Philosopher's Notes

I discovered this book through Scott Barry Kaufman, who raved about Susan David and her work in his excellent book Rise Above. He told us that cultivating emotional agility was one of the primary ways to overcome a victim mindset and realize our full potential, and that was enough for me. Susan is a psychologist on the faculty of Harvard Medical School and the cofounder of the Institute of Coaching at McClean Hospital, and the book delivered on every bit of that promise. The core idea is powerful: emotional agility means holding your most difficult emotions loosely, facing them courageously and compassionately, and then acting in alignment with your deepest values. Not relentless positivity, but genuine humanity. If you want to move from bottling or brooding to showing up as the Hero of your own story, I highly recommend this book. Big Ideas we explore include Emotions, Showing Up, The #1 Tip, Dead People's Goals, and Emotionally Agile Kids.

I got The Traveler’s Gift after my friend Chris Duhon recommended it, and I’m glad he did because it’s a fun, fast, deeply inspiring read. Andy Andrews tells the story of David Ponder, a man going through a difficult season who finds himself traveling across time to meet seven extraordinary guides, each of whom shares one decision that can change a life. What emerges is a practical framework for personal success rooted in responsibility, wisdom, action, courage, gratitude, forgiveness, and faith. It reads like a fable, but the lessons are real and enduring. Big Ideas we explore include The Seven Decisions, The First Decision, I Am a Person of Action, I Will Choose to Be Happy, and Greet the Day with a Forgiving Spirit.

This is the fourth Note I’ve created on one of Ben Hardy’s books, and The Gap and The Gain delivers one of the most powerful distinctions I’ve ever encountered. Co-written with Dan Sullivan, it shows why so many ambitious people stay stuck in dissatisfaction: they measure themselves against an impossible ideal rather than against the progress they’ve actually made. Once you really get the difference between the GAP and the GAIN, you can start building more happiness, confidence, freedom, and momentum right now by measuring backward, appreciating how far you’ve come, and using even difficult experiences to grow stronger and wiser. Big Ideas we explore include The Gap and The Gain, Harmonious Passion, #1 Hour in Your Day, Three Wins, and how to Become Antifragile.

I’m a big fan of mental toughness and peak performance, so I jump at any chance I get to sharpen the sword of performance excellence, and Champion Mindset is a fantastic book. Patrick Mouratoglou, one of the world’s most respected tennis coaches, gives us ten keys to forging a champion mindset, with practical wisdom on self-esteem, confidence, failure, motivation, and what it really takes to perform at your highest standard at all times. What makes this book so powerful is that Patrick is relentlessly clear that the ultimate battle is in your own mind. He shows us that confidence is built through action, failure is fuel, your entourage matters more than you think, and the real goal is not just winning matches but making your life a masterpiece. Big Ideas we explore include At All Times, Self-Esteem, Failure Is Fuel, One Bad Apple, and The Ultimate Game.

Kevin Kelly helped launch Wired and is a wonderfully brilliant, iconoclastic, wise human being. Excellent Advice for Living is a tiny little book packed with pithy wisdom, the kind of book where I could literally open to any page and riff on a gem or two. What makes it so fun is that each compact line opens into a much bigger truth about how to live, work, recover from mistakes, stay enthusiastic, and keep aiming at what matters most over the long arc of a life. This Note plays with a handful of my favorite seeds from the book and connects them to wisdom from Emerson, Wooden, Rotella, James Clear, and others, all in service to helping us apply the ideas right now. Big Ideas we explore include +25 IQ Points, The Only, Behavior -> Thinking, Compound Interest, and Good Bad Days.

This is the sixth Note I’ve created on one of Yogananda’s books, and How to Be Happy All the Time is a tiny but deeply inspiring guide to one of the biggest questions in life: where real happiness is actually found. Yogananda reminds us that happiness cannot be chased in the outer world because it is not a thing to possess but a state of consciousness to cultivate. He shows us that bad habits, restlessness, and our constant search for pleasure steal our peace, while inner calmness, good discipline, meditation, reading, and equanimity help us create the lasting joy he calls true happiness. It is packed with simple, practical spiritual wisdom on how to stop looking outside ourselves for what can only be found within. Big Ideas we explore include Happiness and Where to Find It, The Rose of Happiness, Happiness Thieves, Best Indoor Sport, and The #1 Condition for Happiness.

Bill Gurley wrote Runnin’ Down a Dream for anyone who wants more than a paycheck and suspects work can be one of the most meaningful expressions of a life well lived. The core message is simple and powerful: life is a use-it-or-lose-it proposition, and eighty thousand hours is far too long to spend doing something you do not love. Gurley offers a practical playbook for stepping off the conveyor belt, chasing your curiosity, finding your obsessive interest, honing your craft, and having the courage to run down your dream, whether you are just starting out or changing direction midcareer. It is optimistic without being naive, grounded in real stories, and relentlessly focused on the parts of success we can actually control. Big Ideas we explore include The Conveyor Belt, Obsessive Interest, Hone Your Craft, It’s Never Too Late, and Use It or Lose It.

This is the third Note I’ve created on one of Ben Hardy’s great books, and Personality Isn’t Permanent is all about one of the most empowering ideas in modern psychology: people can and do change, a lot. Ben systematically dismantles the myths that keep us stuck, then walks us through a practical framework for becoming the architect of our own personality by getting clear on our future self, choosing one major goal, making committed decisions, and redesigning our environment to support who we want to become. It is packed with practical wisdom on confidence, identity, goal-setting, and the power of strategic ignorance in a world full of distraction. Big Ideas we explore include The Myths of Personality, The Truth of Personality, Chasing Your Hero, Your ONE Major Goal, Decision Fatigue, and Strategic Ignorance.

If you are into football, leadership, or sustained excellence of any kind, Bill Belichick is one of the most believable voices you could study. Widely regarded as the greatest football coach of all time, he makes it clear in The Art of Winning that winning is not a moment, a mindset, or a motivational speech, it is a process built through preparation, consistency, discipline, and relentless improvement. What makes the book so powerful is that Belichick is not interested in hype, he is interested in what actually works. Over and over again, he brings us back to the same truth: the price of success is paid in advance, confidence comes from doing, and the only success that matters is sustained success. Big Ideas we explore include Win All the Time, 1-2-3 the 49%, Consistency, Discipline, and Confidence.

Albert Ellis basically founded the cognitive behavior therapy movement, and this book is a practical, funny, deeply useful guide to doing exactly what the title promises: controlling your anxiety before it controls you. What makes Ellis so compelling is that he did not just create REBT in theory, he used it to conquer his own fears, then spent decades helping others do the same. This book is packed with practical wisdom on the difference between healthy and unhealthy anxiety, why uncertainty is part of life, how our irrational beliefs create so much unnecessary suffering, and why universal self-acceptance is one of the most powerful tools we have. Big Ideas we explore include Meet Your Heroic Guide, Anxiety, Uncertainty, Irrational Beliefs, and Self-Acceptance.