On Thinking in Bets, Being Unstoppable, and Living Beyond Wealth
Books that changed my life
Hello all!
Here is your weekly dose of books that changed my life.
1. Decision making
Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don't Have All the Facts
Summary
I love books about probability, especially when it relates to every day decision making. Often, these types of books are overly complicated and challenging to interpret the statistics and mathematics. Not this one. Such a fun read and you’ll learn a thing or two that will change how you think and make decisions.
Principle: A bet is a decision about an uncertain future.
Principle: Good quality decisions can have bad outcomes. Don’t equate quality of decision with quality of outcome.
Guidance: Two things determine how our lives turn out. Learning to recognize the difference between the two is what thinking in bets is all about
The quality of our decisions
Luck
Author: Annie Duke
Themes: Decision making, Human psychology
My personal notes from the book
2. Memoir
Unstoppable: My Life So Far
Summary
Studying the life of an elite performer is filled with gems. Sharapova’s life is fascinating and this book gives an idea of the sacrifices her family made to bring her to the USA to train and go on to become the top ranked player in the world.
Principle: Persistence - the quality that makes you lock in and focus when asked to do same thing a million times. Have to be able to endure a tremendous amount of boredom.
Insight: Behind all great careers, there is one advisor, one voice. You can bring different people in to give you whatever you need, but there has to be that one person in control. That is not a coach, That is a person who hires and fires the coaches, who never loses sight of the big picture. It does not have to be a parent. But it usually is.
Quote: Never judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again -Nelson Mandela
Author: Maria Sharapova
Themes: Memoir, Peak performance, Sports
My personal notes from the book
3. Personal finance
Beyond Wealth: The Road Map to a Rich Life
Summary
As you know, I’m a big fan of Alexander Green. You’ve already heard about his previous two books on personal finance: The Secret of Shelter Island: Money and What Matters and The Gone Fishin' Portfolio: Get Wise, Get Wealthy, and Get on with Your Life). Beyond Wealth focuses on personal wealth management, which is less commonly touched on in popular books, which makes it worth the read.
Principle: Happiness is a byproduct. It is achieved indirectly, by producing something beautiful or useful or by making someone else happy. The search for happiness is one of the chief sources of unhappiness.
Insight: False rabbits of success: money, fame, status, possessions. Feel empty when achieved. Rather than looking at own path, we often look around and see what everyone else is doing. These things are the tinsel of life, glittering but worthless.
Quote: Knowledge is learning something every day. Wisdom is letting go of something every day. -Alexander Green
Author: Alexander Green
Themes: Personal finance, Investing, Living a full life
My personal notes from the book
That’s a wrap. Thanks for reading!
Please continue to share with me the books that changed your life!
Best,
Adam
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