Book review: Essentialism – The Disciplined Pursuit of Less

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Book cover for Essentialism by Greg McKeown

While getting my MBA, a professor told us that we should get our news from multiple sources. Why? Because each editor has an opinion, a story they want to tell, a way of interpreting the facts and presenting them.

I can apply the same argument to books, particularly personal development books. I’ve read enough books in this genre to recognize that many of the books cover the same concepts. However, each author has their own way of interpreting, presenting, and applying them. The way one author presents a topic can resonate much better with me than the way another author presents it.

Where am I going with this?

It applies to one of my latest reads, Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown. According to McKeown, essentialism is the practice of focusing on and doing fewer things to make progress on what matters most. Since I’ve recently read Eat That Frog!, Getting Things Done, and the 80/20 Principle, Essentialism seems like it would be more of the same ‘ol, same ‘ol – get organized, de-clutter, prioritize, focus, achieve results.

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Oops, I did it again!

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The 2019 beard collage for Gregg Borodaty

Last year, when I posted my annual beard photo, I said I was 85% certain I wouldn’t grow it again this year.

Well, I did it again, which shouldn’t come as a surprise. There’s just something about this time of year that brings out the beard.

This year’s edition started around the end of October. I’ve kept it somewhat groomed over the last 6 weeks, although it’s starting to get a bit out of control, and a little uncomfortable. Abbey helped me with a photo shoot last night. Google Photos assembled an automated collage which is what you see to the right.

The plan is cut the beard back this weekend, and then shave it all off before Christmas.

I’m not a big fan of the beard, which makes me wonder why I’ve done it for the last 10 years. So who knows, maybe this is the last year for it. Let’s just say that I’m 85% certain it is.

(If you’re interested in taking a trip down memory lane, here’s a post that has images of “the beard” dating back to 2012).

Book review: Incognito

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If I hadn’t gotten interested in engineering and computers when I was younger, neuroscience may have been one of my alternative career choices. How the brain works has always fascinated me. Even more intriguing is how and why we think about the things we do.

I’ve read a lot of books over the last couple of years that have a lot to do with training the mind. These include Psycho-Cybernetics, The Power of Positive Thinking, The Happiness Advantage, and others. While these books talk about harnessing the power of the mind, they don’t get into the details about how the mind works. Incognito, written by David Eagleman, takes this next step and explores the inner workings of the brain.

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Book review: Factfulness

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Book cover of Factfulness by Hans Rosling

Turn on the evening news, and you will be overwhelmed with the tragic events of the day:

  • Terrorist attacks
  • Horrific storms and natural disasters
  • War, or the imminent threat of one
  • Mass shootings
  • School violence
  • Kidnappings
  • Animal attacks (e.g. sharks, bears, lions, etc.)

And the list goes on. It’s pretty easy to come to the conclusion that the world is a lot more dangerous, unsafe, and scarier than it’s ever been.

If you subscribe to the premise that the world is a more dangerous place, you should grab a copy of Factfulness by Hans Rosling. Rosling takes a measured, fact-based approach to show that the world is not as dangerous as the media would lead us to believe. Using numbers and statistics, he shows us that the world has never been a better and safer place than it is today.

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Rethinking Retirement

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I find it interesting how society creates arbitrary rules that become the expected norm over time. Retiring at age 65 is one such example.

I’m not 100% certain, but I strongly suspect that the original Social Security Act, which was passed in 1935, had a lot to do with setting this expectation. It set an age of 65 to receive full retirement benefits. While the age requirement for receiving full benefits has been slowly increasing to 67, the “retirement age” in most people’s mind is still 65.

I believe it’s time we need to rethink retirement. We need to re-evaluate what it means to retire, and the age at which retirement starts. Here’s why.

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Book review: The Energy Bus

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Book cover for The Energy Bus by Jon Gordon

Business books are generally very dry. Most times it feels like you’re reading an academic textbook or business journal article. Now, I’m not saying that there’s anything fundamentally wrong with that style. You can learn a lot from a good business book. I just find that it’s more enjoyable and easier to read a business book that teaches its concepts through an engaging, interactive story.

The first business book I read that was written in this style was The Goal by Eliyahu Goldratt. He used a fast-paced fictional story to show how his Theory of Constraints principles were applied to make a factory more efficient. I thoroughly enjoyed it and highly recommend reading it if you haven’t already. Since then, I’ve read a number of other business stories, including my latest read, The Energy Bus by Jon Gordon.

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Teaching a Teen to Drive – Final Thoughts

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Over the last two months, I’ve documented the drives around Southern California that I used to teach my kids how to drive. There were a total of nine long drives, an overview and an introduction.

I didn’t have a teaching process when my first child was ready to drive. I stumbled upon one, somewhat by accident, while teaching her. The process worked so well for her that I continued using it with my other kids. Each time I revisited it, I refined and adjusted it to the final versions which I’ve shared here.

So with the drives documented, here are some parting thoughts and final words of wisdom to consider as you start the process of teaching your teenager how to drive.

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Book review: On Basilisk Station (Honor Harrington)

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Book cover for On Basilisk Station by David Weber

In addition to having a (ridiculously) long reading list, I also have a library of books that I’ve purchased and haven’t read. Some of these books have been sitting on my digital and physical bookshelves for 5 years or more. Usually this happens because I see the book through one of my daily deal emails from Amazon. The book title looks interesting, the description fits with one of my preferred reading genres, the reviews look promising, and the price is too good to pass up.

Such was the case with On Basilisk Station by David Weber. I saw the book in an Amazon Daily Deal email in January 2014 (date thanks to Amazon for keeping track of my purchases). The book fit with one of my preferred reading genres, science fiction. The reviews were encouraging. And the price was certainly too good to pass up since it was free.

From there, the book sat on my digital bookshelf. Each year when putting together my reading list, I had every intention of reading it. It just never made it to the top of my reading list, until earlier this year. So after languishing for over 5 years, I finally read On Basilisk Station.

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Supporting the Fourth Estate

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I recently renewed my subscription to The Guardian. Given our expectation that news on the internet should be free, the $69 fee seems excessive. On the other hand, if you compare it to the role that an effective fourth estate fills in a democracy, the subscription rate is a bargain.

If news content on the internet is available for free, why did I decide to pay for it?

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