The Virtues of War – Steven Pressfield. This is an awesome book written in the first person from the perspective of Alexander the Great. It’s fiction but Pressfield has obviously done his research – apparently it’s very accurate. I should read more about Alexander the Great. I think I’m going to pick up 33 Strategies of War pretty soon as well.
Purple Cow – Seth Godin. Very good book that calls for businesses to stand out and do something worth talking about. Consumers now have all of what they need, and most of what they want, so you need to do something extraordinary to get their attention. I’ve read Seth’s blog for quite a while now so it was a lot of the same ideas, but still very good. I’m planning to read Permission Marketing and Unleashing the Ideavirus within the next week, too.
The Alchemist – Paolo Coehlo. I first read this book a couple of months ago. I love it. It’s an inspiring tale about following your dreams and fulfilling your personal legend. At times Coehlo gets slightly too spiritual and new-age for me, but I still think everyone should read this book.
Anyone Can Do It: My Story – Duncan Bannatyne. Duncan is a scottish entrepreneur who most Brits will know from the TV show Dragons’ Den. This is his autobiography, where he talks about his various business ventures. It’s a very typical rags-to-riches story, but Duncan mentions a few things that stood out for me. His first million-pound business was a company called Quality Care Homes, a chain of elderly nursing homes in the north of England. Duncan says that he didn’t have first-mover advantage, specialised sector knowledge, or a unique selling point: he just went and did it better than everyone else had. Good read.
Why talent is overrated – very interesting article that says that those who we consider to be very talented aren’t necessarily genetically disposed that way – they just practice a lot more and a lot harder than most.
What You’ll Wish You’d Known – transcript of a high school graduation speech that Paul Graham was meant to give, but didn’t. He talks about a lot of great stuff, and it’s a lot better than the typical graduation speeches of “don’t give up on your dreams”. Charlie Hoehn has a good summary of some of the key points here.
As always, if you think there are any books or articles that I should check out, please email me at andrewlynch88@gmail.com.
Final note: the Book Quotes page is now up; you can access it by clicking the link along the top bar, or by clicking here. And I’ve changed the theme of the site a bit: any feedback or ideas, feel free to email me.
