The Hour Between Dog and Wolf - John Coates

Reading biology has never been more thrilling. Coates expertly blended finance with biology, taking us on a journey through the trading floor and what goes on in our bodies over time. If you are interested in what happens on the trading floor and what happens to our bodies during times of stress and excitement, this is the book to read. It will give you a new perspective, helping you understand your body better through a molecular lens (literally).

Content: The book was informational and the storytelling was fantastic. Coates went from describing how our hormones rise and fall during certain times, how we can build resilience, and even the setup of an investment bank and what traders do on a day-to-day.

Estimated reading time needed: 15-20h; it is a non-fiction book with technical jargons, so more time will likely be required to fully understand and process the information.

Key takeaways: 

1) During a winning streak, we can become euphoric and our risk appetite expands (winner effect). Testosterone increases and so do confidence and risk-taking which segue into overconfidence and reckless behaviour. On a losing streak, we struggle with fear, reliving the bad moments and the stress hormones linger, which may ultimately result in high blood pressure and other infections.

2) If we want to understand how people make financial decisions, how traders and investors react to volatile markets, and how markets tend to overshoot sensible levels, we need to recognise that our bodies affect our risk-taking behaviour.

3) Ever wondered how a cricketer can catch a ball in a split second? The brain anticipates the actual location of the object and moves the visual image we end up seeing to this hypothetical new location.

4) Every millisecond matters. We hear events that happen near us before seeing them, and we see events that occur far away before hearing them. The intersection is called the "horizon of simultaneity". On the trading floor, traders see the price on the screen, but an audio feed could give traders a 40-millisecond edge in the market.

5) The four stages of competence - unconscious incompetence, conscious incompetence, conscious competence, and unconscious competence. "Thinking, one could say, is something we do only when we are no good at an activity". However, I believe this blanket statement should not be applied to every scenario. Make sure you check your work thoroughly before submitting it to your bosses!

6) Traders with a high IQ and insight into the value of stocks and bonds may be worth listening to, but if they do not have an appetite for risk, they will not act on their views. Good traders must also be able to scrutinise the screens for hours at a time, and they must move to trade before anyone else.

7) Computers may take over the job of quick trade executions, but our bodies will continue to be crucial for success in the markets because they provide us with perhaps the most important data informing our call on the market - our gut feelings. How can we train ourselves such that our gut feeling becomes more accurate?

8) Mentally toughened individuals welcome novelty as a challenge and see it as an opportunity for gain. Resilience to stress comes from experiencing stress. Toughening our minds can thus come from a process of challenge and recovery. The author also distinguished the difference between periodic stress and chronic stress. The former would give rise to toughened individuals, but the latter would cause infections and other health issues.

9) Exercise is the most important way to toughen ourselves, as it helps to inoculate us against anxiety, stress, depression and learned helplessness. Exposure to cold weather or water would also help us be more emotionally stable during prolonged stress.

Recommendation: Having studied biology and finance, it never occurred to me how one is affected by the other. I believe that understanding our physiological reactions can help us adjust and react to our environment easier, and at the same time remain calm and in control of ourselves over external events. If any of the above was interesting to you, I highly recommend reading the whole book.

The Art of Thinking Clearly - Rolf Dobelli

Learning about some biases and heuristics in business and management at university was eye-opening. It made me think about how I've been affected by them in different scenarios and what I should be wary of in the future when making decisions. Reading this book further introduced me to other fallacies and provided different interesting perspectives.

Content: This book is easy to read, with each chapter spanning 3 pages, covering the various circumstances and events that could prevent us from thinking clearly. Some examples are the sleeper effect, domain dependence, and "not-invented-here syndrome". 

Estimated reading time needed: 10h

Key takeaways: 

1) Never ask a barber if you need a haircut. Understand the "what's in it for them" to determine if they truly have your interest at heart. 

2) Regression to mean - sometimes we perform well, sometimes badly. While this may be true to a certain extent, the key question would then be how do we improve the mean? The answers are practice and familiarisation for me. 

3) Less is more - the paradox of choice is when we have too many choices and are unable to make a decision. I think it could also be that there are too many variables that we must consider when making decisions. The fix - write down non-negotiables on what exactly you want from it, then filter your choices.

4) Inductive thinking can be dangerous - the thinking that because it has always been this way in the past, it should continue in the future. It reminds me of the need to be careful when investing - stocks don't always go up, and even if they did in the past, it may not be the case in the future.

