What You Will Learn

The End Of An Era: Thanks For Listening Jul 18, 2023

Thanks for listening to What You Will Learn. Whether you've been on this ride since the beginning, you met us halfway along the journey, or you only just joined us, it's been a pleasure sharing the best bits of the best books with you.

If you any messages or questions for us please email podcast@whatyouwilllearn.com, or better yet, scroll halfway down this page and record a voice memo for the two Adams: https://moretolearnpod.com/contact

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I Am Malala Jun 01, 2023

Join hosts Ashto and Jonesy as they dive into the powerful and inspiring book "I Am Malala" by Malala Yousafzai. In this thought-provoking episode, they explore Malala's extraordinary journey from a young Pakistani girl to a global advocate for girls' education. Discover the resilience, bravery, and determination that propelled Malala to stand up against the Taliban's oppressive regime. Through engaging discussions, Ashto and Jonesy shed light on the impact of Malala's activism and the importance of education for all. Get ready to be inspired and motivated as Ashto and Jonesy uncover the remarkable story of Malala Yousafzai in "I Am Malala."

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ATTITUDE Book Launch May 24, 2023

We're proud to officially launch our brand new book: ATTITUDE

https://www.whatyouwilllearn.com/attitude/

We wanted to work out a common thread between all of the successful people we'd read about over our 7-year podcasting journey. What linked the entrepreneurs, CEOs, politicians, musicians, managers, thoughts leaders, artists? Their ATTITUDE.

We pulled together the best lessons form the best books on the topic, and grouped them into five vital lessons: Vision, Change, Learning, Fear & Boldness.

As a special Launch promotion, use codeword LAUNCH to get 40% off the audiobook. Find the right button on the website, or follow this link: https://mysoundwise.com/soundcasts/1680847169987s?c=LAUNCH

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What To Do When It's Your Turn May 18, 2023

Ashto and Jonesy are back with an exciting podcast episode, this time diving into the empowering book "What To Do When It's Your Turn" by Seth Godin. In this captivating discussion, they explore Godin's transformative ideas on embracing uncertainty, conquering fear, and unlocking personal potential. Through insightful conversations, they share practical strategies and thought-provoking insights to inspire listeners to take charge of their lives and pursue their passions. Get ready to embark on a journey of self-discovery and empowerment as they delve into the pages of "What To Do When It's Your Turn."

In their latest podcast episode, Ashto and Jonesy explore the powerful concepts of "What To Do When It's Your Turn" by Seth Godin. With a focus on embracing uncertainty and overcoming fear, they dive into the transformative strategies shared by Godin. Through engaging discussions, Ashto and Jonesy provide actionable advice and inspiring ideas to help listeners navigate their own turning points in life.

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Peak May 11, 2023

Join Ashto and Jonesy in their latest podcast episode as they explore the captivating book, "Peak" by Chip Conley. Drawing from Conley's expertise in psychology and business, as well as his personal experiences, they uncover the profound insights and practical strategies presented in "Peak." They examine key concepts such as emotional intelligence, cultivating a growth mindset, and finding purpose in one's work.

Through engaging conversations and relatable anecdotes, Ashto and Jonesy highlight the transformative power of "Peak." Listeners will learn how to apply the wisdom from the book to enhance their relationships, improve their leadership skills, and find fulfillment in every aspect of life. Whether you're an entrepreneur, student, or simply seeking personal growth, this episode is a must-listen. Join Ashto and Jonesy in their podcast and discover how "Peak" by Chip Conley can unlock your full potential.

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The 50th Law May 04, 2023

Join Ashto and Jonesy in the latest podcast episode as they explore the powerful book, The 50th Law, written by Robert Greene and 50 Cent. This book offers a unique perspective on success, drawing on the experiences of 50 Cent, one of the most successful rappers of all time, and the timeless wisdom of historical figures.

In this episode, Ashto and Jonesy delve into the key concepts of The 50th Law, discussing how fear and insecurity can hold us back from achieving our goals and how we can use these emotions to our advantage. They explore the importance of mastering our own mindset and how we can use the power of visualization and positive thinking to achieve success.

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NEW BOOK: Attitude May 01, 2023

We're proud to announce our brand new book: ATTITUDE.

Check it out at: https://www.whatyouwilllearn.com/attitude/

Life is unpredictable and full of things we can’t control.

The only thing we can truly have power over is our attitude.

We don’t always have a choice in what happens to us, but we always get to choose how we respond. Adam and Adam have extracted the most valuable insights about attitude from some of the greatest minds on the topic, and distilled them into five simple lessons: Vision, Change, Learning, Fear, and Boldness. Time to say goodbye to mediocrity and hello to a kickass new attitude!

Pre-order your copy today, send us your receipt (forward email or send a screenshot) to book@theshittheynevertaughtyou.com and we'll send you the audiobook for free!

Find all the links here to pre-order your copy today - https://www.whatyouwilllearn.com/attitude/

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The Challenger Sale Apr 27, 2023

Join Ashto and Jonesy in the latest podcast episode as they discuss the game-changing book, The Challenger Sale. Written by Brent Adamson and Matthew Dixon, this book challenges traditional sales approaches by introducing a new selling methodology that has transformed the world of sales.

In this episode, Ashto and Jonesy explore the key concepts of The Challenger Sale and how it has revolutionized the way salespeople interact with customers. They delve into the five profiles of successful salespeople and explain how adopting the Challenger mindset can help salespeople become more effective and close more deals.

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The Full Facts Book of Cold Reading Apr 20, 2023

Join Ashto and Jonesy in the latest podcast episode as they explore the fascinating world of cold reading and the book that has become the definitive guide on the topic, The Full Facts Book of Cold Reading. Written by Ian Rowland, a renowned mentalist and magician, this book provides a comprehensive and insightful overview of the art of cold reading, a technique used by psychics, mediums, and mentalists to give the illusion of having psychic abilities.

In this episode, Ashto and Jonesy delve into the key concepts of cold reading and discuss the various techniques and strategies used to convince people that a psychic is able to glean personal information about them. They also explore the ethical considerations surrounding the use of cold reading and discuss how it can be used for entertainment purposes versus manipulation.

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The Sovereign Individual Apr 13, 2023

Join Ashto and Jonesy in the latest podcast episode as we explore the groundbreaking book, The Sovereign Individual, by James Davidson and Lord William Rees-Mogg. Written in 1997, this prescient work envisions a future where individual has unparalleled freedom and control over their own lives, breaking free from the constraints of traditional nation-states and governments.

In this episode, we delve into the key concepts of The Sovereign Individual and discuss how you can harness the power of technology to forge your own path in this brave new world. Through our lively discussion, we offer valuable insights and practical tips for navigating the challenges and opportunities of the digital age.

So, whether you're an entrepreneur, a futurist, or simply someone who wants to stay ahead of the curve, this episode is for you. Join us as we explore the exciting possibilities that lie ahead and discover how you can embrace the future with confidence.

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The Laws of Simplicity Apr 06, 2023

Join Ashto and Jonesy in this week's episode as they explore the world of design and innovation through the lens of "The Law of Simplicity". Authored by renowned designer and technologist John Maeda, this book offers a compelling argument for the power of simplicity in design and how it can be leveraged to create meaningful and impactful products and experiences.

Through insightful anecdotes and practical examples, Maeda presents his ten laws of simplicity, which serve as a guide for designers, entrepreneurs, and anyone seeking to simplify their lives. From the importance of reducing clutter to the value of adding meaningful complexity, Maeda's laws provide a framework for achieving simplicity in a complex world.

In this thought-provoking episode, Ashto and Jonesy explore the ten laws of simplicity and how they can be applied in various contexts, including technology, business, and everyday life. Join them as they discuss the nuances of simplicity and complexity, the role of emotion in design, and the importance of paying attention to what lies in the periphery.

Tune in to gain a better understanding of the power of simplicity and how it can be harnessed to create impactful and meaningful products and experiences.

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Bubble Or Revolution? Mar 30, 2023

Join Ashto and Jonesy this week as they review Bubble or Revolution, a comprehensive book that delves into the topic of blockchain and cryptocurrencies. Written by Silicon Valley leaders from Google, Microsoft, and Facebook, Bubble or Revolution provides a balanced, comprehensive, and accessible analysis of these technologies.

While the Harvard Business Review and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen have hailed the blockchain as a disruptor and revolutionary invention, there are also concerns about the darker side of cryptocurrencies. They have been linked to drug peddling and hacking, making it difficult for law enforcement to track down criminals. In another instance, the hype around these technologies has reached extreme levels, with companies like Long Island Ice Tea changing their name to add the word blockchain and seeing their stock prices skyrocket. So, are blockchain and cryptocurrencies a legitimate revolution or just a hyper fueled bubble waiting to burst?

In this thought-provoking episode, we’re taking a closer look at both sides of the argument and examine the potential use cases and drawbacks of these technologies. Tune in to gain a better understanding of blockchain and cryptocurrencies and decide for yourself if they are a bubble or revolution.

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Customer Success Mar 23, 2023

This week, Ashto and Jonesy learn the exciting new model of customer management through Customer Success, co-authored by Nick Mehta, Dan Steinman, and Lincoln Murphy. Enabling customers to understand the value in your products can result in creating a loyal customer base and safeguarding long-term recurring revenue. This book explains how business relationships have changed, and why B2B vendors must focus on delivering success for their clients to achieve success for their own businesses.

Customer Success outlines the key elements of building a successful customer success strategy, from the initial planning stages to execution. It offers expert guidance on structuring your organisation, segmenting your customers, and developing cross-functional playbooks. The authors' extensive experience in the field shines through in this book, which is also packed with real-world examples of successful customer success strategies. A compulsory read for any CEO or business leader who wants to stay ahead in the evolving B2B industries, tune in to hear our take on Customer Success.

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Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind Mar 16, 2023

In this week’s podcast episode, Ashto and Jonesy explore the timeless wisdom of Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, a classic book on Zen Buddhism written by Shunryu Suzuki Roshi. This episode delves into the fundamental question of what is more important in life - is it about making a million dollars, or finding meaning in our efforts to be successful? Suzuki Roshi's teachings on zazen, posture, breathing, and perception of nonduality provide a clear and joyful path towards self-discovery and inner peace. A highly recommended read for seekers on the zen path, Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind continues to inspire and guide a new generation of spiritual seekers. Join us this week as we explore the treasure of life and journey towards enlightenment.

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Shoe Dog Mar 09, 2023

Join Ashto and Jonesy in this week’s episode as they delve into the fascinating world of Nike and its founder Phil Knight. In his candid and captivating memoir Shoe Dog, Knight reveals the inside story of Nike's early days as a daring start-up and its evolution into one of the most iconic and profitable brands in the world.

Fresh out of business school in 1962, Knight borrowed $50 from his dad to import high-quality, low-cost athletic shoes from Japan. With a lime green Plymouth Valiant as his makeshift store, he grossed $8,000 in his first year. Today, Nike's annual sales top $30 billion, making it an exceptionally influential global company.

But Knight's story is not just about business success; it's also about taking the unconventional path and chasing your dreams. In Shoe Dog, he recounts the many risks and setbacks he faced in building the Nike brand, and the formative relationships with his first partners and employees.

Knight acknowledges the role of luck in his success, and encourages us to have faith in ourselves and in faith itself (however we define it). Through hard work and belief in our mission, we too can achieve our dreams and reach our fullest potential. Shoe Dog illustrates the power of grit, determination, and a shared vision in creating a brand that changed everything.

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The Art of Possibility Mar 02, 2023

This week, Ashto and Jonesy learn the twelve breakthrough practices for bringing creativity into their daily lives. The Art of Possibility addresses the notion of possibility and its power in various aspects of life. Written by music conductor Benjamin Zander and psychotherapist Rosamund Stone Zander, this book combines Benjamin’s talent as a teacher and communicator and Rosamund’s brilliance in creating innovative paradigms for achieving personal and professional fulfilment. Through stories, parables, and personal anecdotes, The Art of Possibility encourages us to discover passion and purpose in the way we lead, communicate, and perform, creating even more possibilities in the world.

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The Structure of Scientific Revolutions Feb 23, 2023

Gleaned from Thomas Kuhn’s The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, this week’s episode discusses the need for occasional revolutions in the world of science.

When it was first published in 1962, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions marked a significant milestone in the history and philosophy of science. In this book, Kuhn argues that major scientific breakthroughs don’t come from everyday experimentation and data gathering. He believes that transformative ideas occur outside of normal science and arise from revolutions that challenge accepted ways of thinking.

Fifty years later, lessons from this book are still applicable to our current world. The ultimate transformative moment occurs when our paradigm shifts. This means that sometimes, it’s necessary to disassemble a familiar structure and put it back together in a completely different way. This week, Ashto and Jonesy learn that science isn’t a linear, cumulative process; science changes by means of revolutions.

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Life In Half A Second Feb 16, 2023

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The 5 Elements of Effective Thinking Feb 09, 2023

This week, Jonesy and Ashto adopt creative strategies to develop their mental strength and capacity from The 5 Elements of Effective Thinking. Written by Edward B. Burger and Michael Starbird, this book presents practical methods that offer innovative solutions to difficult challenges in your life. Drawn from compelling examples from every walk of life, this book is a suitable guide for anyone who wants to reach their fullest potential.

Embracing the elements of effective thinking will inevitably lead you to your quintessential self. Not only will you discover new ways of looking at yourself, but The 5 Elements of Effective Thinking will also reveal hidden opportunities in your life.

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The Alchemist Feb 02, 2023

The Alchemist is a modern classic that has sold millions of copies and inspired countless readers around the world. Written by Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist follows the mystical journey of an Andalusian shepherd boy Santiago. Santiago’s self-discovery tale teaches the wisdom of listening to our hearts, recognising opportunities and omens that we encounter on our life path, and ultimately, following our dreams.

Although The Alchemist is written with strong elements of magic and mysticism, the deeper meaning of this book resonates closely with our lives. However, alchemy in our world isn’t about discovering the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow – it’s about walking along the said rainbow and enjoying the gradual process of our transformation.

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Die With Zero Jan 26, 2023

This week, Ashto and Jonesy learn different ways to utilise their wealth to live a fulfilling life from one of the most successful hedge fund managers and entrepreneurs in the world Bill Perkins. Written from Perkins’ personal experiences and other cautionary tales, Die with Zero is a guide to living rich instead of dying rich. In this book, Perkins also provides eye-opening insights into time, money, and happiness based on psychological science and behavioural finance studies. Amongst many other principles you’ll learn in this book, Perkins believes that your life experiences can be quantified and optimised. Die with Zero will teach you how to avoid over-saving your money and under-living your life. So, get ready to discover ways to maximise your life by identifying the best times to make the most of your earnings and invest in meaningful experiences.

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How To Not Die Alone Jan 19, 2023

You might think that you don’t need to buy a book about dating and relationships. Isn’t love something effortless, natural, and organic? You should be falling in love without thinking your way into it because love is a spontaneous chemical reaction, not a calculated decision. Even though people hold onto these beliefs, finding love doesn’t always work out perfectly. But here’s the truth: while love may be a natural instinct, dating isn’t.

In How to Not Die Alone, dating coach and matchmaker Logan Ury touches on different factors that could be preventing us from finding love. Remember the happily ever after fallacy? It’s the mistaken belief that the hard work of love is about finding someone – but that’s only the first act of your love story. The next part is hard, too – making the relationship last for the long haul.

Drawn from years of research, insights from behavioural science, and real life experiences, How to Not Die Alone offers guidance to finding, building, and sustaining a relationship that accommodates your needs.

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How Not To Die Jan 12, 2023

This week, Ashto and Jonesy will delve into some of the major findings of Dr Greger’s decades of research on the 15 top causes of premature death. How Not to Die is filled with helpful advice to prevent chronic illnesses and get better health outcomes through consuming healthier foods. It has been repeatedly proven that healthier diets (such as whole-food or plant-based diets) aren’t just effective in preventing diseases, but often stopping them on their track. From this book, we all can learn how nutritional and lifestyle interventions can sometimes trump prescription pills or other pharmaceutical and surgical approaches. This week, we’ll learn how to apply Dr Greger’s practical and actionable advice to live healthier lives and not die from chronic diseases prematurely.

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Death Jan 05, 2023

Written by the world-renowned spiritual guru Sadhguru, Death explains the concept of death from a spiritual standpoint, questioning the negative connotations that often surround mortality. Just like life, death is made up of three important components: biological, physical, and metaphysical. While our biological and psychological understandings of death have increased, science doesn’t acknowledge the possibility that something beyond our human sense perception could precede life or succeed death. In this book, Sadhguru draws upon his inner experience to pinpoint and explore the philosophical aspects of death. Death is an eye-opening guide to understanding how we perceive grief and hopefully preparing us to make a beautiful experience out of death.

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BEST OF 2022 Nov 30, 2022

As we wrap up the year of podcasting, Jonesy and Ashto review our favourite book we read and reviewed on the podcast this year.

After going through a few honourable mentions, we share our respective "Top 10s", plus a special musical treat at the end based on a couple of the books high up on the list (apologies for the long time fans "the song" is not back yet... this is a different song)

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What To Expect When You're Expecting Nov 24, 2022

This week, Ashto and Jonesy learns the basic knowledge you need to have when you (or your partner) fall pregnant and a few basic do’s and don’ts about pregnancy that you may not have thought about before.

A compilation of advice and guidelines backed by the latest research, What to Expect When You're Expecting is one of the best go-to manuals for new parents around the world. In this book, Heidi Murkoff explains the week-to-week overview of pregnancy and touches on important points such as diet, self-care, and possibilities of complications. This book also prepares expectant parents by addressing problems and issues regarding today’s rapidly changing society and how it affects the use of alternative medicine, assisted conception, and various options for labour and delivery.

Revised and adapted to meet best Australian practice, any expectant parent should consider reading What to Expect When You're Expecting to understand the basics of pregnancy.

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David and Goliath Nov 17, 2022

David and Goliath is an investigation into what happens when the ‘underdog’ is forced to face an outsize challenge. In this book, Malcolm Gladwell asks us to reconsider how we perceive obstacles and disadvantages in our lives. He argues that the same qualities and traits that appear to give the ‘giants’ their strength are also their weakness points. Drawn from history and psychology, Gladwell uses a compelling narrative to reshape the way we see the world around us and practise what might otherwise have seemed unthinkable.

We do need a better guide to face our giants, and there is no better place to start that journey than with the epic confrontation between David and Goliath 3,000 years ago in the Valley of Elah.

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Stolen Focus Nov 10, 2022

Stolen Focus is a guide that can help us reclaim our focus, whether as individuals or as a society.

If you’re getting interrupted while focusing on something, on average, it takes 23 minutes for you to get back into a state of focus. But there never seems to be enough stillness, or cool and clear space for you to stop and think. When you are unable to pay sustained attention you can't achieve the things you want to achieve. You want to read a book, but you are pulled away by the pings and paranoias of social media. You want to spend a few uninterrupted hours with your child, but you keep checking your email to see if your boss is messaging you. You want to set up a business, but your life dissolves into a blur of facebook posts that only make you feel more anxious.

Johann Hari found twelve deep causes of this crisis. In this book he breaks down these issues based on his research findings and arguments, and teaches us how to improve our ability to pay attention and restore our productivity.

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Four Thousand Weeks Nov 03, 2022

This week, Jonesy and Ashto learn an unconventional approach to making the best use of their time from Four Thousand Weeks. In contrast to other time management or productivity books, this book debunks the idea of time management as we know it. Productivity is a trap. Nobody in the history of humanity has ever achieved the ideal work-life balance. You certainly won’t get there by simply joining the ‘5 am club’ or copying ‘The 6 Things Successful People Do Before 7 am’ that you see on Instagram.

In this book, Oliver Burkeman draws on the insights of ancient and contemporary philosophers, psychologists and spiritual teachers to offer a profound guide to time management. Four Thousand Weeks teaches us the tools for building a meaningful life by embracing finitude. So let’s start by admitting defeat: you’ll never have everything under control. But you know what? That’s excellent news!

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Swipe To Unlock Oct 27, 2022

This week, Ashto and Jonesy delve into Swipe to Unlock: an introduction to technology and business strategy concepts, and a compulsory read for anyone pursuing a career in the tech industry. Understanding technology is becoming essential no matter what you do for a living. Doctors are now using artificial intelligence to diagnose patients. Farmers are using drones to grow better crops. If the world’s biggest companies used to be oil and electric firms, they have now been replaced by the likes of Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Google and Microsoft.

In this book, Aditya Agashe, Neel Mehta and Parth Detroja use real-life examples to break down software, hardware and business strategies, and show you the tools to understand them better. You don’t need to be a master coder to learn these technological concepts. Whether it’s the ins and outs of the internet or the business strategies of tech giants, the authors of Swipe to Unlock believe that everything is understandable in plain, simple English.

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The Righteous Mind Oct 20, 2022

This week, Jonesy and Ashto explore the concept of human nature and history from the perspective of moral psychology. The Righteous Mind examines why it’s difficult for us to get along and understands why society is so easily divided into hostile groups (each so certain of its righteousness). This book draws on the latest research in neuroscience, genetics, social psychology and evolutionary modelling. But the main message of the book is ancient – it is the realisation that we are all self-righteous hypocrites.

Drawing on his 25 years of research on moral psychology, the author Jonathan Haidt explains that moral judgements shouldn’t arise from reason, but rather from gut feelings. Haidt’s investigation also shows why liberals, conservatives, and libertarians have disparate intuitions about right and wrong, and why each party is right about many of its primary concerns. The Righteous Mind provides the key to understanding the miracle of human cooperation, as well as the disadvantages of our eternal divisions and conflicts.

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The Talent Code Oct 13, 2022

How does a penniless Russian tennis club with one indoor court create more top-twenty women players than the entire United States? How does a humble storefront music school in Dallas, Texas produce Jessica Simpson, Demi Lovato and a succession of pop music phenomena? How does a poor, scantily educated British family in a remote village turn out three world-class writers, the Bronte sisters?

The Talent Code is all about understanding talent hotbeds – mysterious talents that seem to bloom without warning. Media coverage tends to treat hotbeds as a phenomenon, but truthfully, they are part of a larger pattern. Consider the composers of 19th Century Vienna, the writers of Shakespearean England or the artists of the Italian Renaissance. The same questions echo in each of these examples: Where does this extraordinary talent come from? How does it grow?

Drawing on cutting-edge neurology and firsthand research from the journeys of nine talent hotbeds, Daniel Coyle identifies three key elements that will allow you to develop your gifts and optimise your performance in just any area. Combining informative analysis with illuminating examples of regular people who have achieved greatness, this book will not only change the way you think about talent; it will also prepare you to reach your highest potential.

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The Catalyst Oct 06, 2022

This week, Ashto and Jonesy identify the key barriers to making changes and mitigating them. Everyone has something they want to change – marketers who wish to change their customers’ minds, leaders to transform organisations, start-ups to change industries or nonprofits to change the world. However, change is hard, especially when nothing moves after countless efforts.

The Catalyst takes a different approach to successfully executing change, focusing on removing significant roadblocks and reducing the barriers to change. Because sometimes, by focusing too much on ourselves, we forget the essential part of initiating a change: our audience. Instead of asking, ‘How could I change someone’s mind?’ Perhaps you can ask, ‘Why haven’t they changed already? What’s stopping them?’

This book offers a range of powerful techniques for anyone who wants to catalyse change.

Whether you're trying to change one person, transform an organisation or shift the way an entire industry operates a business, this book will teach you how to become a catalyst. Instead of pushing more heat on the accelerator, we should just release the parking brake – and the rest will follow.

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The Cold Start Problem Sep 29, 2022

The Cold Start Problem addresses how tech’s most successful products solved the dreaded ‘cold start problem’ by leveraging network effects to engage billions of users. In today’s climate, it’s easier to build tech software. However, launching and scaling new products and services remains challenging. Utilised by tech giants like Apple, Google and Microsoft, the network effects are a solution that allows emerging products to break through by attracting new users through viral growth and word of mouth.

But what exactly are network effects? How do teams create and build them into their products? How do products compete in a market if every player utilises the same approach? In this book, Andrew Chen draws on his experience and interviews with the CEOs and founding teams of LinkedIn, Twitch, Zoom, Dropbox, Tinder, Uber, Airbnb, and Pinterest to offer valuable insights that answer these questions.

The Cold Start Problem reveals what makes winning networks thrive, why some startups fail to scale successfully, and, most crucially, why products that create and compete using the network effect method are important today.

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When Sep 22, 2022

This week, Ashto and Jonesy discover the art and science of perfect timing and learn how they guide you towards more successful outcomes. Drawn from Daniel H. Pink’s research on psychology, biology and economics, When reveals useful guidance on working smarter and living better by relying on the right timing to build the ideal schedule. How do certain breaks improve student test scores dramatically? Why should we avoid going to the hospital in the afternoon? What is the ideal time to change jobs or get married?

We know that timing is everything, but in this book, Pink shows us that everything is timing. We aim to improve our lives by seeking guidance from self-help books, which teach us how to acquire new skills and knowledge. So why not consider When as the guide to knowing when to apply what you’ve learned in your life?

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How Innovation Works Sep 15, 2022

This week, Ashto and Jonesy redefine the reasoning and motivation behind innovation through How Innovation Works by Matt Ridley. In this book, Ridley argues that innovation is a process that turns existing inventions into practical and affordable solutions for other people.

But do we understand the true core of innovation and the best way to encourage it? Do we set targets, rules, and standards along with direct research? Or do we deregulate from these expectations and set people free? The pivotal factor that usually kickstarts an innovation remains mysterious until today. No economist or social scientist can fully explain why and when innovation happens.

To explain the process of innovation, Ridley refers to a wide range of innovation examples, including jet engines, potatoes, coffee, vaccines, toilets, vacuum cleaners, social media, artificial intelligence, and more. Through these fascinating case studies, Ridley dissects how each innovation started and why it succeeded or failed.

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Sprint Sep 08, 2022

This week, Ashto and Jonesy learn about Google Ventures’ unique five-day process of product prototyping and testing ideas with customers. A bestseller that touches on business strategy, innovation, behavioural science, design, and more, Sprint includes a step-by-step process that any startup team can utilise for their project. This book presents a preview of the future through a finished product and customer reactions, giving startups an opportunity to assess the potential of a product before making any expensive commitments.

Identifying critical flaws in your projects in just five days of work is the height of efficiency. Sprint is a practical guide that helps minimise the failure rate and save companies weeks or months of money, effort, and heartache. Sprint is about learning “the hard way” without actually experiencing the hard way.

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Effortless Sep 01, 2022

This week, Ashto and Jonesy learn practical strategies to ease the process of completing essential tasks from the instant NYT bestseller Effortless. As implied by the title, this book is a guide that offers alternative solutions to lighten the struggle of completing your tasks. Proposed by Greg Mckeown, these strategies include: removing unnecessary steps, prioritising progress over perfection, and identifying the finish line of your project.

Hard work can produce better results, but there’s a limit to how much time and effort we can invest in a project. Effortless offers you preventative measures that help you avoid burnout and, instead, be more productive with your time and energy to achieve excellent results.

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Why Buddhism Is True Aug 25, 2022

This week, Ashto and Jonesy venture on a journey through psychology, philosophy, and meditation practices and learn how Buddhism encourages moral clarity and enduring happiness. Written by Robert Wright, Why Buddhism Is True uses the concept of evolutionary psychology and progressive neuroscience to explain the relevance of Buddhist philosophy in improving our lives. According to Wright, Buddhism presents an opportunity to liberate ourselves from the delusions in our minds. How do we stay consistent with our mindfulness practice? Like Neo in The Matrix, You can start by imagining your meditation as a rebellion against an oppressive overlord – the natural selection that perpetrates the delusion to compel you as a slave to its agenda.

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Games People Play Aug 18, 2022

Do you realise that you and all the people you know play games with each other – all the time? It can be sexual games with a love interest, competitive games with our friends, power games with our boss, or marital games with our spouse. Regardless of the subject matter or the setting, these games are deeply integrated into our daily lives that we become oblivious to them. Developed by Eric Berne, Games People Play is an original, wise, and witty analysis of the psychology behind human relationships through these phenomena. This week, Ashto and Jonesy delve into Berne’s investigation and learn how we actively or unconsciously participate in such a competitive form of social interaction.

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A Hunter-Gatherer's Guide To The 21st Century Aug 11, 2022

This week, Ashto and Jonesy investigate the tension between our evolutionary history and modern problems and how we can resolve this issue. Although we live through the most flourishing age in human history, we are lifeless and divided. In A Hunter-Gatherer’s Guide to Modern History, evolutionary biologists Heather Heying and Bret Weinstein pinpoint the accelerating rate of change in the modern world as the leading cause that overtakes our brain capacity and body's ability to adapt.

In this book, Heying and Weinstein refer to their decades of work exploring earth’s most biodiverse ecosystems to challenge today’s social concerns. This book reveals a science-based perspective you can follow to improve your quality of life.

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Small Giants Aug 04, 2022

This week, Ashto and Jonesy learn how fourteen remarkable companies maintain a successful, profitable business by redefining the conventional business strategies. In Small Giants, veteran journalist Bo Burlingham introduces alternative approaches these companies have taken to stay powerful. By rejecting the pressure to grow revenue, they focus on other fulfilling business goals, including creating a great place to work, providing excellent customer service, or contributing to their local communities. From Small Giants, we can learn how to redefine the meaning of success and understand the benefits we can reap from staying true to our core values.

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Leonardo da Vinci Jul 28, 2022

This week, Jonesy and Ashto learn to define creativity from Walter Isaacson’s Leonardo da Vinci. In this critically acclaimed biography, Isaacson writes a narrative that connects Leonardo’s brilliant artistry to his passion for science. He illustrates how Leonardo developed his expertise based on skills we can improve in ourselves, including passionate curiosity, careful observation, and a playful imagination. Just like many other great innovators, Leonardo’s creativity was born from having wide-ranging passions, the ease of being a misfit, and a willingness to inquire about existing knowledge to acquire new knowledge.

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The Changing World Order Jul 21, 2022

This week, Ashto and Jonesy delve into history’s most turbulent economic and political periods through the New York Times bestseller Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order. In this book, the legendary investor and author of Principles Ray Dalio immerses us in his study of major empires and compares the successes and failures of all the world’s major countries throughout history. With 50 years of experience in studying global economies and markets, Dalio reveals the timeless and universal forces behind these shifts and uses them to predict our future. Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order is an extremely insightful book that offers the practical principles to prepare ourselves for future monumental events.

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The Four Hour Chef Jul 14, 2022

This week, Jonesy and Ashto venture into Tim Ferriss’ world of rapid learning through the bestselling The 4-Hour Chef. In this book, Ferriss uses cooking methods to explain a process that we can follow to master anything–whether it’s searing a steak in the kitchen or shooting the perfect basketball shot. With tips and tricks from chess prodigies, world-renowned chefs, pro athletes, and more successful figures, The 4-Hour Chef is a helpful guide to mastering life. Ferriss takes you through the art and science of learning through 5 main points that include:

Meta-learning
The Domestic
The Wild
The Scientist
The Professional

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Tuesdays With Morrie Jul 07, 2022

Whether it’s your grandparent, a teacher, or someone older and wise, you’ve probably met an influential figure who understood you when you were young and searching for answers in life. For Mitch Alborn, that person was his old college professor Morrie Schwartz. Mitch was fortunate to have a second chance of gleaning from his wisdom during Morrie’s last months of life. He would visit Morrie in his study every Tuesday, and each visit would turn into a lesson in living life.

‘Taking just makes me feel like I’m dying. Giving makes me feel like I’m living,’ Morrie responded when Mitch questioned his unwillingness to accept sympathy from other people. Tuesdays with Morrie is packed with valuable lessons including how to forgive, be compassionate towards others, and live life live as if it’s your last day. With 15 million copies sold worldwide, Morrie’s presence and lessons continue to influence people through this book.

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Atlas Of The Heart Jun 30, 2022

In Atlas of the Heart, Dr Brene Brown takes us on a journey through the 87 emotions and experiences that define the meaning of being human. Drawn from extensive research over the past two decades, Atlas of the Heart provides an overview of the necessary skills and actionable framework for building meaningful connections.

The natural gift of cultivating meaningful connections with others involves having an equally deep relationship with ourselves and being able to explore without the fear of getting lost. Brown hopes that Atlas of the Heart can be the map that guides our adventurous hearts back to our truest selves when we have no idea where we are or where we’re going.

With insights that have defined what it means to be courageous with our lives, Atlas of the Heart is a must-read for anyone looking to be more emotionally fluent and connected.

