February - May Reading Roundup

It's been a metric ass-ton of time since I posted one of these. I think in February I was trying hella hard to read two pages out of two different books a day. I read five now on a good day. Which is about five hours dedicated to reading a day. 

It sounds like a lot, but I assure you, there are many different things sprinkled in between. I don't just sit down and read for five hours straight. And I'm not plowing through five books daily (that's the goal), I'm going excerpt to excerpt taking notes. This post is going to be tame because I feel some of the questionable stuff I've posted here is killing my fucking career prospects. But at this point, it ain't like I'm up to my neck in job offers, in the first place. Admittedly I find it embarrassing to talk about some of these books. I'm trying to teach myself to fall in love with the actions that I do and not the anticipated rewards. Even though according to one of these books that's not how the brain works...

The Four Agreements

The Four Agreements is a relatively short book at 84 pages, which can be read in an afternoon (which took me a month to read). This book offers a fascinating take on ancient Toltec wisdom and the path to freedom, explaining how most people think thoughts that are not their own, and these thoughts can be negative and do them harm. Don Miguel Ruiz and his son dedicate their lives to preserving the principles of ancient Toltec wisdom in modern literature, which I admire.

But here's the big idea. The path to Toltec freedom is to wake up every day and to take an oath to be yourself. That's all. Be your fucking self. Do your fucking best no matter what. Love everyone. Do no harm. especially not to yourself.

Dating Essentials for Men

On this blog, I have a pretty storied history with the works of Dr. Robert Glover. He's a therapist who writes books on masculinity and self-help. Or at least, that's the image he presents to sell his books. They're usually much more introspective and melancholic reading than you'd initially presume. Dr. Glover is damn good at making you remember that you sometimes literally can't judge a book by its cover.  

Once again, Dr. Glover pulls the caper of baiting readers with a specific topic and then doing a 180 and shifting to another subject entirely. As a whole, the book focuses on building social skills and working on personal flaws through effort and dedication instead of selling pickup techniques. And by the time you're reading the dating shit, you've made so many life changes that you don't even give a shit about that part anymore. The problem was the way you thought about the problem. Not the problem itself. I cannot stress enough that this book is not about pick-up techniques or trying to become James Bond; it's about changing one's worldview to lead a healthier life. 

The first and most important half of this book is a neuroscientific deep-dive into insecurities, self-limiting beliefs, and isolation, exploring why some men experience them and how to overcome them through effort and dedication. This "Mastering Your Mind" section is the book's most significant and valuable portion. 

For me, the book's impact was significant. I wound up in the same room with Steven Spielberg, I got free tons of shit and I've done tons of things that I never would've tried before. I also came to realize that I had already gotten ALOT of attention from women in my life, but I either wasn't paying attention or didn't know what the fuck was going on at the moment, because I (very ironically) was beating myself over the head for being unsuccessful with women and all kinds of unhealthy shit. 

You will never be able to receive or appreciate anything in life if you don't hold onto, love, and embrace what you already fucking have. This book taught me that. 

Atomic Habits

Atomic Habits and Dating Essentials had a significant impact on me when I read them simultaneously. This is why I can adamantly say that the shit in both books works.  I've been reading three books a day and have rebuilt multiple relationships, and made significant progress on things I never would have attempted before. Reading these two books was like a one-two punch, rewiring the way I thought about thinking. I now know I can change myself quickly and orient myself toward anything I want.

The most significant benefit of Atomic Habits was its emphasis on using automation. I took this to heart and started using ChatGPT to do everything I didn't need to do myself. This included finding answers to things I didn't know how to solve, which led me to start asking questions about myself and the things I've learned. In the end, I began writing down my life story, deep-diving into the different aspects of the things I learned and the intricacies of my life. This process has kinda changed the way I see and do things and it solidified to me Dr. Glover's view that there is nothing inherently wrong with any of us. 

The 6 Pillars of Self-Esteem

Every now and then a book comes along and it calls you an immature, irresponsible man-child and tells you to get your shit together. I call those books soul-rippers, because your mind winds up in therapy questioning who you are after you read them.

I don't want to be treated so harshly. But if no one has ever told you to (or showed you how to) act like a fucking adult then you need to hear it from somewhere, even if it is a damn book. 

I'm still reading The 6 Pillars of Self-Esteem, and so far, it has been a challenging read that is difficult to put down. It's been harder to read than No More Mr. Nice Guy (which was probably the hardest thing I've ever read in my life), and I find myself wanting to read fiction instead. Nonetheless, it's a beautiful book, and I'm enjoying what I'm reading so far. Most of the time, the content is painful, but there is nothing wrong with that. 

My biggest takeaway has been that I'm a real person and my actions have very very real consequences regardless of whether I acknowledge them or not. It doesn't matter how much someone obstructed my autonomy in the past, I'm a man with his own willpower and capabilities good and bad. 

The world isn't a motherfucking nursery. Everyone got their shit kicked in. We all just gotta deal with it. That's the essence of this book. 

This Trivium quote always resonated in my head over the years, but it wasn't until a week ago that I fully understood what Matt Heafy meant when he penned it. That's growth.

Another positive takeaway has been the book highlighting how much damage people do to themselves by denying their own talents. And it's made me realize that I'm a fucking prodigy and I always have been, but that's another story for another day. I've got to figure out what I'm going to do with this newfound knowledge. 

The Book of Five Rings

Don't try to practically apply this book. It's a strategy book. 

This book is about mastery in all different parts of life. It's helpful for everyone to read something like this book. Especially in tangent with the other books that I've read. One big takeaway from what I read today was to make sure that if your enemy is ever hurt in combat go ahead and properly and decisively finish him so he doesn't recover and finish you. That's some obvious shit -

The big takeaway for me was that Musashi said you're lazy and careless if you don't do this. And then he refuses to explain further. Musashi does this all throughout the book. This book talks about all kinds of things that most civilized people wouldn't dream about in gorey detail. But there's passages where the book will say something completely archaic, end the explanation with "worrying about the minor details is some sissy shit" and then continue on as if that isn't a complete break from seriousness. I think the translator was trying to be funny. 

Anyways, yeah. Books are fun and promote personal growth...