5) Alternative blindness can obscure our views on our choices. When people give us A or B, always think outside the box if there are other alternatives that we can choose.

6) Self-imposed deadlines work better if they are broken down into smaller parts.

7) How we can curb envy - stop comparing ourselves to others, find our circle of competence, create a niche and become a master in it. "It's okay to be envious, but only of the person you aspire to become". 

Recommendation: It's an average book to read in my opinion. There are lots of information consolidated in this book, teaching us about the various fallacies and biases. However, we will probably be unable to take many of these into consideration during our day-to-day lives. We can make it more actionable by writing down our thoughts and slowing down our thinking, which is not very practical for our day-to-day activities. Perhaps do this for the more important decisions instead.

Grit - Angela Duckworth

Growing up, I found myself switching from activity to activity, because my interest died out really quickly. In Chinese, my father called it 五分钟热度, which literally means "five-minute heat". Although exploration is important, I didn't stick to something long-term, and this book truly opened my eyes. 

Content: Through this book, Dr Duckworth spoke of her journey to seek answers on the importance of grit, how grit can be nurtured, and how one can develop grit from within. While hard work and intelligence are important, grit is a measure of how much discomfort or pain one can go through before choosing to give up. This measure also provides insights into our future success in our careers.

Estimated reading time needed: 12-15h but I recommend taking your time to do so. Relate the info to your experiences if you can and reflect, it will help greatly.

Key takeaways: 

1) Before hard work comes play, to gain the initial spark of interest by having fun

2) A key part of developing grit is after the initial phase of discovery - a period of proactive interest development

3) High-level goals should be written in ink once you've got that figured out, and low-level goals should be written in pencil that can be adjusted or removed

4) Simply telling others they can overcome adversity is insufficient. To grow grit, we need to experience adversity, have a growth mindset and tell ourselves we can overcome it, and persevere to overcome it

5) The people around you are important - so are their support and encouragement

6) A team's culture has an effect on the individual - becoming great may be a result of joining a great team

7) Aside from grit, there is also character. Character is plural

Recommendation: This is one of the books that reached the peak of my "Maslow's hierarchy" for reading. Not only does it have a well-thought-out structure with great arguments and evidence, it is also relatable to me as I think about my own experiences and how I've developed (and can develop) grit. If you'd like to do well in something but aren't sure how, read this.

Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus - John Gray

Boy-girl relationships (BGRs) are confusing - not taught in school, and may not even be taught by parents. Sometimes we simply emulate how our parents act, or perhaps other adults, including those in TV series. This book was able to capture many useful pointers on what to look out for, how to react, and when to do what.

Content: This book takes the viewpoints of both men and women, on how the 2 interact with each other, react to situations and express themselves - they speak 2 different languages, as Gray put it. Many conflicts arise out of miscommunication, which this book will help to reduce. Note that this book is a general guide, it is unlikely that everything will be relatable so take it with a pinch of salt and sieve out the good parts for yourself.

Estimated reading time needed: 12-15h but I recommend taking your time to do so. Relate the info to your experiences if you can, it will help greatly.

Key takeaways: 

1) Men are like rubber bands - after giving lots of love, they need space to "bounce back" and start giving lots of love again. They do this by going back to their "cave", and it is best for women to understand this and let him be alone for the time being.

2) Women are like waves - their emotions rise and fall, and are sometimes affected by things of the past, which men would think have already been resolved. During this period, it is best for men to understand her emotions and validate them, let her know she's been heard.

3) Men and women speak 2 languages, and how messages are delivered may be more important than the message itself.

4) Both sexes score points differently. Men score points based on how big the event is, and women score points based on the number of times. For example, men think that by working hard and earning a better salary, they earn 5 points. However, women would only assign 1 point. Men would then think they scored 5 points when they actually only scored 1, creating a difference in expectations/perception.

5) Women on Venus tend to help each other without asking, whereas men on Mars want to feel validated and be trusted to solve problems, so they tend to not ask for help. Men thus assume that if women want help, they'll ask for it, when in reality, women want them to help without asking.

Recommendation: This book was filled with anecdotes and interesting situations which we may relate to. If you're struggling to understand the opposite sex, or if you think you're not struggling but somehow always quarrels with the opposite sex, this book is for you. Definitely check it out to manage relationships - not just BGRs, but in general.

