The message is clear: You do not need extraordinary luck. You already won the ovarian lottery, as Warren Buffett likes to say. You are alive, reading this. You already won. From here you can create a meaningful life. The tools for building that meaning and growing it to greater heights is gathered from those who have already found meaning in their life.
The books the most successful people alive today recommend might surprise you. Elon Musk mentions The Lord of the Rings and Douglas Adams’s Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy more than once when listing must-read books.
These books might seem like strange choices, but when you think about it these and similar books start the engine of creative thinking. The technology Tesla uses to manufacture electric vehicles is not new technology. Some of the technology used is 18th century knowledge, even more from the 19th century and early 20th Century. The magic of Elon Musk is applying this knowledge in novel ways. Remember, electric cars came before the internal combustion engine (ICE). The ICE won until Musk built electric vehicles with existing technology that really worked. Then he revolutionized batteries.
Life is filled with stress. Since I’m one of the few in the FIRE and PF communities taking consulting sessions I get to hear a lot of stories first hand. People have real challenges and they hurt, deep inside. They want so badly to unyoke themselves from student loans and debt. So badly want to reach financial independence so they can pursue their dreams. The ones feeling wanderlust to travel the world are the minority. So many want to start a business or explore their creativity. They have beautiful minds.
Ryan Holiday has always been a fan of slowing down and experiencing life. It is a lesson this author struggles to learn (or at least heed). In Stillness Holiday gives us 34 stories to motivate us to stillness, that peaceful calm where we are content.
Charlie Munger, the right hand man of Warren Buffet at Berkshire Hathaway, is quoted as saying he never met any wise person who did not read a lot. Reading is how we learn about the world around us. We live better when we educate ourselves. Every year I read 20 – 30 books of substance and a handful of entertaining novels I think have a value lesson to teach. Reading is as important as breathing. Many of the greatest books I’ve read were introduced to me the same way you are being introduced to books here, from a blog.
This list is by no means comprehensive. Periodically I will add more posts with a list of books I feel are significant. Most of you have already read several books on this list. No surprise there; people interested in bettering themselves will discover these gems on a regular basis all on their own. There will be a few you have not heard of and now is your opportunity to add to your wealth of knowledge.