Andres Marin | Bibliosophy📖 (@Bibliosophy_)

Connecting The Dots

Mon, 29 Aug 2022 15:12:13 GMT

This book caught my attention by its cover and the reference that I did with Steve Jobs famous message about not trying to connect the dots looking forward, but trusting that they will connect when looking backwards, because they always do.

Here’s my top 10 takeaways

//THREAD//

1. Resilience

Setbacks and tough times should force you to take stock of your strengths and find new ways to win.

It is how you handle ‘failures’ that ultimately dictates your success.

2. Privilege

You did not have to be born privileged to gain the skills to compete, and no privilege would help you if you didn't invest in developing your skills.

Hard work beats talent.

3. Big Picture

The visible condition of any person, company, state, industry or country is always a symptom of a deeper problem.

To address the real problem, investigate the underlying issues and take a step back to see the patterns and trends that point to the bigger picture.

4. Arrows Of Progress

The ability to figure out what change will look like three to five years before it happens, and then act on it, is how you will win.

You can't plan for a world ahead if you're not investing in imagining it.

5. Stagnation

Businesses fail for the same reasons people do: they don't understand market transitions well, keep doing the same thing for too long, and don't respond quickly enough when conditions change.

All the data is there if you know the right places to look.

6. Vision

It's hard to define where you're going if you can't explain where you are.

If your customers don't care where you're going, ask yourself why.

7. Purpose

When you focus on a mission that is authentic, impactful, differentiated and aspirational, people understand why they are with you.

Customers know what they are buying.

The employees know why they are working there.

Investors understand where you are going.

8. Values

Upholding your values doesn't mean you can't work with people who have a different view of the world.

Just know where your lines are and what cannot be denied when it comes to values and mission.

9. Awareness

Be excited about the opportunities, but don't underestimate the risks.

The key lies in becoming aware.

10. People

The hardest thing to understand in every company is not the products, it's the people.

The strength of your team ultimately determines the strength of your company.

“You are not as good as people think you are when things are going well and you are not as bad as people think you are when things are going bad.”

— John Chambers

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Leadership Strategy & Tactics

Mon, 22 Aug 2022 14:29:13 GMT

This book is written by a former Navy SEAL which battled in the Iraq War, imagine that.

His thoughts on leadership are unbreakable and worth to follow.

> Estimated reading time: 1 minute, 49 seconds.

Here’s my top 10 takeaways:

1.1 Ownership

The need to punish someone on the team is almost always a direct reflection of the leader and the failure to lead appropriately.

1.2

If a team member is late, perhaps the leader failed to explain the importance of being on time.

If a team member fails to complete their portion of a project, perhaps the leader did not give the support required.

2. Relationships

Solid relationships up and down the chain of command are the basis of all good leadership.

The more confidence and charisma a leader has, the better he will do as a leader.

3. Devil’s Advocate

If you want optimal performance, do not just count on your own brainpower. Instead, encourage the rest of your team to think and to question you.

Do not surround yourself with yes-men. They do nothing to help you or the team.

4.1 Influence

The highest form of leadership and manipulation is to get people to do what you what them to do because they want to do it.

Both capitalize on others’ egos, personal agendas, and individual strengths and weaknesses to achieve their own preferred outcome.

4.2

Manipulators are trying to get people to do things that will benefit the manipulator, while leaders are trying to get people to do things that will benefit the team and the people themselves.

5. Communication

The better a person can communicate their ideas in a simple, clear manner, the more effective a leader they will be.

Make sure everyone understands not just what you want them to do but, more important, why they need to do it.

6. Trust

The more trust that is built, the more hands-off the leader can be.

If I want my subordinates to trust me, I need to give them trust.

7. Ego

Ego is like reactive armor; the harder you push against it, the more it pushes back.

Subordinating your ego is the ultimate form of self-confidence. That level of confidence earns respect.

8. Positions

People’s primary duties should reflect what they are naturally suited to do. They will enjoy their work more and do a better job, and this will benefit them and the whole team.

Don’t fight against nature. Use it.

9. Self-Interest

The moment you put your interests above the team and the mission is the moment you fail as a leader.

When you think you can get away with it, and the team wont notice your self-serving maneuvers, you are wrong.

Your people will see it, and they will know it.

10. Excellence

As a leader, you must remember you are being watched. And in everything you do, you must set the example.

It is all on you, but not about you.

“Dont be the leader with your hands in your pockets, but dont be the leader with your hands in everything.”

— Jocko Willink (@jockowillink)

You can read the unrolled version of this thread here: https://typefully.com/Bibliosophy_/Apg9CJT

The Unspoken Rules

Mon, 15 Aug 2022 16:30:13 GMT

I have always pushed the importance of knowing WHAT to read, but sometimes knowing WHEN to read is equally important.

I read this book in the exact moment where its advice was key in the success of a new role and could not have thanked that enough.

Here’s my top 10 takeaways:

1. Key Question

The minute you step into a new role is the minute your managers, coworkers, and clients will ask themselves:

“How does who you are and what you have done make you competent, committed, and compatible for your new role?”

2. Competence

Can you do the job well?

Prove that you are competent, and people will want to offer you more important responsibilities.

Show that you can get the job done fully, accurately, and promptly without needing to be micromanaged.

3. Commitment

Are you excited to be here?

Prove that you are committed, and people will want to invest in you.