Getting to Yes - Roger Fisher & William Ury

This was hands down one of the best books I've read. Extremely useful in learning how to get to an agreement with others. Although theoretical, the pointers were clear with sufficient explanation and evidence, and with practice, I believe this is a skill that can be trained.

Content: The book is fairly straightforward - how do we get others to saying "yes". There are 3 main bodies for the book - the problem, the method, and other considerations we may have when negotiating. First, they look at defining what's the roadblock to the agreement, then laid key generic frameworks for standard negotiations that we can use. 

Estimated reading time needed: 12-15h depending how quickly you can internalise the info. I suggest taking it slow and absorbing as much as you can.

Key takeaways: 

1) Communication is the basis of negotiation, where negotiation is a process of communicating back and forth our interests.

2) In a difficult negotiation or with an impasse, there are 4 steps to create options we can take - same as solving any other problems in our lives - identify the problem, analyse it, identify approaches and take action steps.

3) An agreement may be based on disagreement - where one man's trash is another man's treasure. 

4) When negotiating, focus on interests and not positions. There are a few ways we can get to safeguard our interests. In principled negotiation, we can get others to come together to discuss a solution to all our problems, rather than argue about who wants what or who is right.

5) Your best alternative to a negotiated agreement (BATNA) - your next best alternative - is extremely powerful. Identify and improve it, so that you have more confidence in your negotiation and are willing to ask for more. Even if the negotiation turns sour, your alternative is still a good choice.

6) If the other party is firm on their position, look at their underlying interests, ask questions and pause. If they attack you personally, recast that attack as an attack on the problem.

7) Stick to principle when negotiating - it is difficult for others to fault your interests if you know what's important.

8) Separate the people from the problem - tackle the problem together, not tackle the other person.

9) Understanding the forest landscape is better than understanding one specific path through the woods. Know your interests, strategies, BATNA, potential rebuttals, and those of the other party.

Recommendation: There are many other interesting information and pointers in the book which I didn't cover here, such as what we can do if the other party has more "power" over us and how principled negotiation can help when encountering phony tactics. Negotiation happens in our daily lives, personal and professional. While we don't have to negotiate our way through everything, such as where to have dinner, it sure would be helpful to have such skills when needed.

Rise Above You - Dr Candice Goh

This book was short and sweet. If you enjoy reading straightforward books, amalgamated with tips on how to live better, this is the book for you. 

Content: The book was structured into the 7 alphabets (chapters) from A to G, each letter representing an acronym. For example, C was care for your body, which emphasised on the importance of your health. These 7 tips were easy to follow and had short stories to accompany them, to help you remember the tips better. At the end of each chapter, there are also call-to-action guides and a space to write our thoughts and action plans. I highly recommend penning your thoughts to crystallise your ideas and move forward.

Estimated reading time needed: 1h

Key takeaways: 

1) Care for your body/health. This is something I hold close to myself. My belief is that without health, nothing else matters - I can't spend time with my loved ones, can't spend the money I've made, can't live out my best life and travel the world. 

2) We need to have direction in life. It's okay if we don't really know where yet, but we must start moving somewhere. We cannot be stagnant and stay where we were before, which also leads to the habit of continuous growth. I think this is a general guide, and we should not move in the opposite direction. For example, if we want to work in the science field, we should be taking some science and math courses. Even if we didn't know where to go, we can develop other transferrable skills.

3) The only person we should compare to is who we were yesterday. We live in a time when people spend hours on social media each day, and where social media is a platform to depict our best selves. Social media leads to comparison of the lives others lead and ours, which is unhealthy. When we use ourselves as a gauge, life becomes much more straightforward because you constantly know your own baseline. This, I think, can perpetuate into a growth mindset like in point 2.

4) Friends and loved ones are important, be there for them.

Recommendation: I truly believe in each and every one of these tips. Dr Goh wrapped up several of life's most important aspects in a short book (in my opinion), which serves as a quick reminder of what I should be doing to live a better life. Although it doesn't cover every corner of each pillar of our lives, like how everyone has their own timelines, I highly recommend this book to everyone. It's short, sweet, and full of nuggets. 

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People - Stephen Covey

A book that went from great to good. If you're looking for a book that encompasses all that you need to be effective, this is it. Covey broke down 7 habits that are easy to follow, from the private to the public, the independent to the dependent to the interdependent.

