Books — 12 of My Favourite Ones
Over the years , a lot has been said about developing reading as a habit that can be a game changer for the reader . For this very reason, many legends have been vocal about their views on developing this habit for meeting Success in one’s chosen field #
The man who doesn’t read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them. — Mark Twain
Read 500 pages like this every day. That’s how knowledge works. It builds up, like compound interest. All of you can do it, but I guarantee not many of you will do it. — Warren Buffet
Rich people have small TVs and big libraries. Poor people have small libraries and big TVs. — Zig Ziglar
Develop into a lifelong self-learner through voracious reading; cultivate curiosity and strive to become a little wiser every day. — Charlie Munger
Historian Niall Ferguson’s plug for his profession is that “The dead outnumber the living 14 to 1, and we ignore the accumulated experience of such a huge majority of mankind at our peril.”
When someone asked Jim Rogers what was the best advice he ever got, he said it was the advice he received from an old man in an airplane: “read everything”.
This list is endless and keeps growing . As for me , I credit a whole lot of my successes , accomplishments, awards or honours to friends I made in the pages of the books I read and reread. These friends , as I will elaborate upon later, have disciplined me by sharing their own stories, their own mistakes, their own research and findings, their analysis, their own practices and their own vulnerabilities.
My failures have been my own doing, by not taking many lessons seriously and flirting with principles which left me toasted in many cases.
After years of reading all kinds of books, I can categorise all my readings into 3 sections and share my favourites from each of these.
I — HEALTH
II — WEALTH
III — WISDOM
I consider Health the most important as your mind and body generate the most output when they are well taken care of. Warren Buffet once shared with a class of students — “”You only get one mind and one body. And it’s got to last a lifetime. But if you don’t take care of that mind and that body, they’ll be a wreck 40 years later…it’s what you do right now, today, that determines how your mind and body will operate 10, 20 and 30 years from now.”
Hence Health comes as Priority # 1, which when taken care of , allows for you to have a fair chance at Priority # 2 & 3.
By Wealth , I refer to economic profits from your chosen field . The extent of your profits will depend on the intensity with which you have worked on gaining mastery in your chosen field and the degree to which you have successfully implemented what you have learnt . The books referred in this section will be Investing related as I am fascinated by the principles of Value Investing and the role it plays in making one wealthy and wise .
As Sherlock Holmes said in The Reigate Puzzle: “It is of the highest importance in the art of detection to be able to recognise, out of a number of facts, which are incidental and which vital. Otherwise your energy and attention must be dissipated instead of being concentrated.” Becoming a value investor is developing a knack for spotting the vital signals and ignoring the noise. It isn’t easy, but it’s doable and highly profitable.
By Wisdom, I refer to the mindset that is needed to make your chosen endeavours profitable . Gautam Baid in his book The Joys of Compounding shared a beautiful insight , which sums up wisdom to me in the most profound manner #
Knowledge is overrated. Wisdom is underrated.
Intellect is overrated. Temperament is underrated.
Outcome is overrated. Process is underrated.
Confidence is overrated. Humility is underrated.
Conviction is overrated. Pragmatism is underrated.
Complexity is overrated. Simplicity is underrated.
Analytical ability is overrated. Personal behaviour is underrated.
Having a high income level is overrated. Inculcating a disciplined saving habit is underrated.
Competition with peers is overrated. Helping our peers is underrated.
Large personal net worth is overrated. Good karma is underrated.
Latter, in all the statements above is needed to reach success, and then to hold onto it . No wonder Chanakya stated “Lakshmi, the Goddess of Wealth, comes of her own accord where fools are not respected, grain is well stored up, and the husband and wife do not quarrel.” Hence wisdom is needed , to have a sense of foolish things that could keep you as a laggard or to lose your newfound gains. It is wisdom that makes you create mental hacks, financial habits and an environment that could keep you off these foolish things at all times.
HEALTH
4 HOUR BODY — This book is filled with hacks around muscle growth, weight loss, body building, food intake, work out regimes, etc. My biggest takeaway was about the importance of MINIMUM EFFECTIVE DOSE concept. Its been the most powerful mental model to get around. This taught me that I got to get few things right instead of overwhelming myself with getting everything right . And it worked wonders for me.
My Russian Kettlebell workout regime as well as my gym workout regime comes from this book. My understanding of breathing intervals between exercises, time under tension for optimal muscle growth, intermittent fasting routine and its benefits — these too come from this book. I cannot thank Tim Ferriss enough.
TOOLS OF TITANS — This book will be my favourite gift for anyone outside of Finance . It covers Tim Ferriss’ interviews with 200+ celebrities, athletes, billionaires, actors, producers, entrepreneurs — basically legends in their respective fields. It’s like a reference guide for high-leverage tools, techniques, hacks, devices, books, habits, apps and everything that allows these legendary performers to stay on top of their game.
BULLETPROOF DIET — I have been on this diet (to a great extent if not 100%) since 2015 and it has been the best gift I could have given myself. I have referred to Dave Asprey or Bulletproof Diet at every occasion possible as I firmly believe in the knowledge contained in these 300 pages. It’s pure Gold. The Bulletproof Diet will challenge―and change―the way you think about weight loss and wellness. You will skip breakfast, stop counting calories, eat high levels of healthy saturated fat, work out, sleep well and add smart supplements to your daily routines, and that too — effortlessly.
GENIUS FOODS — I aspire to live till 100 and longevity has become a topic of fascination for me , almost bordering on obsession but not there yet ;) Max Lugavere’s work is personal, research driven, intentional, purposeful, educational and informative — ALL IN ONE. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and have increased my consumption of genius foods that will help me pull through till 100 without losing my physical mobility & mental agility . Dark Chocolate has been my favourite addition from this book. Vivani is my preferred choice.
