5 Day Reading Challenge in February 2024 📚✨

Day 1️⃣

1. The Ultimate Guide to Unstoppable Motivation by Nir Eyal (10 mins)

• Motivation exists on a spectrum from external to intrinsic. Studies show intrinsic is best, but the middle "identified motivation" also boosts performance if intrinsic declines.
• Hikers who aligned actions with personal values ("identified motivation") were most likely to complete the trail and feel happy, even as intrinsic motivation declined.
• We can boost identified motivation by clarifying our core values in life, then aligning our actions with those values, infusing tasks with meaning.
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2. The Paradox of Goals by Anne-Laure Le Cunff (13 mins)

• The paradox: Goals are necessary yet pursuing them guarantees disappointment whether we succeed or fail.
• Instead of rigid goals, design flexible growth loops based on cycles of experimentation and learning.
• Focus on enjoying the journey of self-cultivation rather than reaching a specific destination.
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3. Decide Your Next Decade by Scott H. Young (2 mins)

• Envision your ideal life in 10 years. This long-term vision can motivate you to focus on what matters.
• Write down the gap between your 10-year goals and your current daily actions. This reveals where you need to improve your focus.
• Share your 10-year vision and focus gaps with others. This provides accountability to make progress on your ambitions.
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Day 2️⃣

1. Quit: A Framework for Giving Up by Justine & Olivia Moore (7 mins)

• Set kill criteria in advance and regularly re-evaluate expected value to determine the right time to quit.
• Have a "quit coach" to provide an objective perspective and hold you accountable.
• Reframe quitting as freeing you to redirect energy to new and better opportunities.
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2. The "Big Rocks" of Life by Dr. Stephen R. Covey (2 mins)

• An expert used a jar filled with rocks, gravel, sand and water to demonstrate priority and time management.
• Big rocks represent the most important priorities (family, faith, career). Put these in first.
• If you don't prioritize the big rocks first, you won't have room for them later when life fills up.
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3. 12 Mark Cuban mantras for success by Mark Cuban (5 mins)

• Value your time and use it wisely. Success comes from productivity.
• Take risks and act decisively. You can't succeed without taking action.
• Learn from failures. You only need to be right once to find success.
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Day 3️⃣

1. Active vs. Passive Learning by Morgan Housel (4 mins)

• Passive learning is self-directed, curiosity-driven exploration while active learning is structured education.
• Reading widely across different fields helps you grasp fundamentals about how the world works.
• Giving employees unstructured time boosts learning; many successful people credit key insights to passive activities.
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2. The Power of the Underdog by Louis Greenstein (2 mins)

• Underdog status can be motivating to prove doubters wrong and improve performance. Crafting an underdog narrative aligns with one's identity.
• Undermining the source of low expectations (e.g. revealing hidden skills) helps overcome them.
• Managers can leverage the underdog effect by building confidence and pointing to successes that contradict low expectations.
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3. What I Wish Someone Had Told Me by Sam Altman (1 min)

• Pursue ambitious goals with talented, committed teams focused on high-conviction bets.
• Move fast, take risks on people, cut bureaucracy that hinders outcomes.
• Build businesses that get compounding advantages from scale and working with great people.
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Day 4️⃣

1. Discipline is Destiny: 25 Habits That Will Guarantee You Success by Ryan Holiday (10 mins)

• Central Role of Self-Discipline: Ryan Holiday highlights self-discipline as the key to success, surpassing talent or resources, in his work "Discipline is Destiny."
• Importance of Productive Habits: Advocates for productive habits like early rising, focused work, and self-kindness to foster self-mastery and maintain productivity.
• Excellence through Discipline: Stresses discipline as essential for excellence, emphasizing habits like focusing, delegating, and avoiding perfectionism for personal fulfillment.
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2. 40 Years of Stanford Research Found That People With This One Quality Are More Likely to Succeed by James Clear (5 mins)

• The Marshmallow Experiment found that children who could delay gratification by waiting for a second marshmallow achieved higher success in life, including better academic and health outcomes.
• Longitudinal studies linked the ability to delay gratification with key life successes, showing the importance of self-control.
• Further research indicated that delaying gratification is a learned skill, influenced by one's environment and experiences.
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3. The Body at Work: Why Self-Control is the #1 Rule of the 21st-Century Economy by Tara McMullin (22 mins)

• Critiques self-help culture's impact on body image, emphasizing the harmful pursuit of perfection through self-control, influenced by societal norms around gender and race.
• Highlights the arbitrary nature of beauty standards and the economic and social consequences of striving to meet these ideals, fueled by the self-help and beauty industries.
• Advocates for reevaluating body image messages, promoting acceptance and diversity, and addressing systemic beliefs that contribute to body dissatisfaction.
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Day 5️⃣

1. A Journey Toward Overcoming The Procrastination Habit by Ivaylo Durmonski (10 mins)

• Impact and Causes: Procrastination affects both individuals and businesses by delaying critical tasks due to internal factors like disinterest, fear of failure, and seeking immediate gratification, leading to decreased productivity and financial losses.
• Distinction from Laziness: Unlike laziness, which is a voluntary avoidance of work, procrastination involves knowing what needs to be accomplished but choosing to do something else, driven by various psychological factors.
• Strategies for Overcoming: Effective methods to combat procrastination include recognizing procrastinating behaviors, understanding their triggers, and adopting specific strategies such as setting clear goals, limiting distractions, and enhancing accountability.
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2. The 85% Rule for Learning by Scott Young (4 mins)

• The 85% success rate is identified as optimal for learning, balancing challenge and attainability to maximize skill acquisition in both humans and machines.
• This principle is applicable across various domains, suggesting that learning is most effective when tasks are neither too easy nor too hard, fostering a productive mix of success and failure.
• The concept is supported by theories like the zone of proximal development and deliberate practice, advocating for tasks that slightly exceed current capabilities to encourage growth and maintain motivation.
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3. Why You Should Change Your Life Every Decade by Nassir Ghaemi (3 mins)

• Embrace Change Every Decade: Suggests regularly changing careers or lifestyles to avoid complacency and maximize growth, inspired by the experiences of thought leaders like Arthur Brooks.
• Questioning Expertise: Argues that holding onto expertise in one area can stifle innovation, advocating for exploring new fields after achieving success to foster progress.
• Planning for Flexibility: Encourages viewing life in ten-year segments, emphasizing the importance of being open to change, regardless of success, to uncover new opportunities.
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