Can books really open your mind, expand your mind, and accelerate learning?
Certainly, they can. In the 1960s, the federal government accounted for more than 60% of all research funding, yet by 2016 that had fallen to just over 20%. During the same time, businesses’ share of R&D investment more than doubled from about 30% to almost 70%. The government’s role in US innovation, it seems, has greatly diminished.
Yet new research suggests that the opposite is actually true. Analyzing all patents since 1926, researchers found that the number of patents that relied on government support has risen from 12% in the 1980s to almost 30% today. Interestingly, the same research found that startups benefitted the most from government research.
Today, I’m going to present 10 mind-expanding books to read in a lifetime. Bear in mind, I’m not saying you should take a lifetime to read them. The more of them you read, the more benefits you’ll gain from the books, and thus, the more mind-expanding ideas you’ll be able to apply directly to your life.
“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” – Dr. Seuss
Books have expanded my knowledge and opened my mind. They have allowed me to solve problems and uncover new interests. They have helped me excel in life and business. Above all else, books have brought me closer to a meaningful and fulfilling path.
My hope is that these books will expand your mind as well.
How To Get Started
If you haven’t read a book in a while, check out How to Read a Nonfiction Book. Yes, I know you know how to read, but this article will help you get the most out of the time you spend reading, and it starts with the topic of book selection.
Like with relationships, timing is everything with books. I’ve found that reading books that explore and solve problems I’m currently facing resonates the most. Start with a book that looks interesting based on your current life challenges.
Don’t feel the need to finish a book that isn’t working for you. Drop it and move on.
For more book recommendations with summaries and noes, check out my full reading list of the best books that I’ve read. You can filter by category of book.
I think everyone should own a Kindle, so if you don’t already, consider buying one. I’ve read 5x more books with a Kindle, and it’s super handy for when you’re traveling.
Man’s Search For Meaning By Viktor Frankl
“…Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”
This book changed my life. In it, Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl shows us that we have the ability to choose our response to every situation we face and that we can find meaning in our suffering.
Sapiens: A Brief History Of Humankind By Yuval Noah Harari
“Culture tends to argue that it forbids only that which is unnatural. But from a biological perspective, nothing is unnatural. Whatever is possible is by definition also natural. A truly unnatural behavior, one that goes against the laws of nature, simply cannot exist, so it would need no prohibition.”
A refreshingly comprehensive, engaging, and scientific account of history that will make you a better-informed person and leader.
When Breath Becomes Air By Paul Kalanithi
“Science may provide the most useful way to organize empirical, reproducible data, but its power to do so is predicated on its inability to grasp the most central aspects of human life: hope, fear, love, hate, beauty, envy, honor, weakness, striving, suffering, virtue.”
While dying of lung cancer, neurosurgeon Paul Kalanithi confronts the unanswerable and difficult question of what makes life meaningful.
Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead And Win By Jocko Willink and Leif Babin
“Leaders must always operate with the understanding that they are part of something greater than themselves and their own personal interests.”
Two Navy SEALs show you how to be a better leader by practicing extreme ownership, killing your ego, prioritizing, and executing.
Shoe Dog By Phil Knight
“Don’t tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results.”
This is the inspiring story of Phil Knight, the founder of Nike, and his struggles, victories, and lesson learned while building a billion-dollar shoe giant.
The Power Of Habit By Charles Duhigg
“The water is habits, the unthinking choices and invisible decisions that surround us every day—and which, just by looking at them, become visible again.”
A digestible, comprehensive, and transformative guide to understanding why habits exist, how they work, and how you can change then.
Mistakes Were Made (But Not By Me) By Caroll Tavris And Elliot Aronson
“Our convictions about who we carry us through the day, and we are constantly interpreting the things that happen to us through the filter of those core beliefs.”
An examination of the human tendency to self-justify everything we do that will reshape your understanding of your memory, beliefs, and actions.
Deep Work: Rules For Focused Success In A Distracted World By Cal Newport
“The Deep Work Hypothesis: The ability to perform deep work is becoming increasingly rare at exactly the same time it is becoming increasingly valuable in our economy. As a consequence, the few who cultivate this skill, and then make it the core of their working life, will thrive.”
Georgetown Professor Cal Newport shows us how to increase our focus and produce deep, meaningful work in a hyper-distracting world.
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
This is a book about success and how there’s a lot more to it than being smart and working hard. Maybe you’ve heard of Gladwell’s famous 10,000-hour rule and how it relates to success, but even then, there’s still so much more to learn about how successful people became so successful in the first place.
Outliers is a must-read title if you’re looking to expand your mind about the subtleties and nuances that contributed to the success of icons like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs.
Cosmos by Carl Sagan
This is one of those books that you read, and then just sit there and think. Cosmos is one of the most mind-expanding books on this list because it implores you to think about our place in the universe, and the fact that, even though we’ve come so far as a species, we’ve still got so much more to learn about ourselves and our future.
The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
The interesting thing about habits is that once we develop them, they go totally unnoticed in our day-to-day activities. For example, You probably don’t think about how many simultaneous actions go into reversing your car out of the garage and into the street safely and smoothly.
You just do it. That’s a habit. However, so is smoking. The Power of Habit teaches you how to be deliberate about building better habits that serve you both in life and in business.
“Sapiens” by Yuval Noah Harari
I don’t agree with all the hype of this book being the best book of all time. It is, however, a great summary of human history and evolutionary psychology. And, most importantly, it reads beautifully.
“Invisible Man” by Ralph Ellison
A novel about a young, nameless black man, as he moves through life invisible, “simply because people refuse to see me.” Is the book fact or fiction? It doesn’t matter because it paints the picture from one person’s perspective on race — that’s what matters. The book was published in 1952 but still seems current after all those years. Life is about understanding others. This book will help you do that.
“The Power Of Habit” by Charles Duhigg
Forming new habits is a practical skill that immediately impacts the quality of your life. Want to lose weight? Be more productive? Exercise regularly? Build successful companies? One thing is sure: Without habits, those things will be extremely difficult to pull off.
The bottom line
As we change at a faster and faster pace, ideas adequate yesterday are no longer are good enough. And with digital disruption facing an increasing number of industries, most firms must come up with the best ideas for change or move to a slow failure. The myths of new ideas must be set aside to let the new idea facts expand your mind and take over.