Show that you are fully present and eager to help the team achieve its goal.

4. Compatibility

Do you get along with us?

Prove that you are compatible, and people will want to work with you.

Make others comfortable and eager to be around you.

5. Perception

Your actual competence matters, but your perceived competence can be just as important.

Just because you are committed does not mean people perceive you to be committed.

6. Mimesis

People like people who are similar to themselves, so they tend to hire, hang around, and promote those who look like, talk like, and have the same backgrounds and interests as they do.

7. Action

You cant wait around for others to decide your future. You need to create opportunities for yourself.

If you do not ask for it, you wont get it.

8. Gratitude

The odds of someone getting annoyed by you thanking them are approximately 0 percent.

The odds of someone getting annoyed if you disappear after they spent time helping you are 100 percent.

9. Unbreakable Law

The spoken objective of a feedback meeting may be to help you improve, but the unspoken objective is to help your manager feel validated.

Never outshine your manager.

10. Impressions

People say that first impressions matter. Last impressions can matter just as much.

When you announce that you’re about to leave, most assume you will be checked out.

Anything you do that defies expectations can go a long way.

“Leave it to other people to tell you no. Do not limit yourself before you have even given yourself a chance.”

— Gorick Ng (@GorickNg)

You can read the unrolled version of this thread here: https://typefully.com/Bibliosophy_/fXPiVH3

Sophie's World

Mon, 08 Aug 2022 16:16:12 GMT

This is a fantastic introduction to anyone who wants to enter to the world of philosophy. The writer is simply prolific.

> Estimated reading time: 1 minute, 32 seconds.

Here’s my top 10 takeaways (meant to be reflected upon, not just read):

1. Myths

They try to give people an explanation for something we can not understand.

2. Dualism

Philosophy gradually liberated itself from religion.

We could say that the natural philosophers took the first step in the direction of scientific reasoning, thereby becoming the precursor of what was to become science.

3. Philosophy

Philosophy is not something you can learn; but perhaps you can learn to think philosophically.

4. Real Socrates

Socrates never wrote a single line. Who Socrates ‘really’ was is relatively unimportant.

It is Plato’s portrait of Socrates that has inspired thinkers in the western world for nearly 2,500 years.

5. Scapegoats

When we talked about Socrates, we saw how dangerous it could be to appeal to people’s reason.

With Jesus we see how dangerous it can be to demand unconditional brotherly love and unconditional forgiveness.

6. Church = Good?

The church closed Plato’s Academy in Athens. The year 529 thus became a symbol of the way the Christian Church put the lid on Greek philosophy, the monasteries had the monopoly of education, reflection, and meditation.

7. Universe Center?

The eggs of mammals were not discovered until 1827. It was therefore perhaps not so surprising that people though it was the man who was the creative and lifegiving force in reproduction.

We cannot judge our past ignorance with our present wisdom.

8. Faith

Where both reason and experience fall short, there occurs a vacuum that can be filled by faith.

9. End In Mind

You have to turn the sheep loose before you can start to herd them.

10. Liberty

Our freedom obliges us to make something of ourselves, to live authentically or truly.

“How terribly sad it was that people are made in such a way that they get used to something as extraordinary as living.”

— Jostein Gaarder

You can read the unrolled version of this thread here: https://typefully.com/Bibliosophy_/hl69Wkx

Ego Is The Enemy

Mon, 01 Aug 2022 14:33:12 GMT

For sure this has been one of the best books that I have read in my life, covering one of my favorite topics and from one of my favorite writers. No more words needed.

> Estimated reading time: 1 minute, 55 seconds.

Here’s my top 10 takeaways:

1. Transcendence

The most important questions a person can ask in life.

Who I want to be?

Which path am I going to take?

Quod vitae sectabor iter.

2. Blessing or Curse?

For people with ambition, talents, drive and potential to develop, the ego is a natural characteristic.

What makes us so promising as thinkers, doers, creatives, and entrepreneurs also makes us vulnerable to this dark part of the psyche.

3. Meaning

The need to be better than, more than, recognized by, beyond any reasonable utility. That is ego.

The sense of superiority and certainty that exceeds the limits of self-confidence and talent.

Some successful people all they can see is what they've already done.

4. Action

A man is forged by what he works on.

The only relationship between work and talk is that one kills the other.

5. Learning

Have someone better from whom you can learn, someone inferior to whom you can teach and someone equal with whom you can measure yourself, not compare.

6. Student Always

Pretending that we know is our most dangerous vice, because it prevents us from improving.

It is impossible to learn what one thinks one knows.

7. Talk < Walk

You are the least important person in the room, until you change that situation at the point of results.

Talk little, do a lot. Be less, do more.

8. Humility

Pride, even when there are real achievements, is a distraction that creates illusions.

The question to ask when experiencing a burst of pride is: What am I missing right now? What would I see if I were a humble person?

9. Purpose

When we achieve our purpose, we must resist the desire to pretend that everything went exactly as planned.

> Note: If you would like to know about a deeply personal experience regarding this, do not hesitate to reply to this email and I will share it with you.

10. Ego Breeds Insecurity

The fight to be number one is a mask of weakness, insecurity and instability.

The ego needs honors to feel validated. Self-confidence, on the other hand, is able to wait and focus on the task at hand, without thinking about external recognition.

“Each of us has a unique potential and purpose, which means that we are the only ones who can evaluate and define the terms of our life.”