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The Best Of Season 6 May 26, 2022

Grab a free sample of our book: https://www.whatyouwilllearn.com/theshit/

Buy a copy for yourself: http://theshittheynevertaughtyou.com/

Grab our free download, the top 50 best books of all time: https://www.whatyouwilllearn.com/top50

Email us any time at podcast@whatyouwilllearn.com

Get in touch at https://www.whatyouwilllearn.com/contact-us/

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How To Change May 19, 2022

Drawn on Milkman’s research and the work of her scientific collaborators, How to Change introduces strategic methods for identifying and overcoming obstacles that hinder change. Habits such as impulsivity, procrastination, and forgetfulness often hold us back from making positive changes in our lives. Through various case studies and engaging stories, this book will teach you the following points:

• Why timing can be everything when it comes to making a change

• How to turn temptation and inertia into assets

• That giving advice—even if it's about something you're struggling with—can help you achieve more

How to Change helps you diagnose the internal obstacles you face and explores solutions that may help you succeed in changing for the better. This book reveals a proven path that can take you from where you are to where you want to be.

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Surrounded By Idiots May 12, 2022

Surrounded by Idiots shares a groundbreaking new method of understanding the people around you. Ranging from your coworkers to your spouse, this book will change how you interact with everyone

In this book, Thomas Erikson explains four key behaviour types that define how we interact with and perceive the people around us. Reds who are dominant and commanding, Yellows who are social and optimistic, Greens who are laid back and friendly, and Blues who are analytical and detail-oriented.

The purpose of Surrounded by Idiots is to highlight that no group should be composed solely of individuals of the same type. Diversity is the best way to put a group of people together and achieve decent dynamics.

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The Richest Man In Babylon May 05, 2022

Hailed as the ultimate guidance through your financial problems, The Richest Man in Babylon reveals important financial principles that hold the key to personal wealth.

The Richest Man in Babylon teaches us seven financial rules, using parables set 8,000 years ago in ancient Babylonia with a protagonist named Arkad. Arkad started his journey as a poor scribe but became the Richest Man in Babylon in the end. Told in simple language and engaging stories, The Richest Man in Babylon will set you on a sure path to prosperity and its accompanying joys.

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The Innovators Dilemma Apr 28, 2022

The Innovator's Dilemma is the revolutionary business book that has forever changed corporate America.

Why is success so difficult to sustain? When you look across the sweep of business history, most companies that once seemed successful would downgrade their position in the market a decade or two later. The Innovator's Dilemma is based on a truly radical idea—that great companies can fail precisely because they do everything right.

That's why we call it the innovator's dilemma. The dilemma rears its head when a type of disruptive technology arises at the low end of the market. In the most straightforward and unassuming application, explaining this paradox is the purpose of this book.

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Six Thinking Hats Apr 21, 2022

Used successfully by thousands of business managers, educators, and government leaders around the world, Six thinking hats is a model that allows your brain to go through practical and unique approaches to make decisions and explore new ideas.

Six thinking hats also depersonalise arguments and allow teams to work collaboratively. Named by Dr De Bono as ‘Parallel Thinking’, this method enables each person to look at all sides of a situation and fully explore the subject before coming to a mutual decision. The emphasis here is not on who wins and who loses but on designing a path forward for everyone.

In this book, Dr De Bono unscrambles the thinking process with his six thinking hats:

WHITE HAT: neutral and objective, concerned with facts and figures
RED HAT: the emotional view
BLACK HAT: careful and cautious, the devil's advocate hat
YELLOW HAT: sunny and positive
GREEN HAT: associated with fertile growth, creativity and new ideas
BLUE HAT: cool, the colour of the sky, above everything else-the organising hat

Through case studies and real-life examples, Dr De Bono offers a simple tool that may provide you with clearer thinking, improved communication and greater creativity to make better decisions.

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Doughnut Economics Apr 14, 2022

In Doughnut Economics, Oxford academic Kate Raworth lays out the 7 deadly mistakes of economics and offers a radical re-envisioning of the system that has brought us to the point of ruin. Moving beyond the myths of ‘rational economic man’ and unlimited growth, Doughnut Economics zeroes in on the sweet spot: a system that meets all our needs without exhausting the planet.

In this week’s episode, Jonesy and Ashto discover the 7 ways of thinking like a 21st-century economist. These ideas don't lay out specific policy prescriptions or institutional fixes, nor do they offer immediate solutions. However, these ideas are fundamental to developing the revolutionary economic mindset that this century demands. In the decades ahead, the task for economic thinkers in the 21st century is to practise these 7 ideas and potentially innovate the list.

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The Goal Apr 07, 2022

The Goal is about new global principles of manufacturing. It's about people who try to understand what makes their world tick so that they can make it better. As they think logically and consistently about the problems, they are able to determine cause and effect relationships between their actions and the results.

Developed by Eli Goldratt, The Goal contains a serious message for all managers in the industry and explains the ideas, which underline the Theory of Constraints (TOC). Goldratt believes that the goal of an individual or an organisation shouldn’t be defined in absolute terms. A good definition of a goal is one that sets us on a path of ongoing improvement. Pursuing such a goal necessitates more than one breakthrough—if anything, it requires many.

In this week’s episode, Jonesy and Ashton identify the breakthroughs that we should have to understand the underlying rules of our environment, and hopefully help us elevate the constraints in our personal or professional life.

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Positioning Mar 31, 2022

Positioning reveals that advertising has entered a new era: The Positioning Era. Having the best product or the most creative ads is no longer the key to success. To succeed in today's overcommunicated society, a company must create and claim a position in the prospect's mind. A position that will take into account not only the company's strengths but also its competitor's weaknesses.

In Positioning, advertising gurus Ries and Trout explain how to:

Make and position an industry leader so that its name and message wheedles its way into the collective subconscious of your market and stays there
Position a follower so that it can occupy a niche not claimed by the leader
Avoid letting a second product ride on the coattails of an established one.

In this week’s episode, Jonesy and Ashto investigate important strategies that may position your business brand in the mind of your prospective customers and make it a household name.

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Lying Mar 24, 2022

In Lying, best-selling author and neuroscientist Sam Harris argues that we can radically simplify our lives and improve society by merely telling the truth in situations where others often lie.

Lying is almost by definition a refusal to cooperate with others. It condenses a lack of trust and trustworthiness into a single act. It is the failure of understanding and willingness to be understood. To lie is to recoil from a relationship.

How would your relationships change if you resolved to never lie again? What truth about yourself might suddenly reveal itself? What kind of person would you become? And how might you change the people around you? Is it worth finding out?

In this week’s episode, Jonesy and Ashto explore the underlying reasons why we lie and the impacts of lying on ourselves and those around us.

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Upheaval Mar 17, 2022

Upheaval is the third book in Jared Diamond’s Civilisations Rise and Fall series. Upheaval reveals how successful nations recover from crises while adopting selective changes. Diamond presents and compares how 6 countries have survived major crises–from the forced opening of Japan by U.S. Commodore Perry’s fleet to the Soviet Union’s attack on Inland to a murderous coup or countercoup in Chile and Indonesia to the transformations of Germany and Australia after WW2.

Upheaval reveals factors that influence how both whole nations and individual people can respond to big challenges. In this week’s episode, Jonesy and Ashto discover that successful crisis management requires selective change. The challenge is for a nation or individual to reflect on their identities, recognise what’s functioning and what’s not, and take imperative actions to improve the situation.

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How Will You Measure Your Life? Mar 10, 2022

How Will You Measure Your Life? is full of inspiration and wisdom that will help students, mid-career professionals, and parents alike forge their own paths to fulfilment.

In this book, the world’s leading thinker on innovation and New York Times bestselling author of The Innovator’s Dilemma Clayton M. Christensen suggests 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, Christensen provides incredible insights into these challenging questions.

In this week’s episode, Jonesy and Ashto discuss Christensen’s approach to finding happiness in our careers, relationships and family.

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How The Mighty Fall Mar 03, 2022

How do great companies fall? Can we detect a potential decline earlier and avoid it? How far can a company fall before the path towards doom becomes inevitable? Is this something reversible?

How the Mighty Fall offers responses to these questions, which offer leaders a well-founded hope that they can learn to prevent decline or alter their course. The author Jim Collins conducted a research project on this topic for four years and discovered the ultimate 5 step-wise stages of decline—in hope of providing a guidance to leaders on reducing their risks of falling all the way to the bottom.

As long as we never get entirely knocked out of the game, hope always remains. The mighty can fall, but they can often rise again.

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Skin In The Game Feb 24, 2022

Skin In The Game is about the distortions of symmetry and reciprocity in life. If you have the rewards, you must also get some of the risks and not let others pay the price of your mistakes.

In Skin In The Game, Nassim Nicholas Taleb explains how the willingness of accepting one’s own risks is an important quality of heroes, saints and successful people in all walks of life.

Utilising examples from Hammurabi to Seneca and Antaeus the Giant to Donald Trump, Taleb shows us that having skin in the game is the backbone of risk management.

No muscles without strength. No friendship without trust. No Teaching without experience. No life without effort. Skin in the game applies to all aspects of our lives because it helps us to learn and understand the world.

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Screw It, Let's Do It Feb 17, 2022

In Screw It, Let’s Do It, the Virgin Group founder Richard Branson shares all the important lessons, good advice and inspirational adages that have helped him along the road to success.

An ultimate lesson that Branson learned is the following motto: ‘If you want something, just do it.’

From starting a student magazine to forming a chain of record stores and launching an airline, Branson managed to establish the Virgin Group that we all know today.

The Virgin Group is one of the world’s most valuable brands, spreading across several industry sectors like travel, telecommunications, health, banking, music and leisure.

Branson never went into business to make money. Whenever anyone asks Branson how they can make money, he always tells them the same thing: ‘There is no secret, and there are no rules to follow in business. You just have to work hard. Believe that you can do it and have fun!’

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Debbie Millman Feb 13, 2022

Debbie Milman is a writer, designer, educator, artist, brand consultant and host of the podcast Design Matters. She is one of the OG's of podcasting, going at it for over 15 years. She has been named as one of the most influential graphic designers working today.

Her book Design Matters contains interviews and essays from her long journey in design, interviewing and podcasting.

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Hold Me Tight Feb 10, 2022

In Hold Me Tight, Dr. Sue Johnson presents the concept of Emotionally Focused Therapy–which helps reestablish safe emotional connection and preserve the attachment bond in relationships.

Love has always been a mystical elusive emotion for many of us. It should come as no surprise that people recently surveyed in Western societies rate a satisfying love relationship as their number one goal. Thankfully, within the past few decades, an exciting understanding of love is emerging.

In this book, Johnson focuses on pivotal moments in a relationship. She uses touch points such as “Recognising the Demon dialogue” or “Revisiting a Rockey Moment” for 7 healing conversations. Through stories from Dr. Johnson's practice, illuminating advice, and practical exercises, you will learn how to nurture, protect, and grow your relationship, ensuring a lifetime of love.

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Lifespan Feb 03, 2022

There is a big difference between EXTENDING LIFE and PROLONGING VITALITY. We're capable of both - but "extending life" - simply keeping people alive - decades after their lives have become defined by pain, disease, frailty and immobility is no virtue

"Prolonged vitality" meaning not just more years of life, but more active, healthy and happy ones is coming and its coming sooner than most people expect. By the time people who are born today have reached middle age, these changes should be here. And in the next century, a person who is 122 might say they've lived a full but not a particularly long life. 120 years might not be an outlier but an expectation

So much so we don't call it longevity. We simply call it life. What's the upward limit? There isn't one. There is no biological law that says we must age. Prolonged healthy lifespans are in sight.

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Bullsh*t Jobs Jan 27, 2022

Everyone is probably familiar with some job at your workplace which is the butt of the jokes: the jobs with a fancy title (and probably the juicy pay packet) but they seem to do nothing. They don’t seem like they don't really play any vital role. The more you think about it, the more you'll realise that this list is seemingly endless…

So the Author started thinking, are these jobs REALLY useless? And if they are, are the people those those jobs just blissfully ignorant, or do they know that their job is bullshit too?

There are plenty of jobs we can label “bullshit” - jobs that don’t actually contribute anything of positive value to society, jobs where people just show up and put in their time but aren’t actually doing things that make the world a better place. Listening to this episode, you’ll hear stories about all kinds of bullshit jobs. They’re funny to laugh at, but if you take a long hard look in the mirror, you might find elements of bullshit in your job too…

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The Now Habit Jan 20, 2022

Procrastination.

It is a problem that we all have in some areas of our lives. Be it balancing the budget, filling a legal brief, or painting the spare bedroom - anything we have delayed in favour of more pressing or pleasurable pursuits. We all have tasks and goals we attempt to delay - or totally escape.

Procrastinators still get most of these tasks and projects completed on time and in good order... but the pressure and the stress they accumulate along the journey causes unnecessary anxiety and diminishes the quality of the end result.

This book offers a solution - a cure for procrastination. Whether you are a professional, an entrepreneur, a middle manager, a writer, or a student who wants to overcome problems with procrastination (or if you simply want to become more efficient in completing complex and challenging tasks) - we hope this episode will help you get results.

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Feel The Fear And Do It Anyway Jan 13, 2022

Feel The Fear And Do It Anyway - by Susan Jeffers

Fear seems to be epidemic in our society. We fear beginnings, We fear endings. We fear changing, we fear staying stuck. We fear success, we fear failure. We fear living, we fear dying.

What is it for you? Fear of public speaking? Fear of asserting yourself? Fear of making decisions? Fear of intimacy? Fear of changing jobs? Fear of being alone? Fear of aging? Fear of driving? Fear of losing a loved one? Fear of ending a relationship?

It turns out that while all of these fears seem completely different, they actually all boil down to one root cause. In this episode, we dissect fear, we strip it back to is most basic component, then provide ways to overcome that fear and move forward with your life.

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The Psychology of Money Jan 06, 2022

In The Psychology of Money, Morgan Housel shares 19 short stories exploring the strange ways people think about money. Financial success is a soft skill where how you behave is more important than what you know.

A genius who loses control of their emotions can be a financial disaster. Ordinary folks with no financial education can be wealthy if they have a handful of behavioural skills that have nothing to do with formal measures of intelligence.

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The Best Of 2021 Dec 30, 2021

Our annual tradition, recapping our favourite 10 books we've read in the second half of 2021. We share our faves, the best snippet from each, and try to remain coherent as we proceed with our own end-of-year celebrations (these can tend to get a little sloppy towards the end...)

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The Peter Principle Dec 16, 2021

Many people are competent at their job, and eventually get promoted. Then, competence in that new position qualifies them for yet another promotion. This happens until the point they are no longer competent and no longer eligible for the next promotion. That means you are also at risk of hitting the point of incompetence! This concept is named The Peter Principle.

So, given enough time, and assuming there are enough ranks in the heirarchy, each employee may rise to their level of incompetence and gets stuck.

The authors of this book analyse this phenomena and tell you how to achieve a state of wellbeing by avoiding that unwanted promotion.

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No Rules Rules Dec 09, 2021

Tapping into Netflix's work culture, No Rules Rules explains the philosophy behind one of the world's most successful companies. This book is an overview of how Netflix co-founder and CEO Reed Hastings built a culture that focused on freedom and responsibility. Hastings set new standards such as valuing people over process; emphasizing innovation over efficiency; and giving employees context, not controls.

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The Inner Game Of Tennis Dec 02, 2021

The Inner Game of Tennis book isn't just about tennis. In this book, W. Timothy Galleway uses anecdotes of tennis games to illustrate the tools we need to improve our performance in any activity. Focus in tennis is fundamentally no different from the focus needed to perform any task.

The Inner Game of Tennis reveals how to:

- Focus your mind to overcome nervousness, self-doubt, and distractions

- Find the state of relaxed concentration that allows you to play at your best

- Build skills by smart practice, then put it all together in match play.

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The Precipice Nov 25, 2021

If all goes well, human history is just the beginning. Humanity is about two hundred thousand years old, but the Earth will remain habitable for hundreds of millions more. Enough time for millions of future generations, enough to end disease, poverty and injustice forever and enough to create heights of flourishing unimaginable today.

Such a lifespan places present-day humanity in its earliest infancy. A vast and extraordinary adulthood awaits.

This book argues that safeguarding Humanity's future is the defining challenge of our time. For we stand at a crucial moment in the history of our species. Fuelled by technological progress, our power has grown so great that for the first time in humanity's long history

We have the capacity to destroy ourselves. Severing our entire future and everything we could become.

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The 5 Levels Of Leadership Nov 18, 2021

The 5 Levels of Leadership provides the ultimate leadership GPS to guide your career journey. In this book, John C. Maxwell identifies 5 levels of leadership and how to maximise them.

As you progress in your leadership abilities, you move up to a higher level. But instead of trading one level for another, you need to build upon it. Don’t leave the lessons from your previous experiences behind!

This book is the guide that will help you make the most of your professional experience—regardless of where you are right now.

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Ryan Holiday: Virtues, Courage, and All Things Books Nov 15, 2021

Ryan Holiday joins us on the show to talk about all things books.

We've covered five of his books on the podcast before (Perennial Seller, The Obstacle Is The Way, Ego Is The Enemy, Stillness Is The Key, Courage Is Calling) so we were able to dig a little deeper into his writing and his career.

Check out more Ryan Holiday here: https://ryanholiday.net/

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Courage Is Calling Nov 11, 2021

There is nothing we prize more than courage. But courage is not a precious stone like a diamond that takes a billion years to create, nor oil that must be drawn from deep underground.

Courage is something much simpler. It’s renewable. It’s everywhere. It's something that we are capable of at a moment's notice. There are unlimited, even daily opportunities for it everywhere. And yet it remains so rare. Why?

Because we are afraid. It's easier not to get involved. We have something else we're working on and now is not a good time. An understandable logic, but if everyone thought that way, what's left?

In an ugly world, courage is what allows beautiful things to happen.

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Robert Greene: The Daily Laws Nov 08, 2021

Robert Greene is back! Not every day you get to speak to your favourite author. Robert Greene is author of books we've already reviewed on the podcast, including The Laws of Human Nature, Mastery, 48 Laws of Power, 33 Strategies of War (plus we'll do Seduction one day too).

His new book, The Daily Laws is like a 'greatest hits' album, giving you a powerful punch for each day of the year.

In this episode we get to delve deeper into some of the best ideas in his books. He's a weapon. Enjoy!

Find more about Robert Greene and all of his books here: http://powerseductionandwar.com/

And check out all of his social channels here: http://robertgreeneofficial.com/

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The Effective Executive Nov 04, 2021

The Effective Executive - by Peter Drucker

'The Definitive Guide to Getting the Right Things Done'

Written in 1967, the principles in this book still hold strong today. Simple ideas presented in this book can have a substantial impact on your effectiveness, like focusing on results and contribution, managing your time before managing your tasks, and focusing on opportunities rather than problems.

The 8 questions or practices of an Effective Executive:

ask, ‘What needs to be done?’
ask, ‘What is right for the enterprise?’
develop action plans
take responsibility for their decisions
take responsibility for communicating
focus on opportunities rather than problems
run productive meetings
think and say "we" rather than "I"

The 5 Habits of an Effective Executive:

Know where your time goes
Focus on outward contribution
Build on strengths
Concentrate on the few major areas where superior performance will produce outstanding results
Make effective decisions

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The Medici Effect Oct 28, 2021

Whether we like it or not, the process of innovation is dictated by random combinations of different concepts. Individuals and teams who often break new ground know this and therefore maximise their chances of finding intersectional ideas. They do it by introducing diversity into their occupations, teams, and encounters.

Frans Johansson has named this concept ‘The Medici Effect’ after the Medicis, the 15th Century banking family in Florence, Italy. The Medicis funded creators from a wide range of disciplines and brought sculptors, scientists, poets, philosophers, financiers, painters, and architects to converge on the city of Florence. This was the beginning of The Renaissance—a period where knowledge and creativity were advancing.

This book will show you how to find such intersectional ideas and make them happen. It isn't just about the Medici family or the Renaissance era. It's about the elements that made that era possible.

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Enlightenment Now Oct 21, 2021

In Enlightenment Now, Steven Pinker explains the impact of Enlightenment values – reason, science, and humanism – on the world. These values were instrumental in moving society forward, and Pinker worries that they are under threat.

Humans have achieved a whole bunch of cool shit over the ages. Unfortunately, we take it for granted. Progress has a very funny way of erasing its tracks as we move forward as a species.

The local supermarket is overflowing with food. You’ve got clean water on tap. You drop your waste in the toilet, and with a click of a button, it vanishes. We have pills that demolish painful infections, planes to take us to the other side of the world, cheap energy to pop the lights on, and you have all of the world's knowledge inside your pocket.

We assume these things are birthrights, forgetting that they're human accomplishments. At some stage in history, a person worked on solving these problems and drove our society forward.

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Humour, Seriously Oct 14, 2021

Humour, Seriously - by Jennifer Aaker & Naomi Bagdonas

Why Humour Is A Superpower At Work And In Life (And How Anyone Can Harness It... Even You)

Everyone loves a laugh. We like to watch funny movies, listen to entertaining podcasts, go to comedy festivals to watch stand up or improv. But that's all in our personal lives... surely in our professional lives there's less room for jokes? Surely the workplace should be a little more "serious" if we want to be productive and effective?

Well, it turns out that humour isn't something that stands in your way at work - it's something that can actually help you BECOME more productive and effective. Humour at work can deepen relationships, make people more effective and more joyful at work, and fundamentally transform companies from somewhere "serious" to something more enjoyable.

This book Is About blending the behavioural science of humour with principles of comedy and applying them in a way that would actually be useful in business and work.

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Steven Pressfield: Battling The Resistance To Find Our Calling In Life Oct 11, 2021

What an honour to be able to speak with Steven Pressfield.

He's the author of three awesome books that we've covered on the podcast previously: The War of Art, Turning Pro, and Do The Work.

Plus he's the author of MANY more books, both fiction and non-fiction, and was the screenwriter for a bunch of Hollywood movies.

Find more about him and his work at: https://stevenpressfield.com/

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Do The Work Oct 07, 2021

Do The Work - by Steven Pressfield

This book (and this podcast episode) is designed to coach you through a project from conception to finished product. Be that a book, a ballet, a new business venture, a philanthropic enterprise, we’re going to see it from the perspective of The Resistance (that evil counterproductive force that Pressfield made famous in his other books that we’ve previously covered on the podcast, The War of Art and Turning Pro).

We'll hit every predictable Resistance Point along the way. Those junctures where fear, self-sabotage, procrastination, self-doubt, and all those other demons we're all so familiar with can be counted upon to strike. Where butts need to be kicked, we'll kick them. Where kinder, gentler methods are called for, we'll get out the kid gloves.

Strap in for the ride, then get started on your project. Do The Work!

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The Almanack Of Naval Ravikant Sep 30, 2021

‘I like to think that if I lost all my money and you dropped me on a random street in any English speaking country, I'd be wealthy again within 5-10 years. Because it's just a skill I've developed and anyone can develop.’ — Naval Ravikant

Naval Ravikant is an entrepreneur, philosopher, and investor who has captivated the world with his principles for building wealth and creating long-term happiness.

Inspired by his experience throughout the last decade, Naval Ravikant shares his principles for getting rich in this book.

The Almanack of Naval Ravikant will teach you how to get rich without getting lucky. Making money isn’t just a mandatory task to survive, but it is a skill that you learn. Getting rich is about knowing what to do, who to do it with, and when to do it.

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Mo Gawdat: Solve For Happy & The Opportunities and Threats of Artificial Intelligence Sep 27, 2021

Mo Gawdat is the author of the book Solve For Happy, plus the brand new book Scary Smart.

His first book, Solve For Happy, was all about an engineering applying a logical, mathematical lens to finding happiness. After an enormously successful career at IBM, Microsoft and Google, he looked in the mirror and realised that he wasn’t happy. A personal tragedy led to him looking for an equation for happiness.

His next book, Scary Smart, talks about the rise of Artificial Intelligence. It looks into what is coming in the not-too-distant future, and what it may mean for we humans.

Find out more about Mo and his books here: https://www.mogawdat.com/

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Karma Sep 23, 2021

Karma is the natural basis of all existence. Karma is about becoming the source of one's own creation. It makes each one of us squarely responsible for our own destinies and above all, the nature of our experience in life. It doesn't allow us to blame our parents, teachers, our countries, our politicians, our gods, or our fates.

Are you ready to hear about a dimension that is so empowering that it tells you that you’re fully capable of taking the reins of your life into your own hands?

If you are willing to find out how the mechanism works, this book is the key. Once you are at the wheel, your experience of the ride will never be the same again. It is important to remember that karma isn’t a doctrine.

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Your Music And People Sep 16, 2021

Your Music and People is a philosophy of building recognisable work by being creative, considerate, resourceful and connected. Derived from his experience as a founder of CD Baby, an online distributor of digital music, Derek Sivers shares the guideline to build your career as an artist from a business perspective. Even though the context of Your Music and People mainly focuses on the music industry, this book is beneficial for anyone who looks to start their career.

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Kara Goldin: Undaunted Entrepreneurship Sep 13, 2021

Kara Goldin is the founder and CEO of Hint Water. She used to drink 10 cans of diet soda a day, and found herself 45 pounds overweight with terrible acne and no energy. Making one change in her diet - swapping diet soda for flavoured water - she was able to turn her health. Then, after some experiments at her kitchen table, she "accidentally" founded a 9-figure brand.

In this episode, we speak about creating opportunities in your career (not finding opportunities, but creating them), we speak about the transition from employee to entrepreneur, and of course we discuss book recommendations at the end.

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The Drama Of The Gifted Child Sep 09, 2021

The Drama of the Gifted Child explores how repressed emotions from our childhood can impact our mental wellbeing in the future.

We can’t change our past, but we can change ourselves. We can gain our lost integrity by looking more closely at the knowledge inside our bodies and bringing them closer to our awareness. Most people continue to live in their repressed childhood situation, fearing and avoiding dangers that haven’t been real for a long time.

The term 'Gifted Child' refers to children who are able to survive a difficult childhood. And in this book, Alice Miller helps those children to reclaim their lives by discovering their own truth and needs.

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The Upside Of Irrationality Sep 02, 2021

Dan Ariely found that not only are we IRRATIONAL (pick the wrong things that don't give us maximum benefit), we're also PREDICTABLY irrational (we make the same mistakes for the same reasons all the time).

The Upside of Irrationality looks at how these irrationalities impact us at home and at work.

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33 Strategies Of War (Part 3) Aug 26, 2021

Success and failures in life are often determined by our ability to manage conflicts. When conflict arises, what is your response? If we aren’t dealing with conflict rationally, it could very well make the situation worse.

When you are forced to fight, you can aim for the ‘Strategic Warrior’ ideal. Consider your long-term goals, and then choose your fights wisely. This is for those who want to solve their issues through intelligent maneuvers—thinking of the long term goals and deciding which fights to avoid and which are inevitable.

In part 3 of this 3 part series, we look at the strategies:

Strategy 33 Fact and Fiction
Strategy 25 occupy the moral high ground
Strategy 30 Communication strategies
The 6 fundamental ideals for turning yourself into a strategic warrior

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33 Strategies Of War (Part 2) Aug 22, 2021

Success and failures in life are often determined by our ability to manage conflicts. When conflict arises, what is your response? If we aren’t dealing with conflict rationally, it could very well make the situation worse.

When you are forced to fight, you can aim for the ‘Strategic Warrior’ ideal. Consider your long-term goals, and then choose your fights wisely. This is for those who want to solve their issues through intelligent maneuvers—thinking of the long term goals and deciding which fights to avoid and which are inevitable.

In part 2 of this 3 part series, we look at the strategies:

Pick your battles carefully
Create a threatening presence
Lose the battle, win the war
Know your enemy, the intelligence strategy
Manoeuvre them into weakness
Know your enemy

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33 Strategies Of War (Part 1) Aug 19, 2021

Success and failures in life are often determined by our ability to manage conflicts. When conflict arises, what is your response? If we aren’t dealing with conflict rationally, it could very well make the situation worse.

When you are forced to fight, you can aim for the ‘Strategic Warrior’ ideal. Consider your long-term goals, and then choose your fights wisely. This is for those who want to solve their issues through intelligent maneuvers—thinking of the long term goals and deciding which fights to avoid and which are inevitable.

In Part 1 of this 3 part series, we look at the strategies:

Declare war
Do not fight the last war
The death ground strategy
The command and control strategy
Morale strategies

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How To Avoid A Climate Crisis Aug 12, 2021

There are two numbers you need to know about climate change:

The first is 51 billion and the second is 0.

51 billion is how many tons of greenhouse gases the world typically adds into the atmosphere every year. Although the figure goes up or down year to year, this is where we are today. Zero, is what we need to aim for. To stop warming and avoid the worst effects of climate change.

It sounds difficult, because it will be. The world has never done anything quite as big. Every country will need to change how they engage in every activity in modern life – because growing things, industry activities, travelling around places involve greenhouse gases release.

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Think Again Aug 05, 2021

Think Again by Adam Grant - The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know

This book is an invitation to let go of knowledge and opinions that are no longer serving you well and to anchor your sense of self in flexibility rather than consistency. If you can master the art of rethinking, you'll be better positioned for success at work and happiness in life.

Thinking again can help you generate new solutions to old problems and revisit old solutions to new problems. It’s a path to learning more from the people around you and living with fewer regrets.

A hallmark of wisdom is knowing when it's time to abandon some of your most treasured tools and some of the most cherished parts of your identity .

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Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance Jul 29, 2021

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is the self-told story of a middle-aged man and his son, Chris, who go on a motorcycling trip accompanied by an adult couple. The man describes what it is like to hear the wind moving across the plains, to see birds rise up from marshes next to the road, to ride through a ferocious storm, and to breath the fresh air of a mountain above the tree line.

The author shows us that we won't live a great life by pursuing the answers through the rational mind only. If we can find a way to accept the abstract art, hippies and out-there thinkers, the world can be saved from the dullness of its mental structures. Paradoxically, accepting the unreasonable could be the lifeblood to our culture that is based on reason.

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The Tipping Point Jul 22, 2021

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell is about understanding the notion of virality.

What exactly triggers the emergence of fashion trends, the ebb and flow of crime waves, or the phenomena of “word of mouth”? Gladwell suggests that the best way to understand any of these is to think of them as epidemics. Ideas, products, messages and behaviours spread just like viruses do. The tipping point is that one dramatic moment in an epidemic where everything can change all at once.

The point of all of this is to answer two simple questions that might help us accomplish success in our lives.

Why is it that some ideas start epidemics and others don't?
What can we do to deliberately start and control positive epidemics of our own?

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What I Know For Sure Jul 15, 2021

In 1998, when Oprah was doing an interview for the movie Beloved, a film critic from the Chicago Sun Times asked her a question, “Tell me… What do you know for sure?”

It was such an expected and powerful question that she was at loss for words. But it prompted Oprah to spend months, years, and decades thinking about the possible answers. “What do I know for sure?” became a central question in her life, and she’s explored that question in her monthly column for 14 years.

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Daniel Kahneman: Nobel Prize winner teaches us how to think better Jul 12, 2021

We had the honour of speaking with Daniel Kahneman, author of 'Thinking, Fast and Slow' and 'Noise'.

Danny Kahneman won with 2002 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for "having integrated insights from psychological research into economic science, especially concerning human judgment and decision-making under uncertainty”.

His first book, 'Thinking, Fast And Slow', showed us two modes of thinking: System 1 ("fast", intuitive, non-cognitively demanding thinking), and System 2 ("slow", laborious, effortful thinking). It introduced us to many different biases and heuristics, mental shortcuts, that impede our judgement.

His new book, 'Noise', which he co-authored with Cass Sunstein and Olivier Sibony, we were introduced to another flaw in human judgement: Noise.

Biases are the consistent mistakes we make, Noise is the random errors. Both lead to errors in judgment and flaws in thinking.

In this episode, we discuss how we can all think better

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Noise Jul 08, 2021

In this book, Kahneman, Sibony, and Sunstein break down the concept of noise in human judgement and how it impacts our society.

Medicine is noisy. Faced with the same patient, different doctors make different judgments about the diagnosis.

Forecasts are noisy. Professional forecasters offer highly variable predictions. Whether it's about the popularity of a new product, the change in the unemployment rate, the likelihood of bankruptcy of a particular company, or the results of the next election.

Asylum decisions are noisy. Whether an asylum seeker will be admitted to the United States is like a lottery of which judge you get – some judges granted 5% of cases while others granted 88% of cases.

