The Top 3 Books I Read This Year
Stillness is the Key - Ryan Holiday
What It’s About
The author, Ryan Holiday, explores the idea of stillness through the lens of stoicism. He implores readers to pursue stillness of mind, body, and spirit. Like most self improvement titles, Holiday uses examples from the lives of successful and influential people. He also pulls a digestible amount of research, and presents his own observations on each subject. Everything is written with an easy, light tone–nothing is overbearing.
Stillness Is The Key came by a recommendation from my friend Bobby Hobert. When Bobby told me about Stillness, there was a convicted look in his eyes. He didn’t try to sell me on it. He calmly said, “Reese, you gotta read it.” So I ordered it and enjoyed every single page.
Why I Loved It
I encountered this book at the beginning of quarantine in April. It came right on time. This book quietly encouraged me to accept the stillness I was experiencing, and to maximize the time I had alone. This book encouraged me to lean back and think. I’ve reaped the benefits of that ever since.
Even though Holiday tells stories of influential people, he doesn’t write off their failures while telling their success stories. For example, in his case about pursuing stillness of mind, he breaks down President Kennedy’s calmness and focus while navigating the Cuban Missile Crisis. Holiday describes the slow, methodical approach Kennedy took in the weeks surrounding the event had an incomprehensible impact on history. However, in the section on stillness of body, Holiday doesn’t give Kennedy a pass on his infidelity while in office. He explores Kennedy’s childhood and upbringing, and the affairs he had as President. The way Holiday accepts cognitive dissonance isn’t contradictory–he calls his readers to a higher standard than even those in his examples.
Greenlights - Matthew McConaughey
What It’s About
Legendary actor, Matthew McConaughey, explores the successes, failures, and lessons of his first 50 years on earth. This isn’t another vapid account of some industry-manufactured movie star; McConaughey has experienced more life than many ever will. From a tumultuous upbringing with his thrice married parents, to a perpetual search for meaning via solo adventures around the globe, McConaughey has a lot of stories to tell.
Why I Loved It
Greenlights is the first book in years that I absolutely devoured. I read 150 pages in one afternoon because I couldn’t put it down. McConaughey doesn’t write as if he’s speaking on a stage. He tells his stories one-to-one around a campfire. It feels like it’s written just for you.
McConaughey inspects singular experiences under a microscope to pull big, cosmic lessons for his life. He wrestled a warrior in the African desert, swam in the Amazon river, partied with locals in a in South Dakota dive bar. He weaves everything together in a wonderful story that makes readers want to live more of their own lives.
Free To Focus - Michael Hyatt
What It’s About
Michael Hyatt has been studying and writing about productivity for decades, and everything culminates in this fantastic book about how to achieve real focus. His main point is this: true productivity doesn’t lie in doing more each hour, but in spending more hours doing the things we truly love. He outlines a path to reorient our schedules and outsource work that distracts or disinterests us. When we work more in our desire zone, we don’t have to try to be productive. We reach flow state and achieve full focus.
Why I Loved It
Free To Focus is written for the modern age, and after I read it, I realized that not many are. It comes with a stack of downloadable resources and worksheets. This book doesn’t just exist to convey information. It’s designed to be an exercise into transforming your schedule.
Closing
My work is heavily influenced by the books and blogs I read. My process for writing is this: wake up, shower, walk, read, write. Reading gets my mind warmed up, it introduces me to new ideas, and it inspires me. I hope you enjoy these books as much as I did.