— Ryan Holiday (@ryanholiday)

You can read the unrolled version of this thread here: https://typefully.com/Bibliosophy_/LPxhc4U

Everyone Wins

Mon, 25 Jul 2022 20:06:11 GMT

An important person in my life gave me this book as a gift and I could not thank him enough for it. The amount of reflection I did was tremendous.

Here’s my top 10 takeaways:

> Estimated reading time: 1 minute, 52 seconds.

1. Excellence

Do not expect anything from others, but believe in yourself. Take responsibility for your actions and give your best.

Lower your expectations, but not your dreams.

2. Perspective

The way you see your life shapes your life.

Success is achieved by turning each step into a goal and each goal into a step.

3. Action

True success is not having been, but continuing to be.

The man who succeeds is the man who tries.

4. Mistake = Learning

Only one thing is more painful than learning from experience, and that is, not learning from experience.

There is beauty in mistaking.

5. True Wealth

You will find yourself at the top when you help someone else up a mountain.

Don't measure your wealth by the money you have, measure your wealth by those things you wouldn't trade for money.

6. Grit

The exaltation to obtain a reward is the engine to test any resource that leads to achieving gratification.

Only those who are willing to go far, and do, will know how far they can go.

7. Expectations

Well-being does not come from many riches, but from few needs. To be content with what we have is to be rich.

Knowing how to get by without what we want is to be powerful.

8. Fulfillment

The emptier a man's head is, the fuller his pockets need to be.

Wealth consists much more in enjoyment than in possession.

9. Commitment

Those who hesitate to make plans do so because they doubt their ability to deliver and do not want to commit.

Do not fear commitment.

10. Ownership

Every right implies a responsibility.

Every opportunity, an obligation.

Every position, a duty.

“The greatest happiness is the well-being that is experienced by being actively engaged in what we like to do.”

— Mario Rizo (@mariorizofiscal)

You can read the unrolled version of this thread here: https://typefully.com/Bibliosophy_/PmeLilD

Economy Of Truth

Mon, 18 Jul 2022 14:32:12 GMT

This book is full of reflections and timeless principles to live up to.

@viziandrei is fascinating and I would definitely recommend giving him a follow. His thoughts on lifestyle design are simply amazing.

Reading time: 1 minute, 47 seconds.

Here’s my top 10 takeaways:

1. Interpretation

The expression of ideas, and not the ideas in themselves, is what we seek when reading books.

We consider many ideas to be evident once we read them.

2. Confirmation Bias

We tend to like only the books that reinforce our convictions.

We rarely like the books filled with arguments that contradict them, no matter how adequate o well-documented they are.

3. Simplicity

The denser the argument, the easier the job to dismantle it.

Way too many sentences translate into a declaration of insecure reasoning.

4. Focus

Happy people cultivate stable, positive feelings; they don’t crave euphoric moments.

Happiness is about frequency, not impact or intensity.

5. Curation

Productivity is about eliminating bad habits, then adding good ones.

Knowledge is about filtering, rather than gathering, information.

6. Agency

The more we think and talk about the issues which we cant control, the more we neglect the ones which are in our control.

There is gold to be found in Stoicism.

7. Personal Monopoly

You cannot bring out the flavor of your intellect if you do not try to establish relations with disciplines that are not at all related to your specialization.

You do not need unique skills, but a unique combination of your skills.

8. Creativity

Creativity is not something we can acquire systematically. The most we can do is foster a state of mind that creativity may come to us.

The harder you try to be creative, the less you shall succeed.

9. True Learning

To thrive, read all the practical books that have survived more than 300 years.

The longer a book has survived, the higher its quality and timeless its learnings.

10. Ownership

In an abundant world, knowledge grows by elimination, rather than by addition.

It’s more about recycling rather than consuming or producing.

“Happiness consists in being able to understand yourself and the reality around you.”

— Vizi Andrei (@viziandrei)

You can read the unrolled version of this thread here: https://typefully.com/Bibliosophy_/bJVWxz4

The Servant

Mon, 11 Jul 2022 19:17:12 GMT

This book redefines what it means to be a leader. It was recommended by someone special to me and it was worth its weight.

> Estimated reading time: 1 minute, 52 seconds.

Here’s my top 10 takeaways:

1. Influence

When you identify meeting the legitimate needs of others you can influence them.

The leader is someone who identifies and satisfies those needs and removes all obstacles so that they can serve the customer.

To be the first, you have to serve.

2. Connection

The key to leadership is to carry out assigned tasks by fostering human relationships.

Truly great leaders possess the art of building relationships that work.

3. Service

Leadership has little to do with style (personality) and everything to do with substance (character).

Authority is founded on service and sacrifice.

4. Progress

Every few months you should be able to say, "I'm not where I want to be, but I'm better than I was."

Either you are green and growing, or you are ripe and rotting.

5. What Matters

Things are managed, people are led.

Money is fourth or fifth on the list of what people expect from your company.

Being treated with dignity and respect, being able to contribute to the success of the company, feeling part of it, always appear above money.

6. Agency

I can't always control my feelings towards others, but what I can control is my behavior towards others.

Love is not what one feels for others, it is rather how one behaves with others.

7. Know Thyself

Humility is nothing more than the true knowledge of yourself and your limitations.

Those who see themselves as they really are in truth can only be humble.