Wherever you look at human judgements, you are likely to find noises. In real-world decisions, the amount of noise is often scandalously high. So, to improve the quality of our judgments, we need to not only overcome bias but also overcome noise.

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Man's Search For Meaning Jul 01, 2021

Man's Search For Meaning - by Victor E Frankl

We find ourselves in middle of World War II. Frankl had been captured by the Germans and is in a concentration camp. "Every man was controlled by one thought only: to keep himself alive for the family waiting for him at home". This is a dark book and highlights the atrocities of the time, but also shows us that terrible things happen when we lose a sense of meaning in our lives.

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LAUNCHING Our Audiobook Jun 22, 2021

Today we're launching our audiobook: The Sh*t They Never Taught You.

For a limited time, you can get 50% OFF! Use the code LAUNCH at checkout to buy the audiobook for half price: https://mysoundwise.com/soundcasts/1623277740633s

This episode is a free chapter - the introduction to the audiobook.

Buy from the above link, or head to the landing page at theshittheynevertaughtyou.com

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Best of Season 5 May 04, 2021

We've come to the end of our FIFTH year of podcasting! As we do at the end of every season, we're gone through our respective "Top 10s" of our favourite books that we've covered on the podcast in 2021 (so far).

We're also super proud to have announced that our first book, The Sh*t They Never Taught You, is now available for Pre-Order. If you order the hardcover book before the official release date (June 23, 2021), you'll also receive the audiobook for free as a pre-order bonus. Just forward your receipt to book@theshittheynevertaughtyou.com

PRE-ORDER NOW: http://theshittheynevertaughtyou.com/

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BOOK LAUNCH ANNOUNCEMENT: The Sh*t They Never Taught You Apr 28, 2021

IT’S HERE!

THE SH*T THEY NEVER TAUGHT YOU

After 16 months, six iterations of writing and rewriting... we’re proud to say our book has finally arrived! We pushed through The Dip and put the very best we have into the best book that we could possibly write.

PRE-ORDER NOW: theshittheynevertaughtyou.com

Purchase before June 23 (pre-sale), send the receipt to book@theshittheynevertaughtyou.com and we will send you the audiobook for FREE.

----

Here is a taste from the blurb:

Have you ever stumbled upon a piece of life-changing knowledge that made you think: why the hell didn’t someone tell me this sooner?!

Millions of people have listened to Adam and Adam on the What You Will Learn podcast, where they have spent tens of thousands of hours studying the best ideas from the greatest minds on the planet. Their most frequently asked question: what is the best lesson you’ve come across? While you’d think a simple question would have a simple answer, it didn’t - until now!

The Sh*t They Never Taught You will take you on a journey through takeaways from over a hundred of the world’s greatest thinkers capturing lessons in personal development, career, business, personal finances, human nature, history, and philosophy. Every lesson will be useful, and one might change your life.

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Lean Startup Apr 25, 2021

The Lean Startup - by Eric Ries

'How constant innovation creates radically successful businesses'

If you've ever created your own business, or tried to, you will probably see in hindsight that you wasted a lot of resources, be that time, money, or energy and effort. 'The Lean Startup' is a different approach to building a business. In every idea, you have 'leap of faith' assumptions. Rather than assuming you're right, you should build a 'minimum viable product'. This MVP is the smallest and simplest thing you can make that replicates the features of your desired end product that will allow you to TEST your assumptions before committing to the project. If you're right, you 'persevere' and continue to build out your offering ad test the next phase. If you're wrong, you can 'pivot' and make changes before it's too late.

Grab our Top 50 Best Books of All Time for FREE: https://www.whatyouwilllearn.com/top50/

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The First 90 Days Apr 17, 2021

The First 90 Days is effective to help new leaders — from first-time managers to CEOs — understand the skills and factors that ease the transition process of their leadership journey. A long career at a single company is increasingly becoming a history. Employees usually experience many transitions, especially those in leadership roles. The ability to adjust quickly and effectively into a new role has become a critical skill to thrive in your career.

If the president of the United States gets 100 days to prove himself, you get about 90 days.

Every new leader needs to become quickly familiar with the new organisation to secure wins and build supportive coalitions. And this book provides guidelines for translating these principles to fit your own situation.

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Coddling Of The American Mind Apr 10, 2021

Coddling Of The American Mind is about: "How good intentions and bad ideas are setting up a generation for failure"

Well intentioned overprotection from peanut bans in elementary schools through speech codes on campus; are doing more harm than good. But overprotection is just one of the larger trends that we call problems of progress. This refers to bad consequences produced by good social changes.

In this episode we cover the three great untruths that seem to have spread:

The untruth of fragility: what doesn't kill you makes you weaker
The untruth of emotional reasoning: always trust your feelings
The untruth of us vs them: life is a battle between good and evil people

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A Crack In Creation Apr 03, 2021

The biological world is undergoing profound, human-induced changes. For billions of years, life progressed according to Darwin's theory of evolution - organisms developed through a series of random genetic variations. Up to now, species has been shaped by this process. Today things could not be more different. Scientists have succeeded in bringing his primordial successfully under human control.

Scientists can now manipulate and rationally modify the genetic code that defines every species on the planet, including our own. And with the newest and arguably most effective genetic engineering tool" CRISPR-CAS9 (CRISPR for short).

The genome, an organism's entire DNA content including all its genes, has become almost as editable as a simple piece of text.

Crack In the Code of Creation shows Jennifer Doudna's discovery of the technology and how it can be applied to change our future rapidly.

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Beyond Order (Part 2) Mar 30, 2021

Jordan Peterson went massive world wide with his first book 12 Rules For Life. His new book, Beyond Order provides ’12 more Rules For Life’.

Order is explored territory. We are in order when the actions we deem appropriate produce the results we aim at. We regard such outcomes positively. Chaos is anomaly, novelty, unpredictability, transformation, disruption and all too often descent. Neither the state of order nor the state of chaos if preferable. Like the yin yang, we need to find the balance between the two.

12 Rules For Life was the antidote to chaos and increasing order. Beyond Order, is about moving into chaos.

We both loved this book so much we are spreading it across 2 episodes.

In this second episode we look at the interpersonal rules:

•Rule 3: Do not hide unwanted things in the fog

•Rule 10: Plan and work diligently to maintain the romance in your relationship

•Rule 1: Do not carelessly denigrate social institutions or creative achievement

Listen back to Part 1 where, we covered the personal rules:

•Rule 4: Notice that opportunity lurks where responsibility has been abdicated

•Rule 7: Work as hard as you possibly can on at least one this and see what happens

•Rule 2: Imagine who you could be, and then aim single-mindedly at it

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Beyond Order (Part 1) Mar 27, 2021

Jordan Peterson went massive world wide with his first book 12 Rules For Life. His new book, Beyond Order provides ’12 more Rules For Life’.

Order is explored territory. We are in order when the actions we deem appropriate produce the results we aim at. We regard such outcomes positively. Chaos is anomaly, novelty, unpredictability, transformation, disruption and all too often descent. Neither the state of order nor the state of chaos if preferable. Like the yin yang, we need to find the balance between the two.

12 Rules For Life was the antidote to chaos and increasing order. Beyond Order, is about moving into chaos.

We both loved this book so much we are spreading it across 2 episodes. In this first episode we will cover the rules centred on the self:

•Rule 4: Notice that opportunity lurks where responsibility has been abdicated

•Rule 7: Work as hard as you possibly can on at least one this and see what happens

•Rule 2: Imagine who you could be, and then aim single-mindedly at it

In the next episode we’ll look at the interpersonal rules:

•Rule 3: Do not hide unwanted things in the fog

•Rule 10: Plan and work diligently to maintain the romance in your relationship

•Rule 1: Do not carelessly denigrate social institutions or creative achievement

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Algorithms To Live By Mar 19, 2021

There is a particular set of problems that all people face that are a direct result of the fact that our lives are carried out in finite space and time. What should we do? What should we ignore? What should we do today? What should be leave til next week? What degree of mess should we embrace? What balance between NEW experiences and FAVOURED ones make for the most fulfilling life?

These might sound like very HUMAN problems... but they're not. For more than half a century, computer scientists have been grappling with (and in many cases, solving) the equivalent of these everyday dilemmas. How should a processor allocate "attention"/focus to perform every task a user asks of it, with the minimum energy expenditure in the shortest possible time? When should it switch between different tasks, and how many tasks should it take on at once? Should it collect more data, or take action based on the data it already has?

In this episode, we’ll look at three applications of computer science to the real world:

OPTIMAL STOPPING (When should you turn into an empty car space VS keep looking for a better spot? When should you decide to buy a house OR keep looking for a better one?)
EXPLORE / EXPLOIT (should you go to your favourite mexican restaurant, or try the new Japanese restaurant that just opened down the road? should you eat wtih your best friend or invite the new office colleague? should you watch an old favourite movie or try out a new release?)
SCHEDULING (you've got a long list of tasks staring you in the face on a monday morning - which should you do first???)

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Hell Yeah Or No Mar 12, 2021

Derek Sivers was the author of the first ever book we did on the podcast back in June 2016, 'Anything You Want'. Now, almost five years later, we're circling back to cover his newest book, 'Hell Yeah Or No'.

In this episode we speak about:

Changing Your Identity (admitting your true priorities)
Choosing What To Do (based on your values, deciding what is worth doing)
Saying Yes (seeking inspiration and being open to any and all opportunities that come your way)
Saying No (once you find something that is extra rewarding, starting saying no to more to allow yourself to focus on this one thing)

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Can't Hurt Me Mar 06, 2021

Do you know who you really are and what you're capable of? Don't worry, you are not alone. In every town, country all over the world, millions roam the streets. Dead-eyed zombies addicted to comfort, embracing the victim's mentality and unaware of their true potential. Like most of us, David Goggins used to be one of them

Life dealt him a bad hand. He was born broken, grew up with beat downs, tormented at school and copped racism more times than he could count. He was poor, surviving on welfare, living in government subsidy housing and had smothering depression. He lived life at the bottom of the barrel, with a future forecast bleak.

After looking at the accountability mirror, Goggins went through a transformation into becoming one of the baddest men on the planet. He has found how to push past the perceived limits our minds put on us. By pushing yourself to new limits, maybe you can also find out what you're truly capable of.

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Enchiridion Feb 27, 2021

We read the 2000+ year old text known as Enchiridion by Epictetus (and we had a little help from Sharon Labelle's more modern translation The Art of Living).

In this episode we talk about: what is inside your control (and what is outside of your control), perceptions, objectivity, other people's opinions, managing our desires, and controlling our emotional reactions.

Grab our free document, The Top 50 Best Books Of All Time: https://www.whatyouwilllearn.com/top50/

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The Three Languages of Politics Feb 20, 2021

Our political debates are not debates but are instead vehement expressions of tribal anger. That insight was the basis Arnold Kling to write this book. Since then, the insight has been reinforced. There is now widespread concern with the way political divisions are exacerbated by the communication that takes place in both traditional and social media.

Politically interested people sort themselves into 3 coalitions: progressive, conservative and libertarian:

- Progressives will communicate along the oppressor-oppressed axis.

- A conservative will communicate along the civilization-barbarism axis.

- A libertarian will communicate along the liberty coercion axis.

And...

- Progressive assert moral superiority over conservatives and libertarians

- Conservatives assert moral superiority over libertarians or progressives

- Libertarians assert moral superiority over progressives and conservatives

They cannot all be correct! And when they think in those terms, it is unlikely that they will sit down and work out solutions to shared problems.

In politics, Arnold claims that progressives, conservatives and libertarians are tribes speaking different languages. The language that resonates with one tribe does not connect with others. As a result, political discussions do not lead to agreement. Instead, most political commentary serves to increase polarization.

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The Way of the Wolf Feb 13, 2021

What they say about Jordan Belfort in the Wolf Of Wall Street is True. He is one of those natural-born salesmen who can sell ice to an Eskimo, oil to an Arab or port to a Rabbi. If you've seen The Wolf of Wall Street, starring Leonardo De Caprio, you may remember the scene of how Jordan took thousands of kids who could barely string a sentence together and turned them into world-class closers using his magical system called The Straight Line.

This book is the same turnkey solution as shown in the movie. It can be applied for any business or industry. Selling is everything in life. Either you're selling, or you're failing.

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The Courage To Be Disliked (part 2) Feb 08, 2021

Being disliked is a cost for exercising freedom. If you're disliked by people, it is proof that you are exercising your freedom and a sign that you are living in accordance with your own principles. It is certainly distressful to be disliked. But it can be seen as a necessary cost for a better life.

The Courage to be Disliked shows you how to unlock the power within yourself to become your best and truest self, change your future and find lasting happiness. This is the most recommended book we've had from the listeners, so about time we got to it! And it didn't disappoint.

We're breaking this book up into two episodes. In Part 2, we look at the courage to be disliked.

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The Courage To Be Disliked (part 1) Feb 07, 2021

For some people, events in our past determines a failed life. But for others, the same even can be the seed of success. It is the perceptive filter that leads to two entirely different destinations. There is no escape from your own subjectivity. At present, the world seems complicated and mysterious to you. But if you change, the world will appear more simple. But do you have the courage to change?

The Courage To Be Disliked shows you how to unlock the power within yourself to become your best and truest self, change your future and find lasting happiness. This is the most recommended book we've had from the listeners, so about time we got to it! And it didn't disappoint.

We're breaking this episode up into two parts. In Part 1, we look at the courage to change.

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One Up On Wall Street Jan 30, 2021

As always, this episode is NOT financial advice.

Peter Lynch is one of the most successful professional investors of all time. According to him, amateurs can win. The most important rule to follow is that you should stop listening to professionals!

Most investment books recommend passive investing, where you buy a whole haystack and assume you'll get a few needles. Peter's shows a strategy that gives us amateurs a chance at beating the investors, picking the needle.

There are some things you're sincerely interested in. Whether it is cars, cameras or technology, you develop a sense of what's good and what's bad. You know what sells and what doesn't. In some contexts, you know it before Wall Street knows it. And you have the opportunity to jump on before the investment banks begin to recommend the stock.

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Getting The Love You Want Jan 27, 2021

For some people, the idea of a permanent commitment to one partner feels a little old-fashioned. Just flick on Netflix, and you’ll find plenty of documentaries about people opting into polyamorous relationships or other non-traditional setups. When things get tough, we might think that this person mustn’t be right for us, and it’s easier just to let them go.

Despite all of this scepticism around marriage and relationships, deep down, we still long for lasting love. Getting The Love You Want shows us the key to finding your perfect match, which is buried deep beneath the surface. Superficially, you might argue over who did the dishes, where to go on holiday or who is looking after the kids. But it goes much deeper than that. To understand how to build the optimal love life, we need to realise an unwritten agenda formed early in life.

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Total Money Makeover Jan 15, 2021

If your personal finances are in a mess, there is perhaps no activity that is higher leverage than getting them sorted. If you find that you've dug yourself into a hole, stop digging!

Dave Ramsey, the leading personal finance guru, shows us some simple steps for getting our money back in order. These steps are obvious - there's nothing revolutionary here, just plain and simple steps that work. If you're willing to make a few little sacrifices along the way, you can turn your financial life around quicker than you ever thought possible.

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The 4-Hour Body Jan 08, 2021

Tim Ferris has applied the 80/20 principle to find the optimal path for a better-looking body. The goal is to focus on the 2.5% that deliver 95% of the rapid body redesign and performance enhancement results. If you are already at 5% body fat or bench pressing 181 kg, you are in the top 1%. This is for the other 99% who can experience near unbelievable gains in short periods of time.

In this episode, we’ll focus purely on the Slow Carb Diet, the optimal body recomposition strategy. This will make you drop 2 clothes sizes (XXXL to XL, or a 16 to a 12) in rapid time and have people asking "WOW - what the hell have you been doing!".

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The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership Jan 02, 2021

Success is within reach of just about everyone. But personal success without leadership only brings limited effectiveness. Without leadership ability, a person's impact is only a fraction of what it could be with good leadership. The higher you want to climb, the more you need leadership.

Although it's true that some people are born with greater natural gifts than others. The ability to lead is really a collection of skills, nearly all of which can be learned and improved. If you want to be a leader, the good news is that you can do it. Everyone has the potential. But it can't be accomplished overnight. It requires perseverance and you cannot ignore the 21 Irrefutable Laws Of Leadership.

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Best of 2020 Dec 30, 2020

We all did it! We made it to the end of 2020.

In this episode, we look back at our favourite books from Season 5 (so far). Our lists are VERY different again this year, with only two or three crossovers and the rest we had to fight over.

Listen in or hear each of our favourite books, or check out the blog post at: https://www.whatyouwilllearn.com/best-of-2020/

Let us know your favourite books of 2020 - message us on social or email us at podcast@whatyouwilllearn.com

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The Future Is Faster Than You Think Dec 19, 2020

Humans have been dreaming a long time about flying vehicles. In a famous IBM commercial, Avery Books asked: "it's the year 2000, but where are the flying cars?... I don't see them! Why!". Peter Thiel quips "we wanted flying cars and we got 140 characters".

And today, the wait could finally be over. It looks like flying cars, alongside all sorts of pie in the sky innovations, are just around the corner. With new technologies such as AI, robotics, virtual reality, 3D printing and materials; and drivers of change such as saved time, availability of capital and longer lives, the rate of change is unprecedented.

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Humankind Dec 11, 2020

We've been doing a lot of dark books recently. Ordinary Men, The Prince and Collapse all paint a dim view of human nature. The idea goes that we have a thin veneer of niceness on the surface, but deep down we're all capable of pure evil.

Thankfully, this book gives the opposite perspective. The simple idea of this book is that we're actually all pretty decent. Disasters and tough times don't cause us to descend a few rungs on the ladder of civilisation, but rather they bring out the best in us.

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Built To Last Dec 04, 2020

A six year study looked at 'visionary companies' and tried to identify what set them apart from the rest of the herd. These visionary companies were the ones that were the premier of their industry, were widely admired by knowledgeable businesspeople, had been through multiple product life cycles and multiple generations of leadership. The 18 companies identified outperformed the stock market by 16X.

It was found that they had a few things in common. It largely boiled down to their culture, their approach to new ideas, and a focus on building the company itself. Listen to the podcast episode or read the blog post to find out more about what it takes to build a visionary company that lasts the tests of time.

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Steve Glaveski: The Future of Work Dec 03, 2020

Steve Glaveski is back for Round 2, this time talking about the launch of his new book Time Rich: Do Your Best Work, Live Your Best Life.

This book helps us work smarter and live better.

In this episode we discuss the past, present and future of work, and how time is a better measure than money. Make sure you stay tuned all the way to the end for a special musical treat!

Check out Steve's new book: https://www.timerichbook.com/

Check out Steve: https://www.steveglaveski.com/

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The Five Dysfunctions of a Team Nov 27, 2020

The ultimate competitive advantage of successful organisations? Teamwork. A leader who can get their entire team rowing in the same direction can dominate any market in any industry.

However, teamwork is as elusive as ever. Human beings are inherently dysfunctional. By acknowledging the imperfections of humans, members of functional teams can overcome our natural tendencies and work together toward success. According to author Patrick Lencioni, there are 5 dysfunctional elements that can destroy any team.

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Lydia Denworth: The Extraordinary Power Of Friendship Nov 25, 2020

Lydia Denworth is the author of three books, including the recently published Friendship: The Evolution, Biology and Extraordinary Power of Life’s Fundamental Bond.

In this interview, we chat with Lydia about the psychological impacts, evolutionary context and elements of a high-quality friendship.

Lydia launched this book with perfect timing - just before a worldwide pandemic put friendships and connections to their greatest test.

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Lost Connections Nov 21, 2020

Disclaimer: we are not psychologists or psychiatrists, or in anyway giving medical advice.

Johann Hari was depressed as a young man. He was told a story about why he felt so down: that depression is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. They say that the brains of depressed people have lower levels of serotonin (the happiness molecule). Then we’re told that Big Pharma has the answer. They’ve made drugs that can restore your serotonin levels back to “normal”. This version of the answer says that depression is a brain disease, and companies have the cure... for a profit of course.

When scientists tested the water supply in Western countries, they found find it laced with antidepressants. We're literally and figuratively awash with these drugs. What is startling in other cultures has become normal to the Western world. We've just accepted that a huge number of people are so distressed that they need to take a powerful chemical every day to pull themselves together.

Johann Hari has asked a distinctly different question. Could something other than bad brain chemistry be causing depression and anxiety?

This question led to 3 years of research and 200+ interviews. The story that it is all in our head has holes in it. What Johann Hari has found is another story: depression is largely due to the world and how we live in it. The factors that cause depression in society are everywhere. Even worse, they are on the rise.

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BJ Fogg: Designing Behaviours & Installing Habits Nov 18, 2020

We had the pleasure of speaking to one of the Godfathers of habits and designing behaviours, BJ Fogg. We love the simplicity of his model: "Behaviour = Motivation + Ability + Prompt". Through this lens, we can see exactly why we do (or don't do) the things we want to do! Following on from our own discussion of his book Tiny Habits, this interview dives a little deeper into the intricacies of installing new habits or breaking old ones.

BJ Fogg, PhD, founded the Behavior Design Lab at Stanford University. In addition to his research, Fogg teaches industry innovators how human behavior really works. He created the Tiny Habits Academy to help people around the world. He lives in Northern California and Maui.

Find out more at BJFogg.com and visit TinyHabits.com to learn about his New York Times bestselling book, Tiny Habits: The Small Changes that Change Everything

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Tiny Habits Nov 13, 2020

We all want some kind of change. But for most of us, there is a painful gap between what people want and what they actually do. If you have attempted to do something different in the past and haven't seen the results, you've probably figured out by now that change is hard.

If you tried to put together a chest of drawers with faulty instructions and parts missing, you would feel frustrated. But you probably wouldn't blame yourself. You would blame the manufacturer instead. Similarly, any habits you’re not happy with aren’t entirely your fault, you just haven't yet been taught how to effectively change your behaviour.

BJ Fogg's behaviour model boils any action down to three simple components: Motivation, Ability, Prompt. B=MAP is the combination lock to install long term habits.

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The Dip Nov 06, 2020

"The extraordinary benefits of knowing when to quit (and when to stick)"

A great short book the explains why there's always a 'dip' in your projects on your journey to becoming the best in the world - be that getting a promotion, building a business, writing a book, falling in love... anything! At the start, as you put in more effort you'll see good results. Then, theres a dip. You'll put in more and more effort but your results won't improve. This is where most people quit. If you can push through the dip after everyone else has quit, all of a sudden you'll appear to be an overnight success because you've become the best in the world.

Check out the full blog post here: https://www.whatyouwilllearn.com/book/the-dip/

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The Art of Strategy Oct 30, 2020

Your life is a constant stream of decisions: what career to follow, how to manage a business, whom to marry, how to bring up children, whether to run for president, how to communicate with a colleague and how to react when life slaps you in the face. The common element is that you are not in a vacuum. Instead, you are surrounded by the world that interacts with any decision you make. The context of the situation you find yourself in matters.

Game theory is the process of modelling the strategic interaction between players in a situation containing set rules and outcomes. The Art Of Strategy breaks down game theory to help you in practical real life situations.

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What The Dog Saw Oct 24, 2020

Malcolm Gladwell is one of the biggest selling non-fiction authors of our generation, with smash-hits like Outliers, Blink and The Tipping Point.

This book is a collection of his essays and newspaper articles. We picked some of our favourites, taking us on a deep dive into three important distinctions: The Arts of Failure, The Nature of Secrets, and Success in the Young and the Old.

In this episode, we look at the difference between:

- Choking VS Panicking

- Prodigies VS Late Bloomers

- Puzzles VS Mysteries

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Selling The Invisible Oct 16, 2020

When you buy a product, you can see it, touch it, and depending on the product you can taste/smell/hear it as well. Services, on the other hand, are intangible. There’s no exact clear definition of what you’re getting when you buy a service - you’re just purchasing what you hope the end result will be.

Obviously services are different from products, so service marketing must be different from product marketing. But while more than 4 out of 5 people work in service companies, only 1 out of 5 business school case studies focus on services. We’re all being taught how to market products, but we’re never taught how to market services, even though that will be what the majority of people do.

Check out the full blog post here: https://www.whatyouwilllearn.com/book/selling-the-invisible/

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The First 20 Hours Oct 09, 2020

So much you want to learn, so little time to learn it.

Every new skill has what Josh calls a "FRUSTRATION BARRIER". At first the basics of a new skill can seem fun. But then you hit a wall, a few hours in, where you don't seem to be improving and it is just getting frustrating. You're still horribly unskilled, but now painfully aware of it. Maybe you learned to play Three Blind Mice on the piano, but you still can seem to work out which note on the keyboard matches which dot on the sheet music. Or maybe you’ve been skateboarding in a straight line, but can’t work out the right balance and positioning that allows you to turn properly.

This book offers a simple system for learning new skills, a system that allows you to quickly break through that frustration barrier and get to the fun stuff sooner.

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The Art of Happiness Oct 03, 2020

"The Art of Happiness" - by HH Dalai Lama XIV & Howard C Cutler

'A Handbook for Living'

Happy people have it a lot better than unhappy people. Studies show you're more likely to pick up a better mate, have more satisfying marriages, you're more likely to be a better parent, you'll have a better immune system and live an extra 10 years. It also leads to better mental resilience and ability to deal with adversity or trauma. In the workplace, happy individuals perform much better and earn much more than miserable employees. These happy employees are more productive, loyal and take less sickies.

The Art of Happiness looks at happiness through different perspectives from two different authors. Firstly, the Western perspective from Howard Cutler, a psychiatrist out of the US. And Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, leader in Tibetan Buddhism and bringing the perspective from the east. Although perspectives differ, they attempt to drill things down to the basic human level. Here the little distinctions like gender, race, religion, culture and language don't matter. There are similarities that all of us share in being part of the human race.

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Fooled By Randomness Sep 26, 2020

We underestimate the role of randomness in just about everything. We often have the mistaken impression that a strategy is an excellent strategy, or an entrepreneur is a person endowed with unique vision. Nassim Taleb believes that the world is much more random than we think.

Skills count, obviously. But they count much less in highly random environments like trading, than they do in the predictable ones, like dentistry.

Fooled By Randomness shows us how to recognise and work with randomness and luck, which is involved in everything you do. In doing so you can humble yourself, turn down your assumptions about your abilities, and have a more accurate view of how the world IS, not how you think it should be.

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The Defining Decade Sep 19, 2020

With Adam Jones turning 30 this week, we figured this was his last chance to work out what he’d done wrong (or right) during his 20s. The key message of this book is that your twenties MATTER.

A lot of young people like to say that your twenties don’t matter, that you can put off life’s big decisions until later, that the 20s are the time for fun and enjoying life and not to be taken too seriously… But the research shows otherwise:

Two thirds of your lifetime wage growth happens in the first 10 years of your career
More than half of people are married or at least dating/living with their future life partner by age 30, 75% by age 35
Personality changes more in 20s then in any time period before or after
The brain caps off it’s final stages of growth in the 20s
Fertility reaches its peak in late 20s
Our social networks – and the opportunities they may bring – are the widest and most diverse in the 20s, then get narrower as we age beyond

80% of life’s defining moments will have taken place by our mid-30s. Life is not over when you hit age 40, you can always claim your life back at any point. But it’s better to start sooner rather than later. William James said: “intention is the result of attention and choice”. It’s never too late, or too early, to start paying attention.

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Ordinary Men Sep 12, 2020

At the height of the Second World War, the German army had minimal resources to continue the war to the East with Russia, and simultaneously execute Hitler's "Final Solution". The Nazi party had already used up all of the ideological killers in their country. They were left with the dregs of society. They would have to use Joe the local Butcher, Jim the Primary School Teacher even Grandpa George to get the job done. The only people left all had working class jobs like truck drivers, dock workers, construction workers and machine operators. They were "normal people" like you and me, but were called upon to execute millions of innocent Jews.

Ordinary Men tells the story of one faction, the Reserve Police Battalion 101 and how they were transformed from normal citizen into "professional killers"

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Loserthink Sep 05, 2020

Despite evidence to the contrary, we all use our brains. BUT - most of us have never learned how to think effectively. We’re not talking about IQ or innate intelligence, we’re talking about thinking as a LEARNED SKILL. We’re talking about a productive method of thinking and reasoning.

Scott Adams, the creator of the Dilbert cartoons, author of How To Fail At Almost Everything And Still Win Big and Win Bigly, calls this ‘Loserthink’. Loserthink doesn’t mean ‘dumb’ or ‘uninformed’, it simply means unproductive or ineffective. It’s not a value judgement of a person as a whole, just on this specific method of evaluation. Plenty of ‘smart’ and ‘well-informed’ people are culprits of using Loserthink (and in some cases, they are MORE susceptible). You use Loserthink because you’ve never learned or practiced the SKILL of thinking effectively.

What this book presents is a method for thinking. By borrowing some fundamental techniques from various different fields, we can develop our thinking skills and become much more effective. If we borrow ideas from how to think like a historian, how to think like an entrepreneur, how to think like an engineer, how to think like a scientist - we can cobble together an effective process for thinking.

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Pitch Anything Aug 29, 2020

In 1953, James Watson and Francis Crick introduced the world to their new discovery: the double-helix DNA structure. This so-called "secret of life" was widely considered the most important scientific discovery of the 20th Century.

Their presentation won them a Nobel Prize. The most striking part of the pitch? It was only 5 minutes long. That was the COMPLETE presentation - introducing the secret of life, presenting their scientific discovery, explaining all of the need-to-know-details, showing how it works.

You need to pause and consider for a moment. If these two blokes can explain the greatest innovation of the 20th Century in under 5 minutes, why do you think you need to book in hour-long meetings to present your report or pitch your new business idea to investors??? There’s clearly something wrong with the way most people are pitching their ideas.

If you need to sell something as part of your job (a product, a service, an idea), then it’s worth taking the time to learn how to do it properly. And when you really think about it, almost everyone is pitching SOMETHING, no matter how large or small, every single day. That initial pitch is less than 1% of the entire time and energy you need to invest into a project, but it is probably the most important 1% - that first presentation of your idea is what can either drive it forward, or see it slaughtered on the spot.

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200th BOOK! Aug 23, 2020

We started the podcast back in June 2016. In the last four-and-a-quarter years, we've read and reviewed 200 books on the podcast! We thought it was a great milestone to take a step back and have a look at what lessons we've learned from all of the books we've read and how they can tie in together.

A couple of years ago when we hit our 100th book, we did our "Top 10 Lessons". You can listen to that podcast episode here: 100th BOOK – Our Top 10 Lessons. They all hold up pretty well! Feel free to go and check out that episode, on here is a reminder of just the lessons themselves:

You're Gonna Die Someday
Be Proactive (realise that you have the power to take action)
Get In The Arena, Don't Sit On The Sidelines
Delayed Gratification (long-term satisfaction far outweighs instant gratification)
The Power of Questions & The Importance of Curiosity
Have A Bias for Action (thinking and planning and dreaming are nice, but action is vital)
Place lots of Minimum Bets
Effectiveness VS Efficiency: The Best Time Management Tips
Listen Before You Talk
You're Either Remarkable Or You're Invisible

They were the big 10 lessons we took from our FIRST 100 books, now we’ve thought about what NEW lessons we’ve taken from the NEXT 100 books. We started with 10 mini lessons, but then decided that they all grouped together pretty nicely into 3 BIG lessons:

Question The Path
Dichotomies (No Single Book Has All Of The Answer)
The Myth Of The Silver Bullet

Read the full write up of these lessons on our website: https://whatyouwilllearn.com/200th-book

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White Fragility Aug 22, 2020

The identities of all of the most powerful people in the country are similar: they're white, male, middle and upper class, and able bodied. Acknowledging this may be dismissed as political correctness, but Robin Diangello notes it is still a fact. Those people in the seats of power are making decisions that affect those not sitting at the table.

Identity politics gets a pretty bad wrap. But looking through history, this has proven results. For example, women's suffrage, the American disability act, Title 9, federal recognition of same sex marriage.

Robin Diangelo’s hope is that you may gain insight into why people who identify as white are so difficult in conversations regarding race and/or gain insight into your own racial responses as you navigating the roiling racial waters of life.

Sign up for our monthly email recap: www.whatyouwilllearn.com/email

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How to Lie with Statistics Aug 15, 2020

Benjamin Disraeli: "There are three types of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics"

There are some great statisticians and data manipulators out there, and that can manoeuvre things in a way to get exactly the result they want. Any time you see a statistic, you should consider that it might be a lie.

