Insights from Classic Literature on Investment and Ethics

Business

* Active Listening by Carl R. Rogers

* Key reading for getting better at negotiations

* Source: Chris Voss’s recommendation to Jordan B. Peterson (PN)

* When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert

* One of the best books about philanthropy

* Source: Brent Beshore’s recommendation to Shane Parrish (PN)

* Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This by Luke Sullivan

* A simple guide to creating great advertisements

* Source: Chris Beresford-Hill and Tim Ferriss in discussion (PN)

* Words That Work by Frank Luntz

* Mastering the art of words

* Source: Chris Beresford-Hill and Tim Ferriss in discussion (PN)

Economics

* The Creature From Jekyll Island by G. Edward Griffin

* Analysis of bank bailouts

* Source: Michael Saylor and Peter McCormack in discussion (PN)

* Broken Money by Lyn Alden

* “Money” is the biggest total addressable market in the world, and the money now is currently broken

* Source: Dylan LeClair recommendation (PN)

* The Great Wave: Price Revolutions and the Rhythm of History by David Hacket Fischer

* Explores the recurring cycles of price inflation throughout history, connecting economic trends to broader social and cultural changes

* Source: Rudyard Lynch’s recommendation to Tom Bilyeu (PN)

* Fiat Food: How Government, Industry, and Science Manufacture the Foods We Eat by Matthew Lysiak

* Why inflation has destroyed our health and how Bitcoin may fix it

* Source: Matthew Lysiak’s appearance on We Study Billionaires (PN)

Entrepreneurship

* Zero to One by Peter Thiel

* One of the most commonly recommended books for entrepreneurs

* Source: Multiple

* Only The Paranoid Survive by Andrew Grove

* Must read for all entrepreneurs

* Source: Morgan Housel and Chris Williamson in discussion (PN)

* Million Dollar Weekend: The Surprisingly Simple Way to Launch a 7-Figure Business in 48 Hours by Noah Kagan

* The idea of starting a business is often so overly romanticized that people never make the jump into entrepreneurship

* Source: Noah Kagen’s appearance on Deep Questions with Cal Newport (PN)

* Mastery by Robert Greene

* The value of mastering a skill set

* Source: Sam Parr’s recommendation to Andrew Wilkinson (PN)

* Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott

* How to overcome creative roadblocks

* Source: Chris Beresford-Hill and Tim Ferriss in discussion (PN)

* Chase, Chance, and Creativity by James Austin

* Talks about how certain people attract luck and how luck can be created

* Source: Mike Maples, Jr. recommendation to Lenny Rachitsky (PN)

* Fooled by Randomness by Nassim Taleb

* The impact of randomness and luck on success

* Source: Cyrus Yari and Iman Olya book review (PN)

* Skin in the Game by Nassim Taleb

* “You cannot separate knowledge from contact with the ground. Actually, you cannot separate anything from contact with the ground.” – Nassim Taleb

* Source: Cyrus Yari and Iman Olya book review (PN)

* Andrew Carnegie by David Nasaw

* “I got married at Carnegie Hall because of my love for Andrew Carnegie… He did a lot of bad things, but he was mostly amazing” – Sam Parr

* Source: Sam Parr’s recommendation to Andrew Wilkinson (PN)

* Tycoon’s War by Stephen Dando-Collins

* Cornelius Vanderbilt: How his mind worked and why you wouldn’t want to compete against him

* Source: David Senra book review (PN)

* Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. by Ron Chernow

* Most successful entrepreneurs can be honest family men, too

* Source: Sam Parr’s recommendation to Andrew Wilkinson (PN)

* The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs: How To Be Insanely Great in Front of Any Audience by Carmine Gallo

* Nobody had more compelling presentations than Steve Jobs

* Source: David Senra book review (PN)

* How To Be Rich by J. Paul Getty

* “I would like to convince young businessmen that there are no surefire, quick, and easy formulas for success in business” – J. Paul Getty

* Source: David Senra book review (PN)

* Sam Walton: The Inside Story of America’s Richest Man by Vance H. Trimble

* Discover the rags-to-riches tale of billionaire Sam Walton, founder of the discount chain Wal-Mart and America’s richest man, in this study of old-fashioned values like honesty and hard work

* Source: David Senra book review (PN)

Investing

* What I Learned About Investing From Darwin by Pulak Prasad

* How to beat the market, the biggest mistakes investors make, why history is more important than projections, and how natural selection applies to investing