8. Character

Our true character as a leader is revealed when we have to give our best for those we don't like, having to love people we don't exactly like.

That's when we discover to what extent we are committed and what kind of leader we really are.

9. Action

What we believe or what we think, in the end is not important.

The only thing that really matters is what we do.

10. Ownership

When things go well, give others the credit.

When things go wrong, own that mistake.

“When you were born you cried and the world was filled with joy. Live your life so that when you die the world cries and you are filled with joy.”

— James C. Hunter

You can read the unrolled version of this thread here: https://typefully.com/Bibliosophy_/71hLBSA

The School Of Greatness

Mon, 04 Jul 2022 17:11:11 GMT

This books gives you the tools, knowledge, and actionable resources you need to reach your potential.

> Estimated reading time: 1 minutes, 32 seconds.

Here’s my top 10 takeaways:

1. Greatness

Successful and unsuccessful people do not vary greatly in their abilities.

The difference lies in their desires to reach their potential.

2. A Bit More

Having a goal that feels attainable but slightly out of reach provides focus and direction.

Always strive for something higher, bigger, and/or better. You can.

3. Envision

No path to greatness has ever involved settling for less than what you really want.

You become what you envision yourself being.

4. Pillars

You will never achieve what you really want if you let your ego stand in the way of your principles.

Every successful person I know has their non-negotiable set of principles.

5. You Decide :):

We are our greatest ally in terms of our capability to get past adversity.

It all lies in how we perceive and engage the adversity we face.

6. Fulfillment

What makes achieving your dreams and fulfilling your vision that much more special is the hard work it takes to get there.

Glory is best served with true sacrifice.

7. Adversity

Those who learn how to use adversity to their advantage, possess the power to turn that into greatness.

If you avoid or resist it, it will only persist.

8. Life’s Goal

Greatness is not about working a lot or making a lot of money. It’s about having purpose and being the best that you can possibly be.

Reaching our true potential is the true flex.

9. Grateful > Scarcity

If you concentrate on what you have, you’ll always have more.

If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you’ll never have enough.

10. Past

Discuss the past and you will learn from it.

Bottle it up and it will have you in chains.

“We are only as good and as strong as our adversity makes us.”

— Lewis Howes

You can read the unrolled version of this thread here: https://typefully.com/Bibliosophy_/cSBWrM8

A Little History Of The World

Mon, 27 Jun 2022 15:44:11 GMT

I found this book on my grandfather’s bookshelf and just by the first page was captivated. Throughout the whole book I was just saying wow at our shared history.

> Estimated reading time: 1 minutes, 32 seconds.

Here’s my top 10 takeaways:

1.1 Progress

Unlike Egyptians, the Babylonians and the Assyrians, were not interested in preserving the ways of their ancestors.

Their many raids and battles with foreign people had opened their eyes to new ideas and taught them to relish variety and change.

1.2

At this point, and in this part of the world, history began to progress at a much greater speed, because people no longer believed that the old ways were the best.

From now on, things were constantly changing and ever improving.

2. Purpose Beginnings

The Athenians were not looking for an easy, comfortable life, but one which had meaning.

A life of which something remained after one’s death, something of benefit to those who came after.

This is the bedrock of human purpose.

3. Ages

The Middle Ages is given its name for no other reason than that it falls between antiquity and modern times.

Dark Ages is the period which followed the collapse of the Roman empire when few people could read or write and hardly anyone knew what was going on in the world

4. Indulgences

Two Medici popes planned to build a new church that would cost greatly.

Where this money came from mattered less than getting hold of it and completing their wonderful church.

They offered forgiveness of sins to the faithful and called them 'indulgences'.

5. Old vs New

In the Enlightenment, the people who held ideas wanted to combat the darkness of superstition with the pure light of reason.

Tolerance, reason, and humanity were the three fundamental principles of the Enlightenment.

6. Nature

Mastering the mathematics of nature enabled people not only to understand the forces of nature, but to use them.

They were now harnessed and put to work for mankind. Think about fire.

7. Rome

Rome’s founder and first king was called Romulus.

The first roman emperor was Augustus.

The last emperor was Romulus Augustus.

Curious coincidence.

8. China’s Example

China is the only country in the world to be ruled for hundreds of years, not by the nobility, nor by soldiers, nor even by priesthood, but by scholars.

9. Novelty

If you want to do anything new, you must first make sure you know what people have tried before.

If we are able to see farther is because we stood on the shoulders of giants.

10. Perspective

The great questions of history are decided not by speeches but by blood and iron.

History is written by the winners.

“What I have always loved best about the history of the world is that it is true. That all the extraordinary things we read were no less real than you and I are today.”

— E.H. Gombrich

You can read the unrolled version of this thread here: https://typefully.com/Bibliosophy_/nO2EteH

The Elements Of Investing

Mon, 20 Jun 2022 22:33:13 GMT

This is a fantastic book full of practical advice on investing by one of the managers of Yale University’s endowment.

> Estimated reading time: 1 minutes, 32 seconds.

Here’s my top 10 takeaways:

1. Perspective

The real purpose of saving is to empower you to keep your priorities, not to make you sacrifice.

2. Timing

The first fundamental rule for achieving financial security: it’s never too late to start.

3. Planning

If your plan is clear, it will be easier for you to stay on plan.

4. Crisis = Opportunity

The lower stock prices go, the better the bargains if you are truly a long-term investor.