You need to learn some of these tricks so that you can defend yourself. The author says that the crooks know exactly how to manipulate data and statistics, so the honest people must learn the tricks as a matter of self defense. (Or, if you’re that way inclined and a little sneaky, you can sue some of these tricks to manipulate data of your own and lie with statistics a little more).

In the podcast episode and in this blog post, we’re going to cover:

Sampling Errors
Biased Sampling
The different types of “averages”
How you can use and unrelated number to answer a different question
And How you can fight back against these dodgy statisticians

To see our ratings and what we though of the book, sign up to our monthly email newsletter: https://whatyouwilllearn.com/email

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Being Mortal Aug 07, 2020

You and everyone you know is going to one day die. This is an uncomfortable fact. So uncomfortable that we try to push it out of our minds. But this leaves most people totally unprepared for their meeting with the ‘Grim Reaper’.

Doctors learn a lot in medical school, but mortality isn't on the curriculum. The textbooks have almost nothing on ageing, frailty or dying. How the process unfolds, how people experience the end of their lives and how it affects those around them seem useless to the Western World.

Being Mortal explores how we might best embrace these final moments.

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The Selfish Gene Aug 01, 2020

The Selfish Gene is one of the most influential books on Evolutionary Biology in history. Written by Richard Dawkins, the book shows us that we are just big lumbering robots whose purpose is to pass on genes. The gene itself sometimes generates selfish behaviour of the animal it inhabits. But it can also use altruistic behaviour, even sacrifice itself on the behalf of family who may share the same genes. In this episode we look evolution, competition, human purpose and memes.

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The Prince Jul 24, 2020

The word 'Machiavellian' gets bandied around all the time. Frank Underwood from House of Cards, Richard Hatch from Survivor, Lord Baelish in Game of Thrones or Scar from The Lion King, each were able to manipulate in different ways to ultimately get what they want. For them, effectiveness was more important than being perceived as "nice".

The Prince was written in 1532 by Niccolo Machiavelli. To Machiavelli, the greatest evil was stagnation and complacency. The agents of healthy change were what he called "new princes".

It has become one of the most influential instruction manual for leaders throughout history. Decades after Machiavelli's death, it spread far and wide. Over the centuries, millions have used it for advice on power.

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The Power of Positive Thinking Jul 18, 2020

This book is written to suggest techniques and to give you examples which demonstrate that you do not need to be defeated by anything, that you can have peace of mind, improved health, and never-ceasing flow of energy. In short, that your life can be full of joy and satisfaction.

THE PROBLEM: Too many people are defeated by the everyday problems of life. They go struggling, perhaps even whining, through their days with a sense of dull resentment at what they consider the 'bad breaks' life has given them. In a sense there may be such things as 'the breaks' in life, but there is also a spirit and method by which we can control and even determine those breaks. It is a pity that people should let themselves be defeated by the problems, cares, and difficulties of human existence, and it is also quite unnecessary

SOLUTION: By learning to cast the obstacles from your mind, by refusing to become mentally subservient to them, and by channelling spiritual power through your thoughts, you can rise above obstacles which ordinarily might defeat you.

William James, often called the Father of Psychology, said: "the greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering the attitudes of mind"... “As you think, so shall you be”.

In three words: BELIEVE AND SUCCEED. The secret of a better and more successful life is to cast out those old dead unhealthy thoughts. Substitute for them new vital dynamic thoughts. You can depend upon it - an inflow of new thoughts will remake you and your life.

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Steve Jobs Jul 11, 2020

Steve Jobs is the authorized self-titled biography of Steve Jobs. The book was written at the request of Jobs by Walter Isaacson, a former executive at CNN and TIME who has written best-selling biographies of Benjamin Franklin and Albert Einstein.

The saga of Steve Jobs in Silicon Valley is the creation myth at large. Launching a startup in the parents garage and building it into one of the world's most valuable companies. He didn't invent everything outright, but he was a master at putting together ideas, art and technologies in ways that invented the future.

Some leaders push innovations by being good at big picture, others by mastering details. Jobs did both relentlessly. He launched a series of products over 3 decades that transformed whole industries:

- Apple 2 which took Wozniak's board and turned it into the first personal computer

- Macintosh popularized graphical user interfaces

- Toy Story and other Pixar blockbusters, opened up the miracle of digital imagination

- Apple stores, reinvented the role of a store in defining a brand

- iPod changed the way we consume music

- iTunes saved the music industry

- iPhone, which turned mobiles into music, photo, video, email and web

- App Store, spawned a new content creation industry

- iPad, launched tablet computing

- iCloud, demoted computer from its central role in managing our content and let all of our devices sync seamlessly

- And Apple itself, which became the most valuable company in the world

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The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up Jul 04, 2020

The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up - by Marie Kondo

This book has the potential to change your life. The act of tidying is a series of simple actions in which objects are moved from one place to another. It involves putting things where they belong, something so simple that even a six year old should be able to do it. Yet most people can’t. A short time after tidying their household descends into a disorganised mess.

When you follow the advice of this book and finish putting your house in order, your whole world will brighten and never again will you need to revert to clutter. This is what Marie Kondo calls ‘the magic of tidying’.

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Best of Season 4 Jun 04, 2020

Thanks for listening to Season 4 of What You Will Learn!

In this episode, we'll recap our favourite lessons from our favourite books of Season 4. We go through our 'honourable mentions', then each of our respective Top 10s. The was a seriously strong season: we re-did some of our favourites in Mindset and The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, plus some new favourites in Range, Mastery and The Slight Edge.

Listen in to hear how we ranked them (especially where we agreed and disagreed!). Check out the post here with the short written summary of each of our favourite nuggets: https://whatyouwilllearn.com/best-of-season-4/

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Decisive May 30, 2020

We're awful at making decisions. A survey found that 44% of lawyers don't recommend that students become lawyers. 83% of mergers/acquisitions fail to add any real value to the company. Hundreds of thousands of tattoos are removed each year. Young people start relationships that are bad for them, middle-aged people let work interfere with their personal lives, elderly have regrets about not smelling the roses more when they were younger.

We need a better process for making the big decisions.

Our generic process is usually: encounter a choice, analyse our options, make a choice, then live with it.

But at each stage of the process, there is a villain: narrow frame, confirmation bias, short-term emotion, overconfidence.

In order to overcome these villains, we need to "WRAP" our decisions: Widen our options, Reality-test our assumptions, Attain distance before deciding, Prepare to be wrong.

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Guns, Germs and Steel May 23, 2020

Jared was studying bird watching in New Guinea when he came across a local politician Yali; who asked the question he asked was "why is it that you white people developed so much cargo and brought it to New Guinea, but we black people have little cargo of our own?" It was a simple question and this book is the answer.

Diamond shows us how “History followed different courses for different peoples because of differences among peoples' environments, not because of biological differences among peoples themselves”

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Derek Sivers: Pop Philosophy, Questioning Answers, Finding the Opposite, and Nerding Out About Books May 20, 2020

Adam Ashton interviewed Derek Sivers, the author of the book that was our FIRST EVER episode of the What You Will Learn podcast, 'Anything You Want'.

We spoke about answering questions then questioning the answers, using creative thinking strategies to find an answer that is the opposite but also true, then we spent a long time nerding out on books. What makes a 'good' book? Is there a difference between a book you like and a book you would recommend? How do you pick what book to read next? What are some of your favourite books?

Derek has three new books coming out soon. Keep an eye out for 'How To Live'.

Check out all of Derek's books notes and book ratings at: https://sivers.org/book

If you want to contact Derek, you can find that on his website too.

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A Whack on the Side of the Head May 16, 2020

A Whack on the Side of the Head - by Roger van Oech

"How You Can Be More Creative"

Creative thinking is absolute vital to success. The author even says that creative thinking is just like sex for the mind (not sure what his sex life is like, but each to his own...). But we all have a bunch of 'mental locks' that trap us in our current ways of thinking. As much as we try, we can't break free from these mental locks. Some times we just need a 'whack' to snap us out of it.

Mental Lock = "I need to find the right answer"

Whack = There's always a SECOND 'right answer', push yourself beyond the first thing that comes to mind and think of another answer

Mental Lock = "Play is frivolous, we need to be practical"

Whack = Use your imagination! Some times you need to think practically, but sometimes you need to give yourself permission but play and use imagination to come up with new, creative ideas

Mental Lock = "That's not my area, coming up with new ideas is for those creative types"

Whack = EVERYONE should be bringing new ideas together. Rather than working in silos, bring together different departments and different fields. This 'cross-fertilisation' means you can new approaches to old problems.

Mental Lock = "Making mistakes is bad"

Whack = 'Success' isn't always good (it can trap you into a certain way of thinking) and 'failure' isn't always bad (it means what you're doing now isn't working, but that doesn't mean that you'll never find a solution)

Mental Lock = "I'm just not creative"

Whack = EVERYONE is creative. If you ever saw a cardboard box and pretended it was a space ship or a race car, you're creative. You've just told yourself that you're not. Give yourself a licence to be creative. We need your ideas!

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Malcolm Turnbull, 29th Prime Minister of Australia: Politics, The Media & Embracing Antifragility May 13, 2020

Malcolm Turnbull was the 29th Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 2015 to 2018. His career also spanned through Journalism, Law and Investment Banking.

In this episode we spoke to Malcolm about books, the Murdoch Media influence and the world post-corona.

Watch the video version here: https://youtu.be/kwiqyMizH0E

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A Bigger Picture May 09, 2020

Malcolm Turnbull was the 29th Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 2015 to 2018. His brand new autobiography takes us on a journey through his early career, then his beginning in politics, then through his achievements (and struggles) whilst Prime Minister.

In this episode, we look at how Turnbull was able to achieve everything he achieved. From his early success in journalism, to jumping across to becoming a barrister, fighting in (and winning) some of Australia's biggest legal cases, to investment banking, doing billion-dollar deals and amassing a fortune for his client (and himself), then finally rising the ranks in politics. We look to other books we've read like Range, The Third Door and The 48 Laws of Power.

Listen to us being interviewed on Owen Fitzpatrick's "Changing Minds" podcast: https://changingmindspodcast.com/season-2-interview-11-adam-adam/ OR https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/season-2-interview-11-interview-adam-ashton-adam-jones/id1441538919?i=1000473874458

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Stillness Is The Key May 02, 2020

This is the third and final instalment of Ryan Holiday's modern stoicism trilogy. We've previously review The Obstacle Is The Way and Ego Is The Enemy, now it's time for Stillness Is The Key.

With all of the chaos going on in the world around us, it's hard for us to find the time and mental focus we need to get things done. We're always reachable, the news constantly has something new we need to read, there's always another podcast to listen to, our to-do list keeps getting longer and longer. In order to do more and achieve me, we must cultivate Stillness.

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Mastering The Market Cycle Apr 25, 2020

Mastering the Market Cycle, by Howard Marks will help you understand when is the optimal time to invest given a market's conditions.

Between 2010 - 2020 there has been an unprecedented growth in the world's stock market. But in March 2020 it dropped suddenly and significantly. The question is: when is the time to be defensive or aggressive, when buying shares in the market, start your new business or borrow money to buy property? When things are going well and everyone is optimistic, or when things are poor and everyone is pessimistic?

Warren Buffet said "the less prudence with which others conduct their affairs, the greater the prudence with which we should conduct our own affairs" and "be fearful when everyone is greedy, and greedy when everyone is fearful."

In this episode we look at:

The economics of the cycle
Governments and central banks
Credit and debt in the world economy
Real Estate
Investor Psychology

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The Slight Edge Apr 17, 2020

The alarm goes off at 6am. Without conscious thought your hand shoots out and hits snooze... A 10 minute reprieve. You tentatively slip a foot out from under the covers. You open one eye. Still dark out.

Now you face a choice: You could sit up, switch on the light and start grinding your brain into gear, prod your groggy grey matter to search out three things you're grateful for so you can write them down. You could then fire up the machinery of tired legs, hips, and back to crane yourself out of bed and go do the 20 sit-ups you promised you'd do every day and then read 10 pages of a book.

When you said that, did you even mean Saturdays? Today is Saturday? You yawn. Or you could slip down under the sheets and catch some more Z's. No, that's lazy. Compromise, flip on the news. Catch up on that unfolding juicy political scandal, see what's happening with the manhunt for the murderer of the week. You reach for the remote.

And you just set the direction your life will take.

The single most important thing about The Slight Edge is this: it's already working, right now, either for you or against you. So don't wait. Our hope that you will put in place something. Perhaps a financial plan for yourself so that you are constantly building equity. Some simple, daily, weekly or monthly discipline that over time will buy you your financial freedom.

Easy to do? Surprisingly so... Easy not to do? Tragically so.

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How to Stop Worrying and Start Living Apr 11, 2020

On the slope of Long's Peak in Colorado lies the ruin of a gigantic tree. Naturalists tell us that it stood for 400 years. During the course of its long life it was struck by lightning fourteen times, hit by avalanches, bushfires and storms of four centuries. It survived them all.

In the end, however, an army of beetles attacked at the tree and levelled it to the ground. The insects ate their way through the bark and gradually destroyed the inner strength of the tree by their tiny but incessant attacks.

Like this magnificent tree, it isn't the big events that necessarily take us down. It is usually the small nagging little worries that have the ability to eat us from the inside out. In this episode we talk about how to stop these nagging little worries, change our perceptions about the world and make the most of bad situations.

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David Epstein: Going wide to find your perfect career match Apr 08, 2020

We spoke with David Epstein, author of 'Range' and 'The Sports Gene'.

Range is AA's favourite book of 2020 so far, and we only got to scratch the surface in our book summary episode. In this interview with the author, we speak about: how you should focus on skill development rather than comparing yourself to others around you, not settling for a career you're not in love with because you feel like you're in a rush to achieve things quickly, and stories about how low-level engineers became world famous inventors and how creators with a broad range of practical experiences were able to produce international blockbusters.

See more from David Epstein on his website: https://davidepstein.com/

Check out our favourite bits of the book 'Range' here: https://whatyouwilllearn.com/book/range/

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Range Apr 03, 2020

Range - by David Epstein

'How Generalists Triumph In A Specialised World'

There are two paths to success. One is 'specialisation': committing to a field early, getting a head start on your peers, rigorous deliberate practice, refining a narrow focus on specific skills. This approach is popularised in many books and many biographies. But the other approach is 'generalisation'. This means going wide not deep, going through an early 'sampling period' where you test a lot of different potential paths forward, then recognising that switching careers later in life isn't career suicide but you can actually combine different ideas from different fields to get an advantage.

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Simon Sinek: Long-term thinking during a global crisis Mar 31, 2020

The pressure around the world has been turned up. In the short term (finite game) you can't deny the pain that many are going through. But looking at it through a longer-term perspective (infinite game) it is a hurdle that could offer opportunities for reinvention. "It is just reality that many businesses will fail, they will go bankrupt... The ones who will survive are the ones that don't try and double down on their old business models, but attempt to reinvent their business models." We chat with Simon Sinek (author of Start With Why and The Infinite Game) about how individuals, businesses and leaders can get through the health and financial implications of COVID-19.

Full transcript of the interview can be found here: https://whatyouwilllearn.com/simon-sinek/

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The Infinite Game Mar 28, 2020

The Infinite Game - by Simon Sinek

There are two types of games: finite and infinite. Finite games have clearly defined rules and boundaries, and all players know what the objectives are and what they need to do to win. Infinite games have no clear rules and there is no winning or losing - the only objective is to keep playing. Business is an infinite game, but too many companies are playing with a finite mindset.

In this episode, we'll talk about the five essential practices for cultivating an infinite mindset. These lessons are crucial to the times we're living through right now. Stay tuned for a special interview coming this week ;)

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7 Habits of Highly Effective People Mar 21, 2020

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People is a book that everyone needs to read. The habits aren’t specific to an industry or a point in time, these are pervasive habits that you should constantly be practicing and applying. When we first read this book it shot straight to our #1 and it stayed there for years – it was very hard to knock off top spot.

The seven habits are grouped: the first three habits for them 'private victory' (the things that relate to you as an individual – personal effectiveness), the next three are the 'public victory' (how you interact with others and the world – interpersonal effectiveness), and the final is an overarching call to be constantly learning, growing and improving.

Private Victory:

Habit 1 - Be Proactive

Habit 2 - Begin with the End in Mind

Habit 3 - Put First Things First

Public Victory:

Habit 4 - Think Win/Win

Habit 5 - Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood

Habit 6 - Synergise

Balanced Self-Renewal:

Habit 7 - Sharpen The Saw

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The Paradox Of Choice Mar 14, 2020

The Paradox of Choice - by Barry Schwartz

'Why Less Is More' or 'How the culture of abundance robs us of satisfaction'

Barry Schwartz is the author of The Paradox of Choice. One day, went to the store to buy a new pair of jeans. He said to the store person that he wanted a pair of blue jeans: 32 waist, 28 leg. She asked – do you want them stone washed, acid washed, torn, distressed? do you want zip fly or button fly? do you want them faded or regular? do you want them slim fit, easy fit, or relaxed fit? straight leg, skinny leg or extra baggy?

Barry just wanted “the regular kind”, but there’s no such thing any more

Buying jeans is a trivial matter, but its indicative of a much greater theme in the world today. When people have NO choice it becomes restrictive and unbearable. As choices increase, we feel a sense of autonomy, control, and liberation – variety brings us a feeling of power and positivity. BUT, as the number of choices KEEPS growing more and more, there are negative aspects of having TOO MANY choices. More choice no longer liberates, it debilitates.

This book argues that:

We would be better off if we embraced certain voluntary constraints on our freedom of choice, instead of rebelling against them
We would be better off seeking what was “good enough” instead of seeking the best
We would be better off if we lowered our expectations about the results of decisions
We would be better off if the decisions we made were nonreversible
We would be better off if we paid less attention to what others around us were doing

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Big Magic Mar 06, 2020

Big Magic - by Elizabeth Gilbert

'Creative Living Beyond Fear'

In Big Magic, Elizabeth Gilbert refers to magic, literally like in the Hogwarts sense. She is referring to the supernatural, the mystical, inexplicable, the surreal, the divine, the transcendent, the otherworldly. Because the truth is, she believes that creativity is a force of enchantment that is not entirely human in its origins.

Gilbert believes that our planet is inhabited not only by animals and plants and bacteria and viruses but also by ideas. Ideas are driven by a single impulse: to be made manifest, and the only way an idea can be made manifest is through human efforts that an idea can be escorted out of the ether and in the realm of the material. Therefore ideas spend eternity swirling around us searching for available and willing human partners. When an idea thinks it found somebody (like you) who might be able to bring it into the world, the idea will visit you and it will try to get your attention.

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Never Split The Difference Mar 01, 2020

Your career, finances, reputation, love life, even the fate of your kids - at some point all hinge on your ability to negotiate.

Chris Voss spent more than two decades at the FBI, including 15 years negotiating hostage situations from New York to the Philippines and the Middle East. At any time there are 10,000 people in the FBI, but only one lead international kidnapping negotiator.

Soon he discovered these skills from the FBI worked everywhere. It turned out that the approach to negotiation held the keys to unlock profitable human interactions in every domain and every interaction and relationship in life. This book is how it works.

We've already reviewed Getting to Yes by Roger Fisher and William Ury, a ground-breaking book that had a step by step logical negotiation procedure for a win-win outcome. But if you've been listening for a while, you'd know that human beings aren't logical or rational. Feeling is a form of thinking.

Conducting negotiations based on logical concepts without the tools to read, understand and manipulate the emotional underpinning is like trying to make an omelet without first knowing how to crack an egg.

Never Split The Difference gives tips that will help you negotiate with the irrational Fast Thinking part of the brain.

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Principles Feb 23, 2020

Principles - by Ray Dalio

Over the course of our lives we make millions of decisions, essentially bets, some large and some small. It pays to think about how we make them because they ultimately determine the quality of our lives.

Ray Dalio is an American billionaire investor, hedge fund manager and philanthropist. Ray Dalio wrote a set of principles to help with his daily decisions which many have a similar rhyme that can be executed via a set of principles. In this episode we cover: embrace reality and deal with it, being radically open minded and understanding that people are wired differently.

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A Brief History of Time Feb 15, 2020

A Brief History of time is a popular science book on cosmology written by Stephen Hawking. It is a book for readers who have no knowledge of the universe and are curious to learn more about science. In this episode we'll talk about Space and Time, Black Holes, The Expanding Universe and the Universe and Meaning.

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Seth Godin: Making the choice, taking responsibility, becoming indispensable Feb 12, 2020

Seth Godin is back for round 2. We drill into the choices we make - to take responsibility or relinquish it, to be generous or follow the script, to try something new or stick to the job description. We also spoke about the importance of REAL skills (some people call them ‘soft skills’). 'Hard Skills’ are the essential ticket you need to get a seat at the table - for you it may be coding, or doing engineering computations, or knowing how to use google analytics or post facebook ads. But these just get you in the door - they don’t make you indispensable. What sets you apart from the masses are the soft skills - being able to influence a decision, solving problems, engaging with a troublesome customer, comforting a colleague after a difficult meeting, and so on.

Check out everything Seth has to offer: https://akimbo.com/

Be a part of the next Real Skills Conference: https://realskillsconference.com/

Read Seth’s daily blog: https://seths.blog/

Download our free ’Top 50 Best Book of All Time’ document, heavily featuring Seth’s books: http://whatyouwilllearn.com/top50

RELATED EPISODES:

First interview with Seth Godin

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Linchpin Feb 08, 2020

Our world is filled with factories. Factories that make widgets, insurance, websites, movies, take care of sick people and answer the phone. You can become a great factory worker if you pay attention in school, follow instructions, show up on time and try hard and in return they would take care of you. You won't have to be brilliant, creative or to take big risks. The factories would pay you a lot of money, give you health insurance and offer you job security. It's a pretty seductive bargain, so seductive for that century, we embraced it. We set up our school and our systems and our government to support that bargain.

For a long time it worked, but in the face of competition and technology, the bargain has fallen apart: job growth is flat at best, wages in many industries are on a negative cycle, the middle class is under siege like never before, and the future appears dismal. People are no longer being taken care of: pensions are gone, 401ks have been sliced in half and it’s hard to see where to go from here.

Suddenly, in the scheme of things, it seems like the obedient worker bought into a suckers deal. You weren't born to be a cog in the giant industrial machine, you were trained to become a cog. The bargain is gone and it's not worth whining about and it's not effective to complain. There's a new bargain now, one that leverages talent and creativity and art more than it rewards obedience

A linchpin is an unassuming piece of hardware, something you can buy for 69 cents at the local hardware store. It's not glamorous, but it's essential. It holds the wheel onto the wagon, the thingamajig onto the widget. Every successful organization has at least one linchpin, some have dozens or even thousands. The linchpin is the essential element, the personal who holds part of the operation together. Without the linchpin, things fall apart.

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The Power of Habit Jan 31, 2020

The Power of Habit - by Charles Duhigg

"Why we do what we do in life and business"

William James wrote in 1892: "All of our life so far as it has definite form, is but a mass of habits". Most of the choices we make each day may feel like the products of well-considered decision making, but they're not - they're habits. Though each habit means very little on its own, over time, the meals we order, what we say to the kids each night, what we spend and the way we organise our thoughts have enormous impacts on our health, productivity, financial security and happiness.

Habit Change follows a 3 step loop

First there is a CUE, a trigger that tells your brain to go into automatic mode and which habit to use
Second there is the ROUTINE, which can be physical or mental or emotional
Finally there is the REWARD, which helps your brain figure out of this particular loop is worth remembering for the future

In almost every experiment, researches have found habits are powerful but delicate. They can emerge outside of our consciousness, or can be deliberately designed. They often occur without permission, but can be reshaped by fiddling with their parts. They shape our lives far more than we realise.

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Mindset Jan 25, 2020

Mindset - by Dr Carol S Dweck

'Changing the way you think to fulfil your potential'

This book is about one pervasive view we adopt for ourselves and our abilities: we either have a 'fixed mindset' or a 'growth mindset'. Those with the fixed mindset believe that we have a natural level of talent or ability that we are born with and cannot change, whereas those with a growth mindset believe that everything can be learned and improved upon. These 'mindsets' rear their heads in business, sport, relationships. This simple distinction becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy and permeates all aspects of our lives, from the way we view failures, to the success we achieve, to how we view effort, and everything in between.

Read this book. Adopt a growth mindset. Apply it to all areas of your life.

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Emotional Intelligence Jan 18, 2020

Emotional Intelligence - by Daniel Goleman

'Why it can matter more than IQ: The groundbreaking book that redefines what it means to be smart'

Emotional Intelligence is a guide to making sense of the senselessness. Daniel Goleman worked as a psychologist first then as a journalist for the NYT, and has been tracking the progress of our understanding of the realm of irrationality. From this position, he's been seeing two growing trends: one portraying a growing calamity in our shared emotional life, the other offering some helpful remedies. This book is all about the latter – offering ideas about how we can understand ourselves better, manage our own emotions, and use empathy to better understand the feelings and emotions of the people around us.

The book will show you why EQ indeed trumps IQ in the modern world. There are 5 elements to emotional intelligence:

1. Self-Awareness

2. Managing Emotions

3. Motivating Oneself

4. Recognizing Emotions in Others

5. Handling Relationships

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Mastery (Part 3: Unleashing Creativity) Jan 10, 2020

This is Part 3 of our 3-part series on 'Mastery' by Robert Greene. Now that we've discovered our calling in part 1, then went through an apprenticeship in part 2, it's time to bring in creativity to make something new and original and masterful. Using historical examples, Greene gives us some strategies for developing something unique.

If you're just discovering this episode, you might want to check out the previous two episodes first to lay the foundations:

Part 1 = Discover Your Calling

Part 2 = The Apprenticeship

Part 3 = Unleashing Creativity

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Mastery (Part 2: The Apprenticeship) Jan 08, 2020

All of us are born with an essentially similar brain, with more or less the same configuration and potential for mastery. Why is it then that in history only a limited number of people seem to truly excel and realize this potential power?

In today's episode we cover part 2 of our 3-part series, The Apprenticeship phase. We will learn about the 3 Modes of the Apprenticeship Phase, strategies for completing the ideal apprenticeship, and the Mentor dynamic.

Part 1 = Discover Your Calling (previous episode)

Part 2 = The Apprenticeship (this episode)

Part 3 = Unleashing Creativity (next episode)

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Mastery (Part 1: Discover Your Calling) Jan 04, 2020

Robert Greene has done it again with Mastery.

All of us are born with an essentially similar brain, with more or less the same configuration and potential for mastery. Why is it then that in history only a limited number of people seem to truly excel and realise this potential power?

We are a one time phenomenon in the universe - our exact genetic makeup has never occurred before nor will it ever be repeated. At your birth a seed is planted, that is your uniqueness.

This is Part 1 of our 3-part series, in this episode you'll learn about how to develop your uniqueness and find Your Life's Task.

Part 1 = Discover Your Calling

Part 2 = The Apprenticeship

Part 3 = Unleashing Creativity

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Best of 2019 Dec 30, 2019

As we come to the end of another year of the podcast, we look back on our favourite books we've read this season (so far). As we do at the end of every year then again at the end of every season, we each look back and rank all of the books we read, compile our respective 'Top 10' lists, then share the biggest lessons we took from each book. This is a great way to get a taste of all of the books and decide which ones you want to dive into further and listen to the full episode.

Adam Ashton's favourites:

10. Turning Pro - by Steven Pressfield

9. Getting Past No - by William Ury

8. Eat That Frog! - by Brian Tracy

7. How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big - by Scott Adams

6. Oh, The Places You'll Go! - by Dr Seuss

5. Grit - by Angela Duckworth

4. Ego Is The Enemy - by Ryan Holiday

3. Thinking, Fast and Slow - by Daniel Kahneman

2. Unscripted - by MJ DeMarco

1. Meditations - by Marcus Aurelius

Adam Jones's favourites:

10. Zero to One - by Peter Thiel and Blake Masters

9. Ego Is The Enemy - by Ryan Holiday

8. Quiet - by Susan Cain

7. Getting Past No - by William Ury

6. Unscripted - by MJ DeMarco

5. Oh, The Places You'll Go! - by Dr Seuss

4. Homo Deus - by Yuval Noah Harari

3. Collapse - by Jared Diamond

2. Thinking, Fast and Slow - by Daniel Kahneman

1. Antifragile - by Nassim Taleb

Read the full blog post here: https://whatyouwilllearn.com/best-books-we-read-in-2019/

Grab our free 'Top 50 best books of all time' document: https://whatyouwilllearn.com/top50/

Send us an email: podcast@whatyouwilllearn.com

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The Body Dec 20, 2019

The body is often likened to a machine. But it is much more than that, it works 24 hours a day for decades without for most part, needing regular servicing or the installation of spare parts. It runs on water and a few other organic compounds, is soft and rather lovely, reproduces itself with enthusiasm, feels affection and appreciates the sunset How many machines behave like that?

In this episode we'll take you through the best bits of Bill Bryson -The Body, we'll look at the microbial organ, food, exercise medicine and death. Enjoy!

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The One Minute Manager Dec 14, 2019

The book breaks down effective management through the tale of the 'One Minute Manager' through 3 simple secrets.

The First Secret - One Minute Goals

Most organisations when you ask people what they do and then ask their boss, normally you get two different lists.

Once the manager has told you what needs to be done, or you have agreed what needs to be done, each goal is recorded on no more than a single page. The OMM then feels that a goal and its performance standard should take max 250 words. It should be able to be read in a minute.

The Second Secret - One Minute Praisings

Hardly anyone sees the One Minute Manager, except at the start. He knows it would be a lot easier for employees to do well if you get crystal clear feedback from him on how you are doing.

After the goals are set, the OMM is watching the employee like a hawk. He always keeping a close eye and taking notes. At first you think it is because you think he doesn't trust you, that is until I found out from some of the other people who report to him what he was really doing.

He was actually trying to catch me doing something right.

The Third Secret - The One Minute Reprimands

For those who have been there a while, they typically only see the OMM when they do something wrong. If you make a mistake, that's when you get the one minute reprimand.

He looks you straight in the eye, and tells you precisely what you did wrong. Then he shares how he feels - angry, annoyed, frustrated or whatever he is feeling.

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Ego Is The Enemy Dec 07, 2019

Ego Is The Enemy - by Ryan Holiday

'The fight to master our greatest opponent'

All of us, at every stage of life, are the victims of our own ego. Our ego leads us to strive too far, expect too much, assume that we're deserving - all before we've even done the work. If we achieve success our ego makes us do things that lead us to failure, if we fail our ego crushes our attempts to get up and try again.

"It's always nice to be made to feel special or empowered or inspired. But that's not the aim of this book". Instead, Holiday has tried to arrange the passages of the book so that you may end in the same place he did when he was writing it: you think LESS of yourself. He hopes you will be less invested in the story you tell yourself about your own specialness, and as a result, you will be liberated to ACCOMPLISH the world-changing work you've set out to achieve.

The aim of the book is simple: to help you suppress ego early before bad habits take hold, to replace the temptations of ego with humility and discipline, when we experience success, and cultivate strength when you go through failure. Hopefully the book will help us be humble in our aspirations, gracious in our success, and resilient in our failure.

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Dr Karl (Round 3): Random Road Trip Through Science Dec 04, 2019

Our third annual pilgrimage to Sydney took us right back to Dr Karl's office. His brand new book, Dr Karl's Random Road Trip Through Science, features an Augmented Reality app with Dr Karl popping out of the book to share his wealth of wisdom. (If you've been listening to the show for a few years, this is certainly 'breaking the script' and is a definite 'purple cow').

We talk about a bunch of random scientific things Karl learnt this year, as well an injecting a nice amount of conspiracy theory too.

Check out more Dr Karl and grab his free AR app: https://drkarl.com/

Listen to our previous two episodes with Dr Karl: https://whatyouwilllearn.com/doctorkarl/ and https://whatyouwilllearn.com/drkarl-round2/

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Eat That Frog! Nov 30, 2019

Eat That Frog! - by Brian Tracy

'21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time'

There is never enough time to do everything you have to do. You are literally swamped with work and personal responsibilities, endless emails, social media, projects, side projects, stacks of newspapers to read, a pile of books you want to get to 'some day' as soon as you get caught up on everything else. But the fact is that you are NEVER going to get caught up. You will never get 'on top' of your tasks. You will never get far enough ahead to be able to get to all those emails, books, newspapers, and leisure time activities that you dream of.

Forget about trying to solve your time management problems by being more productive. No matter how many personal productivity techniques you master, there will always be more to do than you can ever accomplishing the time you have available to you, no matter how much it is.