Content: The book is split into 7 segments - one for each habit. The first few habits on private victories are really insightful and relatable. However, from the fourth habit onwards, it felt repetitive and full of anecdotal experiences rather than actual persuasive arguments. One thing to note, is that at the end of each chapter, Covey provides several key action items for readers to reflect and act upon what we can do better, and this implementation is helpful in absorbing the info.

Estimated reading time needed: ~15h

Key takeaways: 

1) The first step to influence is to first be willing to be influenced. To be able to understand others deeply, we should be willing to be vulnerable (to a certain extent of course, depending on the situation) and open up to others.

2) If we want to change the situation, we have to first change ourselves. This reminds me of "the 3 choices we can make in any situation" my friend told me about - accept and stay, change what you're doing, or leave. This links to the first habit which I hold close, being proactive. Start to think what you can do in any situation, instead of "if only this happened..".

3) Character, ethics and values are core to our lives. By living through these, we stay true to who we want to be. As Covey said, primary greatness is character, and secondary greatness is recognised talent. "What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us" - Oliver Holmes

4) Borrowing strength builds weaknesses in the borrower. When we encounter a problem, asking others for help could cause us to over-rely on others in the future, and stunt our growth of reasoning and discipline. But of course, ask for help when necessary!

5) Remember the concept of the production/production capability balance - output is good, but take care of the production capability to ensure sustained output.

6) Between stimulus and response, we have the power to choose. We have to be emotionally intelligent, separate our emotions from our actions, and refrain from reacting rashly.

Recommendation: Really, just read the first half of the book if you're introspective or would like to be introspective. The first half is inside-out, and second half is outside-in. However, I wouldn't recommend reading the second half because of reasons mentioned above. In general, reflecting on what our core values are is extremely crucial in maintaining our integrity to who we want to be, and the action steps provided help greatly. Would not recommend reading it in too much detail.

The Defining Decade - Meg Jay

The Defining Decade talks about how the 20s are the most important period of our lives - the period where the crux of life happens, from college to graduation to starting your career to marriage and children. It is easy to think that we still have lots of time when we're in our 20s. We think that it's supposed to be a time for exploration and adventure, enjoying life to the fullest. However, Jay put things into perspective in this book.

Content: The Defining Decade consists of short stories from various clients of hers, each with a persuasive, logical message backed by experience from her profession as a clinical psychologist, research and other scientific studies. 

Estimated reading time needed: 3h

Key takeaways: 

1) About 80% of life's most significant events take place by age 35. Although I disagree with slapping a generic timeline onto every individual, it is still pertinent for us to consider the kind of life we want to lead, and consider the time we have left.

2) "No one told me it would be this hard". Growing up is extremely tough - financially, mentally, physically, emotionally. But you're not alone on this journey.

3) We all carry certain amounts of identity capital, the currency that defines us, how we build ourselves, what we bring to the adult marketplace. How are you building your identity capital?

4) "Saying yes means you will do something new, meet someone new, and make a difference" - Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman of Google. 

5) When we make choices, we open ourselves up to hard work and failure and heartbreak, so sometimes it feels easier not to know, not to choose, and not to do.  But it isn't. This reminds me of several quotes I resonate with - We must go through difficult times to become stronger people. Rainy days make for the best stories. Be intimate with fear, for it means you are growing. 

6) Tyranny of the should - shoulds set up a false dichotomy between either meeting an ideal or being a failure, between perfection or settling. Let us not define ourselves by shoulds, but by goals. Be driven internally than externally.

7) You are deciding your life right now. The choices you make will likely either have a great impact or snowball into something impactful down the road.

Recommendation: As a 20s-person, this book is a godsend. The transition into an adult is perhaps the most complex period I've ever encountered, and I believe most can resonate with me. There are so many things to be wary of, focus on, making decisions, while regulating our stress levels.. the list goes on. This book perhaps summarises the bulk of the information young adults need to know in their transition into an adult. To face the 'real world'. A short book full of important messages, I highly recommend it!

The Last Lecture - Randy Pausch

A book that was born out an interesting concept, "The Last Lecture" is a lecture where professors reflect on their deaths and think about what matters most to them. As Pausch wrote, "what wisdom would we impart fo the world if we knew it was our last chance?". 