Right now, there are a ton of discounted stocks on the market.

5. Risk Management

Avoiding troubles that come from incurring unnecessary risks is one of the great secrets to investment success.

6. The Key

As in so many human endeavors, the secrets to success are patience, persistence, and minimizing mistakes.

Avoiding stupidity goes a long way as well.

7. Time > Timing

Investors should avoid any urge to forecast the stock market.

Focus on time in the market rather than timing the market.

8. Golden Gooses

Any investment that has become a widespread topic of conversation among friends or has been hyped by the media is very likely to be unsuccessful.

You will probably be too late.

9. Winners

The long-term winners will be those who control the one thing they can control, their investment costs.

Have the fortitude to tolerate short-term volatility and stay the course in following a sensible long-run investment program.

10. Golden Rule

Do not invest anything you can not afford to lose.

“Stupidity well packaged can sound like wisdom.”

— Burton Malkiel

You can read the unrolled version of this thread here: https://typefully.com/Bibliosophy_/SC1PGZ1

The Gardens Of Democracy

Mon, 13 Jun 2022 20:57:15 GMT

This book is a much-needed call to action for us as citizens to embrace our role in a democratic society.

Here’s my top 10 takeaways:

//THREAD//

1. Compass

Having a code always beats not having one.

The same applies with principles.

2. Shifting

Through history, people looked up into the sky and saw the sun, moon, stars, and planets revolve around earth. Now we first see, and later accept that the earth is not the center of the universe.

New understanding turns simple observation into meaningful perception.

3. Interconnection

True self interest is mutual interest.

The best way to improve your likelihood of surviving and thriving is to make sure those around you survive and thrive.

4. Mimesis

When people are free to do as they please, they usually imitate each other.

We just don’t like the unknowns.

5. Up To Us

Anti social contagions spread more rapidly than pro social ones, for the same reason that it is easier to push things downhill than up, and easier to fall into the vice than into virtue.

The challenge is how to generate the right kinds of contagions.

6. Right Mindset

True citizenship is about treating even the most trivial choice as a chance to shape your society and be a leader.

To lay down habits that scale up throughout society. Not just setting an example; but actively leading others to copy you.

7. Participate

Collective character is real, and something each of us shapes.

Lean forwards and engage rather than lean back and let things happen.

8. Trust

The one thing that determines whether a society can generate wealth and opportunity: trust.

Trust creates cooperation, and cooperation is what creates win-win outcomes.

High-trust networks thrive; low-trust ones fail.

9. Perspective

The government doesn't spend money; it circulates it.

It does not redistribute money; it recirculates it.

10. The Game

The point of the economy, particularly in a democracy, is not to enrich the few but to empower the many.

For a nation to thrive and to win in a global economic competition, it needs to put as many players on the field as it can.

“We have to be ambitious in our goals, imaginative in our means, ruthless in our evaluations, and aggressive in funding successes and starving failures.”

— Eric Liu

You can read the unrolled version of this thread here: https://typefully.com/Bibliosophy_/Ef1dbvH

The Power Of Agency

Mon, 06 Jun 2022 16:09:13 GMT

Do we every stop and ask why?

Pausing and reflecting is a powerful skill to know nowadays. This book greatly emphasizes how to develop it effectively.

Here’s my top 10 takeaways:

1. Beliefs

Adopt beliefs only after thought and reflection. Don't fall into the trap of copying and downloading other people's beliefs (even if you admire them).

Instead, while keeping an open mind and listening to others, build and update your opinions and beliefs.

2. Reflect!

No one stops to question if what we are doing makes sense. We just keep doing it.

Agency is what allows you to pause, evaluate, and act when you face a challenge.

3. Culture

Cultural drivers of anxiety and overwhelm: always-on technology, it robs us of quiet, reflective time to focus on our lives.

We are obsessed with measuring everything, we lose our ability to think about and seek that which you really care about.

4. Spaces

Creating quieter, calmer spaces in your living environment will enhance your ability to put your attention where you want it, which improves your level of agency.

Reflection combined with decisive action opens up potentially better paths and opportunities.

5. Network

Where you live, where you work, and whom you socialize with during the course of your days all matter.

We must always seek to connect with people who help us be the people we want to be.

6. Strive

We can learn every day from everyone we meet, as long as we're open.

Learn always and all ways.

7. Open-Mind

Be careful about selective perception, focusing just on what you want to hear and ignoring opposing viewpoints.

Don't be so arrogant that you dismiss out of hand the point of view of others.

8. Growth Mindset

Adopting a belief that your true potential is unknown, not fixed, encourages you to continually learn and grow.

Have a fixed mindset and you will likely close yourself off to new learning opportunities.

9. Human Connection

90% of what you need to know is in somebody else’s head.

There’s a special kind of learning that can only happen while you're in the company of others.

Human synergy needs to be practiced, and many things we hope to achieve can't be learned if we are alone.

10. The Key

Educational success is no longer reproducing content knowledge, but extrapolating from what we know and applying that knowledge in novel situations.

The world rewards people for what they do with what they know, how they behave in the world, and how they adapt.

“Personal success is not equivalent to high achievement.”

— Paul Napper

You can read the unrolled version of this thread here: https://typefully.com/Bibliosophy_/brvWKKr

The Mastery Of Love

Mon, 30 May 2022 14:53:11 GMT

It is an absolute masterclass on our everyday relationships. Definitely worth a read!

