And so he did not resist in the small ways that a man might, and in time the accumulation of such daily choices of acquiescence hardened into a kind of moral muscle memory, such that resistance was no longer even a possible option. For almost nine years the man had been rehearsing his surrender.

~ The Places Beyond the Maps, Douglas McKelvey

If I were required to pick the single most important idea I’ve come across during the 8 years of this reading project, it would be the importance of direction.

The idea is quite simple. We’re all moving in a particular direction that is mostly dictated by the small, seemingly insignificant choices we make on a daily basis. Nearly all of these choices are unseen in that they take place in our minds and oftentimes when we are alone.

It’s at once a deeply encouraging yet frightening idea. Your very next decision could change the trajectory of your life yet your “daily choices of acquiescence” could alternatively be weakening you to a point of no return.

The most important paragraph I’ve come across regarding direction was penned by C.S. Lewis in his masterpiece Mere Christianity:

“I would much rather say that every time you make a choice you are turning the central part of you, the part of you that chooses, into something a little different from what it was before. And taking your life as a whole, with all your innumerable choices, all your life long you are slowly turning this central thing either into a heavenly creature or into a hellish creature…Each of us at each moment is progressing to the one state or the other.”

As a child, I would spend hours pretending that I was saving my classmates from the bad guys. Fueled by action films starring Van Damme, Schwarzenegger, and Seagal, I would play out the role of the hero. I hoped that should the occasion arise, that I would rise up to meet the moment in the real world.

As I grew up, I learned the hard truth that my heroic ideals oftentimes did not play out in real life. Cowardly unseen “choices of acquiescence” would spill out with harmful public consequences. The “muscle memory” of those poor choices made any public heroics all but impossible.

I came to understand the statement by Archilochus that "We don't rise to the level of our expectations; we fall to the level of our training." Put another way, we don’t rise to the level of our heroic ideals; we continue in the direction of our daily choices.

The books I have read for Books of Titans have provided an incredible view into the direction of the lives of both fictional and historical characters. Robert Caro shows us how the stated ends of Lyndon B. Johnson were corrupted by the very means he used to attempt to reach those ends. Douglas McKelvey shows us a father who lacked the strength to save his own daughter, to be the hero when it absolutely mattered, because of the “accumulation of such daily choices of acquiescence.” Alexander Solzhenitsyn shows us that survivors of the Soviet Gulag had decided upon a certain path during easier times and that “those people had been corrupted in camp who had already been corrupted out in freedom.”

I knew in my own life that were I to be the man I wanted to be, to be someone who could be counted on in the most difficult of circumstances, that I would need to start moving in that direction in small, unnoticed, daily decisions. I needed to begin creating a “moral muscle memory.”

David Goggins was once running when a driver pulled up and asked what he was training for. Goggins replied that he was training for life. He knew that avoiding the run that day made it easier to avoid it the next day and the day after that. That run was setting a direction for his life. It was an important daily choice.

The great thing about viewing life through the prism of direction is that it applies to so many areas. Health, faith, work, exercise, raising children, self-improvement. Direction can take what seems like an impossible future and break it down to your next decision. To be a hero in a tough circumstance can start with what my friend Garrett Gravesen calls 10 Seconds of Insane Courage.

Direction is not just a helpful mental model for yourself, it’s also a great litmus test to evaluate a church, school, business, or political party. Simply look at the stated ends of a group and see if the means are leading in that direction. Crooked means will corrupt utopian ends.

There are very few overnight successes. Very few heroes of the moment. The truer story is that of the person slowly moving in a particular direction, day by day, decision by decision, over a period of years. There will be many diversions along the way. The direction will not be a straight path. But the beauty of this idea is that your life can change direction with your very next decision. If you screw up, make the next right decision. This is the lesson of some of the world’s great literature.

“Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together. The trick is to focus on the first small thing. Starting small is still starting, and small beginnings often lead to extraordinary endings.”

~ Vincent Van Gogh

I received this set of questions from Brenda Slomka late in 2024. I couldn’t immediately answer them on Twitter X, so I decided to ponder them a bit and give a thoughtful response in this podcast episode. I’m glad I did it as it gave me a chance to take a step back and look at how the past 8 years of this reading project have impacted me.

Here are the four questions:

* What are you learning about yourself as you read?

* Has your heart changed with these readings?

* How has your view on the universe/humanity changed/expanded?

* Are there any readings which have shown views that have harmed us / entrenched harm?

READING YEAR THEME: GREEK TRAGEDIES, COMEDIES, HISTORY, AND PHILOSOPHY

2025 is the year I shift from the Greek playwrights into the philosophers. It’s year 3 of my 15-year Immortal Books reading project, where I read the greatest books ever written in chronological order.

In this episode, I share my plan for the year, give a brief history of this reading project, and highlight the books I’m most excited, scared, and curious about for 2025.

I mention a Short Great Books reading group I’m leading this year. I’d love for you to join. To do so, simply become a paid member here on Substack and you’ll have access to each monthly meeting. Learn more here or subscribe below.