Content: The book consists of 61 chapters where Pausch shares different important moments in his life that he is grateful for. Some key experiences include his time as a Disney Imagineer, teaching as a professor, and his role in his family. It was easy to follow throughout, the people and experiences that were important to him were consistently mentioned, but it was difficult to grasp the key learning point sometimes. 

Estimated reading time needed: 3h

Key takeaways: 

1) Self-esteem is not given, it's built. We need to give children things that they can't do, so that when they are actually able to do it, it builds on their self-esteem. We must be wary of 'protecting' children from such exploration and growth.

2) Sports is not just about having fun. It's also about teamwork, perseverance, sportsmanship and more. This concept may be elusive to some parents who think students should simply study hard (especially in Asia), and sports is just a type of game where children waste their time having fun.

3) It's not crucial for everyone to observe how hard you work. This reminds me of how people say we should work hard in silence and succeed in silence. The more we say it out, there will be people who try to bring us down, whether purposely or not. 

4) We will always hit a brick wall in life. Pausch writes that "brick walls are there to stop the people who don't want it badly enough". I think that sometimes those brick walls are truly unscalable, so we have to continuously improve ourselves before we try to climb over the wall again.

5) Not everything needs to be fixed.

6) Time is finite. It must be managed, planned, spent on the right things that are important to us. One day, we might find that we have less than we think.

7) When penguins are about to jump into the water that may have predators, which penguin jumps first? "Someone's got to be the first penguin".

8) "It's not about how to achieve your dreams. It's about how to lead your life". Many people talk about having dreams - and dreams are important. But first and foremost, we must lead our lives the right way, and things will fall into place.

Recommendation: Overall, it was an interesting book with some nuggets of wisdom. One thing I do not appreciate is that sometimes there was no 'so what' to the story written, so it was sometimes difficult to understand what Pausch was trying to teach us. The hook about this book is that Pausch was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer before giving this lecture, which didn't stop him from wanting to depart key takeaways. In fact, it made him want to give this lecture even more so. For a couple of hours, this book may be worth reading if you enjoy reading books with interesting concepts, and are keen to take away some nuggets of life. 

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck - Mark Manson

An introspective book! The 'psychological epidemic' talks about how people are hung up over everything, including the little ones that don't really matter. I'm not a perfectionist, but sometimes I, too, struggle to understand what to prioritise, simply because I didn't think about what truly matters. Perhaps, in today's society, we easily see news articles and posts of success stories and so we tend to compare ourselves to others. Manson calls this "The Tyranny of Exceptionalism". Further, we are living in a society where we are perhaps too afraid of hurting others, which paint a false picture of reality, that it's normal to not get hurt. But it is.

Content: Manson split the key takeaways into different chapters to make it easier for readers to follow and digest. Some things he wrote about include constantly having to make decisions in life, and that people need to be less afraid of failing and just go for it, because failure is also part of the process. Otherwise, we'll just be stuck and not moving, which is probably worse than failing.

Estimated reading time needed: 3h

Key takeaways: 

1) Conventional life advice fixates on our shortcomings, what we lack, which reinforces our ideas that we're just not good enough. Manson gave the example 'no truly happy person feels the need to stand in front of a mirror and recite that she's happy. She just is'. 

2) "The key to a good life is giving a fuck about less, about only what is true and immediate and important". What is it that truly matters? For example, receiving a wrong order at dinner or spending time with the people around you? Choose your worries and problems, not fixate on all of them.

3) "The backwards law" as told by philosopher Alan Watts says that the more we want positives, the worse we will feel, whereas if we accept the negatives, we feel more positive. 

4) "To not give a fuck is to stare down at life's most terrifying and difficult challenges and still take action". The same can be said for not caring about pissing people off to do what you feel is right.

5) If too many trivial things bother you, you probably don't have more important things going on in your life.

6) Everybody wants good things in life, but many are not willing to suffer for it. Manson then asks an intriguing question: "What pain do you want in your life? What are you willing to struggle for?" The key lies in the process - learn to enjoy it.

7) Choose the right metric to base your life on, by understanding what really matters to you. If you want to change how you see your problems, change your values or metrics.

