Writers and readers uncover ideas and worlds unavailable to non-readers. Reading excavates expertise where none existed. Find books like these that challenge and inspire us now and forever.
Search Inside Yourself. Chade-Meng Tan teaches the science and substance of meditation. Mindfulness upgrades our hardware (neuroanatomy) and software (neurophysiology) via neuroplasticity. We replace neurons into our nineties. Mindfulness training disrupts peripheral physiology, lowering blood pressure and reducing stress hormones.
It demands a small time and no cash commitment.
The Positive Dog. Jon Gordon explores the value of positivity via a heartwarming story. Positivity and gratitude enhance everything from immunity to happiness.
Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath. Man is the storytelling animal. We teach, we learn, we proselytize via stories. Success follows our narrative capacity. The Heaths expand the SUCCES acronym - simple, unexpected, concrete, credible, emotional, stories. Powerful stories leave an impression.
Leadership in Turbulent Times. Many values comprise leadership - empathy, curiosity, ambition, energy. Doris Kearns Goodwin studies four great presidents - Lincoln, the Roosevelts, and Lyndon Johnson. She explores how their strengths and weaknesses changed America. Lincoln overcame disabling melancholy. Teddy Roosevelt had disabling asthma and his mother and wife died on the same day. FDR overcame paralytic illness. LBJ championed breaking barriers, navigating deeply entrenched racist roots to pass voting rights.
The Leadership Moment. Einstein explained that "imagination is more important than information." Michael Useem links leaders to challenges faced in the moment. Wagner Dodge escaped a raging wildfire and advanced fire research. Arlene Blum led women where none had gone before, to the summit of Annapurna. Climbing one of fourteen Nepalese peaks over 8000 meters, her expedition faced unique challenges and paid a high price for glory. Merck CEO Roy Vagelos offered a free sight-saving drug to millions of Africans afflicted with river blindness. Years later Merck's philanthropy triggered payback, as countries opened their markets to Merck first.
Basketball: Multiple Offense and Defense. Carolina Coach Dean Smith had insight preceding today's analytics. Perhaps his Mathematics training gave him unique perspective to discuss practice and the development of offensive and defensive systems. Almost four decades later, Smith's book and life remain timeless.
Commit to educating ourselves and our players every day.
Lagniappe: Sixer ATOs from 2018 (includes video)
Screening the middle is a core concept.