You can get control of your life only by changing the way you think, work, and deal with the never-ending river of responsibilities that flow over you each day. You can get control of your tasks and actives only to the degree that you can STOP doing some things and START spending more time on the few activities that can really make a difference in your life.

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Radical Acceptance Nov 23, 2019

Revealed how painfully burdened they feel by a sense of not being good enough. We don't have to wait until we are on our deathbed to realize what a waste of our precious lives it is to carry the belief that something is wrong with us. Yet because our habits of feeling so insufficient are so strong, awakening from the trance involves not only inner resolve, but also an active training of the heart and mind.

Through Buddhist awareness and practices, we free ourselves from the suffering of trance by learning to recognize what is true in the present moment, embracing whatever we see with an open heart. This is radical acceptance. It reverses our habit of living at war with experiences that are unfamiliar, frightening or intense. It is the necessary antidote to years of neglecting ourselves, years of judging and treating ourselves harshly, years of rejecting this moment's experience. It is the willingness to experience ourselves and our life as it is.

Download our top 50 best book of all time: www.whatyouwilllearn.com/top50

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Neil Pasricha (Round 2): You Are Awesome Nov 19, 2019

After first speaking with Neil Pasricha 12 months ago about his book The Happiness Equation, he's back to chat about his brand new book You Are Awesome. It's all about building resilience, shifting from fragile to antifragile, and thickening up your skin a little.

Check out everything Neil is doing at his site: https://www.neil.blog/

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Grit Nov 16, 2019

Grit - by Angela Duckworth

'Why passion and resilience are the keys to success'

Angela Duckworth studied successful people and found that the mega-successful weren't the smartest, the fittest or the most talented, but the ones who had the most grit. Grit, this combination of passion and perseverance, turned out to be the strongest indicator and predicator of eventual success.

The good news? Even if you score pretty poorly on the Grit Assessment (like we both did), you can grow your Grit. Through interest, purpose, practice and hope, you can actually improve your grit score and learn to achieve more.

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Collapse Nov 09, 2019

Lurking behind the mystery of ancient ruins is the mystery with the nagging thought: might such a fate eventually befall our own wealthy society? Will tourists someday stare mystified at the New York skyscrapers, much as we stare at the jungle overgrown ruins of Maya cities?

Perhaps we can still learn from the past, but only if we think carefully about its lessons. The book has a 5 point framework of possible contributing collapse to societies:

1 - Environmental damage

Could be exceptional imprudence of the people and exceptional fragility in aspects of the environment, or both.

2 - Climate change

Today we refer to human induced. But in the past it was natural climate change, including the advance and retreat of continental ice sheets during ice ages from about 1400-1800 AD, or the global cooling from the enormous volcanic eruption of Indonesia's Mt Tambora on 1815

3 - Hostile neighbours

Relationships might be intermittently or chronically hostile. A society may be able to hold off its enemies as long as it is strong, only to succumb in a moment of weakness. The proximate cause is the conquest, but the ultimate cause that leads to the collapse is the temporary weakening

4 - Decreasing support by friendly neighbours

Either depend on imports of essential trade goods . If your partner comes weak for any reason, then they no longer can supply the essential goods

5 - The response of the society

Different societies respond differently to similar problems. Deforestation for example has arose in many cultures - some went down, some developed sustainable management practices

In this episode we'll explore the collapse of Easter Island, the Great Maya Civilisation and The Vikings, and the risk of collapse of modern-day Australia and China through the 5 point framework.

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MJ DeMarco (Round 2): Taking the Red Pill Nov 06, 2019

MJ DeMarco writes some of the most eye-opening books we've read - The Millionaire Fastlane and Unscripted. If you haven't realised it yet, the world is ran by numerous scripts that aren't designed for you to live your best life. In this episode, we run the analogy of the red pill deep: breaking down the BS and biases we all hold, the importance of your F-This Event, and how you could use a job to propel you onto the Fastlane.

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Unscripted Nov 01, 2019

Unscripted - by MJ DeMarco

'Life Liberty, and the Pursuit of Entrepreneurship'

Has life regressed into paying bills and living for a weekend?

You weren't born to slave 9 - 5, Monday through Friday, paying the bills and then die. When life's final moment arrives, what will your spirit sing? Regret and remorse? Or peace and happiness?

UNSCRIPTED: is your pen to rewrite a future that's already been written, don't wait for life's twilight to dream about time machines, it exists in the moment. The opportunity to resurrect your dreams and change history awaits.

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Getting Past No Oct 26, 2019

Daily life is full of negotiations that can drive you crazy.

Over breakfast you get into an argument with your spouse about buying a new car, your spouse thinks it's time but you say "we can't afford that right now"
You arrive at work for a meeting with your boss, you present her with a carefully prepared proposal for a new project, but she interrupts within the first minute and says "we already tried that and it didn't work.
During lunch you try to return a defective toaster you bought last week, but the store person refuses to refund or exchange the toaster because you don't have the receipt and that's "Store Policy"

This book will show you how to "get past no" via a 5 step process:

Step 1: Don't React (Go to the Balcony)
Step 2: Disarm Them (step to their side)
Step 3: Change the Game (don't reject... reframe)
Step 4: Build he Golden Bridge (make it easy to say yes)
Step 5: Don't Escalate - Use Power to Educate (make it hard to say no)

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How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big Oct 19, 2019

How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big - by Scott Adams

Scott Adams is the creator of the 'Dilbert' cartoon series. Before this world-wide phenomenon though, Adams is happy to admit the looong list of things he tried (and failed at) before eventually achieving success. Each failed attempt gave him a lesson, something he could take with him and apply to the next thing he tried. Even as Dilbert was growing in success, he still worked full time for 10 years, drawing Dilbert at 5am before work.

This book provides some important ideas and approaches for achieving (eventual) success. In this episode, we'll talk about: the downside of passion, goals VS systems, managing your attitude and energy, prioritising and making decisions, and 'skill stacking'.

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Everything is F*cked Oct 11, 2019

Everything is F*cked - by Mark Manson

'A book about hope'

In the infinite expanse of space/time, the universe does not care whether your mother's hip replacement goes well, or your kids attend college, or your boss thinks you make a great spreadsheet

You care, and you desperately convince yourself that because you care, it all must have some great cosmic meaning behind it. You care because deep down, you need to feel that sense of importance in order to avoid the uncomfortable truth, to avoid the incomprehensibility of your existence, to avoid being crushed by the weight of your own material insignificance, and you like everyone - project an imagined sense of importance onto the world around you because it gives you hope.

You might say: "I believe we're all here for a reason, and nothing is a coincidence, and everyone matters because all our actions affect SOMEBODY, and even if we can help one person, then it was all worth it"

This is hope. That's a story made up in your mind that your brain spins to convince you that it's worth waking up in the morning. SOMETHING needs to matter because without something mattering, then there's no reason to go on living.

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Meditations Oct 04, 2019

Meditations - by Marcus Aurelius

Originally written as a diary almost 2000 years ago, the struggles people faced then are almost identical to the ones we are facing today. This is one of the core books on stoic philosophy.

We recap some of the vital passages of the book and pull out the key themes: differentiating between the things you can control and the things you can't, responsibility and taking ownership, being indifferent toward things like death and change, and living in the present instead of the past or the future.

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Talking To Strangers Sep 28, 2019

Talking to Strangers - by Malcolm Gladwell

'What we should know about the people we don't know'

We think we can understand people. We think that by meeting someone, shaking their hand, looking into their eyes, we can get a grasp on who they are, how they feel, and what their motives or intentions are. We think that a little bit of personal knowledge gives us a big insight into their character - a job interviews shows us if they'll be a good employee, a first date can indicate the likelihood of compatibility.

We're wrong. Strangers are complex.

In Malcolm Gladwell's brand new book, he highlights just a few of the things that make strangers particularly hard to understand: Truth Default Theory, Transparency, Coupling.

Check out our website, where we both rate every book out of 10: www.whatyouwilllearn.com

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Nir Eyal: Becoming Indistractable by reclaiming your time and attention Sep 26, 2019

Five years ago, Nir Eyal wrote the best-selling book 'Hooked'. It was all about the four-step process businesses can use to make habit-forming products and services. By getting people 'hooked', by getting people to almost the point of addiction and compulsion, businesses can thrive (think Facebook, Candy Crush and Spotify as some examples).

Now, Nir writes gives us individuals a four-step methods to get UNHOOKED in his brand new book Indistractable. This book is all about reclaiming our time and attention by adding more focus and traction to our lives - becoming "Indistractable".

To check out the book, and more of Nir's work, head to his website: http://indistractable.com or https://www.nirandfar.com/indistractable/

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Hooked Sep 21, 2019

Hooked - by Nir Eyal

'How to build habit-forming products'

If a business can turn their product or service into a 'habit', then they've got you 'hooked'. It makes it much harder for the user to change to a competitor, usage becomes more frequent and more irresistible, and it becomes far more profitable for the business.

Nir Eyal takes us through the 'Hook Model' which teaches business what they need to build into their offering to get consumers hooked:

Triggers (external & internal)
Action
Variable Reward
Investment

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The Uninhabitable Earth Sep 14, 2019

We've all heard of 'climate change' and we hear dystopian ideas about the horrors we may face if we don't take appropriate action, but what will life on the planet ACTUALLY look like if our planet heats up too much?

Check out our website with all of our book ratings: www.whatyouwilllearn.com

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Thinking Fast and Slow (part 2) Sep 07, 2019

This book is the bible of behavioural economics. After introducing 'System 1' and 'System 2', the 'fast' and 'slow' thinking from the title, this episode dives into more of the applications of this discovery.

THIS episode:

Over confidence:

- Narrative fallacy

- Hindsight/outcome bias

Choices:

- Intuitions vs formulas

- Planning fallacy

- Loss aversion

- Sunk cost fallacy

Two selves:

- Experiencing vs the remembering self

Thinking Fast and Slow features highly in our top 50, for the full list download for free at: www.whatyouwilllearn.com/top50

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Thinking Fast and Slow (part 1) Aug 31, 2019

Thinking, Fast and Slow - by Daniel Kahneman

This book is the bible of human behavioural psychology. Author Daniel Kahneman won the 2002 Nobel Prize due to his work on Prospect Theory, a big part of this book. The book is so dense we'll need to cover it over two episodes.

This week we will learn about:

System 1 - which operates automatically and efficiently,

System 2 - which allocates attention to effortful activities.

And - that our brain has limited resources making us irrational, and prone to biases such as:

- the law of small numbers

- anchors

- availability

- base rate neglect

- Linda effect

- regression to the mean.

Thinking Fast and Slow features highly in our top 50, for the full list download for free at: www.whatyouwilllearn.com/top50

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Turning Pro Aug 25, 2019

Turning Pro - by Steven Pressfield

'Tap your inner power and create your life's work'

Pressfield book 'The War of Art' told us all about the REAL challenge of creating important work: confront (and beating) the Resistance. In that book, he showed us that the beat way to beat it was by Turning Pro. This follow-up book dives deeper into the difference between and amateur and a professional, and shows us exactly what is required of us if we are to become the best version of ourselves.

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Kevin Rudd: 26th Prime Minister of Australia Aug 21, 2019

Kevin Rudd came from humble beginnings in country Queensland to become the 26th Prime Minister of Australia in 2007. He is author of the books 'Kevin Rudd - The PM Years' and 'Not for the Faint Hearted'.

Mr Rudd is currently the President of the Asia Society Policy Institute and is living in New York. On his most recent return visit to Australia, we were able to sit down and have a chat.

In this episode we talk about:

- why young people (including us) are disengaged with politics

- the rising super-powers in of the developing world

- rectification of Australia's non-diverse economy

Learn more about Kevin Rudd on his website: http://kevinrudd.com/

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Dare to Lead Aug 17, 2019

Dare to Lead - by Brene Brown

'Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts'

Brene Brown boldly calls for braver bolder leaders to pass on a better world for our children. But typically cultures are held back by an inability to lean into vulnerability - we avoid tough conversations, lack connection and empathy and avoid risks. Daring Leadership is the antidote to these issues.

In this episode we discuss:

- the call to courage

- avoidance of the armoury, and

- shame and empathy

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Austin Kleon: Injecting Creativity and Art into everything you do Aug 14, 2019

Austin Kleon is the author of three books that we've review on the podcast: Steal Like An Artist, Show Your Work and Keep Going.

We spoke with him about about who is a 'creative', the false dichotomies we've set up between 'work' and 'art', and how everyone can harness the power of creativity to make things better by making better things.

Check out Austin's site and sign up to his free weekly newsletter: https://austinkleon.com/

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Show Your Work Aug 11, 2019

Show Your Work - by Austin Kleon

'10 ways to share your creativity and get discovered'

After the runaway success of 'Steal Like an Artist', Kleon was always asked the same questions: how do I actually get my stuff out there? how do i get found? how do i get an audience for my work?

This book begins to answer some of those questions. It stresses the importance of maintain the mindset of an 'amateur', thinking about the process (not just the products), telling good stories, and building a regular process of 'sharing' into your creativity routine.

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Zero to One Aug 03, 2019

Zero to One - by Peter Thiel and Blake Masters

'Notes on Startups, or, How to Build the Future'

- The next Bill Gates will not build an operating system.

- The next Larry Page or Sergey Brin won't make a search engine.

- The next Mark Zuckerberg won't create a social network.

If you are copying these guys, you aren't learning from them.

Of course, it's easier to copy a model than to make something new. Doing what we already know how to do takes the world from 1 to N, improving something that's already familiar. BUT every time we make something new, we go from 0 to 1. The act of creation is singular, and the result is something fresh.

Zero to One is about how to create companies that build new things.

It draws on everything Peter has learned as a cofounder of Pay Pal, and an investor in hundreds of startups including Facebook and SpaceX. Whilst there are patterns, there are no formulas for success. The paradox of teaching entrepreneurship is that such a formula cannot exist, because every innovation is unique and new, no authority can prescribe in concrete terms how to innovate.

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Homo Deus Jul 27, 2019

Homo Deus - by Yuval Noah Harari

'A brief history of tomorrow'

For thousands of years the top of our list of concerns were famine, plague and war. While this haven't been completely solved, we're pretty close and they have been transformed from incomprehensible and uncontrollable forces of nature into manageable challenges.

Having secured unprecedented levels of prosperity, health and harmony, and given our past record and current values, YNH predicts that humanity's next targets are likely to be: Immortality, Happiness and Divinity.

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Antifragile Jul 20, 2019

Antifragile - by Nassim Taleb

'Things that gain from disorder'

Wind extinguishes a candle but energises fire. Likewise with randomness/uncertainty/chaos, you want to be able to use them, not to hide from them. You want to be the fire and wish for the wind.

Most people think the opposite of fragile is robust, resilient or solid. But the resilient and robust are items that neither break nor improve. The opposite of fragility should be negative fragility - there is not yet a word for it, so Taleb terms it 'Antifragility'.

The central theme of the book is antifragility, which Nassim defines as:

“Some things benefit from shocks; they thrive and grow when exposed to volatility, randomness, disorder, and stressors and love adventure, risk, and uncertainty. Yet, in spite of the ubiquity of the phenomenon, there is no word for the exact opposite of fragile. Let us call it antifragile. Antifragility is beyond resilience or robustness. The resilient resists shocks and stays the same; the antifragile gets better.”

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Quiet Jul 14, 2019

Quiet - by Susan Cain

'The power of introverts in a world that can't stop talking'

The world today seems to value confident, outgoing, bubbly personalities who are comfortable in all social settings and aren't afraid to speak up. But Cain reveals that those with the loudest voice don't necessarily have the best ideas. This book is both a call to organisations to foster the power of introverts, as well as an appeal to introverts to best step outside of their comfort zones and play the role required of them.

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Oh, The Places You'll Go! Jul 07, 2019

Oh, The Places You'll Go! - by Dr Seuss (Theodor Geisel)

This may look like a kids book (and it is) but we've dug out some serious life lessons that link up with a whole bunch of other ideas we've read in other 'real' books. This one is a must-read, it'll take you less than 10 minutes.

We pulled out our top 5 lessons, and we'd love to hear yours too - email us any time at podcast@whatyouwilllearn.com to tell us what you thought.

Check out website with our ratings for every book: www.whatyouwilllearn.com

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Freakonomics Jun 30, 2019

Freakonomics - by Stephen J Dubner & Steven Levitt

'The hidden side of everything'

Economics ultimately boils down to the study of incentives. Incentives are all around us, whether natural or manufactured (like by a parent, teacher, boss, politician or economist). In this episode, we talk about 4 major areas of economics, using a few stories and studies from the book to flesh out the concepts:

- Moral incentives VS Economic incentives

- Information Asymmetry

- Correlation VS Causation

- Risk Assessment

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Best of Season 3 Jun 03, 2019

Thanks for listening to Season 3 of What You Will Learn!

In this episode, we’ll recap our favourite lessons from our favourite books of Season 3.

We’ll be back in July for regular 'juggernaut month'.

If you want to hear some WYWL in the break, we've curated our best content into a top 10 episodes, both interviews or book reviews. If you want the list, head to: www.whatyouwilllearn.com/best

Or get a book from our Top 50: www.whatyouwilllearn.com/top50

AJ's Top 10:

10. Originals - by Adam Grant

9. Life 3.0 - by Max Tegmark

8. This I"s Marketing - by Seth Godin

7. Atomic Habits - by James Clear

6. The Intelligent Investor - by Benjamin Graham

5. The 5 Love Languages - by Gary Chapman

4. Factfulness - by Hans, Ola & Ana Rosling

3. The Lessons of History - by Will & Ariel Durant

2. The Most Important Thing - by Howard Marks

1. The Easy Way to Control Alcohol - by Allen Carr

AA's Top 10:

10. Keep Going - by Austin Kleon

9. The Four Agreements - by Don Miguel Ruiz

8. Digital Minimalism - by Cal Newport

7. The Four Tendencies - by Gretchen Rubin

6. This Is Marketing - by Seth Godin

5. Factfulness - by Hans, Ola & Ana Rosling

4. Atomic Habits - by James Clear

3. The Definitive Book of Body Language - by Allan & Barbara Pease

2. The Easy Way to Control Alcohol - by Allen Carr

1. Originals - by Adam Grant

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Q&A #2 - May 2019 May 28, 2019

In this episode, we’re answering your questions! Listeners sent in the questions they’ve always wanted to ask us. We spoke about our process, a book WE might want to write, our learning journeys, knowing when to quit your side hustle, and being consistent with our reading and podcasting.

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Keep Going May 19, 2019

Keep Going - by Austin Kleon

'10 ways to stay creative in good times and bad'

Austin Kleon wrote Steal Like An Artist (about injecting more creativity into your work), then Show Your Work (about sharing that creativity with the world and getting discovered), now Keep Going (about continuing to be creative, even when it feels like it's a never ending battle).

In this book, we learn about how to wake up every day and be creative, how to stay buoyant and move on to the next project regardless of success or failure, and how to find new creative ideas even while procrastinating.

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200th EPISODE! May 17, 2019

Since starting the show almost exactly 3 years, we've done 199 episodes. Today is Number 200!

In June 2016, we literally hit 'record' on the laptop, talked crap for 20 minutes, then published it. As more and more people started listening, we gradually increased the time and effort we invested into the show.

In this episode, we recap some short snippets from 20 of our favourite guest interviews that we've conducted with international best-selling authors over the years (in chronological order):

1. Matthew Michalewicz [starts from the 5min 15sec mark]

2. Timber Hawkeye [9:50]

3. JP Sears [14:28]

4. Seth Godin [18:33]

5. Frans Johansson [25:10]

6. Naomi Simson [30:27]

7. Dan Ariely [33:00]

8. Dan Pink [37:40]

9. Dan Heath [42:43]

10. Annie Duke [46:50]

11. Kevin Kelly [51:52]

12. Peter Singer [57:15]

13. Tom Peters [1:01:44]

14. Rachel Botsman [1:08:44]

15. Robert Cialdini [1:11:39]

16. Mia Freedman [1:15:55]

17. Dr Karl [1:20:29]

18. Cal Newport [1:25:25]

19. Gretchen Rubin [1:29:44]

20. Robert Greene [1:31:22]

Thanks to everyone who's listened and supported us through this journey. We've loved the last 200 episodes, and we're looking forward to the next 200 and beyond!

We want to hear from you - who do you want on the show next? https://whatyouwilllearn.com/survey/

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The Barefoot Investor May 12, 2019

The Barefoot Investor - by Scott Pape

'The only money guide you'll ever need'

A bushfire raged through Scott Pape's town and took everything form his family - their home, their farm, their sheep, and everything they owned. Their life's possessions now amounted to a charred pile of rubble. And just as everything seemed to be falling apart, Scott looked in the mirror and said 'I've got this'.

This book is all about helping you with your personal finances so that you too can look in the mirror and say 'I've got this'. The book takes us through different stages of life: Plant, Grow and Harvest. There are specific actions littered throughout the book and tasks you should complete if you want to truly control your own finances. It's well worth reading and putting into practice. The 'bucket' strategy of managing your money without budgeting is amazing!

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This Is Marketing May 05, 2019

This Is Marketing - by Seth Godin

'You can't be seen until you learn to see'

Seth Godin is a marketing guru, and this book represents the culmination of decades upon decades of marketing lessons and advice. You won't find any scripts or templates, and you won't find anything scammy or short-term. This book is all about empathy, understanding and being a human (not typical advice you hear in most marketing books, but vital words of wisdom to consider before starting your next project).

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EXTRA: Presentation at The Entrepreneur Club May 02, 2019

This extra episode is the recording from a presentation we recently did for The Entrepreneurs Club in Melbourne.

In our presentation we discussed the content we wished we knew 4 years ago when we first started trying side hustles.

We explore some of the best book concepts we've learned in the context of 'The Dip'.

Finding Your Dip (drawing from The Black Swan, Lean Start-up, The Click Moment)
Pursuing Your Dip (drawing on So Good They Can't Ignore You)
In The Dip (drawing on The War of Art and Perennial Seller)

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The Most Important Thing Apr 28, 2019

The Most Important thing - by Howard Marks

'Uncommon Sense for the Thoughtful Investor'

Howard Marks is the Founder of Oaktree Capital Management, who hold US$122 billion in assets under management. This book is a compilation of all his investment philosophies, which can be applied to help you make better decisions when investing money, time or energy. There isn't any step-by-step instructions, just advice on ways to thinking to avoid the many pitfalls that most investors fall in. In this episode we cover:

Second level thinking
Understanding market efficiency,
Understanding, recognising and controlling risk,
Combatting the negative influences of human nature, and
Knowing what you don't know

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Factfulness Apr 20, 2019

Factfulness - by Hans, Ola and Ana Rosling

'Ten reasons we're wrong about the world - and why things are better than you think'

When we think about the world - poverty, violence, war, man made disasters, climate change and corruption - it seems that things are bad and feel like they're getting worse. Factfulness shows us this isn't the actually the case - we're the victim of many cognitive biases that cloud our judgement and that lead to an overdramatic worldview. This book shines a light on our 'mega misconceptions' and offers you a way to upgrade your thinking.

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Atomic Habits Apr 13, 2019

Atomic Habits - by James Clear

'An easy and proven way to build good habits and break bad ones'

Our outcomes in life aren't dictated by the big one-off things we do, but rather the small things we consistently do every day. The habits may seem insignificant on a day-to-day level, but when you look back in 10 or 20 years, you'll very clearly see the impacts of your positive or negative habits.

The author breaks up behaviour into four moments and what we need to do at each point in order to install a new habit:

CUE (Make it obvious)

CRAVING (Make it attractive)

RESPONSE (Make it easy)

REWARD (Make it satisfying)

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Lessons of History Apr 06, 2019

History lets us see the patterns and make better decisions in the present moment. As we've progressed our human nature hasn't changed, but we've found new ways of achieving old means. This book gives us history's lessons through the lens of different filters.

In this episode we cover:

- Biology and history

- Character and history

- Morals and history

- Economics and history

- Socialism and history

- Growth and Decay of Civilisations

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Cal Newport: Career Progression and Consciously Disconnecting Apr 03, 2019

Cal Newport is the author of some phenomenal books that work together to form a great trilogy:

So Good They Can't Ignore You highlights how skills are far more important than passion and emphasises the importance of developing 'career capital' in order to get a job that you allows you to enjoy what you do and make an impact
Deep Work shows us that the best way to develop that career capital is to block out chunks of uninterrupted time to focus and work hard on important projects and skills
Digital Minimalism sheds light on the dangers of being constantly connected and how carefully stepping away from technology overload can allow you to do more deep work, which allows you to develop career capital, which allows you to take that next step in your career.

You can find Cal at http://calnewport.com/

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Digital Minimalism Mar 30, 2019

Digital Minimalism - by Cal Newport

'Choosing a focused life in a noisy world'

When Facebook started it was interesting, but didn't seem like something which we would spend a large amount of time. A college senior who set up an account in 2004 to look up class mates probably didn't predict that the average modern user would spend around 2 hours a day on social media and related messaging service. Similarly, an early adopter who picked up an iPhone in 2007 for its music features would be less enthusiastic if told he could expect to compulsively check it 85 times a day.

There is a war going on for your attention and the way to get it back is to embrace Digital Minimalism.

In this episode we include the best ideas from all of Cal Newport's closely related books, 'So Good They Can't Ignore You', 'Deep Work' and 'Digital Minimalism'.

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Life 3.0 Mar 23, 2019

Life 3.0 - by Max Tegmark

'Being human in the age of Artificial Intelligence'

Life has gradually grown more complex and interesting into 3 different tiers since the start of the Universe.

Life 1.0: Simple and biological. Can't design it's own software, and can't design it's own hardware - both are determined by DNA and change via evolution

Life 2.0: Cultural. Can survive and replicate. Can design its software like new skills - language, sports and professions. This flexibility has enabled humans to dominate the planet. While we can design our software, we can't design our hardware

Life 3.0: The birth of a technological species. It can design both its software and its own hardware - causing an intelligence explosion and real possibilities of Artificial General Intelligence.

This book explores the range of scenarios that might be spawned from our AI future.

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Four Hour Work Week Mar 16, 2019

The 4-Hour Work Week - by Tim Ferriss

"Escape the 9-5, live anywhere and join the New Rich"

The 4 Hour Work Week is about original thinking and living on your own terms. Most people growing up are presented with the options:

A) getting a job and working your ass off until you retire, or

B) working your ass off building a business, working 80 hours a week

This book presents Option C -Lifestyle Design.

Ferriss suggests that both of the typical options involve deferring happiness and enjoyment until we get the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow - either we sell our company for millions of dollars or we retire with millions of dollars in savings. Instead, the New Rich aim for excitement and profit throughout their whole lives, having the freedom and options to live like a millionaire even without a million dollars in the bank. This book is about optimising your life and work to get the most out of life.

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Dr John Demartini: Identifying Your Values & Reaching Your Potential Mar 13, 2019

Dr John Demartini, is an American researcher, best selling author, international educator, public speaker in human behaviour.

He lives on a boat, travelling the world delivering his signature seminars. We caught him when he was in Melbourne and spoke face-to-face before attending his event later that night. In this interview we chat about living to your potential, building wealth by determining your values (and, like always, we tried to slip in a few 'devils advocate' questions about personal development).

Dr Demartini's website: https://drdemartini.com/

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The Four Agreements Mar 09, 2019

The Four Agreements - by Don Miguel Ruiz

'A Toltec Wisdom Book'

As we've grown up, we've subconsciously made a bunch of agreements with ourselves. This agreements guide our behaviour - they act as an internal compass by which we decide what we do and don't do. But we never CHOSE these agreements. This book presents us with four agreements that we should make with ourselves in order to live a good life. Replacing our old agreements with these new four won't be easy, but it may be an important personal shift you can make.

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Gretchen Rubin: Happiness, Habits and Decluttering Mar 06, 2019

Gretchen Rubin is the author of some great books, like 'The Happiness Project', 'Happier At Home', 'Better Than Before' and 'The Four Tendencies'. Today she launches her brand new book: 'Outer Order, Inner Calm: Declutter and Organise to Make More Room for Happiness'.

We spoke about happiness, habits, the benefits of having a dog, and how to best organise your physical space to remove the clutter and the mess to allow you to be happier and more productive.

Find Gretchen, her books, podcasts and other resources at: https://gretchenrubin.com/

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The Four Tendencies Mar 02, 2019

The Four Tendencies - by Gretchen Rubin

'The indispensable personality profiles that reveal how to make your life better (and other people's lives better, too)'

In analysing who people act or don't act, Gretchen Rubin found that it boiled down to one very important question: How do you respond to expectations? She found that depending on whether you tended to resist or meet both outer or inner expectations, you could be categorised as either an Upholder, Questioner, Obliger or Rebel.

After you understand who you are, you can set up systems and environments that will allow you to harness the strengths of your personality, combat the weaknesses, and build better lives.

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Presence Feb 23, 2019

Presence - by Amy Cuddy

'Bringing your best self to your biggest challenges'

We want to perform our best in a job interview, but if we're constantly thinking 'I'm in a job interview', then we won't be our best selves. Having presence is about being present - having the comfort, confidence and self-assured enthusiasm to stop the constant inner monologue and feel powerful and self-assured.

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Robert Greene - Power, Intuition and Human Nature Feb 19, 2019

Robert Greene is the author of some juggernaut books: The 48 Laws of Power, The Art of Seduction, The 33 Strategies of War, The 50th Law, Mastery, and The Laws of Human Nature.

Robert's work delves into the parts of ourselves we don't want to look at - envy, our dark side and our secret lust for power. He identifies the things below the surface that are driving us forward.

We asked Robert about the role of intuition, taking advantage of the zeitgeist and using humility as a tactic. He is the author of our favourite book and one of the greatest thinkers on the planet. Enjoy!

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The Laws of Human Nature (part 3) Feb 16, 2019

The Laws of Human Nature - by Robert Greene.

This is a phenomenal book, all about what we do and why we do it. It should be read to firstly identify what is driving your own behaviour, secondly to allow you to start to make some positive changes to your behaviour, then thirdly to begin to recognise what other people are doing and why they might be doing it.

In this episode, we're covering four of the laws:

- Chapter 6: Elevate Your Perspective (The Law of Shortsightedness)

- Chapter 8: Change Your Circumstances by Changing Your Attitude (The Law of Self-Sabotage)

- Chapter 2: Transform Self-Love into Empathy (The Law of Narcissism)

- Chapter 13: Advance with a Sense of Purpose (The Law of Aimlessness)

This book features quite highly in our "top 50 best books of all time" document. Check out top 50 to see where it lands: https://www.whatyouwilllearn.com/top50/

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The 5 Love Languages Feb 09, 2019

The 5 Love Language - by Gary Chapman

'The secret to love that lasts'

With Valentines Day coming up, we thought we'd delve into the subject of love so you can heighten the experience with your date or your partner.

Psychologists have concluded that the need to feel loved is a primary human emotional need - without it you will be emotionally and socially challenged. However, we all experience the feeling of love differently and we all have certain things that make us feel loved. Gary Chapman has broken this down in to 5 'love languages' - we all have our own language, and we often can't understand or speak other languages. Every partner needs to feel loved which best communicated through one of the 5 Love Languages.

#1 - Words of Affirmation

#2 - Quality Time

#3 - Receiving Gifts

#4 - Acts of Service

#5 - Physical touch

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Dr Karl (round 2) - Climate Change, Energy Storage and Space Feb 06, 2019

Email us at any time - podcast@whatyouwilllearn.com

After a great conversation with Dr Karl 12 months ago, we again had the pleasure of joining him to discuss his newest book (his 44th book!) 'Vital Science'. We got a master class on the shift towards renewable energy, coal, energy storage solutions, climate change, and space. We hope you enjoy Dr Karl as much as we do!

Listen to our first episode with Dr Karl here: https://whatyouwilllearn.com/episode/authorinterview/doctorkarl/

Download our 'Top 50 Best Books of All Time' here: https://whatyouwilllearn.com/top50

Check out Dr Karl at his website: https://drkarl.com/

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The Definitive Book of Body Language Feb 02, 2019

The Definitive Book of Body Language - by Barbara Pease & Allan Pease

'How to read others' attitudes by their gestures'

Studies have shown the only 7% of our communication is verbal (what we say). 38% is vocal (how we say it) and the remaining 55% is non-verbal (what we do with our body language and our gestures). Intuitively, we often can sense when someone is meaning something different to what they're saying, but ti isn't until reading a book like this that dissects a wide range of different types of body language that we can really learn to decode actions and gestures.