Here’s my top 10 takeaways.

[THREAD]

1. Artist

You are who you are because of what you believe about yourself.

All your reality, everything you believe, is the product of your own creation.

2. Dependence

If you take your happiness and put it in someone's hands, sooner or later, they will break it.

If you give your happiness to someone else, they can always take it with them.

3. Perspective

We do not have the right to change anyone and no one has the right to change us. If we change it will be because we want to change.

No matter how much you love someone, you will never be what that person wants you to be.

4. Your Part

If you know that you are only responsible for half of the relationship, you will easily control your half.

It is not for us to control the other half.

5. First: Us

We will not be able to love others until we love ourselves.

The relationship you have with yourself is reflected in your relationships with others.

6. Need

When we start a relationship, we become selfish because we feel needed.

We want someone who needs me in order to feel that our existence is justified, in order to feel that we have a reason to live.

7. Plenty Of Fish

If one person doesn't love you, another will love you. There is always someone else.

Just because someone rejects you doesn't mean you have to reject yourself.

8. Self-Truth

The mind perceives things as they are, but due to all the programming and beliefs that we have, we make interpretations of what we perceive, hear and above all, see.

When you are true to yourself, you begin to see things as they are and not as you want them to be.

9. Rejection

We have the need to justify everything: to make everything good or bad, right or wrong, when things simply are the way they are, period.

When you reject another person, you reject them for the same reasons you reject yourself.

10. Belief

Our own fears limit our possibilities.

You are what you think you are.

“From the moment we are able to accept ourselves as we are, all changes are possible.”

— Don Miguel Ruiz

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21 Lessons For The 21st Century

Mon, 23 May 2022 15:58:12 GMT

This book is a probing and visionary investigation into today's most urgent issues as we move into the uncharted territory of the future. For me, our future looks fascinating thanks mainly to this book.

Here’s my top 10 takeaways:

1. Clarity

In a world flooded with irrelevant information, clarity is power.

2. Singularity

If we invest too much in developing AI and too little in developing human consciousness, the highly sophisticated artificial intelligence of computers will only serve to strengthen the natural stupidity of humans.

It is very dangerous not to be necessary.

3. Hindsight

It is difficult to set priorities in real time, while it is all too easy to anticipate priorities in hindsight.

We accuse the leaders of failing to prevent the catastrophes that occurred, yet remain blissfully ignorant of the disasters that never materialized.

4. Unknown

Why is there something instead of nothing? What model are the fundamental laws of physics? What is consciousness and where does it come from?

We have no answers to these questions, and we give our ignorance the great name of God.

5. Questioning

Questions we can't answer are often much better for us than answers we can't question.

The key is to always ask better questions.

6. Religion

Religious and ideological dogmas have a great power of attraction in our scientific age precisely because they offer us a safe refuge from the frustrating complexity of reality.

Their power and their curse.

7. Education

The last thing a teacher needs to give their students is more information. They have too much.

People need the ability to make sense of information, tell the difference between what is and isn't important, and combine them into an overall picture of the world.

8. 4 C’s

Schools should be dedicated to teaching critical thinking, communication, collaboration and creativity.

Downplay technical skills and emphasize general life skills. The ability to deal with change, learn new things, and maintain mental balance in unfamiliar situations.

9. Devotion

The more you sacrifice for a certain belief, the more your faith grows stronger.

This is the mysterious alchemy of sacrifice.

10. Our Future

If someone describes the world of the mid-21st century to us and it sounds like science fiction, it's probably fake.

But if someone describes the world of the mid-21st century to us and it doesn't sound like science fiction, then it's surely false.

“People lead increasingly lonely lives on an increasingly connected planet.”

— Yuval Noah Harari

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Mindcode

Mon, 16 May 2022 13:23:13 GMT

We sell everyday, whether we are conscious of it or not. This books offers a thorough understanding of how our brain works to enable us to sell more effectively.

Here’s my top 10 takeaways:

A thread...

1. Mindset

He who only sells and does not understand and does not appreciate the symbolic value of what he delivers, lasts very little in this business.

He who gives, always receives.

2. Framing

A woman invests in her kitchen so that when people come in, they say 'wow, she sure knows how to cook', even if it’s the domestic worker who cooks.

3. Attitude

To be a successful salesperson you have to have guts, be passionate and feel like a winner.

There is no great salesperson who is not enthusiastic and positive.

4. Clients

What wins loyalty is taking away a pain from the consumer. A well-attended error is the best opportunity to retain him.

We always go back to salespeople who prove us to be noble and smart when they failed.

5. Listening

Today you sell more by listening than talking.

Actively listen to your customer.

6. Rationale

The more rational the speech, the more difficult it will be.

Most people don't like being talked to technically.

The brain is basic, the more basic and simple the communication is, the more effective it can be.

7. Criteria

People don't know why they buy things, but they always want to appear smart so they need to rationally justify their decisions to themselves and others.

We decide emotionally and justify rationally.

8. Focus

Emotions make people pay 30 to 40 percent more for similar products.

The seller who believes that price is the most important thing does not know how to sell. There is no brand that has become a leader by selling cheap.

9. Communication

If people don't understand you, it's your fault.

The question is whether you made yourself understood.

10. Value

Things are worth more for what they mean than for what they are.

Men do not buy a watch, we buy an instrument of admiration, domination and survival.

