Top Books from 2023
Personnel reads and recommendations from podcast guests
Here are some of my top books from the year as well as ones that were recommended from podcast guests. Let me know if read any of these or you pick one up.
My Top Reads from 2023 (no particular order)
The Creative Act by Rick Rubin - some might find it a little abstract at times but it’s an inspiring read that captures the creative process as well as Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way or Steven Pressfield’s War of Art. “All that matters is that you are making something you love, to the best of your ability, here and now.”
The Surrender Experiment by Michael Singer - thrilling true story about a man who continued to yield to the things that were placed in-front of him. A great read for spiritually minded people looking to cultivate a greater sense of trust. “Following that deeper guidance will take your life in a very different direction from where your preferences would have led you. That is the clearest I can explain my surrender experiment, and it became the foundation of both my spiritual and worldly life.”
The Soul of Money by Lynne Twist - thought provoking book that brings awareness to our beliefs around money and invites us to consider whether we can use money to live in-line with our values. “Abundance is not something we acquire; it is something we tune into."
15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership by Jim Dethmer & Diana Chapman - perhaps the best book I’ve read on actionable personal growth insights to help us bring our most full self to work and life. “Owning our part in every situation frees us up to move forward and create new possibilities”. If you are looking for a teaser, check out the Tuesdays with Morrisey episode with Diana Chapman.
Setting the Table by Danny Meyer - lessons from the hospitality industry that we can use regardless of how we spend our time. “Virtually nothing else is as important as how one is made to feel in any business transaction”
Courage: The Joy of Living Dangerously by Osho - Provocative and potentially triggering, this book from a controversial spiritual teacher is thought-provoking and awakening for people that want to live with a greater sense of freedom. “Don’t call it uncertainty — call it wonder. Don’t call it insecurity — call it freedom.”
Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller - this is a play from 1940s that is a great reflection of a culture where individuals place too much of their identity on work and success. It's relatable, sad and a bit scary. If you don’t want to read, watch the Dustin Hoffman movie from 1985 (100% on Rotten Tomatoes). “Figure it out. Work a lifetime to pay off a house. You finally own it, and there's nobody to live in it.”
King, Warrior, Magician, Lover by Robert Moore - a nice overview of the main male archetypes. For me, it was helpful to see myself in the various figures described and to use that awareness to promote growth. “It can be said that life’s perhaps most fundamental dynamic is the attempt to move from a lower form of experience and consciousness to a higher (or deeper) level of consciousness, from a diffuse identity to a more consolidated and structured identity.”
Death and the Afterlife by Samuel Scheffler - this book is a series of lectures from a philosopher professor from NYU that leads the reader through a series of thought experiments of the time that continues on earth after your life ends which leads to a series of insights around what gives our life meaning. “…the coming into existence of people we do not know and love matters more to us than our own survival and the survival of the people we do know and love. . . . this is a remarkable fact which should get more attention than it does in thinking about the nature and limits of our personal egoism.”
How to Know A Person by David Brooks - David is a leading journalist for The New York Times and one of the most intellectually honest writers out there. In this book he abstracts the science of connecting deeper with other people. “The real act of, say, building a friendship or creating a community involves performing a series of small, concrete social actions well: disagreeing without poisoning the relationship; revealing vulnerability at the appropriate pace; being a good listener; knowing how to end a conversation gracefully; knowing how to ask for and offer forgiveness; knowing how to let someone down without breaking their heart; knowing how to sit with someone who is suffering; knowing how to host a gathering where everyone feels embraced; knowing how to see things from another’s point of view.”
The Spy and The Traitor by Ben McIntire - I didn’t read much fiction this year, maybe more in 2024, but this true story on the greatest spy account from the cold war had me on the edge of my seat. “For an intelligence service, there is no process more painful and debilitating than an internal hunt for an unidentified traitor. The damage Philby did to MI6’s self-confidence was far greater and more enduring than anything he inflicted by spying for the KGB. A mole does not just foment mistrust. Like a heretic, he undermines the coherence of faith itself.”
Podcast Guest Recommendations (based on episode release date)
Misbehaviour of Markets by Benoit Mandelbrot and Richard L. Hudson (recommended by Patrick J Murphy)
New Rules for the New Economy by Kevin Kelly (recommended by Patrick J Murphy)
12 Rules for Life by Jordan B Peterson (recommended by Jaime Bravo)
The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell (recommended by William Linn)
The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure For Writers by Christopher Vogler (recommended by William Linn)
The Power of Regret by Daniel Pink (discussed when Daniel on the Tuesdays with Morrisey)
The War of Art by Steven Pressfield (discussed with Daniel Pink was on Tuesdays with Morrisey)
A Redemptive Path Forward by Antong Lucky (discussed with Antong on Tuesdays with Morrisey)
BE-ing Leadership by Rodolfo Carrillo (discussed with Rodolfo on Tuesdays with Morrisey)
A Man for All Markets by Edward Thorp (recommended by John Sears on Tuesdays with Morrisey)
Fooled by Randomness by Nassim Taleb (recommended by John Sears on Tuesdays with Morrisey)
The Fourth Turning by William Strauss (recommended by Cooper Newby on Tuesdays with Morrisey)
Hard Things About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz( recommended by Cooper Newby on Tuesdays with Morrisey)
Zero to One by Peter Thiel (recommended by Cooper Newby on Tuesdays with Morrisey)
Start with Why by Simon Sinek (recommended by Nicole Craven and Alexis Smith on Tuesdays with Morrisey)
Radical Candor by Kim Scott (discussed with Kim on Tuesdays with Morrisey)
Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh (recommended by Gard Mayer on Tuesdays with Morrisey)
Shoe Dog by Phil Knight (recommended by Gard Mayer on Tuesdays with Morrisey)
Profit First by Mike Michalowicz (recommended by Gard Mayer on Tuesdays with Morrisey)
Powerhouse by James Andrew Miller (discussed with Chris Wittine on Tuesdays with Morrisey)
Impact Players by Liz Wiseman (discussed with Liz on Tuesdays with Morrisey)
Multipliers by Liz Wiseman (discussed with Liz on Tuesdays with Morrisey)
15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership by Jim Dethmer & Diana Chapman (discussed with Diana on Tuesdays with Morrisey)
The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks (recommended by Diana Chapman on Tuesdays with Morrisey)
The Soul of Money by Lynne Twist (recommended by Diana Chapman on Tuesdays with Morrisey)
Atlas of Being by Danielle Sunberg (discussed with Danielle on Tuesdays with Morrisey)
Crunching Numbers by Jason Fitzgerald (discussed with Jayme Moten on Tuesdays with Morrisey)
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (discussed with Brandon Zylstra on Tuesdays with Morrisey)
Non-Violent Communication by Marshall Rosenberg (discussed with Andrew Horn on Tuesdays with Morrisey)
Imagination House by Lee Walker (discussed with Lee on Tuesdays with Morrisey)