* Source: Kyle Grieve book review (PN)

* The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham

* Understanding the difference between price and value

* Source: Bill Ackman’s recommendation to Lex Fridman (PN)

* The Algebra of Wealth by Scott Galloway

* “America is a loving, generous place if you have money. It is a rapacious, violent place if you don’t.” – Scott Galloway

* Source: Scott Galloway’s appearance on The Rich Roll Podcast (PN)

* A Mathematician Plays The Stock Market by John Paulos

* Source: John Paulos appearance on Infinite Loops with Jim O’Shaughnessy (PN)

* Poor Charlie’s Almanack by Charlie Munger

* Charlie Munger understood incentives and human psychology, but never used that knowledge to manipulate others

* Source: Warren Buffett’s recommendation to shareholders (PN)

* Think Twice: Harnessing the Power of Counterintuition by Michael J. Mauboussin

* Making decisions is part of life, this is how you make better ones

* Source: John Paulos and Jim O’Shaughnessy in discussion (PN)

* Venture Deals: Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer and Venture Capitalist by Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson & Financial Intelligence: A Manager’s Guide to Knowing What the Numbers Really Mean by Karen Berman and Joe Knight

* Books that Ateet Ahluwalia gives people who join his firm

* Source: Ateet Ahluwalia recommendations to Jim O’Shaughnessy (PN)

* eBoys: The First Inside Account of Venture Capitalists at Work by Randall Stross

* An intriguing insider’s look at the rise of Silicon Valley through the lens of the pioneering venture capital firm Benchmark Capital

* Source: Aarthi Ramamurthy and Sriram Krishnan in discussion (PN)

* Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt by Michael Lewis

* How the insiders got exposed

* Source: Joseph Stiglitz and Tyler Cowen in discussion (PN)

Productivity

* Attention Span: A Groundbreaking Way to Restore Balance, Happiness, and Productivity by Gloria Mark

* Illustrates four myths about attention span

* Source: Cal Newport book review (PN)

* The Effective Executive: The Definitive Guide to Getting The Right Things Done by Peter Drucker, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey, and Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen

* Three books that embody the evolution of productivity

* Source: Cal Newport recommendation to Chris Williamson (PN)

* Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman

* How to embrace the fact that you can’t do everything

* Source: Cal Newport recommendation to Chris Williamson (PN)

Leadership

* The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz

* Great lessons about running a business and being a leader

* Source: Marc Andreessen’s recommendation to Rick Rubin (PN)

* Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

* Frequently recommended over and over again this year

* Source: Bill Gurley, Michael Mauboussin, and Patrick O’Shaughnessy in discussion (PN)

* Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card

* Sci-fi novel but also a great way to study leadership

* Source: Tim Ferriss recommendation to Chris Williamson (PN)

* Art of War by Sun Tzu

* Do not assume that your enemy thinks in a similar way that you do

* Source: Source: Jocko Willink recommendation (PN)

* Adventures of a Bystander by Peter Drucker

* A captivating journey through his encounters with remarkable individuals who influenced his thinking and shaped the world of management

* Source: Jim O’Shaughnessy’s recommendation to Ateet Ahluwalia (PN)

Motivation

* The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho & Ask and It Is Given by Esther and Jerry Hicks

* Helped Mike Posner on his spiritual journey

* Source: Big Sean recommendations to Mike Poser (PN)

* Driven From Within by Michael Jordan

* Written during his career peak

* Source: David Senra book review (PN)

* Michael Jordan: The Life by Roland Lazenby

* The key insights into Michael Jordan’s competitive spirit and how it made him the greatest basketball player of all time

* Source: Ben Wilson book review (PN)

Deep Thinking

* The Beginning of Infinity and The Fabric of Reality by David Deutsch

* Naval Ravikant praises David’s work, considering him the smartest human alive

* Source: Naval Ravikant and Niklas Anzinger in discussion (PN)

* The Ego Tunnel: The Science of the Mind and the Myth of the Self by Thomas Metzinger

* “Life is not a mystery anymore” – Thomas Metzinger

* Source: Thomas Metzinger’s appearance on Making Sense with Sam Harris (PN)

* Gold by Haleh Liza Gafori (a new translation of Rumi’s poems)

* Remedy for overthinking before bed

* Source: Tim Ferriss recommendation to Chris Williamson (PN)

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