Love the eternal books that express eternal truths. ~ A.G. Sertillanges

Have you found yourself lost in mid-life? Not sure what direction to take? No focus or purpose? This is a book about continuing intellectual curiosity throughout life, of lifelong learning. It’s a book with practical advice on how to pursue the life of the mind. I wish I had read this book in my teens.

The author, A.G. Sertillanges, says this life is possible with just two hours a day. But what you quickly realize is that dedicating those two hours will permeate the rest of your life, even your sleep!

In this episode, I share the three main ideas that stuck out to me, share some advice found throughout the book, and highlight the one thing that hit me the most. I hope you enjoy. But more than that, I hope you end up reading this book.

Join my 2025 Reading Group - One Great Book a Month

Purchase The Intellectual Life from Landmark Booksellers

Each year, I stack all of the books from the previous year’s reading list next to me and reminisce over the reading year. It’s one of my favorite yearly podcast episodes and it’s a great way for you to hear about some books to add to your reading list.

2024 was My Big Fat Greek Reading List. I’m reading through The Great Books The Immortal Books in chronological order over the next 15 years, and the time frame for this year was all Greek. Greek epic poetry, Greek tragedies, histories, and even fables.

It was an absolutely delightful year of reading, the most enjoyable in my 44 years of living.

In this episode, I cover the year as a whole, some of my favorite works, and some best of lists.

Here are some of my favorite podcast episodes over this past year:

I used to think that great art had to have come from a great-souled artist with an honorable life. How else would you be able to forge David out of a slab of marble or compose an entire opera in your head? A minimum of a pure mind combined with superhuman abilities must have been required, right?

Actually, art is oftentimes forged through intense suffering in the life of the artist. It’s suffering we know well as we also experience it to varying degrees. That’s the power of this book. It highlights Sacred Failures.

In this episode, I cover three artists, what I learned about them, and how that shifted how I now see their art.

This book was suggested by a friend of mine named William Leachman. He’s a bonafide teacher, as in he has students and teaches them in a building that says school on the outside of it. He told me I should read this book and he told me that I’m a teacher.

I bristled at that. I’m not a professional. I don’t teach eager students at the local high school. But after reading this book, I hesitantly acknowledge that I am indeed a teacher. I’m a teacher to my children, to those I work with, and perhaps to those I reach with this podcast. This book convinced me that I do indeed teach.

But this book goes much deeper. It talks of the close connection between learning and teaching. How we all have an innate desire to share the beauty we encounter, be it physical or intellectual beauty. How the best teachers are those most desirous of learning.

This is a book about the methods of teaching, not about which subjects to teach. It covers three main modes of teaching, famous teachers (and their students), and the role of parents in teaching their children.

In this episode, I share some ideas I came across and how I’ve seen them play out in my own life through great teachers and even greater teaching styles.

“And after this, not many days later…”

Xenophon begins his history with these words. The “after this…” refers to the writings of Thucydides, which abruptly end in the midst of the Peloponnesian War in 411BC. Xenophon takes up the mantle and takes us first to the end of the Peloponnesian War in 404BC and then on to 362BC.

Xenophon’s work takes us through the decline of the Athenian empire into the rise of the Spartans, Boeotians, and then Thebans. Throughout the work, the Persians are making their presence known as well.

It’s a fascinating history, one that sets the stage for the eventual Macedonian takeover. I kept thinking about the literature and philosophy being composed during these years. Some of the world’s greatest works were created during this period of history.

In this episode, I share the main things that stuck out about topics such as government, justice, and tradition.

Theo of Golden is a man “fully invested in the art of living.” He’s a character you want to emulate. A good man whose kindness is made up of “little, nameless, unremembered acts.” As the reader, we get to see how these small, daily acts weave throughout a small, fictional, Georgia town.

This book was gifted to me by a publisher well acquainted with the written word. It’s her job to quickly work through books and see if they have merit. She read this book and then promptly read it four additional times. She was stunned.

I now see why she wanted to do that. I plan to read it again later this month.

I loved this book. It reminded me of Sir Gibbie by George MacDonald and Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry. In this episode, I share a few of my favorite things about this incredible book. I hope you read the book one or maybe five times!

Prior to reading Thucydides’ Peloponnesian War, I envisioned a sort of Braveheart-like battle with lines of Athenians rushing towards lines of Spartans. That’s not even close to what happened. Most battles were proxy battles far from either Athens or Sparta and many battles were fought by sea.

The Peloponnesian War took place between 431 - 404BC. This work covers years 431 - 411BC, abruptly ends mid-year, and is then picked up by Xenophon in Hellenika.

Thucydides uses speeches (141 of them) to add tension & drama to the narrative. We as readers become part of the action, reading the speeches and wondering how the audience will respond. Thucydides also highlights themes of movement, technology, panic, and forms of government to compare and contrast the Athenians and Peloponnesians.

In this episode, I give a brief overview of the work, share some themes and favorite quotes, and close with the ideas that stuck out the most through this work.

Show Notes:

* The Speeches of Pericles - Books of Titans Podcast #229

* Intro to Thucydides - Podcast episode mentioned

* Book Version - The Landmark Thucydides