Six “get better” resources for us!
Summer is wrapping up and the “beginning of the year” (Back to School!) is nearly here for many of us. Whether you’re a parent, a teacher, a business leader, or both/neither September can be a time to come back with a fresh perspective on work and life.
Regardless, the Back to School time of year isn’t just for kids. It was ingrained in us for the first 18 years of our lives and for most people, it never really leaves our psyche. And I, for one, think we should lean into that primordial broth if but for a good excuse to (re)set some goals to make ourselves better!
If you don’t buy into that, here’s some data from between the cracks of research that I find relevant. A study out of Stockholm University that focused on the difference between success rates of “approach-oriented” vs “avoidance-oriented” goals reveals something interesting about the decline of the likelihood of success of New Year’s Resolutions. Simply put - the August to September period is basically the only month where the likelihood of success doesn’t drop. The researchers don’t go into it, but the engrained concept above (school starts in mid-August in Sweden) might just fit the bill that we are rejuvenated in our goal setting in September in a similar way to January.
Also important is the point of their paper. Approach-oriented means a goal that you set to try to do something vs Avoidance-oriented means a goal you set to try to stop doing something.
So I figured this was as good a time as any to share some things that I’m enjoying learning from lately and have been sharing with those close to me both personally and professionally. Almost all are focused on things for us to try to do, not stop doing.
I’ve organized these around four key topics:
Doing big things in life
Personal development and relationship development
Health and living awesome
Communicating, writing, and creating
With that, below is an overview and links you may feel free to call suggested listening/reading! (heads up: these links may show up for the U.S. and or Canada, check the URL you’re on before purchasing to ensure speedy delivery/checkout. Oh, and I’ve got no skin in the game on any of these, I’m giving you generic links!)
Doing big things in life
Book: How Big Things Get Done (Audible, click here) by Bent Flyvbjerg and Dan Gardner
Recently shared with me by Craig Senyk over at Mawer Investment Management, this is a fantastic book that focuses a lot of time on project management, what kinds of large-scale projects (think building or decommissioning nuclear power plants, hosting the Olympics, building highways, etc) are more or less likely to succeed, why that is, and how to bring that down all the way to ground level like doing renovations at your house. The stories are fascinating and even if in the middle some may feel they may spend a little more time than needed to look at things from different angles, it’s a world-class book to gain project perspective of all kinds and sizes.
Personal development and relationship development
Book: What Got You Here Won't Get You There (Audible, click here) by Marshall Goldsmith
Book: How to Win Friends and Influence People (Audible, click here) by Dale Carnegie.
I read both of these books at least twice a year (this year is no exception) and I mention them in the post Skills that will help you achieve your big goal (and might hurt you in life). The classics never get old - one of them is almost 100 years old and the other is barely 15. Both of these are really great and grounding books for anyone who is busy trying to do big things in the world. They remind us that, at the end of the day, it’s all about people and how we show up for them. Both of these books provide a giant list of “try to do this” and “try not to do that” with rationale and stories behind both. They’re far-and-away the books I recommend the most for people looking to improve their performance as a leader.
Health and Feeling/Performing Great
Book: Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity (Audible, click here) by Peter Attia
I finished this behemoth this summer. I've mentioned Dr. Attia in the past as his "The Drive" podcast, along with Dr. Andrew Huberman’s “Huberman Lab” out of Stanford, is one of my favorite health and wellness listens. Attia goes deep in this book and you will walk away feeling like you have a better grasp on how to structure your life if living a longer, healthier life is a focus. He’s a former cancer surgeon who realized there may be a better way to approach longevity than what the current medical system, which he refers to as Medicine 2.0, is doing. Medicine 3.0 looks at the long tail of our activities and habits, markers, and more, to give insight in what we can do today to potentially affect our longevity and what he refers to as our “health span” 20, 30, and even 50 years down the road. He throws a bit of a curve ball in the last chapter as he visits on his own mental health struggles; I think he could have interjected that more thoroughly throughout the book considering stress and anxiety play such a key role, but his forthrightness and vulnerability help give him some grace.
Podcast: Whoop Podcast
I've written about Whoop before, as it’s been really insightful for me. Whoop founder Will Ahmed hosts the majority of the episodes as they dive deep across basically every realm of health, wellness, strength gaining, endurance, training, nutrition, and more. Most episodes are right around an hour, so deep enough to get good thinking done (but not a 3-hour walkabout like Huberman or Rogan), and engage a guest from the research, sport-science, or performance world,
Communicating, Writing, and Creating
Podcast: The Storytelling with Heart Podcast
One of my favorite podcasts and one of my favorite people, my writing partner Camille DePutter brings on a new guest every couple weeks and dives into both high-level and practical communications topics that range from thought leadership to strengthening human connections to reputation building. Most episodes are around an hour and Camille's disposition will leave you smiling every time.
Podcast: Think Fast, Talk Smart
This one comes out of Stanford's Graduate School of Business, or GSB. Hosted by lecturer Matt Abrahams, they do a fantastic job of having weekly guests who bring both research and practical experience to the table. They cover just about any and all topics on communications you can imagine. The episodes are super bite-sized at an average of just over 20 minutes each. Matt spends most episodes touching on new communications tactics while also diving into leadership, trust, and accountability.
What’s on your back-to-school reading/listening/learning list?
So, what great stuff out there am I missing? Got any recommendations for me?
Let me know by replying to the email or contacting me here. I’ll look to share your recommendations with the community soon.
I always appreciate learning from you.
– Steve