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The Intelligent Investor Jan 26, 2019

The Intelligent Investor - by Benjamin Graham

'The Definitive Guide on Value Investing'

To invest successfully over a lifetime doesn't require a stratospheric IQ, unusual business insights or inside information. What's needed is a sound intellectual framework for making decisions and the ability to keep emotions from corroding the framework. Benjamin Graham, the original 'Father' of Value Investing and mentor to Warren Buffet, delivers serious financial wisdom.

In the book you'll learn how to value a company (so you know when it is under or below it's fair value), understand how stocks work and how to diversify a portfolio to best manage risk, sound investment philosophies (such as understanding the different between investment and speculation), and powerful questions to ask yourself when making an investment.

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The Personal MBA Jan 19, 2019

The Personal MBA - by Josh Kaufman

'Master the art of business'

The traditional MBA is so expensive that you need to mortgage your life, they teach out-dated concepts and can't guarantee a high paying job. You're almost certainly better off buying a bunch of books and trying a bunch of things yourself first before making such a major investment of time and money. The personal MBA is a book that combines all of the business concepts you can expect from an MBA, for the price of a book.

In this episode we cover the 5 parts of a business:

Value creation – discovering what people need or want, then creating it
Marketing - attracting attention to build demand
Sales - turning prospective customers into paying customers
Value delivery - giving customers what you've promised and ensuring that they're satisfied
Finance - bringing in enough money to make your effort worth while

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The Property Couch: Property Investing and Personal Finance Jan 16, 2019

Bryce and Ben are best selling authors, and the hosts of the Property Couch which is a trusted guide for Property and Money management. Aside from this, we are from the same city and share the same interests in reading great books. In this episode we dive deep into money management, property investing and books.

You can download the first chapter of their book, 'Make Money Simple Again' for free at the link below: https://thepropertycouch.com.au/free-chapter-make-money-simple-again/

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Originals Jan 12, 2019

Originals - by Adam Grant

'How Non-Conformists change the world'

There are two paths to success: be a conformist or be an original. Both can lead to eventual success, but each require a different approach to life. This book is all about how everyone can be more creative and bring new ideas to the table by being an 'original'. We talk about the things you can do to come up with more good original ideas, how you can spread these ideas, and the mindset required to keep moving along the path less taken.

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Steve Glaveski: Employee to Entrepreneur Jan 08, 2019

Steve Glaveski is the Founder of Collective Campus, Host of Future Squared Podcast, and the Author of the new book 'Employee to Entrepreneur'.

We got to sit down with Steve on the day his book was released. We spoke about mindset, philosophy, and strategies to help you make a successful jump into entrepreneurship.

If you want to buy his book, head to: https://www.employeetoentrepreneur.io/

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The Easy Way To Control Alcohol Jan 06, 2019

The Easy Way To Control Alcohol - by Allen Carr

12 months ago, we read and reviewed Allen Carr's "Easy Way To Stop Smoking". We thought, given it was the start of a new year, we'd read and review his alocohol book in case anyone out there was thinking of stopping or cutting down their alcohol consumption as a 2019 New Year's Resolution. Of course WE didn't have a problem with alcohol... or so we though.

Keep an open mind, weigh up the arguments rationally, then decide for yourself.

Check out our top 50 best books of all time: https://www.whatyouwilllearn.com/top50/

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Q&A #1 - Answering Your Questions Jan 04, 2019

In this episode, we're answering your questions! Listeners wrote in and recorded the questions they've always wanted to ask us - be that about specific books or about more general ideas.

If you want to hear us answer more questions, we were interviewed on Steve Glaveski's "Future Squared" podcast this week. Search for it in your podcast app, or listen along here: https://www.futuresquared.xyz/podcast/bonus-episode-standing-on-the-shoulders-of-giants-with-adam-jones-and-adam-ashton

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Best of 2018 Dec 28, 2018

Today we're celebrating 2018 with our favourite books of the year. It our little biannual WYWL party. In this episode we'll take a few listener questions, announce YOUR favourite books of the season as voted by listeners, and then go through OUR favourite books.

Both of our lists can be found below, alongside the link straight to the episode.

Enjoy!

Adam Ashton's Top 10:

The Laws of Human Nature, by Robert Greene - https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/the-laws-of-human-nature-part-1/id1125635053?i=1000424053352&mt=2
How to Win Friends and Influence People, by Dale Carnegie - https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/how-to-win-friends-and-influence-people/id1125635053?i=1000414989941&mt=2
Pre-Suasion, by Robert Cialdini - https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/pre-suasion/id1125635053?i=1000419346389&mt=2
Tao Te Ching, by Lao Tzu - https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/tao-te-ching/id1125635053?i=1000421772507&mt=2
Poke The Box, by Seth Godin - https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/poke-the-box/id1125635053?i=1000419775887&mt=2
The War of Art, by Steven Pressfield - https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/the-war-of-art/id1125635053?i=1000417175830&mt=2
Contagious, by Jonah Berger - https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/contagious/id1125635053?i=1000422223488&mt=2
The Black Swan, by Nassim Taleb - https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/the-black-swan/id1125635053?i=1000425378464&mt=2
21 Lessons for the 21st Century, by Yuval Noah Harari - https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/21-lessons-for-the-21st-century/id1125635053?i=1000421255953&mt=2
The Obstacle is The Way, by Ryan Holiday - https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/the-obstacle-is-the-way/id1125635053?i=1000425830265&mt=2

Adam Jones's Top 10:

The Laws of Human Nature, by Robert Greene
21 Lessons for the 21st Century, by Yuval Noah Harari
The Black Swan, by Nassim Taleb
How to Win Friends and Influence People, by Dale Carnegie
Tao Te Ching, by Lao Tzu
Hero With A Thousand Faces, by Joseph Campbell
Deep Work, by Cal Newport
The War of Art - by Steven Pressfield
Pre-Suasion, by Robert Cialdini
Getting To Yes, by Roger Fisher & William Ury -

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Steal Like An Artist Dec 22, 2018

Steal Like An Artist - by Austin Kleon

'10 things nobody told you about being creative'

Everyone needs a little more creativity in their lives. This isn't just for the stereotypical 'artist' who's making oil paintings and sculptures, it's for everyone that can enhance their work by injecting more flavour. This book is all about getting started on that journey toward producing more art more regularly, as well as some secret (and not-so-secret) tips and tricks to doing better work.

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The Obstacle Is The Way Dec 15, 2018

The Obstacle Is The Way - by Ryan Holiday

'The ancient art of turning adversity into advantage'

All of us have obstacles. They come in many shapes and sizes. But whatever we face, we have a choice: will we be blocked by obstacles, or will we advance through them. Holiday, through the lens of stoicism gives us a framework of perception, action and will, to turning our greatest challenges into our greatest opportunities. And of course, every time you overcome one obstacle, there's another one coming right around the corner...

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Mia Freedman: Work/Life Balance, Side Hustles and Changing the Culture Dec 10, 2018

We spoke with Mia Freedman, founder of the Mamamia media empire. In this episode, we speak about:

- Work/Life Balance: is it achievable or just an impossible fantasy?

- Some career advice for getting ahead

- The importance of having a Side Hustle: 'you want to find a gap in the market, but you need to make sure that there's a market in the gap'

- Some of the specific issues women face in the workplace and in business

- 'Don't let perfect be the enemy of done'

Check out the Lady Startup course: https://www.ladystartup.com.au/

Mamamia website: https://www.mamamia.com.au/

Mia's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/miafreedman/

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The Black Swan Dec 08, 2018

The Black Swan illustrates the severe limitations of our thinking, and the fragility of our knowledge. All it takes is one single observation to invalidate a millennia of confirmation.

Black Swans are hidden from view, because of our array of biasis and irrationalities, such as the narrative fallacy, the ludic fallacy and confirmation bias. Taleb shows us that the unpredictable, high impact events are the most consequential parts in culture and in your life.

Although the world is ran by unpredictable events, it doesn't mean we can't benefit from them. Taleb closes with a bunch of practical tips to benefit from the uncertainty in the world.

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Brian Wansink: Lose Weight Without Willpower Dec 05, 2018

Brian Wansink is the author of Slim By Design and Mindless Eating, with all the tricks in the tool bag to make you lose weight without conscious effort. In this episode we discuss more tricks to eat less and be healthier.

Check out Brian Wansink's latest project: http://www.healthierbydesign.org/

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Mindless Eating Dec 02, 2018

Mindless Eating - by Brian Wansink

'Why we eat more than we think'

Every single one of us largely eats because of what's around us. We overeat not because of hunger, but because of our family and friends, packages and plates, names and numbers, labels and lights, colours and candles, shapes and smells, distractions and distances, cupboards and containers. All we need is a few daily decisions to be shifted in the right direction to reduce our daily calories. This book is about re-engineering your environment and life so you can eat without guilt and without gaining weight, and without the need for willpower.

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Rich Dad, Poor Dad Nov 25, 2018

Rich Dad, Poor Dad - by Robert Kiyosaki

'What the rich teach their kids about money - that the poor and the middle class do not!'

Robert's dad was very highly educated and had a high paying job. His best friend's dad didn't finish high school and wasn't employed by anyone else. Robert had the opportunity to learn from two different perspectives and life experiences and was able to draw his own conclusions. In 'Rich Dad, Poor Dad', you will learn some great personal finance tips that, if applied correctly, could set you up for the rest of your life.

This book will definitely give you a different perspective on work and your finances.

Oh, and by the way... his highly educated dad with the high paying job was who he called his 'Poor Dad'...

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(Part 2) The Laws of Human Nature Nov 18, 2018

The Laws of Human Nature - by Robert Greene

Part 2! This book was so massive, both in terms of numbers of pages but also impact, we had to split it across two episodes.

In part 2, we cover the following chapters:

– Chapter 3: See Through People's Masks (The Law of Role-Playing)

– Chapter 14: Resist the Downward Pull of the Group (The Law of Conformity)

– Chapter 17: Seize the Historical Moment (The Law of Generational Myopia)

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The Laws of Human Nature (part 1) Nov 17, 2018

The Laws of Human Nature - by Robert Greene

Our new #1 best book we've ever read! This book is all about recognising people's behaviour and understand why they do what they do. By using this book, we hope to firstly acknowledge what is going on, to secondly better understand ourselves, and thirdly to understand other people.

It's such a mega book that we had to split this episode into two parts. In this episode, we cover the following chapters:

- Chapter 7: Soften People's Resistance by Confirming Their Self-Opinion (The Law of Defensiveness)

- Chapter 9: Confront Your Dark Side (The Law of Repression)

- Chapter 10: Beware the Fragile Ego (The Law of Envy)

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Neil Pasricha: Death, Happiness, and the impact of books Nov 14, 2018

Neil Pasricha is the author of 'The Happiness Equation' and 'The Book of Awesome'.

In our conversation with him, we discuss:

The effects of recognising our own impermanence
How to find the right job for you (it must provide "the 4 S's")
How pain can lead to more happiness than pleasure
The power of the number 1,000
The impact books and reading have had on Neil's life
Some of Neil's favourite books, and some books that had the biggest impact in forming Neil's life
His new podcast, '3 Books'

Check out his podcast, 3 Books, on your favourite podcast player or at his website: https://www.3books.co/

Grab our free 'Top 50 Books of All Time' (about to be updated): http://whatyouwilllearn.com/top50/

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The Happiness Equation Nov 10, 2018

The Happiness Equation - by Neil Pasricha

'Want Nothing + Do Anything = Have Everything'

It's very easy to get stuck into constantly striving for more, growing our business, taking the next step in our career, beginning that next project... but we very rarely actually stop and let ourselves be happy. This good gives some simple, practical advice and different approaches to injecting a little more happiness into your life.

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Deep Work Nov 03, 2018

Deep Work - by Cal Newport

'Rules for focused success in a distracted world'

Deep Work is: "Professional activities performed in a state of distraction free concentration that push your cognitive capacities to the limit. These efforts create new value, improve your skill, and are hard to replicate"

Our culture is constantly pushing toward 'shallow work' and most are getting stuck and distracted. The good news is that there are massive economic or professional opportunities for the few who can resist this trend and prioritise depth.

Cal Newport will sell you on going deep so you can acquire the type of skills that will make you valuable in the modern economy.

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Getting to Yes Oct 27, 2018

Getting To Yes - by Roger Fisher & William Ury

'Negotiation an agreement without giving in'

Whether it's asking for a raise with from boss, trying to find an agreed upon price for your house or discussing what you should do on date night, like it or not, you are a negotiator. We all negotiate every day. Most people negotiate by 'positional bargaining', but Roger and William show us their superior 'Principled Negotiation' techniques with a few simple steps:

1. Separate the problem from the people

2. Focus on interests not positions

3. Invent options for mutual gain

4. Insist on using objective criteria.

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Jonah Berger: Spread your ideas, leverage word of mouth Oct 25, 2018

Jonah Berger is the author of Contagious and Invisible Influence, and is currently working on a new book called 'The Catalyst'.

In our review of his book Contagious, we highlighted the six principles that helped products and ideas and behaviours 'catch on' by making them contagious (spreading from person to person via word of mouth). In this interview, we dive deeper into a few of those principles, like how a secret bar in New York harnessed the principle of Social Currency and how Kit Kat built a Trigger by associating themselves with coffee and breaks.

Check out Jonah's website: https://jonahberger.com/

Find him on twitter: https://twitter.com/j1berger

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Contagious Oct 20, 2018

Contagious - by Jonah Berger

'Why things catch on'

You'd think that the best product at the most attractive price with the most advertising would be the product that wins, but that's not always the case. Jonah did some digging and found six factors that drive word of mouth and lead products, services and behaviours to go 'viral' (to be spread from person to person via word of mouth): Social currency, triggers, emotion, public, practical value, and stories.

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Tao Te Ching Oct 14, 2018

The Tao Te Ching - by Lao Tzu

'The Book of The Way'

This booked is packed with wisdom from 500BC China. It's been passed on through the ages and applies to all aspects of life.

'Those who know don't talk, those who talk don't know'
'He who stands on tiptoe doesn't stand firm, he who rushes ahead cannot go far'
'Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill'
'The ancient masters didn't try to educate the people but kindly taught them to not know'

There's lessons packed within each paragraph and it's a bit of a mindblower that takes some time to stop, think and reflect.

Sign up to our 'best of' email streams here: www.whatyouwilllearn.com/email

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Chris Yeh: Blitzscaling - Lightning Fast Path to Building Massively Valuable Companies Oct 11, 2018

One surprising thing that all of the billion dollar tech companies have in common (like Google, Facebook and Apple), is the ability to Blitzscale - that is, prioritising speed over efficiency. Chris Yeh and Reid Hoffman just released their brand new book, Blitzscaling.

We interviewed Chris for the book launch and discussed how billion-dollar-companies are built. In order to achieve extraordinary growth, you need to follow new counterintuitive rules, like 'let fires burn' and 'ignore your customers'. We also chatted about where he sees growth in tech for the future.

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21 Lessons for the 21st Century Oct 07, 2018

21 Lessons for the 21st Century - by Yuval Noah Harari

We created myths to unite our species.

We tamed nature to give us power.

We are now redesigning life to fulfill our wildest dreams.

But do we know ourselves any more? Or will our inventions make us irrelevant?

21 Lessons is an exploration of what it means to be human in an age of bewilderment.

How can we protect ourselves from nuclear war, ecological cataclysms and technological disruptions? What can we do about the epidemic of fake news or the threat of terrorism? What should we teach our children? This book explores all of these vital questions and more.

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Moonwalking With Einstein Sep 29, 2018

Moonwalking with Einstein - by Josh Foer

'The art and science of remembering everything'

We're using our memories less and less. We've outsourced our memory to technology and devices such as GPS systems, google and online notebooks.

When a memory goes missing, such as someones name, it can be frustrating and futile and can come at some social cost. Moonwalking With Einstein tells Joshua Foer's journey from journalist to US Memory Champion in twelve months, and talks about different memory techniques and phenomena of the brain along the way.

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The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing Sep 23, 2018

The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing - by Al Ries & Jack Trout

'Violate them at your own risk!'

Billions of dollars are wasted every year on 'clever' or 'brilliant' marketing campaigns that were doomed to fail from the start, because they violate one of the 'immutable' laws. Ries & Trout argue that there are certain laws of marketing that are 'immutable' - they never change:

- 'Marketing is a battle of perceptions, not products'

- 'It's better to be first than better'

- 'The single most wasteful thing you can do in marketing is try to change a mind'

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Alex Banayan: Alternative paths to success through 'The Third Door' Sep 19, 2018

Alex Banayan was lying on the bed in his college dorm room staring at the ceiling wondering what he actually wanted to do with his life. He knew he wanted to do something big, so he tried researching his heroes to see how they got started. But after reading through business books and biographies, he couldn't find the very FIRST thing people did - before they had a name or a reputation or money or credibility, how did they get a foot in the door?

Because he couldn't find the book he was looking for, he decided to write it himself. His goal was to find the best in the world and get them to pass their advice onto the next generation. From Bill Gates to Warren Buffet to Steven Spielberg to Lady Gaga to Quincy Jones to Maya Angelou to Mark Zuckerberg, Alex tried to pull together their stories and advice for forging your own path to success.

Check out Alex and his book here: https://thirddoorbook.com/

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Poke The Box Sep 15, 2018

Poke The Box - by Seth Godin

'When was the last time you did something for the first time?'

Imagine that the world had no middlemen, no publishers, no bosses, no HR folks, no one telling you what you couldn't do.

If you lived in that world, what would you do?

Go. Do That.

Check out Seth's free Poke The Box Workbook here: http://whatyouwilllearn.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/PoketheBox_Workbook.pdf

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Robert Cialdini: The Godfather of Influence and Persuasion Sep 11, 2018

Dr Robert Cialdini is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Best-Selling author. His first book Influence was published in 1984 and has sold over 3 MILLION copies, and his latest book Pre-Suasion, published in 2016, was a New York Times Best Seller.

Dr. Robert Cialdini has spent his entire career researching the science of influence earning him an international reputation as an expert in the fields of persuasion, compliance, and negotiation. In other words, he's a weapon, and there is a lot you can gain professionally and personally from listening. His teachings can be applied to sales, marketing, negotiations, as well as every day social interactions, and can be either harnessed or used defensively.

Check out this video Bob made about his 'Science of Persuasion' which lists his six weapons of influence - it has been viewed over 10,000,000 times! Science Of Persuasion

Find out more about Bob at www.influenceatwork.com

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Pre-Suasion Sep 08, 2018

Pre-Suasion - by Robert Cialdini

'A revolutionary way to influence and persuade'

After his 1984 masterpiece 'Influence', Robert Cialdini brings us his second book: Pre-Suasion. Influence was all about the CONTENT of your message, whereas Pre-Suasion shows us that it's also important to manage the CONTEXT. The secret doesn't just lie in the message itself, but in the interactions before the message is delivered.

You will learn the 'single chute question' for the recipient to hunt for confirmations, how the 'focusing illusion' is used by the media to create irrationally disproportionate fear with the news, and a three stage process to persuade in any situation using the six weapons of influence. The key thing, however, is to be authentic and point out the persuasive tool only if it is genuinely there - if you're being a fraud, it simply won't work.

This book is a weapon. Please use it wisely.

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48 Laws of Power Sep 01, 2018

“Do not leave your reputation to chance or gossip; it is your life's artwork, and you must craft it, hone it, and display it with the care of an artist.”

This is an absolute bible for socially and politically navigating the world of relationships. In every single interaction, one individual will have more power and more status, and the other will have less. Be that in your work, business, romance, friendships, family, or otherwise, this book will show you’re the 'dos and donts'. You can read this book to best suit you: you can use it to help you in situations when you have less power, it can help you get more power, or it can help you use your power on others.

Warning: Proceed with caution. This is a powerful book with powerful laws – ignore them at your peril.

Law 1 – Never Outshine The Master. "Always make those above your feel comfortably secure. In your desire to please or impress them, do not go too far in displaying your talents or you might accomplish the opposite".

Law 4 – Always say less than necessary. "The more you say, the more common you appear, and the less in control... Powerful people impress and intimidate by saying less".

Law 9 – Win through your actions, never through argument. "Any momentary triumph you think you have gained through argument is really a Pyrrhic victory: the resentment and ill will you stir up in stronger than any momentary change of opinion".

Law 13 – When asking for help, appeal to people's self-interest, never to their mercy or gratitude. "Uncover something in your request, or in your alliance, that will benefit them, and emphasise it out of all proportion".

Law 46 – Never appear too perfect. "Appearing better than others is always dangerous, but most dangerous of all is to appear to have no faults or weaknesses".

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Rachel Botsman: Who Can You Trust? Aug 28, 2018

We spoke to Rachel Botsman when she was in town recently. Rachel has written a bunch of awesome books and presented some amazing TED Talks. Her TED Talks have had over 4 MILLIONS views and have subtitles in 29 languages.

Rachel Botsman writes and researches about how technology is transforming trust and what this means for life, work and how we do business.

Rachel is a lecturer at Oxford University’s Saïd Business School, where she designed and teaches the world’s first MBA course on the ‘Collaborative Economy’ and a new course on ‘Trust in the Digital Age’.

Check her out here: https://rachelbotsman.com/

See her TED Talks here: https://www.ted.com/speakers/rachel_botsman

Grab her books here: https://rachelbotsman.com/books/

Read more about her here: https://rachelbotsman.com/about-rachel-botsman/

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The Hero with 1000 Faces Aug 25, 2018

The Hero With 1,000 Faces - by Joseph Campbell

The hero's journey is can be found in mythology, popular culture and religion. The nucleus involves taking on the call for adventure, slaying the dragon, and returning home with the pot of gold, and with the knowledge and power you have achieved along the way.

"The cave you fear to enter, holds the treasure you seek" - Joseph Campbell

But most importantly it is a about you. What is your call to adventure, accept the challenge conquer the fear and claim the treasure - then do it all over again.

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Blue Ocean Strategy Aug 18, 2018

Blue Ocean Strategy - by W Chan Kim and Renee Maurborgne

'How to create uncontested market space and make the competition irrelevant'

The Problem: Current markets are flooded with competition. More and more companies are competing for smaller and smaller profit margins. This cut-throat battle leaves the water bloody. This is the Red Ocean.

The Solution: Swim away from the competition. Make the competition irrelevant. Find somewhere that is wide open. Create a Blue Ocean.

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100th BOOK!! Our Top 10 Lessons Aug 15, 2018

We just read and reviewed our 100th book for this podcast. We thought we'd pull together what we found to be the Top 10 lessons from all of these great books:

You're gonna die someday
Be proactive (realise that you have the power to take action)
Get in the arena, don't sit on the sidelines
Delayed Gratification (long-term satisfaction far outweighs instant gratification)
The Power of Questions and the Importance of Curiosity
Bias for Action (thinking and planning and dreaming are nice, but action is vital)
Place lots of Minimum Bets
Effectiveness VS Efficiency (best Time Management tips)
Listen before you Talk
You're either Remarkable or you're Invisible

If you like what you heard and think you would benefit from this episode format of synthesising the best lessons from a bunch of books, please get in touch. If you hate this and think we should stick to the script, also please let us know. Get in touch any time at podcast@whatyouwilllearn.com

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I Will Teach You to be Rich Aug 11, 2018

I Will Teach You To Be Rich - by Ramit Sethi

'No guilt. No excuses. No BS. Just a 6-week program that works'

In 2006, the average Goldman Sachs employee made $622,000. That was the AVERAGE! You might think that because of such compensation, they are superior money managers. The truth? You can very easily beet them after fees and taxes with very simple advice. I Will Teach You to be Rich, despite such an embarrassing name that you don't want to get holding the book, can get you back on track with finances with a simple 6 week step, by step process.

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The War of Art Aug 03, 2018

The War of Art - by Steven Pressfield

'Break through the blocks and win your inner creative battles'

If you're looking to achieve anything, especially something creative, you almost definitely have the skills and abilities to be able to do it. For example, if you want to be a writer, based on the fact that you're reading this, you have the ability to read and write. But being able to write isn't the be-all-and-end-all of actually writing a book.

"There's a secret that real writers know that wannabe writers don't... It's not the writing part that's hard. What's hard is sitting down to write."

What keeps us from sitting down to write? The Resistance. This book is all about The Resistance, and is broken into three parts: Defining the Enemy, Combatting Resistance, The Higher Realm. For anyone who wants to pursue a creative endeavour but has never been able to actually sit down and do the work, this book serves as a great kick in the behind.

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Lean In Jul 28, 2018

Lean In - by Sheryl Sandberg

'Women, Work and the Will to Lead'

This book is all about maximising your career. In parts, it's about how we all do things that sabotage our own opportunities, and in others it's directly targeted at women, such as how they approach juggling the demands of family and work at the same time.

Things are different for women at work compared to men, especially in the more senior positions. Sheryl Sandberg, is rated as one of the top 5 most powerful woman in Forbes and has MUST READ advice for all ambitious woman that want to have a successful career. The book covers topics like: - likeability vs success - picking the right partner (who is an equal partner) - the need to 'lean in', especially at the critical parts of your career before you take on the responsibilities of child birth.

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Outliers Jul 21, 2018

Outliers - by Malcolm Gladwell

'The Story of Success'

What seemingly arbitrary fact is common amongst the top Canadian Hockey players? Why are all of today's software billionaires born between 1954-1956? Why did Jews dominate to New York legal landscape in the 1980s, when they struggled to get jobs in the prior decade? Why are Asians so good at math??

Outliers looks beyond individual achievement. Gladwell is less concerned with what the people who achieve success are like, and more interested in where they come from, who their parents are, and what opportunities they are afforded.

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Awaken the Giant Within Jul 14, 2018

Awaken the Giant Within - by Tony Robbins

'Take immediate control of your mental, emotional, physical and financial destiny'

Tony Robbins is a very big papa and one of the most influential people on the planet. Today we review his book Awaken the Giant Within, which is all about releasing the incredible force we have inside us to put a dent in the world. This book essentially has the same content as his 'Date With Destiny' seminar, which costs about 10K to go to - so if you can actively read the book and do the exercises - you're likely to get plenty of value.

Want to hear about our top 50 books, go to:

www.whatyouwilllearn.com

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Sapiens Jul 07, 2018

Sapiens - by Yuval Noah Harari

'A brief history of humankind'

Human beings have come a long way since we were once apes. We evolved in many different directions - survival in the snowy plains of northern Europe required different traits than those needed to stay alive in Indonesia's steaming jungles. We quickly dispelled of our other human brothers, such as the Neanderthals, because we were given a unique gift: the 'Tree of Life Mutation' sparked a cognitive revolution that allowed us to communicate in unique ways. We quickly jumped to the top of the food chain, and by evolutionary standards, we dominated planet in no time. Yuval Noah Harari illustrates an exciting and educational tale as our journey continued through the agricultural, scientific and industrial revolutions.

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How to Win Friends and Influence People Jul 01, 2018

This is a phenomenal book. This is a must-read if you have any relationships at any level with any other humans. A lot of the concepts are common sense, but that’s the beauty of it: we already KNOW all of these things, we just need to be reminded of the best way to bring them all together. Yes, these techniques have been adopted by con-artists and slimy salespeople, but we trust that you’ll use them for good, not evil.

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Best of Season 2 Jun 08, 2018

Thanks for listening to Season 2 of What You Will Learn!

In this episode, we'll recap our favourite lessons from our favourite books, our favourite snippets from our favourite interviews, as well as drawing the winner of the Season 2 competition.

We'll be back on the 1st of July 2018 with How To Win Friends and Influence People.

Grab our Top 50 books: www.whatyouwilllearn.com/top50

Grab a few book summaries: www.whatyouwilllearn.com/summary

Adam Ashton's Top 10:

10 - 12 Rules for Life by Jordan Peterson

9 - The Power of Moments by Chip & Dan Heah

8 - The Life You Can Save by Peter Singer

7 - Thinking in Bets by Annie Duke

6 - The ONE Thing by Gary Keller & Jay Papasan

5 - Crossing The Chasm by Geoffrey Moore

4 - Win Bigly by Scott Adams

3 - So Good They Can't Ignore You by Cal Newport

2 - Perennial Seller by Ryan Holiday

1 - The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker

Adam Jones's Top 10:

10 - Essentialism by Greg McKeown

9 - The Inevitable by Kevin Kelly

8 - Crossing The Chasm by Geoffrey Moore

7 - Crushing It - by Gary Veynerchuk

6 - The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker

5 - Perennial Seller by Ryan Holiday

4 - 12 Rules for Life by Jordan Peterson

3 - The Life You Can Save by Peter Singer

2 - So Good They Can't Ignore You by Cal Newport

1 - The Easy Way to Stop Smoking by Allen Carr

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The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck May 26, 2018

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

'A counterintuitive approach to living a good life'

This is a very popular book - it's been at the top of the charts for a couple of year - so we thought it was time we should check it out. IT's a very conversational, cheeky, matter-of-fact, not-holds-barred approach. Manson tells people what they need to hear - he doesn't sugar coat it in the traditional 'self-improvement' manner.

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Chip Conley May 22, 2018

Chip Conley is the best selling author, founder of Joie de Vivre hotels and the Head of Global Hospitality & Strategy at Air BnB.

After reviewing the Peak, we were really interested in how to make the climb from the base to the top of Maslow's hierarchy of needs.

We also dive into the value of an education, the peak experience of Burning Man Festival and how he throws a huge party ever 5 years (looks like we are invited, hopefully we can bring you along). He is a legend, we hope you enjoy.

If you want to find out more about his awesome work, go to: www.chipconley.com

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Jay Papasan May 15, 2018

Jay Papasan tells us "when you're suppose to be working, work. When you're suppose to be playing, play. It's a weird tightrope you're walking, but it's only when you get your priorities mixed up that things fall apart"

The antidote to having things fall apart, is by focusing on the One Thing. In this interview we jump in a little deeper from the context of an employee, how to protect your 'one thing' when you are a little bitch and one important habit to install to increase productivity.

Jay is a cool dude. We hope you enjoy listening to him as much as we did speaking to him.

Find out more about Jay here: www.the1thing.com/

By the way, have you downloaded our top 50 yet? Go to the website: www.whatyouwilllearn.com/top50

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The ONE Thing May 11, 2018

The ONE Thing - by Gary Keller & Jay Papasan

'The surprisingly simply truth behind extraordinary results'

We believe a lot of lies when it comes to work and productivity: multitasking is a lie, work-life balance is a lie, 'everything matters equally' is a lie. The ONE Thing helps us break down our big long term goal into a series of dominoes, then forces us to focus on just ONE thing, which is knocking over that very first domino. If you hack away at your one thing every day, eventually it will topple and set off a chain reaction, knocking over more and more dominos, and building up momentum to knock over bigger and bigger ones too.

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12 Rules For Life May 04, 2018

12 Rules For Life - by Jordan Peterson

'An Antidote For Chaos'

This book launched in January 2018 and has been pretty much #1 on the charts. Most of the rules are pretty straight forward, some are a little cryptic, but all are necessary to apply to your own life.

Stand up straight with your shoulders back
Treat yourself like someone you are responsible for helping
Make friends with people who want the best for you
Compare yourself to who you were yesterday, not to who someone else is today
Do not let your children do anything that makes you dislike them
Set your house in perfect order before you criticize the world
Pursue what is meaningful (not what is expedient)
Tell the truth – or, at least, don't lie
Assume that the person you are listening to might know something you don't
Be precise in your speech
Do not bother children when they are skateboarding
Pet a cat when you encounter one on the street

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Annie Duke Apr 30, 2018

Annie Duke is a former poker pro who has shifted her focus to decision making. She won the 2004 World Series of Poker and the 2010 National Heads-Up Poker Championship, amassing career winnings of $4m. Now, she is looking at why people make decisions that aren't in their long-term best interest, how we can gather more information information that would allow us to make better decisions, and how we distinguish between the elements of luck and skill in the outcomes of our decisions.

Check out our interview with Annie Duke, author of 'Thinking In Bets'.

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Thinking In Bets Apr 28, 2018

Thinking In Bets - by Annie Duke

'Making smarter decisions when you don't have all the facts'

We make little decisions every single day. We also make bigger decisions regularly - moving house, changing jobs, investing in the stock market, starting/ending a relationship, and so on. In pretty much every case, we don't have all of the information we need, and there is always an element of luck in the outcome. This book is all about viewing every decision as a 'bet' so that we can make better decisions that will serve us better over the long term.

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Peter Singer Apr 26, 2018

We visited Peter Singer (AC), the world's most famous and most influential living philosopher. Singer's career started over four decades ago with the publication of his book 'Animal Liberation' in 1975. He essentially kicked off the animal rights movement and his since applied his utilitarian philosophy to things like charitable giving, poverty, and bioethics. He is currently the Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University and Laureate Professor at the Centre of Applied Philosophy at Melbourne University.

