To be efficient, inspired, and informed.
While we take a break and brainstorm webinar and blog topics for next year, let me introduce some of the best books I read this year. These are all about learning, growing, and becoming who you aspire to be.
Educated by Tara Westover
Educated is a memoir by Tara Westover, who was raised by radical survivalist parents in the mountains of Idaho and never attended school until age 17. Her parents rejected the formal education system, and she grew up in extreme isolation, without learning basic history or mathematics. Influenced by her brother, who managed to get himself into college, she decided to pursue an education as well. She secretly taught herself enough mathematics, grammar, and science to take the ACT, gained admission to Brigham Young University, and eventually earned a PhD from Cambridge.
Her story is a powerful reminder of what education really means. Of the power it gives, and the power others can hold over you by denying it. Most of all, it made me reflect on how easy it is to take education for granted, and how fortunate I am to have had access to it.
Find it on Amazon
Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things by Adam Grant
We often celebrate child prodigies and gifted students, assuming they are destined to achieve great things. Some do. But what does that mean for the rest of us? In Hidden Potential, Adam Grant argues, using scientific evidence and anecdotes, that growth is not about innate genius, but about the character you develop over time. Progress often comes from how far you are willing to travel, not where you start.
One of the most important traits he highlights is the ability to tolerate discomfort. He writes:
"Summoning the nerve to face discomfort is a character skill—an especially important form of determination. It takes three kinds of courage: to abandon your tried-and-true methods, to put yourself in the ring before you feel ready, and to make more mistakes than others make attempts. The best way to accelerate growth is to embrace, seek, and amplify discomfort."
He makes it clear that you don’t need to be a genius to achieve great things, but he also doesn’t pretend that the process is easy.
Find it on Amazon
Me, But Better by Olga Khazan
Me, But Better by Olga Khazan is a nonfiction book grounded in research, but it is also funny. I laughed out loud more than once reading it, alone, on a plane.
Khazan had a good relationship and her dream job, yet her neurotic personality could still derail an otherwise normal Tuesday for no obvious reason. After having yet another nervous breakdown, she decided to focus on changing her personality for one full year. Being a science writer, she approached it systematically, studying the science of personality, taking personality tests to track her progress, and journaling throughout the experiment.
I find her conclusion encouraging. Personality can be nudged. You may not become a completely different person, but you can shift your behavior by acting consistently in a certain way. For most of us, unless narcissism is in play, there is something we wish we could change. This book gives us hope.
Find it on Amazon
