All Books of 2022
Each described in one sentence
At the end of each year, I write an annual review of every book that I read using only a one-sentence description.
The goal of this practice is to highlight the most important takeaway, idea, or lesson learned from the book. The real value in this practice and what I found most surprising is that it is not always the thesis or main idea that resonates most with me.
I started the year reading about what it takes to be uncommon. I learned that uncommon people all do things that other people are unwilling to do. That’s it, that’s what makes them uncommon!
I remember reading a similar sentiment in the speech by Albert Gray to insurance salesmen at the National Association of Life Underwriters conference in 1940. What was true then still remains a tenet of what it takes to be successful today: do what others are unwilling to do.
When you adopt this mindset, you are suddenly in a different class of people. You are among the few that do not accept excuses, take ownership, train their mentality, and keep moving forward.
They show up every day. They pound the rock consistently. They are among the uncommon in a world full of common people.
“The burn, committing to standards over feelings, is an ongoing process that must combine other tools that work best for you. Not allowing your feelings to dictate how you show up. But choosing to live to your standard to win each day.” — Ben Newman in Uncommon Leadership
Uncommon Leadership by Ben Newman: connect to your burn every day, the thing that drives you to remain committed to your process, which in turn makes you an uncommon person.
The Body Fat Solution by Tom Venuto: I found this book to be the most effective one I have ever read on nutrition because it takes the time to address the emotional and behavioral aspects of eating and weight loss.
Compete to Create by Michael Gervais: when you wake up in the morning, set an intention where you see yourself being aware, grounded, and at your best.
Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself by Dr. Joe Dispenza: when you do the same things over and over again, you create a habit of being yourself; to change, you have to unwire those things, essentially, create a new habit of being yourself.
“A state of being means we have become familiar with a mental-emotional state, a way of thinking and a way of feeling, which has become an integral part of our self-identity.” — Dr. Joe Dispenza
Endure: How to Work Hard, Outlast, and Keep Hammering by Cameron Hanes: find your passion, push boundaries, keep pushing boundaries, train harder, build a tribe, never stop pounding the pavement, and never quit or slow down no matter what.
Hero on a Mission by Donald Miller: story and meaning are an essential part of our lives, and our best story is built on a heroic life.
Non-Negotiable: 10 Years Incarcerated Creating the Unbreakable Mindset by Wes Watson: strive to be the most consistent man in the world; it will transform you from prison inmate to multi-millionaire fitness coach and influencer.
Coaching for Performance by John Whitmore: the core of coaching excellence is asking questions, and Whitmore’s GROW model accelerates the performance curve: Goal, Reality, Options, Will, or Way Forward.
Love and Work by Marcus Buckingham: find your “red threads” and use them to connect to work that is uniquely you.
The Ultimate Sales Machine by Chet Holmes: there are 12 core skills to master for business; instead of doing 4,000 things, do these 12 things 4,000 times.
The Inner Game of Work by W. Timothy Gallwey: Gallwey’s premise for performance is simple but difficult to actually do — performance is the removal of interference.
“Performance= Potential — Interference” — W. Timothy Gallwey
The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival by John Valliant: an amazing tale of a murderous Siberian tiger described as “this is what you get when you pair the agility and appetites of a cat with the mass of an industrial refrigerator,” in its home field, why it started hunting men, and the type of man it took to track and ultimately slay it.
Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time by Jeff Sutherland: small, agile, self-organizing, and multi-functional teams are the teams of the future because of the complex and ever-changing environment; Scrum, the formation of a team working seamlessly together in pursuit of that goal, is what it takes to produce quality and add value.
A Guide to the Good Life by William Irvine: aim to do stoic philosophy, be a stoic, act like one, and live the values that are key to living a good life today.
First In by Gary Schoen: an insider account by the lead of the CIA team that was the first in Afghanistan following 911 proved that the highest levels of leadership in the U.S. struggled to grasp the realities on the ground from the earliest to last days in Afghanistan.
Game Changers by Dave Asprey: “to become the best human you can be, you have the responsibility to design your environment so that you are in control.”
I also reread a few of my favorites:
Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl: no matter where we are or what we do, we can always look for a purpose to be there doing that thing, and that purpose will change everything about the experience.
The Talent Code: Greatness Isn’t Born, It’s Grown by Daniel Coyle: building talent evokes a change in the brain that emits a faster neuro signal, the physical myelination of a skill.
The New Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz with Dan Kennedy: you cannot outpace your self-image; the true key to success is changing your identity — how you look and think about yourself.
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