TSC Monthly Book Club | by Michael

Beyond Religion | Growth Hacker Marketing | Disrupt You | Lying 

You all liked Michael’s book recommendations SO much that I figured we’d do kind of a book club?

Thoughts? You into it?

We don’t need to do four books every time but I just think we should make it a thing. I mean I feel like I want to subscribe to his book club & he’s my fiancé…LOL ( babe, you get books! ).

Obviously we’re also both VERY interested in what you’re reading, loving, recommending…so PLEASE leave any suggestions below or message us on Snapchat.

Ok so Michael’s going to breakdown his latest favorites ( by the way, he’s a total speed reader…jealous ):

Hey guys,

This month I read a lot! I was zipping through pages like you’ve never seen.

I got a lot of messages on how I read so fast and so much. I use a technique called speed reading which I will write more in-depth about later on. Simply, speed reading is reading rapidly by assimilating several phrases or sentences at once. This sounds a lot more confusing than it actually is.

Basically the mind is able to put multiple words and sentences together at once and form complete thoughts faster than you would think possible.

I tried it once after reading about it on a flight and was amazed that I was able to do it. After studying more on speed reading I realized anyone can learn how to do it if you practice. When you’re taught to read as a kid the teacher has you sound out the word & read it out loud. As you develop your reading skills you read the same way only in your head, this actually slows you down.

Speed reading teaches you not to do this. It teaches you to see the word and not sound it out in your head, it also teaches you not to regress on sentences.

There are pros & cons to speed reading. You miss certain things and you don’t get as much detail but you are able to pick up a lot more a lot faster so it’s a trade-off. An example: I don’t know what color Suzie’s hat was in chapter 3 but I know she bought it at a store after getting a check from grandma. Oh & by the way most of the class is still on page 3 of chapter 1.

I like the pace of reading fast like this because I’m able to get through multiple books a week, sometimes even multiple books a day. I feel like I’m grasping so much information that I’m ok with losing a little detail here and there. It’s all about picking up the most important ideas in each book.

So ya, I chose some books this month that may be a little different from the normal assortment of books you see. I think all 4 read in this order are a good foundation for a strong reading month. Cheers!

Beyond Religion by His Holiness The Dalai Lama

If you know me, you know I am not overly religious or spiritual. I respect all religions but have just never really felt the calling myself, so this book is really different for me. I read a lot about happiness and I thought this would be an interesting read and I could not have been more right. This book doesn’t focus on religion but rather compassion and humanity.

It was a really eye-opening account of how the world could be a much happier place with compassion. He argues that compassion is the foundation of wellbeing which I found really interesting. The second half of the book focuses on educating the heart through training the mind. He gives examples & tools of how to root out destructive thoughts and a lot of advice on meditation. I felt happy and calm just reading this book and I really recommend it. It’s not preachy & it’s an easy read.

Growth Hacker Marketing by Ryan Holiday

Ryan Holiday, the marketing expert behind American Apparel, does a great job explaining the new strategy of modern marketing: growth hacking.

How did brands like Facebook, Airbnb, Dropbox, and Twitter grow to be multibillion dollar corporations without a traditional marketing strategy? This book will tell you and it will teach you to have the exact same tools and capability at your fingertips. The old strategy of getting the right message to your consumer to force them to buy “what you got” instead of focusing on “working on” and “improving” what you’re producing is over.

This book lays the foundation for a cheap and genius strategy in modern marketing. Turn your 1 customer into 2 and then 2 into 4. Turn them into your personal marketing army by providing them with value and a kick ass product. This book is a must for anyone with hopes of starting any business or currently working within one.

Disrupt You by Jay Samit

This book was one of the best books I have read in a while. It’s all about disrupting and disrupters. What is disrupting and what is a disruptor?

Let me give you an example. Napster disrupted the music industry as we knew it and Sean Parker ( co-founder of Napster ) was the disruptor behind it. Napster disrupted the music industry by completely changing the way we receive, buy, and sell music. There are still musicians to this day complaining that nobody is buying their CD.

Guess what, too bad.

Get out and tour now if you want to make money. That’s reality. Your CD used to be worth 20 bucks and is now worth barely anything. The consumer & the market drive prices. Uber disrupted how we book cars and taxis. It disrupted an industry that had been around for over 50 years. Cab companies will complain but once again the consumer drives the market. This book will teach you the skills behind becoming a disruptor.

Did you just lose your job? No problem. Did you just get dumped by your boyfriend? No problem.

Not if you look at life from the eyes of a disruptor. Do yourself a favor and read this book.

Lying by Sam Harris

Let me first start by saying this book is extreme & controversial. I’m not even certain if I agree with it but I find myself questioning its ideas a lot lately. The book basically argues that under no circumstances is it ever justified or the right call to lie.

Not even for something as simple as telling your friend her dress looks good when it actually looks like a garbage sack that got left in the rain. When I first started reading the book I was skeptical, then I agreed, then I was skeptical again.

I agree that lies get you into a lot of trouble and can cause a lot of awkwardness but sometimes is it necessary to lie?

An example the author uses is…to summarize: a kid knocks on your door & says a killer is after him and asks you to hide him. The killer comes to your door asking if the kid is inside. Do you lie and say no? Or do you say yes and let the killer find the kid and kill him. Most people would say you lie but the book argues, if you lie and the killer ends up going to your neighbor’s house and killing another kid was the lie justified?

I won’t ruin the rest but it is definitely a thought-provoking book. It’s short, you can read it quickly. It took me about 35 minutes so I think it’s worth the read.

Hope you guys are enjoying these book posts, I enjoy recommending them to you and I wouldn’t recommend them if I didn’t think they would help. If even just one of you gets the next billion-dollar idea from reading one of these I expect you to send me a couple bucks ; ). See you guys next time.

Cheers!

– Michael

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