“People do not work for money, but for their dreams and to feel good.”

— Jürgen Klarić (@jurgenklaric)

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The Art Of Directing

Mon, 09 May 2022 14:04:13 GMT

I found this book on my grandfathers library and was amazed by it. It is written by a former priest more than 50 years ago and most of it is still useful nowadays.

Here’s my top 10 takeaways:

//THREAD//

1. Action

Deciding is nothing; the important thing is for decisions to be executed.

It is better to have few ideas and execute them than to have many and do nothing.

2. Responsibility

If the right to command is a title for authority, the talent to be obeyed is what gives the stature of boss.

Commanding is never a privilege, it is a burden.

3. Leadership

A troop without a leader is a body without a head.

“With him he would have made us go to the end of the world”
— Napoleon's Veterans

4. Trust

Confidence in a boss is a direct consequence of the admiration and security that he inspires.

The chief's first service is to study and understand those he must train.

5. Mindset

To reach the goal in anything, the first condition is to believe it is possible.

The territory of the possible has an elastic surface.

6. Drive

A little intelligence employed by a passionate heart will go further than a genius driven by a cold soul.

Nothing is impossible to a brave man.

7. Talent

We have received a number of talents, and have no right to glory ourselves.

First we have an obligation to develop and exploit them for the benefit of others.

8. Influence

Nothing encourages a man more than the feeling of having a boss to help him appreciate the gifts he has received.

The higher in the hierarchy and the higher one is, the more he is obliged to be good.

9. Approach

Whichever method of approximation is adopted, it is better to proceed by affirmation, rather than by denial.

The formula 'fulfill the obligation' contains a psychological force of propulsion much higher than the negative formula 'don't be doing nothing'.

10. Accountability

Every time you give a reprimand to a subordinate, feel that you are the one at fault. Either you have asked too much, or you were not sufficiently prepared, directed or watched over the subordinate.

A real boss accepts full responsibility for his actions.

“The worst alteration of the spirit is to see things as one wants them to be, instead of seeing them as they are.”

— Gaston Courtois

You can read the unrolled version of this thread here: https://typefully.com/Bibliosophy_/jQYCd1b

Wonderfully Imperfect, Scandalously Happy

Mon, 02 May 2022 14:24:13 GMT

One of my best high-school teachers and mentor recommended this book to me and I can’t thank him enough for it.

I have struggled greatly with perfectionism and reading this gave me a whole different perspective.

Here’s my top 10 takeaways:

[THREAD]

1. Focus

‘You are made for great things’ change it to 'you are made for good things, interesting, cheerful and nice, even if they are not extraordinary and out of series'.

Why do you want to be on the list of most outstanding or great chosen ones if you can't live happily?

2. Comparing

To compare yourself is to compete, it is to put your personal worth in the results and not in the satisfaction of being how you are.

If you are going to carve your statue, make it from your own marble.

3. Anxiety

The greater the distance between what you perceive yourself to be and what you would like or long to be, the more your feelings of insecurity will be.

4. Not Knowing

Saying 'I don't know' frees you, takes away the responsibility of the enlightened, you stop competing and nurture humility.

And it is okay to not know everything.

5. Perspective

Unbridled ambition leads to the idiocy of looking at your finger when you are shown the moon.

You lose the north and you get stuck in an existential disorientation.

6. Humility

Humility is the awareness of one's own insufficiency, recognizing one's own limits and not personal depreciation.

Being humble does not imply ignoring one's own virtues, the humble one is not ignorant of himself.

7. Power

You are what you think you are.

When you change your way of thinking, you change.

8. Autonomy

Don't stay in what could have been and wasn't.

Learn to discern what depends on you and what does not depend on you.

9. Action

We must learn to relate to the future without despair and unnecessary anguish.

Prudence, patience but not passivity.

10. It’s In You

A battle that takes place inside people between two wolves, one evil and one good.

Which wolf wins?

The one you feed.

“If you think that as much as you improve you will never stop being imperfect, and you accept it, your mind will calm down. Everything is in our head. At the moment of truth you are what you think, think well of yourself and you will feel better.”

— Walter Riso (@Walter_Riso)

This were my top 10 takeaways on learning to manage perfectionism.

What stays with you the most?

You can read the unrolled version of this thread here: https://typefully.com/Bibliosophy_/xpE0hp7

The 12 Laws Of Negotiation

Mon, 25 Apr 2022 14:56:13 GMT

This book is full of practical and actionable advice for having a better approach at negotiations.

Every single day we negotiate so we might as well improve that valuable skill.

Here’s my top 10 takeaways:

//THREAD//

1. Perspective

Although they appear to be adversaries, negotiators are co-responsible for resolving a problem.

Look at what may be behind, think in terms of interests, yours and of the other party.

Imagine various combinations to make various possible agreements.

2. Externals

Manage your time regardless of outside pressure. Reserve some room for maneuver.

Always act on principle, not pressure. Showing haste is showing weakness.

3. Managing

Generosity and good intentions must be well managed.

It is better to be solicited than to beg, to be called than to call.

4. Pre-seeing

If you want the painter to finish the task properly and leave everything in perfect condition, never pay in advance.

The good strategist knows that a significant amount must be left unpaid for the painter to have an incentive to quickly repair defects in his work

5. Questioning

As in all strategic problems, as soon as you ask yourself the right question, the answer emerges naturally.