Recommendation: I really liked the storyline. Manson started off by saying we have to be honest with ourselves, dig deep to understand and find out what we want, and then cater our limited energy and time for them. I would have liked it better if he dove a bit deeper into the 'psychological epidemic' we face today, to expand more about the context of this book. But that's not the point of this book so that's okay. Overall, this book does provide fair, logical points that I think many people would probably need to hear (like being honest with ourselves), even if they don't like it. Manson says to think about this book as a 'guide to suffering and how to do it better, more meaningfully, with more compassion and more humility'. Good book to read in a short few hours!

Twenty-One Years Young: Essays by Amy Dong

Since I was young, I've never truly understood the essence of stories. Recently, I've gained an appreciation for stories and personal essay writing. "The hallmark of the personal essay is its intimacy - its ability to embrace and question all that makes us who and why we are without ever professing to find the answer" - Amy's takeaway from essayist Phillip Lopate. After reading Amy's book, I understand why.

Content: This book is really just a compilation of different essays that Amy wrote based on her own life experiences, from her reflections on going to NYU instead of Harvard, to getting robbed multiple times while travelling. It is truly incredible how Amy managed to invoke images and emotions through the words on the pages, by allowing glimpses of her thoughts and reflections as she grew up. Short essays, big impact and really fantastic learnings for everybody!

Estimated reading time needed: 3h

Key takeaways: 

1) With books, there are no forced conversations, expectations or unwanted transactions - you could take whatever you choose away from it. Personally, books are an escape from reality, because it takes me into another realm, into someone else's thoughts, through which I can learn and grow to become a better person. What do you do with books?

2) "Perfect days make for terrible stories, and vice versa". 

3) "What kind of dream forces you to leave behind your own family?" This reminds me of the book "Put your dream to the test" that I read a few months ago, written by John Maxwell. Maxwell stated that dreams come with sacrifices, but the one thing he kept emphasising on was the importance of his family. Not all family is perfect, however, but perhaps everyone has something/someone important to them.

4) "College has taught me that saying no is harder than saying yes, that books teach more than classes do, that travelling reminds me I am less important than I think I am". What does education mean to you? Is it about classroom learning, or something else like exploration and finding what you enjoy doing, creating the person you want to be?

5) There's a quote I saw somewhere, saying "if you want to understand yourself, write". Amy did this exceptionally well, and wrote about herself as she grew up, keeping a recollection of the person she was. Sometimes we are so focused on the people we want to be that we forget the people we used to be, and writing helps keep our past selves alive.

6) Today will always be the youngest day in the rest of your life. What would you do with it?

7) Do not be so focused on chasing what you want, that you lose what's truly important to you. 

8) "The most unexpected and difficult moments in life are the ones that shape it".

Recommendation: Needless to say, Amy's book was transformational, and it truly embedded the value of stories. What's even more impressive is the ability to convey the stories to others in a way that invokes feelings like happiness, guilt, love, and inspiration in others. Although I've been writing book reviews, I've been wanting to start writing stories of my own, and this book was what I needed. Interesting stories chuck full of learnings, I highly highly recommend anyone to read it! Amy wrote this when she was 21 a year ago, I'm extremely excited to see what other stories she will publish during her defining 20s.

Who Moved My Cheese - Dr Spencer Johnson

Change. A word that people either dread or look forward to. Most people probably know that change is necessary and constant. So how do people react to change?

Content: This short story is basically talking about 4 mice trapped in a maze and look for cheese to make them happy. This mirrors the nature of humans as well - when faced with uncertainty, people are afraid of what's "out there". Read this book to  learn more about how some mice successfully navigate change and how some didn't.

Estimated reading time needed: <1h

Key takeaways: 
1) When going through change and uncertainty, we should think about what we could gain and not what we were losing. Who knows, things might turn out for the better.

2) "What you're afraid of is never as bad as you imagine", which reminds me of the saying that nothing is as bad as it seems. 

3) Nothing gets better until we change - we are our own limits of change. We need to get out there, past our fears which could be irrational. 

4) Recognise that change happens whether we like it or not, so we should anticipate change, prepare for it, and adapt quickly.

Recommendation: As a change management consultant, I was amazed at how such a simple story (of mice chasing cheese) could reflect the interactions between people and their environment. The cheese could be anything we deem it to be - money, fame, career, relationships etc. We need to understand that change is inevitable. The kind of change that happens could be different  as well. For example, when we say we want our relationships to change, it doesn't mean we want to change the person - it could mean we want to change who we are in that relationship. Change comes from within. Which mice do you want to be? Less than an hour of reading for so many insights. Loved it, and do give it a read!