Check him out at http://www.petersinger.info/ and at https://www.thelifeyoucansave.org/

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The Life You Can Save Apr 21, 2018

The Life You Can Save - by Peter Singer

'How to play your part in ending world poverty'

If you're reading this book or listening to this podcast, your life is pretty good. Compared to billions of people in the world, we life a comfortable life and we don't have to worry about where our next meal is coming from or if a little mosquito bite could kill you. Singer shows us that we have a responsible to help end suffering and help lift others out of poverty. He also shows us that there are a lot of low-cost, high-impact things we can do and provides a template for the amount we should give. When will you start playing your part in ending world poverty?

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Chris Kresser Apr 18, 2018

We spoke to Chris Kresser, a podcaster, blogger and an all round health detective. Looking at the trends in the healthcare budget for the world, we are in a bit of strife:

- chronic disease accounts for 7/10 deaths in the USA and for 86% of healthcare expenditure.

- number of deaths from Alzheimers has increased 89% since 2000

- more killed by chronic disease than cancer

The world healthcare model is failing due to bias (bullshit) in medical research, big pharma (greed) influence and broken payment models.

Chris is stepping up to the plate and trying to create a new model of healthcare. He is a super star. We hope you enjoy :)

Check him out here: https://chriskresser.com/

Check out our Top 50 Book of All Time: www.whatyouwilllearn.com/top50

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Unconventional Medicine Apr 13, 2018

Unconventional Medicine - by Chris Kresser

'Join the revolution to reinvent healthcare, reverse chronic disease, and create a practice you love'

There is so much information out there in the world of health, diet and lifestyle, but obesity rates in the western world are higher than ever (and rising!). With that brings a lot of chronic diseases that are reducing our quality of life, but are completely preventable. Kresser shows us all a new way forward: a healthcare revolution.

Check out our Top 50 Book of All Time: www.whatyouwilllearn.com/top50

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Tom Peters Apr 09, 2018

We spoke to Tom Peters, the father of the modern business book. Before 'In Search of Excellence' in 1982, most business information was contained textbooks or academic journals. But thankfully, engaging and insightful information is now available and digestible for everyone.

Tom Peters just released a brand new book: 'The Excellence Dividend'. The message is the same as many of his previous works, because most big companies STILL haven't got the idea. 'People First' is Peters's key to success - the only way to get a thriving, growing organisation is to focus on people.

Check out Tom and his books at http://tompeters.com/

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In Search of Excellence Apr 07, 2018

In Search of Excellence - by Thomas Peters and Robert Waterman Jr

'Lessons from America's best run companies'

This is widely regarded as one of the very FIRST popular business and management books, the book that created the entire category and brought these ideas from the exclusive academic journals to the masses.

Tom Peters and Bob Waterman worked in management consulting at McKinsey and wanted to find out what made an 'excellent' company. They found 8 common traits the excellent organisations focused on that average business neglected. This book was written in the early 1980s, but most of the lessons and recommendations are still applicable today.

Want to see our Top 50 favourite books of all time? Grab it here: www.whatyouwilllearn.com/top50

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Perennial Seller Mar 31, 2018

Perennial Seller - by Ryan Holiday

'The art of making and marketing work that lasts'

This book is all about putting in the time and effort and energy into making something that is really really good, and then getting it out into the world. It's about making something 'perennial', something that will last for decades and still be selling in the future, not putting together some low-quality garbage and a flash-in-the-pan scammy marketing campaign to sell a lot of copies in a quick amount of time and then it dies. This is the perfect book to read to balance out some other ideas around hustle and shipping and minimum viable product and the like. If you want to make something great, this book is a must-read.

This book is featured in our 'Top 50' books. To get the full list, send us an email to podcast@whatyouwilllearn.com and we'll send the PDF to you.

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Scott Adams Mar 28, 2018

We interviewed Scott Adams, the creator of the Dilbert comic strip and the author of Win Bigly, How To Fail At Almost Anything And Still Win Big and The Dilbert Principle. As a trained hypnotist, Adams viewed the 2016 US Presidential election through a different filter: he saw a Master Persuader who brought a flame thrower to a stick fight. He gave Trump a 98% of winning, not based on policies and politics, but based on his ability to influence, persuade and hypnotise the masses.

We think it's vitally important to learn and understand these principles and techniques. Like many other books we've read and reviewed, you have a few options: you can learn to recognise someone trying to influence you, you can use your own persuasion for good, you can use persuasion for pure evil.

Check out Scott's comic and blog: www.dilbert.com

Check him out on twitter at: https://twitter.com/scottadamssays

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Win Bigly Mar 23, 2018

Win Bigly - by Scott Adams

'Persuasion in a world where facts don't matter'

This book is all about persuasion, and it's phenomenal. Scott Adams uses the 2016 U Presidential campaign to dissect and tools and techniques of persuading others, both on an individual level and to the masses. Things like 'cognitive dissonance' and 'confirmation bias' make it possible for persuasion to work, and Adams shows us things we can use ourselves, like the 'high ground maneuver' and 'two ways to win, no ways to lose'.

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The Comedy Bible Mar 17, 2018

We thought we'd do something a little different this week. We're both doing a 'comfort challenge' this week and stretching ourselves WAY outside of our comfort zones by taking a 5-day stand up comedy course where we have to do a live public performance at the end... If you want to come along and watch us, the show is on Thursday 29th March in South Yarra in Melbourne. Email us at podcast@whatyouwilllearn.com or DM us on social media and we'll send you the info to get tickets.

A big takeaway from this book is how to structure a joke:

1) Set Up. Don't try to be funny here, this is the serious/insightful/original observation on every day things. The Set Up is comprised of Topic + Attitude + Premise

2) The Funny. Don't just deliver the punch line, you have to do an Act Out. For bonus points, go for a Mix and combine in a seemingly unrelated topic.

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Crushing It Mar 10, 2018

Crushing It - by Gary Vaynerchuk

'How great entrepreneurs build their businesses and influence - and how you can, too'

After reading and reviewing Gary's first book, Crush It!, we were eagerly awaiting the follow up. Crushing It goes deeper into the eight essential components that are required to build a great business as an influencer, and then dives deep into all of the current hot platforms you should be spreading content on.

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Michael Shermer Mar 07, 2018

Michael Shermer is the founder of the Skeptic Society, which boasts over 55,000 members today. He is also the editor-in-chief of Skeptic Magazine.

Skepticism means viewing the world through a rational eye, always looking for scientific evidence to support or refute new claims, and always beginning with the null hypothesis (assuming it's false and putting the onus on the claimant to prove that it's true).

In this episode, we talk a little bit about the philosophies of being a skeptic, we talk about conspiracy theories, and we talk about Michael's brand new book 'Heavens On Earth', which took a look at the scientific evidence of the afterlife, heaven, utopia and so on.

Check out Michael here: http://michaelshermer.com/

Check out Skeptic magazine here: http://skeptic.com/

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Skeptic Mar 03, 2018

Skeptic - by Michael Shermer

'Viewing the world with a rational eye'

This book is a taste of what it means to be a 'skeptic'. Put simply, it means not believing everything you see, hear or read. It means putting all new claims through a series of questions and examinations in order to find the truth, not just the opinions of fringe thinkers.

The book covers a whole bunch of short essays on a wide range of ideas - out of the hundred or so in the book, we pick our favourites three or four each to discuss and talk about the approach you should take for viewing the world as a 'skeptic'.

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So Good They Can't Ignore You Feb 24, 2018

So Good They Can't Ignore You - by Cal Newport

'Why skills trump passion in the quest for work you love'

This book is a real-world look at career progression and getting the most out of your working life. Newport argues that 'follow your dreams' is almost always bad advice, and in many cases, it's actually dangerous.

Rule #1 - Don't Follow Your Passion

Rule #2 - Be So Good They Can't Ignore You

Rule #3 - Turn Down A Promotion

Rule #4 - Think Small, Act Big

Get the book summary we wrote here: www.whatyouwilllearn.com/summary

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Crossing The Chasm Feb 17, 2018

Crossing The Chasm - by Geoffrey Moore

'Marketing and Selling disruptive products to mainstream customers'

If you want to build a new multi-million-dollar disruptive technology, your first step should be to read this book. Moore breaks down the market according to their psychographics into: innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, laggards. Many new technologies can appeal to innovators and even to early adopters, but the 'chasm', where all the dead bodies lie of crushed hopes and dreams, is when companies try to cross over to the early majority.

If you're building a business, its something you need to understand.

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Greg McKeown Feb 15, 2018

Greg McKeown is the author of the book 'Essentialism'.

In this episode, we talk about: - The 'Busy' Bubble

- Elon Musk's 'First Principles Thinking'

- How we can be less 'busy' but more productive

- How employees can apply the principles of Essentialism even if they're not the boss

- And much more.

Check Greg out at https://gregmckeown.com/

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Essentialism Feb 10, 2018

Essentialism - by Greg McKeown

'The Disciplined Pursuit of Less'

Why are people so 'busy'? Why do people feel like it's a badge of honour to have a calendar full of meetings? It's important that there is a MASSIVE difference between 'activity' and 'productivity' - just because someone tells you they're so busy, doesn't necessarily mean they're actually achieving anything.

Centred around the German maxim weniger aber besser, 'less but better', Essentialism is all about finding what is truly essential and cutting away everything that is not. It's about doing less, but achieving more.

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Dan Heath Feb 06, 2018

We spoke to Dan Heath, one half of the Heath Brothers, who wrote two books we read and loved (Switch & The Power of Moments), as well as Made to Stick and Decisive which we are yet to read (but certainly will soon!).

Aside from being a fan of our post-episode songs (one of the very few people who didn't skip the song), Dan drops some awesome stories that we didn't get to tell during our own recap of The Power of Moments.

We love their books, we love them, and we can't wait to read whatever comes next! Check them our at: www.heathbrothers.com

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The Power of Moments Feb 03, 2018

The Power of Moments - by Chip & Dan Heath

'Why certain experiences have extraordinary impact'

Chip & Dan have done it again! We read and reviewed their book 'Switch' back in 2017 and it was phenomenal. Now, we've had a crack at their latest book 'The Power of Moments' and they're delivering the goods.

Have you ever wondered why some experiences stand out in your memory much more strongly that others? The Heath Brothers have cracked the code: Elevation, Insight, Pride, Connection.

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Kevin Kelly Jan 30, 2018

We spoke to Kevin Kelly, author of The Inevitable, to find out all of te thing that are coming in the next three decades. KK describes the '12 technological forces' that will shape our future, and we spent the first half of the interview talking about all things tech. Towards the second half of the interview, we transitioned to talking about the 'obligation' we have to do something great with our lives and how we can achieve more. A really interesting discussion with a really interesting guy - Tim Ferriss constantly refers to Kevin as the most interesting man in the world.

Check out Kevin's blog: www.kk.org

Join his weekly email list, Recomendo: http://recomendo.com/

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The Inevitable Jan 27, 2018

The Inevitable - by Kevin Kelly

'Understanding The 12 Forces That Will Shape Our Future'

This is the second time we're reading and reviewing 'The Inevitable', because we're super excited to be speaking with the great Kevin Kelly during the week. This book takes a lot at the next 30 years and what new technologies and other changes are coming our way. Kelly describes how these changes will affect the way we live and interact with the world. VR sex anyone?

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Doctor Karl Jan 25, 2018

We headed to Dr Karl's place and had one of the most fascinating conversations of our lives. Probably the smartest and most curious dude we've ever met, Karl certainly taught us a thing or two. We covered: - the downside of Adam Jones quitting coffee

- Life beyond Earth

- Space Travel

- Climate Change

- And how to more broadly save the world.

Dr Karl is an absolute legend and is making science accessible and enjoying for everyone.

Check him out: http://drkarl.com/

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Karl, The Universe and Everything Jan 19, 2018

Karl, The Universe and Everything - by Dr Karl Kruszelnicki

Doctor Karl is one of Australia's most recognisable faces and has been popularising science for decades. He's a TV personality, radio presenter, podcast host and author. This is his 43rd book (woah!). He dives into topics such as:

Sexist Air-Conditioning
Poo velocity
Earworms
Lightning and Power
Solar Energy
Marijuana
and Life Beyond Earth

Check him out! http://drkarl.com/

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Dan Pink Jan 08, 2018

We got to speak to Dan Pink on the eve of the release of his brand new book, 'When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing'.

We read and reviewed Dan's book Drive back in 2016 as one of our very first episodes, then more recently we did To Sell Is Human. We give a bit of a reminder of 'motivation 2.0' and 'motivation 3.0' from Drive, and then dive into the brand new stuff from his brand new book. We got a nice little teaser fron Dan, and now we can't wait to read and review When as well!

Links:

Dan Pink's brand new book is called 'When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing'. Check it out here: http://www.danpink.com/books/when/

Dan is hosting a new podcast called '1-3-20' - 1 author, 3 questions, 20 minutes. Check it out here: https://www.hubspot.com/one-three-twenty-podcast

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To Sell Is Human Jan 06, 2018

To Sell Is Human - by Dan Pink

'The surprising truth about persuading, convincing and influencing others'

Dan Pink has done it again. We first reviewed 'Drive' back in 2016, and now we're reviewing his book about sales and 'non-sales selling'. Pink lays down the ABC of 'how to be' when selling: Atunement, Buoyancy, Clarity. Then, the three 'what to do' when selling: Pitch, Serve, Improvise. If you're in the 1 out of 9 people that have 'sales' directly in their job description, you can use these to improve your technique. And even if you're in the 8 out of 9 people that aren't specifically in sales, you are still in 'non-sales selling' and can use these to influence and persuade people when selling your ideas.

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Libby Babet Jan 04, 2018

We went to the BUF Girls office near Bondi Beach and spoke with Libby Babet. Following on from our previous episode about stoping smoking, we thought a few listeners (ourselves included) might have some New Years Resolutions around health and fitness, and Libby is just the person to offer some advice!

Libby received the life-changing diagnosis of malignant hypertension in her early 20s, but then used it as a platform and turned it into a life-long mission to inspire a new generation of happy, healthy, empowered, active people.

Libby believes she was put on this planet to help people be happier, feel good about themselves and live a full life by creating a positive life culture they live and breathe. Health and fitness turned out to be the most impactful way for her to do that, so Libby set out on a mission to create some unique businesses.

Hello entertrainment crew the BUF Girls, Bondi based athletic group training studio AGOGA, as well as healthy food businesses Chief Bar and This Natural Life.

Libby is also an author and journalist dedicated to writing on topics that inspire women and shift the way the way they think about their health. Her new book, Totally BUF, has just been released and in 2018 she’s taking 200 female entrepreneurs and business leaders to a 5-day business and wellness retreat in Fiji with her new venture Nurture Her!

Links

https://bufgirls.com

https://agoga.com.au

https://eatlikeachief.com

https://thisnaturallife.com.au

https://bufgirls.com/totally-buf-book

https://nurtureher.com

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The Easy Way to Stop Smoking Dec 31, 2017

The Easy Way to Stop Smoking - by Allen Carr

Most books and programs about quitting smoking focus on all of the negatives of continuing to smoke: the extreme health risks, the obscene financial cost, and so on. But the problem is - that doesn't work! Smokers already know the health risks, but that didn't make them stop. The other problem is it talks about 'giving up' smoking and you're always feeling like you're sacrificing something.

Instead, Allen Carr speaks from the smokers side, as someone who smoked for 33 years and found it hard to quit. He eliminates any excuses a smoker will give for continue to smoke, and then highlights the benefits of 'escaping' from the slavery of the cigarette.

Adam Jones's favourite and most impactful book.

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Best of 2017 Dec 28, 2017

Adam Ashton and Adam Jones recap the best books, the best interviews and the best songs of the first half of Season 2 for 2017. Some of these are serious punches in the face and some and serious gold. You can find our respective Top 10 books below.

Join us on social media: Instagram = @whatyouwilllearn and Twitter = www.twitter.com/wywlpodcast

Adam Ashton:

10: Start With Why - by Simon Sinek

9: Purple Cow - by Seth Godin

8: The Lean Startup - by Eric Ries

7: Good to Great - by Jim Collins

6: Switch - by Chip & Dan Heath

5: The Millionaire Fastlane - by MJ de Marco

4: The Click Moment - by Frans Johansson

3: Predictably Irrational - by Dan Ariely

2: Influence - by Robert Cialdini

1: The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People - by Stephen Covey

Adam Jones:

10: Geting Things Done - by David Allen

9: Purple Cow - by Seth Godin

8: The Click Moment - by Frans Johansson

7: The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People - by Stephen Covey

6: Pale Blue Dot - by Carl Sagan

5: Daring Greatly - by Brene Brown

4: Lean Startup - by Eric Ries

3: The Start-up of You - by Reid Hoffman

2: Influence - by Robert Cialdini

1: The Millionaire Fastlane - by MJ de Marco

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A More Beautiful Question Dec 23, 2017

A More Beautiful Question - by Warren Berger

“The power of inquiry to spark breakthrough ideas”.

It it is becoming easier and easier to find answers. We’re only one search away to finding almost anything we want to know, and with technology always improving and the introduction of AI and machine learning, the trend will continue. If we can get any answer we want, the only important thing becomes asking the right question.

Get in touch with us any time by emailing us at podcast@whatyouwilllearn.com

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Daring Greatly Dec 16, 2017

Daring Greatly - by Brene Brown

'How the courage to be vulnerable transforms the way we live, love, parent and lead'

This book is about having courage and being vulnerable. It is inspired by the below quote from a Theodore Rooseveldt speech, known as 'The Man in The Arena'. Our interpretation: don't be a little bitch, get out there and have a crack.

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

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Dan Ariely Dec 12, 2017

Dan Ariely. Absolute legend.

Author of 'Predictably Irrational', 'The Upside of Irrationality', 'The Honest Truth About Dishonesty' (which was made into a Netflix documentary called (Dis)Honesty: The Truth About Lies), 'Payoff' and his latest book, 'Dollars & Sense'.

We shared a few red wines, a kebab and a night at the ballet with Dan and talked about things like procrastination, hedonic adaptation, using relativity as a short cut for comparisons, how he got into behavioural economics, and so much more. Check it out!

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Predictably Irrational Dec 09, 2017

Predictably Irrational - by Dan Ariely

'The hidden forces that shape our decisions'

Economists start with the assumption that all humans are fully informed, rational decision makers. They use this to form all of their economic theories and models. But, as Dan Ariely points out, we're NOT rational. In many cases, we're very IRRATIONAL: we make decisions that aren't in our own best interest. More than that, Dan recognised that we are irrational in very PREDICTABLE ways - we all make the same kinds of mistakes. He shows how we are influenced by things like comparisons, arousal, price, ownership and our own expectations. This is an absolutely phenomenal book with wide-ranging applications.

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Naomi Simson Dec 05, 2017

Naomi Simson is the founder of RedBalloon, a 'shark' on Shark Tank Australia, Australia #1 LinkedIn profile with over 2.4m followers, and the author of the books 'Ready To Soar' and 'Live What You Love'.

In this episode, we talk about:

- The skills you'll learn as a corporate employee

- How employees, no matter their seniority, can contribute something meaningful to customers and to the organisation

- The best approach to transitioning from employee to entrepreneur

- Who SHOULDN'T try to become an entrepreneur

- The importance of listening to your customers (but also knowing when to ignore them)

- The difference between 'persistence' and 'pigheadedness'

- The difference between 'this is not working' and 'this is not working YET'

- The fine line between optimism and reality

- 'Red Flags' and instant turn-offs for investors

- The importance of constantly learning and reading, as well as some of Naomi's favourite books and authors

Links: http://join.naomisimson.com/ - 'The Huddle' - you can get an invite to join Naomi's private Facebook community here. https://naomisimson.com/ - website https://education.naomisimson.com/ - Naomi's online course titled 'Building Your Business Brand'. Naomi's social channels: Facebook: @naomi.simson LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/naomisimson/ Instagram: @naomisimson Twitter: @NaomiSimson

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Ready to Soar Dec 02, 2017

Ready To Soar - by Naomi Simson

'Turn your brilliants idea into a business you love'

Naomi Simson is the founder of Red Balloon, a 'shark' on Shark Tank Australia, and Australia's #1 LinkedIn profile with over 2.4 million followers. This book is all about getting started in business, with chapters such as 'the dream' 'the first steps', 'funding' and 'what you need to survive'.

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Joel Bakan Nov 28, 2017

Joel Bakan is the author of the books 'The Corporation' and 'Childhood Under Siege'.

The Corporation (the last book we read and reviewed) talks about how the structure of large companies essentially forces them to focus purely on profit and disregard any other obligations or responsibilities they may have to those around them. It was also a documentation (of the same title) and Joel is currently working on 'The Corporation 2' to be released in late-2018.

Childhood Under Siege talks about how big businesses target children and control their actions through marketing and advertising, as children haven't fully developed more rational, long-term thinking and planning yet.

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The Corporation Nov 25, 2017

The Corporation - by Joel Bakan

'The Pathological Pursuit of Power and Profit'

This is another eye-opening book, where the author contends that the structure of companies forces them to be 'psychopaths' by definition: they have no regard for others, they externalise as many costs as they can, the take no responsibility, the feel no guilt or remorse, they lack empathy, the have asocial tendencies, they only relate to others superficially, and they manipulate everyone around them.

Check out our new social media accounts: www.twitter.com/wywlpodcast and https://www.linkedin.com/company/what-you-will-learn-podcast/ and 'whatyouwilllearn' on Instagram

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David Allen Nov 21, 2017

We had the privilege of speaking to the King of Productivity, David Allen, author of the cult classic 'Getting Things Done'. He advocates for being stoned - not by smoking weed, but by getting everything out of your head and maximising productivity so you can be present with whatever you are doing. We delve deeper into his system and talk about the futility of 'busyness'.

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Getting Things Done Nov 18, 2017

Getting Things Done - by David Allen

'The Art of Stress-Free Productivity'

This book as highly regarded as the ultimate guide in efficiency. It is all about, as the title suggests, Getting Things Done. The books provides a full-on system that, once fully implemented, will mean nothing ever gets missed: Capture, Clarify, Organise, Reflect, Engage.

Join our mailing list for monthly updates by filling out the form at the top of the page at www.whatyouwilllearn.com

You can email us any time at podcast@whatyouwilllearn.com

Check out our new social media accounts: www.twitter.com/wywlpodcast and https://www.linkedin.com/company/what-you-will-learn-podcast/ and 'whatyouwilllearn' on Instagram

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Switch Nov 11, 2017

Switch - by Chip & Dan Heath

'How to change things when change is hard'

This is a phenomenal book about creating change, any change at any level. They break it down into three elements:

1. Direct the Rider (make it crystal clear)

2. Motivate the Elephant (strong feelings, a NEED to change)

3. Shape the Path (Make it as easy as possible)

The rider can control the elephant for a very short period of short, but the elephant is big and strong and can overpower the rider at any point - that's why you need all three things to effectively maintain a change.

Check out our new social media accounts: www.twitter.com/wywlpodcast and https://www.linkedin.com/company/what-you-will-learn-podcast/ and 'whatyouwilllearn' on Instagram

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Influence Nov 04, 2017

Influence - by Robert Cialdini

'The Psychology of Persuasion'

An extremely well-respected book that breaks down some of the ways in which we are easily influenced. Cialdini highlights some of the triggers of our 'primitive automaticity' and shows us some ways in which we are being influenced without even realising it. By reading and understanding these concepts, we can choose to use them for good, for evil, or as defence - we can use these to help people, we can use these to influence people in a way that would help ourselves, or we can notice when they're being used on us and be prepared for them! The six elements are: - Reciprocity - Commitments and Consistency - Social Proof - Liking - Authority - Scarcity Enjoy the ride!

Sign up to our monthly recaps at the top of the homepage at www.whatyouwilllearn.com

See you next week :)

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Startup of You Oct 28, 2017

'Adapt to the Future, Invest in Yourself, and Transform Your Career'

Reid Hoffman, the cofounder of LinkedIn, offers career advice in a way that views your career trajectory as a business or startup that you need to take control of. Concepts like 'ABZ planning', 'Almost Ready, Aim, Fire, Aim, Fire', 'Pivot as you learn', 'Assessing and Managing Risk' and 'Network Intelligence' were tools usually restricted to entrepreneurs and startups, but Reid shows us how we could (and should) apply these to accelerating our career progression.

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John Perkins Oct 24, 2017

We spoke to John Perkins, the author of 'The New Confessions of an Economic Hitman'. Just like the book, it was a wild ride. We spoke about what is happening in the world right now and we got pretty deep and pretty real. There's a lot going on around us today and it's probably better to open our eyes a little than go through our day oblivious.

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The New Confessions of an Economic Hit Man Oct 21, 2017

This book takes you on a wild ride into the world of 'Economic Hit Men' and how they riddle developing countries with so much crippling debt that they eventually succumb to the demands of the US and give up they power. We read about political leaders being assassinated or coming into 'unfortunate accidents' if they try to resist...

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Frans Johansson Oct 17, 2017

We got the opportunity to speak to Frans Johansson, the author of The Medici Effect and The Click Moment.

We spoke about both of these books, and our discussion spanned uncertainty, purposeful bets, click moments, doubling down, innovation, and a whole lot more. Frans is an absolute weapon of a bloke and drops some serious gems of wisdom.

Check him out at www.fransjohansson.com or on twitter at twitter.com/frans_johansson

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The Click Moment Oct 14, 2017

The Click Moment by Frans Johansson

'Seizing Opportunity in an Unpredictable World'

This is a great business book. The world is random and there are forces out there that make success impossible to predict, so we need to be doing everything we can to harness randomness and use it to our advantage. The famed '10,000 hours rule' works in many cases, but it's essentially irrelevant in the business world. Instead, we need to focus on three things: click moments, placing purposeful bets, and allowing complex forces to work for us.

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So What's The Difference? Sep 30, 2017

'A look at 20 world views, faiths and religions'

We didn't really know anything about religion, so we decided to try and find out. This book gives a bit of an overview of the world's major religions and describes their beliefs. Unfortunately, the book isn't an unbiased account of the world as it's written by a devout Christian and thus is seen through the lens of a particular belief. Nevertheless, it gave some good insight into what people believe and why.

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Good to Great Sep 23, 2017

Good to Great - by Jim Collins

'Why some companies make the leap... and why others don't'

'Good to Great' is highly regarded as one of the greatest business books and recommended by many of the authors we've interviewed. It's very well structured and analyses companies that went through a prolonged period of being just 'good', then went through a transition phase, then became 'great' and outperformed other businesses in their industry for more than 15 years. This book highlights 6 key factors, based around Disciplined People, Disciplined Thought, and Disciplined Action.

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Chris Guillebeau Sep 20, 2017

Chris Guillebeau is the author of 'The $100 Startup', 'Born For This', 'The Happiness of Pursuit', 'The Art of Non-Comformity', and is about to release his brand new book 'Side Hustle'. He hosts the daily podcast 'Side Hustle School' which you can find wherever you're listening to this podcast.

In this conversation, we talk about some of Chris's previous books and then dive into side hustles. We talk about why you should have one, how you get started, and what to do next.

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$100 Startup Sep 16, 2017

The $100 Startup - by Chris Guillebeau

'Fire your boss, do what you love and work better to live more'

This book gives insight into a whole bunch of businesses that started with very little capital, made a better-than-average income and required no specialised skills or knowledge. It provides a roadmap to how we can do it too.

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Andy Molinsky Sep 12, 2017

Our interview with Andy Molinsky, the author of 'Reach' and 'Global Dexterity'.

We delve deeper into the ideas of getting outside your comfort zone as we discussed on our previous episode, our review of the best bits of Andy's book Reach. We also talk about Andy's experience of moving to a new country and adjusting to a new culture, as he details in hit book Global Dexterity.

You can check out more from Andy at: www.andymolinsky.com

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Reach Sep 09, 2017

Reach - by Andy Molinsky

'A new strategy to help you step outside your comfort zone, rise to the challenge, and build confidence'

A lot of magic seems to happen outside of our comfort zone. We all need to do things that we don't like doing, and we all need to be prepared to step up and grab opportunities when they are presented. But most people struggle to do things that test their limits. There are five challenges we face when stepping outside our comfort zone: authenticity, likeability, competence, resentment and morality. But there are three resources we can use to help us build confidence and rise to the challenge: conviction, customisation and clarity.

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Finite and Infinite Games Sep 02, 2017

Finite and Infinite Games - by James P Carse

This book starts with some general definitions of the economics theory of finite and infinite games. Things like finite games having defined rules and players, precise start times, and the way to which a game ends and a winner is declared. Contrast that with the infinite games that are constantly evolving so that they never end.

Honestly, by itself, the theory and definitions of game theory aren't that interesting. But James Carse takes these ideas and applied them to all different areas of life, from the ownership of property, to professional life, to nature, technology, and even sexuality.

Enjoy.

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Steve Keen Aug 29, 2017

Steve Keen is an Australian-born, British-based economist and author. He looks at the world economy with a different set of metrics that include private debt levels, unlike the mainstream economists (who apparently are all idiots). He is not an optimist on the current state of the global financial economy. In the episode we cover why he thinks the Aussie property market is the biggest bubble in the history of bubbles and why the next financial crisis is going to be bigger than 2008. It isn't all doom and gloom however, Steve points out a few ways to protect yourself (hint: get out of debt!) and solutions the governments can adopt.

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Can We Avoid Another Financial Crisis? Aug 26, 2017

Can We Avoid Another Financial Crisis - by Professor Steve Keen

Through a lot of research, specifically into the levels of private debt, Steve Keen has highlighted a number of countries that are on the brink of financial disaster. He explains why they are in trouble, how they have gotten to this position, and what options they have for trying to get out of the 'danger zone'.

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Start With Why Aug 19, 2017

Start With Why - by Simon Sinek

'How great leaders inspire everyone to take action'

'Start With Why' is a great book about a massive mistake a lot of people are making. Simon Sinek's TED Talk, based on the principles in this book, is the third most viewed of all time. Essentially, he argues that people make a fundamental error when they try to sell based on WHAT they do. "People don't buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it".

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MJ DeMarco Aug 15, 2017

We speak with the author of 'The Millionaire Fastlane' about his latest book 'Unscripted'. MJ tells us about the "scripts" that have been indoctrinated in all of us - things like lining up in rows at school and asking permission to go to the bathroom, working 5 days a week for a 2 day weekend, working for 50 years and hoping to save enough for retirement... This may not be the most comfortable conversation if you realise that you're in the wrong lane, but it's definitely worth listening to if you realise that there may be a quicker route to financial freedom.

Join MJ's free entrepreneur forum here: https://www.thefastlaneforum.com

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Millionaire Fastlane Aug 12, 2017

The Millionaire Fastlane - by MJ DeMarco

"Crack the code to wealth and live rich for a lifetime"

This book might be a little uncomfortable to read but it's a serious punch in the face. This isn't for everyone, but if you've got a bit of a sense that the traditional path isn't leading to wealth and happiness, this might be the wakeup call you need. MJ distinguishes between the Sidewalk (sacrificing tomorrow by always spending more than you earn), the Slowlane (sacrificing today by living frugally and relying on time and hope and compound interest) and the Fastlane (taking control and leveraging time through entrepreneurship to get rick quick).

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Mate Aug 05, 2017

'Become The Man Women Want'

Mate - by Tucker Max and Geoffrey Miller

Sorry ladies, this one is probably more for the blokes. Unlike the book we did 'The Game' which involved manipulation and mind games, this is more about becoming a good bloke that women are naturally attracted to. It's about improving yourself in all areas of your life, like your physical health, mental health, willpower and intelligence, and then indirectly signalling to women that you're an effective man that will be a good partner. The book goes through the 5-step plan to help you achieve your mating goals.

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Think and Grow Rich Jul 29, 2017

Think and Grow Rich - by Napoleon Hill

One of the best selling books of all time, this 1937 classic has stood the test of time. Whilst some of the specifics have changed, and some of the world views of the aren't so politically correct any more, the underlying principles are still applicable today.

This book covers '13 Principles', including thoughts, belief, desire, decision, persistence, specialised knowledge, organised planning, and fear.

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Purple Cow Jul 22, 2017

Purple Cow - by Seth Godin

'Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable'

We love Seth Godin so it's time to do another Seth book. The premise of the book is that the old way to build a business (making safe, average products and then marketing them by buying as much TV advertising you can afford) is no longer effective. Instead, we need to make remarkable products that customers will tell other people about. The idea is that a brown cow isn't worth telling someone about, but a purple cow... that's remarkable, that's worth talking about.