The key is asking better questions every time.

6. Temptations

When the structure of the game encourages betrayal, it will occur.

When future interactions can be foreseen, betrayal is no longer profitable.

If there is a future, cooperation increases.

7. Commitment

Once committed to one direction, you lose ‘negotiability’.

Once trapped, you can't escape without paying a ransom. If you think is too high, you stay inside.

That's why printer ink is more expensive than the printer.

Before entering a structure, anticipate.

8. Expectations

The adversary will always try to manipulate your expectations.

Whoever can manipulate our expectations will also be able to manipulate our behavior.

9. Speaking

Many times the problem is not a lack of communication but an excess of unnecessary words.

Know how to keep quiet when you have already said what you had to say, even if the other does not respond.

10. Power

The one who needs the other the most is the one with the least negotiating power.

Negotiating power resides in the alternatives.

What could you do on your own if you don’t agree?

“What can I give that costs little to me and is worth a lot to the other party in exchange for something that costs little to her and is worth a lot to me?.”

— Alfred Font Barrot

This were my top 10 takeaways on the timeless principles of negotiation.

What stays with you the most?

You can read the unrolled version of this thread here: https://typefully.com/Bibliosophy_/nid94LG

365 Days To Be More Cultured

Mon, 18 Apr 2022 12:01:27 GMT

Because this book is meant to be read one page per day throughout a whole year, I am going to share 10 of my most fascinating learnings from the book.

Ranging topics from art and music to philosophy and religion, this book will make you go wow.

Here are my top 10 learnings:

1. Babylon

Babylonian scientists used a sexagesimal number system, which is why minutes have 60 seconds.

Hammurabi was a king of Babylon who ruled from 1792 BC to 1750 BC, he was the first politician in history.

2.1 Earth’s Circumference

Eratosthenes (276-194 BC) was director of the Library of Alexandria.

On June 21 at noon, he realized that if the sun was directly above Syene, its rays must strike Alexandria at a certain angle, which must be oriented north.

2.2

He stuck a stick into the ground in Alexandria and measured the angle of his shadow.

The angle was equivalent to the one formed by the two cities and Earth's center, he divided it by 360 to determine the fraction of the planet that separated both locations and it was 1/50.

2.3

If you walk from Syene to Alexandria and vice versa 50 times, you will have walked the equivalent of the circumference of the Earth.

He counted the steps from one city to another and deduced a circumference of 39,740 kilometers. With modern instruments it is 40,067 km.

2.4

In the times of Eratosthenes, the known world extended from Spain to India, the rest was covered by a vast ocean. Were it not for its enormity, it would be possible to sail from Spain west to India.

This idea inspired Christopher Columbus for his famous voyage in 1492.

3.1 Renaissance

This was a period of tremendous political, religious, and artistic change. A rediscovery of the arts that came after a 1,000-year period of cultural stagnation in Europe that began with the fall of the Roman Empire.

3.2

This is a historical turning point, Middle Ages ended and modern era began, replacing blind obedience to religious teachings.

A change of mentality that left behind the closure of medieval traditions to give way to a modern and inquisitive way of understanding the world.

4.1 Object’s Age

Radiocarbon dating (not human dating) is used to determine the age of a dead organism.

Scientists find out what is its level of carbon 14 that begins to reduce and disappear once the organism is dead. The older the object, the less carbon 14 it will contain.

4.2

To determine the age of the object, they compare its percentage of carbon 14 to carbon 12 with the percentage of an equivalent living object.

5.1 Religion & Philosophy

Baruch Spinoza defends that the real content of religion had nothing to do with the nature of God, but rather it was a guide so that through stories and precepts people would do what was morally correct.

5.2

Therefore, religion was a system of political and moral control and all religions were equally valid as long as they responded to that task in an effective way.

6.1 Easter

The tradition of giving painted eggs has its origins between Mary Magdalene and the Roman Emperor Tiberius Caesar Augustus.

6.2

He declared that if Jesus had risen from the dead, someone presented him with an egg, which Mary Magdalene did. He argued that the resurrection of Jesus was as likely as an egg turning red, which it immediately did.

7.1 Vaccines

Vaccines are made up of minor forms of the disease itself.

The immune system produces specific antibodies that easily defeat the disease, if the body is affected by the disease, it 'remembers' the antibodies it created at the time and can heal more easily.

7.2

The first vaccine was the cowpox virus, the vaccine comes from the Latin vacca or cow.

8. Moby-Dick

Moby Dick is a representation of God, a reminder of the inevitable end that befalls any man proud enough to try to control the uncontrollable and understand the incomprehensible.

9. Social contract

Born when human beings had neither governments nor laws.

To protect their well-being and create right conditions for prosperity, they struck a deal: in exchange for stability and security provided by law, everyone had to cede some freedoms to a government.

10.1 Golden Ratio

This corresponds to 1.618 and is an irrational number, in honor of the Greek sculptor Phidias who used it artistically in his works.

Objects that are built using the golden ratio are pleasing to the eye and appear endlessly in the air and in nature.

10.2

The length and width of the Mona Lisa's face are in the golden ratio.

The human body is full of golden ratios. It is just pleasing to see.

This were my top 10 learnings that I did not know about before reading this great book.

Which one surprised you most?

You can read the unrolled version of this thread here: https://typefully.com/Bibliosophy_/rDLwuZ7