Atomic Habits - James Clear

Amazing. If I had to choose only 1 book to read for the summer, it would be this one. I've never read a book where I literally wanted to bookmark almost every page. 

Content: This book talks about habits - how we can start good habits and kick bad ones. For example, to build better habits, Clear talked about making it obvious so that we can remember to do it, making it attractive to make us want to do it, make it easy to lower the resistance/procrastination, and to make it satisfying so that we want to do it again. Conversely, by flipping it around, we find that it helps us to stop bad habits - by making them obscure, unattractive, difficult to do and unsatisfying.

Estimated reading time needed: 5h

Key takeaways: 
1) The power of compounding doesn't apply only to finance. It applies to everything we do. By repeating 1% errors day after day, making poor decisions, duplicating mistakes, rationalising excuses, it compounds into toxic results. On the other hand, if we improve 1% each day, we will get a significant increase when we put them together.

2) Progress is not linear. We may think that we should be getting better at what we do each day, and habits may seem to make no difference until we cross "a critical threshold and unlock a new level of performance". We will encounter many "Valley of Disappointments". However, progress is a long-term thing, and we should always "zoom out" to look at our progress and push on.

3) "Goals are good for setting direction, but systems are best for making progress". A peculiar statement Clear made was that winners and losers have the same goals. We need to change our system, our processes that can enable us to get to the results we want. We need to fix the inputs and the outputs will fix themselves. 

4) The 3 levels of change we need to unravel as we think about our habits. Once we've decided about the habits we want to build/stop, we need to change our outcomes - what do we want to achieve at the end of the day? Second, change our process - what in our daily lives should we change, or what am I doing that could better help me attain the goals I want? Third, change our identity - our beliefs, assumptions and biases. This is the core and possibly the hardest level. However, once we can achieve this, the habits we set out to do for reasons we have are now a part of us. To help visualise this, let's say you want to be good at playing the piano. You start to practice everyday (habit), tweak your methods of practising (process), and ultimately you start to become a pianist (identity). 

5) The costs of your good habits are paid now. But the costs of your bad habits are paid in the future.

6) This process is continuous. We never stop creating who we are - we never stop making decisions that shape our identity. There is no end and no permanent solution. 

Recommendation: Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and will definitely be reading it once a year as a reminder to making sure that my daily habits are true to my identity. Clear and concise - this book spares no extra words. If you truly want to change yourself, read this book and start changing yourself through small wins. A must-read for everybody!

Limitless - Jim Kwik

Sometimes, you want to do something, and yet you can't. As long as it's within your control, this book will help you get it.

Content: Kwik understood what exactly it means to fail, and why people fail. By diving deep into those reasons, we can begin to unravel the pathway to success. Several factors impede our path to achieving what we want, and they were clearly spelled out in the book. For example, how to read quickly, how to achieve the state of flow to improve your productivity, and the 8 forms of intelligence.

Estimated reading time needed: 6-7h

Key takeaways: 
1) You make mistakes, mistakes don't make you. This is an extremely important piece of advice that anyone can receive. The only failure there is is the failure to learn.

2)  The very famous Golden Circle by Simon Sinek has one crucial word in the bullseye - why. It's used everywhere. If you want to truly exceed your current self and sustain this path of improvement, your why must be strong.

3) "I am" are the 2 most powerful words in the English language.  Kwik says that what you say after these 2 words defines your fate. Who do you want to be?

4) Only 3 things can change a person's behaviour over the long run - an epiphany, changing your environment and "taking baby steps". I can't pin which book I saw this quote "we are the sum  of all choices we make", but it's a similar concept. Slowly, as we change our choices, day by day you'll end up becoming someone else. Make the right choice from TODAY.

Recommendation: This book is slightly too long - there were some points I feel that the author tried to overcomplicate things. Nonetheless, the book is still a great one to read, especially if you feel like you are stuck somewhere. It isn't a be-all-end-all kind of tool to help you move forward in life, but it gives you a perspective that you might have never thought about before. With Kwik's personal background, it would probably inspire you to be limitless in your own right as well. Do give it a read!

Put your dream to the test - John C. Maxwell

Have you ever wondered about your future? Are you undecided, uncertain or scared of going on this path? This book lays out 10 simple, straightforward questions to help you decide if you can/should chase it. It is a short book, but you have to constantly think about your dream as you read along, which makes it longer than other books with the same number of pages.

