just like the odds that are stacked against the release of a new book in this era of social media (where Hart has a following of over 100 million, by the way).”
Can't Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds
by David Goggins
4.39 ⭐️ · Rating details · 62,227 ratings · 5,053 reviews
“For David Goggins, childhood was a nightmare — poverty, prejudice, and physical abuse colored his days and haunted his nights. But through self-discipline, mental toughness, and hard work, Goggins transformed himself from a depressed, overweight young man with no future into a U.S. Armed Forces icon and one of the world's top endurance athletes. The only man in history to complete elite training as a Navy SEAL, Army Ranger, and Air Force Tactical Air Controller, he went on to set records in numerous endurance events, inspiring Outside magazine to name him “The Fittest (Real) Man in America.”
Alexander Hamilton
by Ron Chernow
4.20 ⭐️ · Rating details · 133,827 ratings · 8,306 reviews
“Hamilton’s turbulent life: an illegitimate, largely self-taught orphan from the Caribbean, he came out of nowhere to take America by storm, rising to become George Washington’s aide-de-camp in the Continental Army, coauthoring The Federalist Papers, founding the Bank of New York, leading the Federalist Party, and becoming the first Treasury Secretary of the United States. Historians have long told the story of America’s birth as the triumph of Jefferson’s democratic ideals over the aristocratic intentions of Hamilton. Chernow presents an entirely different man, whose legendary ambitions were motivated not merely by self-interest but by passionate patriotism and a stubborn will to build the foundations of American prosperity and power.”
A Promised Land
by Barack Obama
4.45 ⭐️ · Rating details · 11,770 ratings · 1,784 reviews
“A Promised Land is extraordinarily intimate and introspective—the story of one man’s bet with history, the faith of a community organizer tested on the world stage. Obama is candid about the balancing act of running for office as a Black American, bearing the expectations of a generation buoyed by messages of “hope and change,” and meeting the moral challenges of high-stakes decision-making. He is frank about the forces that opposed him at home and abroad, open about how living in the White House affected his wife and daughters, and unafraid to reveal self-doubt and disappointment. Yet he never wavers from his belief that inside the great, ongoing American experiment, progress is always possible.”
Books for Continuous Improvement
These books focus on guiding you to improve every aspect of your life and work. Always be learning, improving, and look for new ways to push yourself.
Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams
by Matthew Walker
4.37 ⭐️ · Rating details · 82,112 ratings · 9,095 reviews
Neuroscientist and sleep expert Matthew Walker provides a revolutionary exploration of sleep, examining how it affects every aspect of our physical and mental well-being. Charting the most cutting-edge scientific breakthroughs, and marshaling his decades of research and clinical practice, Walker explains how we can harness sleep to improve learning, mood, and energy levels, regulate hormones, prevent cancer, Alzheimer's, and diabetes, slow the effects of aging, and increase longevity. He also provides actionable steps towards getting a better night's sleep every night.
How Will You Measure Your Life?
by Clayton M. Christensen, James Allworth, Karen Dillon
4.08 ⭐️ · Rating details · 24,618 ratings · 2,264 reviews
“In this groundbreaking book, Christensen puts forth a series of questions: How can I be sure that I'll find satisfaction in my career? How can I be sure that my personal relationships become enduring sources of happiness? How can I avoid compromising my integrity—and stay out of jail? Using lessons from some of the world's greatest businesses, he provides incredible insights into these challenging questions.”
The Simple Path to Wealth: Your road map to financial independence and a rich, free life
by J.L. Collins, Mr. Money Mustache (Foreword)
4.47 ⭐️ · Rating details · 9,021 ratings · 846 reviews
“In the dark, bewildering, trap-infested jungle of misinformation and opaque riddles that is the world of investment, JL Collins is the fatherly wizard on the side of the path, offering a simple map, warm words of encouragement and the tools to forge your way through with confidence. You'll never find a wiser advisor with a bigger heart.” -- Malachi Rempen: Filmmaker, cartoonist, author and self-described ruffian.”
Meditations
by Marcus Aurelius
4.22 ⭐️ · Rating details · 129,372 ratings · 6,640 reviews
“Written in Greek by the only Roman emperor who was also a philosopher, without any intention of publication, the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius offer a remarkable series of challenging spiritual reflections and exercises developed as the emperor struggled to understand himself and make sense of the universe. While the Meditations were composed to provide personal consolation and encouragement, Marcus Aurelius also created one of the greatest of all works of philosophy: a timeless collection that has been consulted and admired by statesmen, thinkers and readers throughout the centuries.”