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Seth Godin Jul 18, 2017

We got the opportunity to speak with our absolute idol, Seth Godin. The author of so many amazing books that we've reviewed in the past, like The Dip, Tribes and Purple Cow, and plenty that we will review in the future, like Linchpin, The Icarus Deception, Poke The Box and What To Do When It's Your Turn.

Seth was an internet marketer and essentially invented commercial email. He built Yoyodyne and sold it to Yahoo for ~$30m and then built Squidoo. Now, he's a teacher and teaches by writing books, blogging every day and creating online courses.

In this conversation, we talk about freedom, dreams, fear, marketing, business and books.

If you get in early enough, you can sign up to his newest online course at www.themarketingseminar.com. Otherwise, type 'seth' into google and you'll be able to find his daily blog and all of his books. You won't be disappointed.

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JP Sears Jul 11, 2017

Our interview with the viral social media megastar JP Sears.

After years working as a private emotional healing coach, JP started making videos to promote himself and his services. But after 18 months of 'serious' videos, he started making some satirical and comedic videos. They blew up the internet. You might have seen his videos about taking good yoga instagram photos, competitive spirituality, essential oils, or 'if meat eaters acted like vegans'. He's had 100s of millions of views on his videos.

Check him out on Facebook at www.facebook.com/awakenwithjp or his YouTube channel www.youtube.com/awakenwithjp

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Power of Now Jul 08, 2017

The Power of Now - by Eckhart Tolle

'A guide to spiritual enlightenment'

We've tackled another spiritual book. It's all about the present moment. We are too often caught reliving the past or obsessing over the future that we neglect the Now. There are a lot of lessons to take from The Power of Now!

This book was recommended by one of our listeners. You can recommend your favourite books by filling our the form at www.whatyouwilllearn.com/survey

If you'd like to grab a copy of the book, you can do so here: https://www.bookdepository.com/The-Power-of-Now-Eckhart-Tolle/9780340733509/?a_aid-adamsboks

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Season Finale - The Best of Season 1 Jun 02, 2017

This episode might be a little self indulgent due to a little bit of alcohol. But - it's our official 1 year anniversary!! Thanks for listening and reviewing and spreading the word. We love reading books and hope you're enjoying the show so far.

We're taking a short 1-month break, but we'll be back with a MASSIVE month of books. We're relaunching on July 1st with 'The 7 Habits off Highly Effective People', probably the greatest book of all time. In our month of July we'll be doing some of the best books of all time, including 'Think and Grow Rich', 'The Lean Startup', 'The Power of Now' and 'Start With Why'.

We'd love to hear more about you, fill out our survey: www.whatyouwilllearn.com/survey

Grab a book over the break: http://www.bookdepository.com/?a_aid=adamsbooks

We're looking for someone to join the team and help us out - email us at podcast@whatyouwilllearn.com if you're interested.

See you soon!!

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Unstoppable May 27, 2017

Unstoppable - by Bill Nye

'Harnessing Science to Change the World'

Bill Nye, The Science Guy, is back! After his hit TV show in the 1990s, Big Bad Bill has a new book. He also has a new series on Netflix - 'Bill Nye Saves The World'. In this book, Bill opens our eyes to the fact that climate change WILL affect everyone's life. The human race has always used science to fix the messes we've created, so now we need to use science to fix climate change. Bill presents a heap of different ideas. The ultimate aim is to inspire the New Generation and gives people ideas to experiment with.

Grab a copy of the book here: https://www.bookdepository.com/Unstoppable-Bill-Nye/9781250109446/?a_aid=adamsbooks

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Patti Sanchez May 23, 2017

Our interview with Patti Sanchez, co-author of the book we reviewed this week, 'Illuminate: Ignite Change Through Speeches, Stories, Ceremonies and Symbols'.

Patti was good fun and it seems like everything she says is structure in a powerful story arc that is intriguing and captivating. Patti shows us how everyone can benefit from the tools and techniques highlighted in her book 'Illuminate' and how we can put them in to action in every day life.

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Illuminate May 20, 2017

Illuminate - by Nancy Duarte & Patti Sanchez

'Ignite Change through Speeches, Stories, Ceremonies and Symbols'

A cool, well-structured, well designed book about creating change. The book is centred around the 'Innovation Life-Cycle' and the 'Venture Scape'. It takes us through the story of change through the stages: Dream, Leap, Fight, Climb, Arrive and Re-Dream. At each stage, you as the 'Torch Bearer' and the leader need to light the way for your travellers, using speeches, stories, ceremonies and symbols.

Grab a copy of the book here: https://www.bookdepository.com/Illuminate-Nancy-Duarte-Patti-Sanchez/9780241245408/?a_aid=adamsbooks

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The Untethered Soul May 13, 2017

The Untethered Soul - by Michael A Singer

'The Journey Beyond Yourself'

Today, we're getting spiritual. This book talks about becoming free from limitations, soaring beyond your boundaries, finding inner peace and freedom, and learning to navigate your thoughts and emotions. We were perhaps a little out of our comfort zone on this one, but keep your heart open and don't close over on us - the path to unconditional happiness is here.

Grab a copy of The Untethered Soul here: https://www.bookdepository.com/The-Untethered-Soul-Michael--Singer/9781572245372/?a_aid=adamsbook

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Pamela Slim May 09, 2017

Pamela Slim: Author of 'Escape from Cubicle Nation' and 'Body of Work'

Our previous episode summarised the biggest lessons from Pamela's book, Escape from Cubicle Nation, and today what got to speak with her to find out a little bit more of her journey and her advice for any 'corporate prisoners' who want to find their passion and escape.

Grab a copy of the book here: https://www.bookdepository.com/Escape-from-Cubicle-Nation-Pamel-Slim/9780425232842/?a_aid=adamsbooks

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Escape from Cubicle Nation May 06, 2017

Escape from Cubicle Nation - by Pamela Slim

'From Corporate Prisoner to Thriving Entrepreneur'

The fancy titles and steady pay checks of a 'safe' corporate job aren't so safe anymore... And perhaps it doesn't make us that happy either. Pamela Slim's book presents ideas for becoming self-employed and how you can go about it, but also highlights a lot of the risks involved.

Grab a copy of the book here: https://www.bookdepository.com/Escape-from-Cubicle-Nation-Pamel-Slim/9780425232842/?a_aid=adamsbooks

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Stand and Deliver Apr 30, 2017

Stand and Deliver - by Dale Carnegie

'How to become a masterful communicator and public speaker'

Dale Carnegie, also the author of one of our favourite books How to Win Friends and Influence People, gives us a great toolkit to take and apply to our communication and public speaking. This book is based on his course, the same course that Warren Buffet referred to as the greatest investment he's ever made (and he's made some pretty good investments!).

Some of the things we cover:

- what every listener really wants

- overcoming stage fright

- using humour effectively

- story telling

- making a positive first impression

- the Magic Formula

Grab a copy of the books here: https://www.bookdepository.com/Stand-and-Deliver-Dale-Carnegie-Training/9780857206763/?a_aid=adamsbooks

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Nora Gedgaudas Apr 28, 2017

Our interview with Nora Gedgaudas, the author of the book we reviewed last week, 'Primal Body, Primal Mind'. Check out the episode for a bit of background on this conversation.

Nora is an expert on all things paleo and ketogenic. She certainly knows her stuff! We're by no means promoting the paleo diet, but it's worth hearing about so you can make your own judgements.

We spoke with Nora for almost an hour. But, given our regular interview episodes are around 30-40 minutes long, we didn't want to break your trust and whack in an hour-long episode. So, this is an edited version, but you can check out the full conversation in video form with the three of us on screen on this YouTube video: https://youtu.be/vFNT8pdMRDY

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Primal Body, Primal Mind Apr 22, 2017

Today, what a lot of us tend to put in our bodies would hardly be recognized as food to our ancestors. Our modern diet has influenced our susceptability to diseases such as cancer, osteoporosis, metabolic syndrome, heart diseases and ADD - just to name a few.

'Primal Body, Primal Mind' shows us sustainable diet strategies to curb sugar cravings, promote fat burning and weight loss, reduce stress and anxiety, improve sleep and moods, increase energy and immunity, and enhance memory and brain function.

The paleo diet is based on our evolutionary biology into what we are today. 99.99% of our genes developed before agriculture. 'Primal Body, Primal Mind' combines your paleolithic needs with modern nutritional and medical research for complete mind - body wellness.

The paleo diet, which suggests a high proportion of animal fats is controviersal to many people - but if you want to learn what the diet can do for you then this book is for you!

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Stephen Guise Apr 19, 2017

Our interview with Stephen Guise, author of 'Mini Habits' and 'How to Be an Imperfectionist'.

Following on from our last episode, where we shared the best bits from the book 'Mini Habits', we spoke with author Stephen Guise. Stephen told us about the day of the 'Golden Pushup', the day in December 2012 when he accidentally discovered the power of 'mini habits'. He'd decided that he wanted to work out more, so he wanted to do a 30-minute session, but it was just too daunting and he couldn't work up the willpower or motivation to start. So instead, he decided to start with something so easy he couldn't NOT do it: one pushup.

In this conversation, we discuss the power of Mini Habits, and we get into Stephen's more recent book 'How to Be an Imperfectionist'. He also explains the brain joke from his book (but we still don't get it...)

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Mini Habits Apr 15, 2017

Mini Habits - by Stephen Guise

'Smaller Habits, Bigger Results'

Studies have shown that over 45% of our behaviours is dictated by our habits. This is because it's far easier and consumes far less energy to do the things we're used to, rather than trying to weigh up different options and make decisions. This book provides an extremely compelling argument for starting 'stupid small' habits that are too easy NOT to do until they become ingrained your your everyday way of life.

Grab a copy of the book here: https://www.bookdepository.com/Mini-Habits-Stephen-Guise/9781494882273/?a_aid=adamsbooks

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Rework Apr 08, 2017

Rework - by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson

'Change the way that you work forever'

Rework is a collection of short chapters that will challenge the way you approach work and business. The authors tackle the conventional wisdom. Just because that's they way things have always been done doesn't mean that's the best way to do it. This book gives you a glimpse into a different way of thinking.

To check out our free live events later this month, head to www.whatyouwilllearn.com/events

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Scott Pape Apr 03, 2017

Our interview with Scott Pape, better known as 'The Barefoot Investor'

In our previous episode, we gave a summary of Scott's new book, 'The Barefoot Investor' and how you can apply his simple strategies to better control your personal finances. The book has been at #1 on the Australian charts for over 12 weeks now and has sold over 150,000 copies.

In this episode, we find out a little more about:

- How Scott became Barefoot

- The lies and tricks of dodgy financial institutions

- How ticking the wrong box can cost you around $250,000

- Scott's views on the property market and buying a house

- The benefits of achieving control over your finances

And much more!

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Six Pillars of Self Esteem Mar 24, 2017

The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem - by Nathaniel Branden

'The Definitive Work on Self-Esteem by the Leading Pioneer in the Field'

I: The Practice of Living Consciously II: The Practice of Self Acceptance III: The Practice of Self Responsibility IV: The Practice of Self Assertiveness V: The Practice of Living Purposefully VI: The Practice of Personal Integrity

Grab a copy of the book here: https://www.bookdepository.com/Six-Pillars-of-Self-Esteem/9780553374391/?a_aid=adamsbooks

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Janine Allis Mar 14, 2017

Our interview with Janine Allis

Janine Allis co-founded Boost Juice in the year 2000. In 2004 she was awarded Australian Businesswoman of the Year. Today, Boost Juice has 500 stores in 17 countries employing 7,000 staff and has made over $2 billion in sales. Janine is also one of the 'sharks' on the Australian version of Shark Tank.

In this conversation, we discuss:

- Life is a journey

- Selling your house and quitting your job to chase your dream

- Two types of people: VERBs and SOARs (hint: you want to be a SOAR)

- How she was a 'dormant' entrepreneur and didn't really discover that entrepreneurial spirit until her 30s

- The new season of Shark Tank Australia, starting in May 2017

We hope you enjoy Janine as much as we did!

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The Accidental Entrepreneur Mar 12, 2017

The Accidental Entrepreneur - by Janine Allis

Janine Allis is the co-founder of Boost Juice, which grew from her kitchen table to 500 stores and $2b in sales across the world. But Janine wasn't always destined to be an entrepreneur. She tells 'The Juicy Bits' in this warts-and-all book about her journey to success. When Janine was in the twenties, all she wanted to do was travel; she left on a six month trip and came back seven years later with a two year old child.

We learn that Janine didn't really even think about running her own business until she was thirty. Boost Juice was founded when she was in her mid-thirties, and she was awarded Australian Business Woman of the Year in 2004 when she was 39. Janine is one of the five 'Sharks' on the Australian version of Shark Tank.

Grab a copy of the book here: https://www.bookdepository.com/The-Accidental-Entrepreneur-Janine-Allis/9780730327738/?a_aid=adamsbooks

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Dr Rick Brinkman Mar 07, 2017

Our interview of Dr Rick Brinkman, author of the book we read last week, 'Dealing With People You Can't Stand'. He has written five books in total, with his sixth coming out in May 2017. You can grab a FREE COPY of his book and the audiobook for 'Dealing With Relatives' at the special site Dr Rick created for you, http://www.rickbrinkman.com/whatyouwilllearn/

In this discussion, Dr Rick took us through a great description of his creation, the "Lens of Understanding". You can see the image for yourself on our website or see a full description here. The 'Lens' combines two spectrums, three zones, four behaviours and thirteen different personality types on one simple diagram.

Dr Rick has also provided a few freebies and discounts at www.rickbrinkman.com/whatyouwilllearn - check it out!

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Dealing With People You Can't Stand Mar 04, 2017

Dealing with People You Can't Stand - by Dr Rick Brinkman

'How to Bring Out the Best in People at Their Worst'

This is a phenomenal book. Top 10 in our eyes. EVERYONE has someone in their life that they can't stand (and there's plenty of people that can't stand you either). The two Dr Ricks provide some great tactics for dealing with all different personality types.

The 'Lens of Understanding' itself is worth the money and time invested into reading this book. It combines two spectrums (task/people focus and passive/aggressive assertiveness levels), three zones (cooperation, caution and danger zones), four behaviours (get it done, get it right, get along, get appreciated), four intents (control, perfection, approval, attention), and thirteen different personality types (tanks, snipers, grenades, know-it-alls, think-they-know-it-alls, yes people, maybe people, nothing people, no people, whiners, judges, meddlers and martyrs), all in one simple diagram! Absolutely amazing.

Grab a copy of the book from: https://www.bookdepository.com/Dealing-with-People-You-Cant-Stand-How-Bring-Out-the-Best-in-People-at-Their-Worst-Rick-Brinkman-Rick-Kirschner-Dr/9780071785723/?a_aid=adamsbooks

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A Guide To The Good Life Feb 25, 2017

A Guide To The Good Life - by William B Irvine

"The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy"

This book is a really good, simple, easy-to-understand summary of all of the not-so-easy-to-understand Stoic texts. It gives you a good break down of the philosophy of stoicism. Some of our favourite principles and techniques included negative visualisation, the trichotomy of control and self denial, and how you apply those to aspects of your life, such as your social relationships, insults, grief, and your personal values.

Well worth the read if you're looking for a new operating system or a new way to look at life.

Grab a copy of the book here: https://www.bookdepository.com/Guide-the-Good-Life-William-B-Irvine/9780195374612/?a_aid=adamsbooks

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Amy Morin Feb 21, 2017

Our interview with Amy Morin, the author of the book '13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do'.

When Amy was 23 years old, she went to a basketball game with her mother. Within twenty-four hours, her happy, healthy, vibrant mother died suddenly of a brain aneurysm. After years of sorrow and grief, on the third anniversary of her mother's passing, she took her new husband to the same basketball stadium to remember her mother. When they got home, Lincoln complained of back pain. Within minutes, he collapsed and had a heart attack. An ambulance took him to hospital, but Lincoln was already gone.

Amy learned that "time doesn't heal anything". Things don't magically get better if we wait long enough; it's about how we choose to deal with the grief.

Years later, not long after she'd eventually remarried, he new father-in-law was diagnosed with terminal cancer. That is when Amy wrote a little blog post listing the '13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do'. The post went viral and she later fleshed out her list into a book with practical steps to avoid these 13 Things and improve our mental strength.

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13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do Feb 18, 2017

13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do - by Amy Morin

'Take back power, embrace change, face your fears & train your brain for happiness & success'

This book initially started as a blog post that went viral. Now, Amy Morin has fleshed out this list with stories, checklists, and practical strategies that everyone can use to assess their lives and improve their mental strength. It's a very tactical and actionable book that goes through things like control, worry, risks, success, failure, alone time, people pleasing, and power.

This episode is our summary of the 13 Things, and the next episode will be our conversation with the author, Amy Morin.

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Epic Measures Feb 03, 2017

Epic Measures - by Jeremy N Smith

'One Doctor. Seven Billion Patients.'

Epic Measures is the true story of the largest study of human health ever undertaken. It's crazy to learn that before this study, no one actually knew what was killing people or how many people were affected by each disease. By determining what is killing people, we can begin to identify our biggest risks, and work out what is making us sick and how we can improve it.

In this episode, we spoke with Jemery Smith, the author of Epic Measures. He told us how this decades-long project can help all seven billion of us live longer and better lives.

Grab a copy of the book here: https://www.bookdepository.com/Epic-Measures-Jeremy-N-Smith/9780062237507/?a_aid=adamsbooks

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Timber Hawkeye Jan 31, 2017

Our interview with Timber Hawkeye, author of Buddhist Boot Camp and Faithfully Religionless.

Timber was working at a law firm in corporate America, but eventually realised that it wasn't a life he wanted to live. He decided to work part time so that he could live full time. He sold all of his material possessions and even lived in a monastery, and now he's sharing the lessons he learned with the rest of the world. Everyone can apply these Buddhist principles to enhance their life, regardless of their religion (or lack thereof).

Timber's mission is to awaken, enlighten, enrich and inspire. In this episode, we discuss pain and suffering, blaming others, letting go, choosing good over not-so-good, finding excuses, going on a media diet, and his support of the Prison Library Project.

Check out his recommended reading list and grab a copy of his books here: http://www.buddhistbootcamp.com/p/reading-room.html

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Book Review: Buddhist Boot Camp Jan 27, 2017

Buddhist Boot Camp - by Timber Hawkeye

This is a great little book. Timber was working in corporate America, until one day he realised it wasn't the life he was meant to be living. He decided to work part time in order to live full time. He sold all of his material possessions, reduced his expenses as much as possible, and moved to Hawaii. This book is the collection of emails he sent back to his family and friends, and it provides a great insight into some of the ideas and practices of Buddhism. We can all take these lessons and apply them to our everyday lives, whether we classify ourselves as 'Buddhist' or not.

Support the Prison Library Project by grabbing a copy of your book from here: http://www.buddhistbootcamp.com/p/faq.html

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Choose Yourself Jan 14, 2017

Choose Yourself - by James Altucher

"Be Happy, Make Millions, Live The Dream"

The world has changed. Full time work is paying less and less, we're starting to see more part time and temporary work arrangements, inflation keeps going up, retirement will soon be dead... It's time to Choose Yourself. No one else is going to do it for you.

James talks about his daily practice to improve his physical health, emotional health, mental health and spiritual health. This book also talks a lot about the need to choose yourself and become an entrepreneur. This is a solid book for anyone who is an employee stuck in the 'prison' (his words) but wants to look out into the garden and see that there is more to life.

Grab a copy of the book here: http://www.bookdepository.com/Choose-Yourself-James-Altucher/9781490313375/?a_aid=adamsbooks

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The Game Jan 07, 2017

"The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists" - by Neil Strauss

Neil Strauss had only ever had one girlfriend and slept with six girls. He rated himself physically as a 5/10 at best. He thought that some guys had it, and some guys just didn't. Until he stumbled across the underground sub-culture of Pickup Artists. He learned the techniques, grew in confidence, and got to the point where he could seduce just about any girl that he wanted.

This was a really interesting book. It's hard to believe in some parts, but it's real. Some techniques may be seen as evil. Most girls will say it doesn't work on them. Don't view this as a bible, but as an interesting insight into another world. All skills are learnable and confidence is the key. This book is a weapon, both physical and emotionally. It's a thick 550 pages and harnessing these techniques will give you a lot of power.

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Best of 2016 Jan 02, 2017

We thought we'd take the time to reflect on the year and remind ourselves of our favourite bits from our favourite books. In June this year, we started our podcast 'What You Will Learn' where we talk about the best bits from the best books. We read a book each week and discussed our favourite parts and the biggest lessons. It initially began as a way for us to read more books and extract more learnings from each book. Then, people started listening and it got a little more exciting!

In this episode, we look back at our top lesson from each book, as well as a bit more discussion on our Top 5 favourite books we read in 2016.

We sincerely thank you for listening to our podcast and we hope it's helping you in some way. Initially we didn't think anyone would listen, but it was a good way for us to keep ourselves accountable, read more and get more out of each book. Hopefully the podcast has helped you learn a few things too.

If you have any books to recommend us to read in 2017, shoot us a message at www.facebook.com/whatyouwilllearn or send us an email to podcast@whatyouwilllearn.com - we'd love to hear from you. P.S: This is the photo that inspired the cartoon artwork.

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Who Moved My Cheese? Jan 01, 2017

Who Moved My Cheese? - by Dr Spencer Johnson

'An A-maze-ing way to deal with change in your work and your life'

This book was awarded Amazon's best selling book of all time and has sold over 26 million copies worldwide. It's a parable about two mice and two people searching for Cheese in a Maze. 'Cheese' represents the things we want in life and the things that make us happy, and the 'Maze' is when we're trying to find exactly what it is that we want. The book is a little cheesy (excuse the pun), but the messages are widely applicable. Everyone faces change, be that in their job, their relationships, their health or their financial situation, so everyone needs to be prepared to accept change, expect change, take control and move on.

It's a very short and simple book, definitely worth the read.

Grab a copy here: http://www.bookdepository.com/Who-Moved-My-Cheese-Spencer-Johnson/9780091816971/?a_aid=adamsbooks

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Matthew Michalewicz Dec 30, 2016

Matthew Michalewicz is the author of one of our favourite books, Life in Half A Second.

The book lays out the 5 steps to achieve success before it's too late: Clarity, Desire, Belief, Knowledge and Action. Matthew has shared some freebies with us: the first two chapters of his book are available here, and he has a free video series outlining the 5 steps at www.lifeinhalfasecond.com/challenge

Matthew started his first business when he was 18. He became a certified Personal Trainer as a way to make money to pay for his college tuition. Since then, he's gone on to build and sell three businesses. Most recently, he sold SolveIT Software for 8 figures. He's currently building his newest company, Complexica, which harnesses Big Data and Artificial Intelligence to improve the effectiveness of salespeople. He hopes to one day float this company on the stock exchange.

This was an incredible conversation. Matthew talked about his path to success and some of his life's journey so far, as well as some of his favourite books and the best investment he ever made.

You can grab a copy of his book Life in Half A Second here: http://www.bookdepository.com/Life-in-Half-a-Second/9780992286101/?a_aid=adamsbooks

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Tribes Dec 18, 2016

"Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us" - by Seth Godin

Grab a copy here: http://www.bookdepository.com/Tribes/9780749939755/?a_aid=adamsbooks

The first author to get a second episode on the What You Will Learn podcast, and there's no one more deserving than Seth Godin. 'Tribes' is a completely different way of looking at leadership. It's about finding or creating tribes to lead rather than employees to manage. Seth shows us that tribes are everywhere; inside and outside of organisations, in public and private institutions, in non-profits, in classrooms, in culture, and all over the planet. There is no amount of experience or qualifications or specific demographics or skills you need to become a leader - you just need to choose to become a leader.

This isn't a 'how-to' book with step-by-step instructions for leadership. Instead, Seth does everything he can to convince us that we need to decide to take on the responsibility of leading a tribe. Read this book. You'll be convinced.

"Without leaders, there are no followers.

You're a leader.

We need you."

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E Myth Revisited Dec 10, 2016

"The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Business Don't Work and What To Do About It" - by Michael E. Gerber

Grab a copy here: http://www.bookdepository.com/The-E-Myth-Revisited/9780887307287/?a_aid=adamsbooks

Referred to as 'The World's #1 Small Business Guru', Michael Gerber takes us through the 'Entrepreneurial Myth', or 'E Myth'. He says it's a myth that most people who start small business are entrepreneurs, and in fact they are just really good employees that get fed up and decide to go out on their own. He calls this moment the 'entrepreneurial seizure'. It's a fatal assumption that an individual that understands the technical work of a business can successfully run a business that does that technical work.

Michael shows us that all business owners are built up of three different personalities: the Technician, the Manager and the Entrepreneur. It's important to understand these three roles and how to balance them effectively to run a successful small business. Michael also runs us through his 7-step Business Development Process and shows us how to properly set up and grow a business.

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Way of the Superior Man Dec 03, 2016

The Way of the Superior Man: A Spiritual Guide to Mastering the Challenges of Women, Work and Sexual Desire - by David Deida

Grab a copy here: http://www.bookdepository.com/Way-of-the-Superior-Man-David-Deid/9781591792574/?a_aid=adamasbooks

This was certainly an interesting read. The contention of the book is that everyone is made up of both masculine and feminine qualities, but most of us lean towards one more than the other. This is a book for the 'masculine' person, be that male or female, gay or straight. It takes us through how to become a 'superior man' and how the masculine should act and guide their more feminine partner. We don't agree with everything, but there's a lot of truth in this book - sometimes some uncomfortable truths.

Our favourite chapter was Chapter 46: "Ejaculate up the Spine". Let your imagination run wild with that one, then listen to find out what the author actually meant...

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Chapter One Nov 12, 2016

"You have the power to change stuff"

Three 19 year old kids dreamt big. They realised that 1 billion were living in poverty and decided to do something about it. It's only the beginning of their mission, it's only 'chapter one', but they are on their way to changing the world.

Thankyou Water took on the big corporates like Coca Cola and worked their way into big retailers like 7/11, Coles and Woolworths. The beauty is that 100% of all profits go to causes like providing fresh drinking water for developing countries.

Have a read, buy a bottle of Thankyou Water while you're thinking of what you can do, then go out and change the world.

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Trump Oct 30, 2016

Trump: The Art of the Deal

Donald Trump is a pretty topical character right now, so this week we've reviewed his book from 1987. We loved the insight into a life in the week of Donald Trump, and love, love, loved the 'Elements of the Deal' chapter. There's no denying it - Trump is a serious deal maker and has achieved some serious success in his life. His 'Trump Cards' can be applied to any negotiation and even have broader applications to life more generally.

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Limits To Growth Oct 23, 2016

"Human Beings and the Natural World are on a collision course"

With rapid, exponential growth and delays in our responses, we may overshoot the Earth's limits. There are limits in the world's sources of production and sinks for pollution, so we need to be vigilant in monitoring our growth and react quickly and efficiently if we go beyond our limits. If we overshoot too far or for too long, the world as we know it faces a near-certain collapse.

Adam Jones rates this in the top 5 books he's ever read. We skip some of the specifics and talk about the overarching theories. We also talk about what governments and organisations need to do to transition to sustainability, but also the 11 things you can do to save the planet.

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The Art of Learning Oct 08, 2016

"An Inner Journey to Optimal Performance"

Josh Waitzkin was World Champion in Chess and then became a World Champion in Thai Chi push hands competition. A super interesting life journey and this book is ultimately his autobiography. We were expecting a little more 'how to' tips for learning, but there were a few gems hidden within the anecdotes that we've extracted to share with you.

Want our notes that we've taken for every book and used for our episodes? Grab them at http://www.whatyouwilllearn.com/notes

Download our top 50 books of all time for free:

www.whatyouwilllearn.com/top50

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The Inevitable Oct 01, 2016

"Understanding the 12 technological forces that will shape our future"

The last 30 years have served as a good platform, but the next 30 years is where shit gets real. Today, in 2016, we are in the best possible time to start something or invent something. The opportunities open to us now are enormous, and most of us don't even realise it. Kevin Kelly outlines the 12 biggest ways that the world is going to change and he gives us an insight into what the world of 2050 will look like. If you can position yourself to make the most of and leverage off these changes, you're going to do very very well for yourself over the next three decades.

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Drive Sep 24, 2016

"The surprising truth about what motivates us"

Human were initially motivated biologically by hunger, thirst and sex.

Next, we realised we can influence people by rewarding the behaviours we want more of and punishing the behaviours we want less of. This 'carrot and stick' mentality is what Dan Pink calls 'Motivation 2.0' and it worked for a while throughout the industrial age, but it's becoming less and less effective.

What science is now realising is that we are driven more by 'Intrinsic motivation' than the 'Extrinsic motivation' of Motivation 2.0. To get the best results from humans today, we need a sense of Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose in the jobs we do.

Great read for anyone who is an employee that wants to know why they hate some jobs and love others, and good for an employer so that they can learn how to have happier, more fulfilled, more productive workers.

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Unleash the Power Within Sep 17, 2016

Tony Robbins - Unleash the Power Within

This was a 4 day, 50 hour immersion. Words seriously can't describe this live event. We did a whole bunch of crazy things and learnt so much. Things we talk about include the 6 humans needs, the 3 elements for lasting change, the 7 areas of constant growth for an extraordinary life, some major life decisions we made and of course, how we walked on fire.

We're thinking of going again - let us know if you're interested in joining us!

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The Smartest Investment Book You'll Ever Read Sep 11, 2016

"The proven way to beat the 'Pros' and take control of your financial future"

It's a cheeky book title that definitely grabbed our attention. In essence, the author has renamed Active investing as "Hyperactive investing" which sounds pretty bad, and renamed Passive investing as "Smart investing". Passive makes it sound like you have no control or influence over the outcome, but Smart makes it feel right. The book goes through heaps and heaps of reasons as to why Smart investing is the way to go, and you really can't argue with these statistics.

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Crush It! Sep 03, 2016

"Why NOW is the time to cash in on your passion"

For the first time, we disagreed on this one. Ashton loved it, Jones hated it.

This book is all about building your personal brand, building an audience and a community by pumping out content about things you love to talk about. By putting out videos, podcasts and blog posts, you can eventually build enough of an audience that you can monetise. You can then make money through advertising, books and TV deals, speaking engagements, consulting, retail, affiliate deals, so so much more!

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Elon Musk Aug 28, 2016

Elon Musk - by Ashlee Vance

'How the billionaire CEO of SpaceX and Tesla is shaping our future'

What a character. After creating Zip2 and selling it for around $20m, he pumped that all into X.com which became PayPal. After selling that to eBay, he received about $180m after tax. He pumped ALL of that into creating three new companies; SpaceX, Tesla and Solar City. After being literally hours from complete bankruptcy, each company has made Musk a billionaire. Three companies that have each cleared over a billion dollars... Amazing.

The book is some good insights into how the companies were formed, but also give a good insight into the man that is Elon Musk. Hoping a movie/documentary version comes out soon!

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The Compound Effect Jul 09, 2016

"The Compound Effect is the principle of reaping huge rewards from a series of small, smart choices". It's not the big things that set us apart, it's the tiny choices that we make repeatedly and consistently over decades that make radical differences. Darren Hardy steps us through his process of Choices, Habits, Momentum, Influences and Acceleration to help us make small, regular, positive changes to our lives.

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The Magic of Thinking Big Jun 25, 2016

Belief is the precursor to action. If you have true belief in yourself and conquer your fears, you will start achieving success. Also, the size of your success depends on the magnitude of your thinking. Think big, act big, achieve big.

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Anything You Want Jun 04, 2016

"40 lessons for a new type of entrepreneur"

Anything You Want is a great read. It’s quick, simple, and to the point. Subtitled “40 lessons for a new kind of entrepreneur”, the book consists of 40 different one or two page anecdotes with a clear purpose or takeaway. This book could easily be padded out to 300+ pages with anecdotes and studies and facts and figures, but we really appreciate the fact that it’s simple and straight to the point. Derek uses just the right amount of personal story to set the scene, then delivers his key message in a concise sentence or two at the bottom of the page. He talks about a different way of thinking about business. I’ve always thought that every company should be trying to become as big as they can, make as much money as they can, and basically try to take over the world. But this is a story of a company that wanted to stay small and DIDN’T want to grow. Well worth the read – it’ll seriously only take you an hour or so to get through. I’m a pretty slow reader and even I could read it in one sitting.

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