Content: The 10 questions Maxwell laid out in this book are those that we will have to consider on our path towards whatever we aim to achieve. It contains many inspiring stories of people overcoming adversities and ultimately leaving a lasting legacy after their death. Your dream may not be as ambitious as those in this book, but it definitely is still relevant in our day-to-day lives. 

Estimated reading time needed: 10h

Key takeaways: 
1) There is no perfect timing for us to "get started" on achieving our dreams. There will always be something that hinders our path towards our dreams, and no journey is smooth-sailing all the time. We have to seize the moment and go after it no matter where we are. 

2)  Our dreams don't have to be big, but they should be powerful to you. Don't let society set the standard of success for you - it doesn't have to be all about money or rankings; decide it for yourself.

3) If your dream depends a lot on luck, you're in trouble. If it depends entirely on luck, you're living in Fantasyland.

4) The more concerned you become with things you can't control, the less you will do to improve the things you can control.

5) Life is, at best, messy. It's filled with surprises - both good and bad.

Recommendation: There were many things I've learned from this book, and it truly helped me in my personal growth and realisation of my dream. Be stern with yourself if/when you read this book, ask yourself those questions and answer them truthfully. Lying to yourself benefits no one. It was a pleasure to read this book, and am excited to read more of Maxwell's writings in the future. Do give this book a try, you will not regret it.

Ikigai, by Hector Garcia and Francesc Miralles

Ikigai is the Japanese term for having a sense of fulfilment in life. This comes in all aspects of your life, from work to diet. I actually read this book before I started this blog, but it is truly an amazing book that I believe should be read by everybody, which is why I'm adding a review of it here.

Content: It is informative and positive. The author explains what Ikigai is throughout the book, because Ikigai is not something that can be explained by a mere definition. I learned more about what Ikigai is, how it may explain the long life expectancy of the Japanese people, especially in Okinawa, and how everyone can achieve their own Ikigai. This comes from our daily living habits, how we spend our free time, what we eat, and even what we do during retirement. 

Estimated reading time needed: 5 hours

Key takeaways: 
1) Our Ikigai is the reason we get up in the morning.

2) Those who give up doing what they love lose their purpose in life, which is why it's important to keep doing things of value, improve and help others.

3) The happiest people are the ones who spend the most time in a "state of flow". They do this by focusing on one thing at a time, things that can bring them into this state of flow rather than those that bring immediate pleasure.

Recommendation: There are many invaluable lessons that I've learned from this book, and I would definitely recommend this book to everyone. Especially for people living busy lives in fast-paced societies, it is easy to get trapped in an endless cycle between work and home, forgetting about their "why". 

Inward, by Yung Pueblo

Yung Pueblo, or "Young People", is the pen name of writer Diego Perez. His book, Inward, is not a singular story, but rather a collection of quotes, poems and prose that explores the meaning of letting go, self-love, healing and transformation. 

Content: a tad too spiritual to my liking, but overall has excellent points that I took away. I had the realisation that for the past few years I had lost sight of who I was and what I wanted to be. A recent chain of events leading up to reading this book really opened my eyes. Yung Pueblo's words were able to effectively express my emotions and thoughts on pen and paper. This creates a greater understanding of myself, and gives myself the assurance that what I'm doing and what I'm going through has a reason. 

Note: structure was a little disconcerting, but nothing too serious. 

Estimated reading time needed: 2-3 hours

Key takeaways: 
1) Changing yourself is most effective when you pick 2-3 things to change at once, rather than trying to change everything at one go. This way, we can create the momentum and consistency needed to achieve even greater goals in the future.

2) Letting go is an important life skill. We all get attached to memories, things or people at some point in our lives, but sometimes these are things that we have to let go. Letting go, however, does not mean forgetting or giving up on it. It simply means that we cannot let how we feel get affected by things that have already happened or that we wish would happen in the future.

3) With our significant other, it is not their job to make us happy, neither is it our job to make them happy. All we can do is commit to support each other in the creation of our own happiness.

Recommendation: I am glad to have read it, and would definitely recommend everyone to read this book. Not only does it improve your spiritual and mental health, it also allows you to have greater courage in facing your fears and take the next step forward. For a short book that can be finished within a day, it definitely is worth a read.