The books I've been reading this month are:
The main purpose of this book is attempting to provide a spiritual awakening for it's readers by showing methods for becoming more present and defeating/mitigating the Ego.
It also helped me identify moments when the Ego had taken hold of my life. Ego, as I understand, is the identity or stories we tell ourselves that make up who we are.
I've been guilty of asking, "who am I?" or "What is my purpose in life?", this book removes those questions and makes you realise that "we are who we are, because we are."
I feel like this book helped me to be more present. The hardest part, for someone who likes to feel in control, is accepting the world for the way it is, even when it's not what you expected.
A recent example from our travels was during our journey to Hokkaido from Tokyo, we didn't realise that you had to reserve seats for these particular bullet trains.
In the past, we've managed to jump onto non-reserved seats and just use the Pasmo IC Card (train card + more). But these bullet trains are less frequent, every 20 mins, and require reservations.
We didn't know, so this mistake cost us some time. Thanks to this books teaching, it helped me be present in the moment and realise that it's not that deep, another train will come.
There is plenty more in this book, especially about the main two purposes in life: Inner and Outer. But I suggest you read the book first, the lead up context is important for understanding the difference between the two.
This book has helped point me in the right direction with my finances time and time again. A friend gave it to me in 2023 to read, and to this day it's my favourite book.
I saw a social media clip of Robert Greene recommending it, and countless other people saying it's a good one. So I gave it a go and have read it yearly since.
It's a book of parables in the Babylonian time teaching you lessons using stories from that era. I think the stories were inspired by actual real life clay tablets.
If you want to sort your finances out, or take your wealth to the next level, and love fantasy-esc stories, then give this a read.
This book has given me the most paradigm shifts of any book I've ever read. From critical thinking to bending rules to working smarter not harder. It's an enjoyable read albeit a bit shocking.
Timothy Ferris shares a bunch of stories where he questions the world and how it operates, and find ways to circumvent (within the rules) the red tape that exists in various situations. He shares how he's had this critical mind ever since being a kid and how it's helped him.
There is a whole section on useful tools and methods for turning your business into a less busy business, where you direct where the ship should go with minimal time rather than steer the ship yourself.
He also gives so many tips and tricks on travelling, assistants, selling digitally, working remotely etc.
It's essentially a playbook for gaining time back after you've already worked hard.
10/10 recommend, even if just to shift how you think.