Startups and Business
There are many ways of building a lasting business, my way of doing it is through reading how other people have put in the hours and outperformed everyone else, in their quest to become great.
The Upstarts: How Uber, Airbnb, and the Killer Companies of the New Silicon Valley Are Changing the World
by Brad Stone
4.10 ⭐️ · Rating details · 5,140 ratings · 451 reviews
“In the spirit of iconic Silicon Valley renegades like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, a new generation of entrepreneurs is sparking yet another cultural upheaval through technology. They are among the Upstarts, idiosyncratic founders with limitless drive and an abundance of self-confidence. Young, hungry and brilliant, they are rewriting the traditional rules of business, changing our day-to-day lives and often sidestepping serious ethical and legal obstacles in the process.”
7 Powers: The Foundations of Business Strategy
by Hamilton Wright Helmer
4.37 ⭐️ · Rating details · 596 ratings · 47 reviews
“Using rich real-world examples, Helmer rigorously characterizes exactly what your business must achieve to create Power. And create Power it must, for without it your business is at risk. He explains why invention always comes first and then develops the Power Progression to enable you to target when your Power must be established: in the Origination, Take-Off or Stability phases of your business.”
How to Make a Spaceship: A Band of Renegades, an Epic Race, and the Birth of Private Spaceflight
by Julian Guthrie (Goodreads Author), Richard Branson (Preface), Stephen Hawking (Afterword)
4.14 ⭐️ · Rating details · 727 ratings · 105 reviews
“The story of the bullet-shaped SpaceShipOne, and the other teams in the hunt, is an extraordinary tale of making the impossible possible. It is driven by outsized characters—Burt Rutan, Richard Branson, John Carmack, Paul Allen—and obsessive pursuits. In the end, as Diamandis dreamed, the result wasn’t just a victory for one team; it was the foundation for a new industry and a new age.”
No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention
by Reed Hastings, Erin Meyer
4.33 ⭐️ · Rating details · 2,809 ratings · 333 reviews
“There has never before been a company like Netflix. It has led nothing short of a revolution in the entertainment industries, generating billions of dollars in annual revenue while capturing the imaginations of hundreds of millions of people in over 190 countries. But to reach these great heights, Netflix, which launched in 1998 as an online DVD rental service, has had to reinvent itself over and over again. This type of unprecedented flexibility would have been impossible without the counterintuitive and radical management principles that cofounder Reed Hastings established from the very beginning…”
Fantasy and Sci-Fi
Because nothing helps me better to calm down and de-attach myself from everyday challenges. Fantasy and sci-fi are my keys to escapism.
Neil Gaiman and his work on American Gods, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, the Sandman, and Good Omens is spectacular. Especially the Sandman, a must audio experience.
“Hailed by the Los Angeles Times Magazine as “the greatest epic in the history of comic books”, The Sandman changed the game with its dark, literary world of fantasy and horror - creating a global, cultural phenomenon in the process. At long last, Audible and DC present the first-ever audio production of the New York Times best-selling series written by acclaimed storyteller Neil Gaiman (who also serves as co-executive producer). Adapted and directed by multi-award-winner (and frequent Gaiman collaborator) Dirk Maggs, and performed by an ensemble cast with James McAvoy (It, Parts One and Two, X-Men: First Class, Split) in the title role, this first installment of a multi-part original audio series will transport you to a world that re-writes the rules of audio entertainment the way that The Sandman originally re-defined the graphic novel.”
My favorite author is Branden Sanderson, his books under the Stormlight Archive covering Words of Radiance, Oathbringer, and Dawnshard are books I have read multiple times and still find incredible. The newest sci-fi by him is Starsight, a great story about a nearly extinct human race living on a planet far far away.
“Brandon Sanderson's epic fantasy cycle tells the story of Roshar, a world of stone and storms. Uncanny tempests of incredible power sweep across the rocky terrain. It has been centuries since the fall of the ten consecrated orders known as the Knights Radiant, but their Shardblades and Shardplate remain: mystical swords and suits of armor that transform ordinary men into near-invincible warriors. As brutal wars rage over the control of these magical weapons, an ancient text called The Way of Kings tells of ancient times, the Knights Radiant, and perhaps the true cause of the war. The Knights Radiant must stand again.”
Last but not least, Six of Crows. Originally I read it a few years ago but decided to re-read it in 2020 again. A great decision, as the story is rich with a lot of details, well-developed characters, and interesting world-building.
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