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Happy Thursday folks!
Here is my favorite passage of the week, two quotes and book of the week with two important lessons to ponder on:
Passage of the Week:
Author Robert Greene on retaining the craftsman spirit:
From “The Daily Laws” by Robert Greene
Two Quotes:
“The beautiful thing about learning is nobody can take it away from you.”
“One glance at a book and you hear the voice of another person, perhaps someone dead for 1,000 years. To read is to voyage through time.”
Book of the Week with 2 Important Lessons:
The book of the week is Unhinged Habits: A Counterintuitive Guide for Humans to Have More by Doing Less by Jonathan Goodman.
This book beautifully tackles the paradox of modern busyness without real progress, empowering us to escape endless cycles by refocusing on true priorities and personal success definitions. It offers a comprehensive system to thrive in key areas of life and will revolutionize your relationship with work, money, and even adult friendships.
Some habits propel us forward. Others can work against us over time. The key? Get the order right. Balance short-term desires with long-term planning. Set yourself up for a bright future without missing the magic in the present. This is a book about wanting a better life and going after it. Break bad habits and build your rich life by mastering the art of strategic subtraction.
Here are two important lessons from the book:
1) Having the exploration mindset.
Uncertainty isn’t motivating. What’s motivating is the perception of reducing uncertainty. Of reducing prediction error. Of figuring something out. Humans don’t actually pursue happiness; we pursue only relief from certainty. Happiness emerges momentarily as a byproduct whenever uncertainty briefly disappears. What if uncertainty isn’t something to fear but a resource to be cultivated? An exploration mindset.
An exploration mindset is less about having all the answers and more about becoming comfortable with not knowing. A few reframes:
Uncertainty is an opportunity. The unexpected isn’t a threat. It’s an invitation to discover something new about yourself.
Prolonged comfort is dangerous. Stagnation grows moss.
Failure is information. Instead of letting it get you down, consider what you learned to avoid or what you will do differently next time.
Flexible intentions are better than rigid expectations. Set adaptive goals. View your path as a compass, not a GPS.
“I wonder what I might discover” is more useful than “I already know.” Cultivate radical curiosity.
Ask naive questions and drop preconceptions. Set your ego aside and embrace a beginner’s mindset.
In the long term, exploring, in aggregate, leads to discovery, growth, and joy. Step into uncertainty with intention rather than shrinking from it in near.
2) Change happens as a result of intensity and is then maintained by consistency.
Lots of people are consistent, yet few get ahead. That’s because they check the box of ‘consistency,’ but don’t make progress towards their goals because they are consistently coming short of what it takes to move the needle. Getting a bit better every day sounds good. But a more aggressive, intensive, and almost unhinged approach is necessary for transformative change.
Consistency without intermittent bouts of intensity simply doesn’t work. Change is hard. If it matters to you, make it matter. If something like transforming your body is important enough to do, at one point, it’s got to be the focus of what you do. Stop squeezing it in like grains of sand around the other big rocks of your life. Transformational change doesn’t come about as a result of slow and marginal gains over time. It happens as a result of intensity. Of obsession.
If you put in the dedicated work to build strength and resilience one time, you’ll be able to put up with more over time. A transformations period of focus needn’t take long to alter a lifetime. Building a strong body requires intense effort. Maintaining a strong body requires consistency. Change happens as a result of intensity and is then maintained by consistency.
A rocket burns 90 percent of its fuel during liftoff, fighting Earth’s gravity and atmosphere. Once in orbit, it glides effortlessly. New habits follow this cosmic principle: the initial push demands enormous energy to break old routines, but maintain it long enough, and momentum takes over, requiring only minimum adjustments. Intensity is for gaining. Consistency is for maintaining. You can’t have one without the other.
Books I am currently reading:
The Book of Elon: A Guide to Purpose and Success by Eric Jorgenson. It focuses entirely on Elon’s most useful and timeless ideas that work.
Runnin' Down a Dream: How to Thrive in a Career You Actually Love by Bill Gurley. This book will inspire a new generation to find their place in the world, while offering a much-needed rebuttal to the idea that hustle and happiness are incompatible.
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. Just few chapters in and it has been a delightful read.
READING TIP: Question Whether the Book is Worth Reading
We often consume a lot of things out of habit, without questioning their worth, books included.
Never feel obligated to finish a book that doesn’t interest you. There are many great books out there to read. Read what you are interested in, or ignite your curiosity, or help develop the skills you want to cultivate.
Thank you for reading and all your support.
I am excited to keep bringing you the new and old books, great insights, and lessons.
Until next week, stay curious and happy reading!
— Ravi Shah | @readswithravi
