Your Rocket Fuel: Books!

“Employ your time in improving yourself by other men’s writings, so that you shall gain easily what others have labored hard for.” -Socrates

The amazing value books can offer can not be overstated. Whatever your personal goals, challenges, interests, etc., there are most likely numerous books on the matter, which have been written by someone who has dedicated their life to the topic, done years of research, and already learned from the costly mistakes themselves.

Books give you direct and intimate access to the best of the best of the best minds history has to offer. Dollar for dollar, there is nothing even close to the value books provide.

The following books are my favorites, and certainly relevant to the material on this site. However, I encourage you to use great resources like Amazon.com to search for books that may better fit your specific needs. My favorite thing about Amazon is the reviews, but remember: “Inner scorecard”!—the wrong book for one person might be the perfect book for you. I have also found great books mentioned within the books I am reading, or from the recommendations of people whose opinions I value. 

The following are my favorites as it relates to the mission of this site, each of which have considerably contributed to my quality of life: 

1) “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” by Stephen Covey

2) “Grow Rich While You Sleep,” by Ben Sweetland (the title of this book does not do justice to its contents) 

3) “Man’s Search for Meaning” by Victor Frankl

4) “Awaken the Giant Within,” by Anthony Robbins

5) “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” by Dale Carnegie (this was revelational for me, but I got it for my much younger cousins, and they said it was “common sense,” which is how it’s often described, yet it’s one of the best selling books of all time 🤔).

6)  The Dictionary!!! This one is for my fellow “Aspies.” Before I got sick, I spent 20-30+ minutes a day memorizing the EXACT definitions of words in the “Compact Oxford Dictionary” (2007 edition), right down to the commas (some words had five definitions!). I also bought a back-up of the exact same edition in case anything happened to it. I did this for a couple years, and had quite a few memorized. I’ve always liked memorizing things. Memorizing words is perfect because it’s VERY useful (better vocabulary = better thought and expression), and it provides something for our brains to do. Wherever I’d go, I’d have this dictionary. At the doctors office, airport, etc., and I could just memorize words. Also fun to give the dictionary to others, and say to pick any one with a mark next to it (you have to have lots marked, obviously), then tell them EXACTLY what it reads. I picked each word for its utility, not arbitrarily. Whenever I came across one I didn’t know, or I thought had good value, I’d put it on the list (*one list of many in picture below). I stopped when my head hurt too much to think. I’m very much looking forward to doing it again (I only liked it when I could do it consistently, and accumulate words).

WARNING: The incredible value books offer will not be realized unless you also THINK and APPLY. Never just “read” to finish a book, like sooooooo many people do. But continuously look away from the text to consider the meaning, ramifications, applications, etc. of what you are reading within your own life; then commit yourself to making a diligent effort to apply what you learn. I’ve spent entire days on a single page. It is much better to have read a few books right than read many wrong. This is called “active reading”—anything else is a waste of time. I think the perfect daily routine, for the most fulfilling life, includes some constructive reading.