WEALTH
BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY LETTERS TO SHAREHOLDERS — These ain’t just letters to his shareholders, these letters are an education into the basic tenets of Investing profitably. I learnt about Principles of Accounting, Accounting Shenanigans to have an eye for, Valuations, Margin of Safety, Circle of Competency, Pitfalls of Success, Beauty of Failure, Emotional and Cognitive Biases, Long Term Thinking and so many more principles and value systems around which Warren Buffet has built an empire called Berkshire Hathaway. Ironically, his biggest mistake, according to him, has been buying Berkshire Hathaway Textiles in 1965 ;)
SNOWBALL- Alice Schroeder spins the life of Warren Buffet in the most tactful manner possible. This book showed me the background of this legend that made him the success he became . His early life hustles, selling of newspapers, selling golf balls , buying his first stock, his earlier partnerships, his reasons to buy Berkshire Hathaway, his role in avoiding the mega financial crisis that Solomon Bros would have resulted into, his purchase of Coke, American Express, GEICO, National Indemnity, See’s, Nebraska Furniture Mart — every story is a page turner . His stand in the matter of Solomon Debacle was a phenomenal learning for me regarding having values and standing firm for it.
You can learn a lot about how to go about your own success and how to avoid failures in life by reading autobiographies. This was one of the best I’ve read.
POOR CHARLIE’S ALMANACK — You will be really lucky if you can get your hands on this masterpiece from Charlie Munger, Vice Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway. Charlie is known as a “sidekick” only to people who don’t know him very well. To those who do know him, Charlie is a fiercely independent intellectual who, in the words of his partner Buffett, “Marches to the beat of his own music, and it’s music like virtually no one else is listening to.”
Trained as a meteorologist during World War II and as a lawyer at Harvard before devoting himself to business, Munger has drawn heavily from the study of psychology, economics, physics, biology, and history, among other disciplines, in developing his system of “multiple mental models” to cut through difficult problems in complex social systems. It is a system like no other. This book is about this system that you could build for yourself and it’s a masterpiece. It also is the most expensive book ever bought by me ;)
THE JOYS OF COMPOUNDING — Gautam Baid is a Portfolio Manager in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA . His book is an almanac in its own. It covers everything to do with successful investing i.e. mindset, checklists, accounting, ratios, analysis, valuations, forecasting, management analysis, trend reading, when to buy, when to sell and so many insights . Every message, every chapter, every reference leads to compounding your money and making it work for you 24/7. It is impossible to walk away from even a single page without getting wiser with your Money and your Life in general.
WISDOM
Marcel Proust said, “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeing new sights, but in looking with new eyes.”
Being wise isn’t about living Buddha-like or abandoning all materialistic pursuits or living frugally or anything extreme. It’s about being pragmatic in your actions and not letting your emotions run your life. And to evolve into this being isn’t easy. It is one thing to know the general emotional and cognitive biases that lead to colossal failures , it is completely another to be able to catch yourself when your in the grip of it.
SENECA — LETTERS FROM A STOIC — This book was written 2000+ years back by Seneca, Advisor to Nero, Roman Emperor from 54–59 AD. This book is his collection of essays covering moral issues like death, shortness of life, wealth, envy, pride, lust and every issue that runs in our society, deep in everyone’s minds. These writings constitute one of the most important bodies of primary material for ancient Stoicism. This book has taught me about the futility of worrying and taught me the importance of being present in the moment at all times. It’s just beautiful in its message, profound in its delivery and powerfully effective in its absorption.
LIFE OF MAHATMA GANDHI — Mahatma Gandhi’s life can teach many things to anybody who is seeking . He stood for his dreams, he sacrificed his entire life, he tolerated the ill treatment, he endured the pain, he held onto his nerves when ridiculed and ignored, he stood his ground when needed, he was willing to die for what he believed in and he did eventually die for what he believed in. It took him 40+ years to win Independence for India. It is very surprising to me when I find out that 99% of Indians do not know the story of the Father of our Nation. This story should be mandatory learning in our schools because it teaches ideals one could live by . There is virtue in living well and this book taught me that .
BHAGWADGITA — I have read versions of it from Nithyananda & Gurcharan Das and both left an indelible mark on my thinking. The most profound being “The fruit of my actions is not in my control, but my action is. I am duty bound to conduct myself and carry out my actions leaving the results to almighty”. This has been tattooed on my arm, its become my credo, its my value system which allows me to exude enthusiasm and vitality in all I do. My standard reply to “How’s You?” is “Rocking” or “Awesome” and this reply has a lot to do with my learnings from Bhagwadgita.
INFLUENCE — THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PERSUASION — Warren Buffet has said often “It’s not the business issues that are complex and difficult to deal with, it’s the People issues”. It’s people that run companies, it’s people that deliver the news, it’s people that work for you, it’s people that you report to, it’s people that represent the government, it’s people that adore you, it’s people that troll you , it’s people that carry your message out. it’s people that go out of the way to assist you, it’s people that need to believe in you , it’s people that need to give you a chance , its people all the way !!
And if you have realised that alone you can only do very little, then you also see the need of making your relationships work for making success happen and having a legacy built that could safeguard your family even after your gone. This book delves only into matters of making relationships work, making conversations tick, gaining trust, influencing people, building confidence in others and so much more which if executed, could benefit you enormously. No amount of words will be enough to state the importance of this book in one’s successful dealings with people. This has been a Game Changer for me .
The reading of all good books is like a conversation with the finest minds of past centuries. There is no better teacher than history in determining the future…. There are answers worth billions of dollars in a $30 history book — Gautam Baid.
Do invest time in Reading. It’s the best Investment you could ever make !!!
Love
Manish