Category Archives: Great Books

The Daily Stoic: “Maintain Composure, Maintain Control”

I’ve gotten much better at staying calm under pressure over the past year. One of the most helpful things I’ve found for this is taking positive action rather than dwelling on the anxious energy I feel in a stressful situation. … Continue reading

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Review of Never Split the Difference

Never Split the Difference is a wonderful book by Chris Voss. Voss, a former FBI hostage negotiator, shares the techniques he used to secure the safe release of hostages from their captors and gives examples of how we can use … Continue reading

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Communication in Difficult Situations

In The Righteous Mind, Jonathan Haidt says that it’s easier for us to find errors in other people’s thinking than in our own thinking. Lately, I’ve noticed this in myself with regards to communication. I’ve learned enough about communication to … Continue reading

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The Real Problem

This is an excerpt from Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss. Here, Voss emphasizes that in any disagreement, the real problem is the underlying issue rather than any of the people involved. Focusing on resolving the issue helps everyone … Continue reading

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“What You See Is All There Is”

In Thinking, Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman talks about a concept he calls “what you see is all there is”. This involves overestimating the importance or prevalence of whatever is occupying a lot of your attention. When this occurs, your … Continue reading

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The Daily Stoic: “Anyone Can Get Lucky, Not Everyone Can Persevere”

This entry from The Daily Stoic fits in nicely with my own thoughts on perseverance and persistence. I do think I have some natural talent but most of my success at the various things I’ve accomplished has come from relentless … Continue reading

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The Daily Stoic: “Pillage from All Sources”

I really like this entry from The Daily Stoic since it nicely describes my approach for most of my life and the past few years in particular. If I find some useful information, I’ll add it to my knowledge base … Continue reading

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“The Dichotomy of Leadership”

“The Dichotomy of Leadership” is a great excerpt from Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin. In this segment, Jocko describes the difficult balancing act that all good leaders must maintain for maximum effectiveness. All the leaders I admire … Continue reading

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Review of Extreme Ownership

Extreme Ownership is a fascinating book written by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin. It describes the leadership lessons that they learned through their time as commanders in the Navy SEALs, lessons which they now teach through their company called Echelon … Continue reading

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The Daily Stoic: “The Philosopher’s School Is a Hospital”

Self-improvement is downright painful at times. The Daily Stoic makes that clear when it talks about how much healing can hurt. Deep-seated pain from early in my life is the most difficult stuff for me to work through and overcome. … Continue reading

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