Wiser Than Yesterday

A valuable book for tech entrepreneurs, The Hard thing about hard things helps throw light at the challenges a CEO goes through.

Ben Horowitz launched Loudcloud in 1999, just before the dotcom bubble. Their company offers enterprise SaaS to tech clients. Then the trouble began

In the end, he sold OPSware for 1,6B to HP

Rating: 6/10

Rating: 6/10

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The Lean Startup by Eric Ries

A startup is a grand experiment = "a human institution designed to create a new product or service under conditions of extreme uncertainty"

Too many startups begin with an idea for a product that they think people want. They then spend months, sometimes years, perfecting that product without ever showing the product, even in a very rudimentary form, to the prospective customer.

Scientific management has been used to optimize processes at the beginning of the 20th century (ford automobiles). It is now used to optimize building the right product, instead of building the product as efficient as possible

Shoe Dog is a memoir by Nike co-founder Phil Knight. The memoir chronicles the history of Nike from its early struggles to its evolution into one of the world's most recognized and profitable companies. It also highlights certain parts of Phil Knight's life.

This book is a great insight into the world of business and how a huge company and brand is made from humble begginings. It highlights the amazingly stressful and difficult trials of an entrepreneur and the mistakes and lessons along the way.

We learn a lot about history and about what makes a good CEO.

We (Sam and Nico) look back at what we read on the show in 2020.

We both choose our top three books from the year that we discussed on the show and share what the biggest lessons were that really stuck with us. Looking back with hindsight at the most powerful lessons was a great tool to really show what the absolute best books were which can be less obvious in the moment.

We also had one wildcard book each that we read outside of the show but was really worth a mention.

(Yes - we both had the same favourite book)

We both highly agreed this was the worst title and the best book. So many lessons on how to just be a more content human not at the mercy of uncontrollable and incessant thoughts.

(Yes - we both had the same favourite second book)

Epic book on how to gain from disorder and find strength in setbacks.

How we lie to ourselves about our own motives to fit in better socially, and where this trips us up.

How time is the only finite resource a human has and yet spend it so frivously on the wrong things to acquire things of less importance. A guide on how to live and seek true purpose.

How humans have truly innate goodness and co-operation built into them and why this is the story of our success.

The life story of a rebel and seeker of purpose and happiness. A beautiful tale about the flow of life and the lessons we need to learn by ourselves and what is most important to value.

An epic year and we're super excited for all the reading in 2021. Any suggestions for the show or books that were your favourite last year let us know!

Written in Greek by the only Roman emperor who was also a philosopher, without any intention of publication, the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius offer a remarkable series of challenging spiritual reflections and exercises developed as the emperor struggled to understand himself and make sense of the universe.

While the Meditations were composed to provide personal consolation and encouragement, Marcus Aurelius also created one of the greatest of all works of philosophy: a timeless collection that has been consulted and admired by statesmen, thinkers and readers throughout the centuries.

The Stoic writings of the philosopher Seneca offer powerful insights into the art of living, the importance of reason and morality, and continue to provide profound guidance to many through their eloquence, lucidity and timeless wisdom.

Throughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves—and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted. They have enriched lives—and destroyed them.

Sam and Nico breakdown "On the Shortness of life" and contemplate the shortness of their own lives and the priorities that really matter.

Where Plato lays down his ideas of an ideal state and its rulers. Plato's Utopian state is one which is just and his ideal rulers are philosophers.

Presented as a series of dialogue between Socrates and Plato's brothers Adeimantus and Glaucon, in eleven parts Plato step by step forms his ideal state (Part I and II), its rulers (Part IV and Part VII), their education, women's position (Part VI) and the position of art and poetry (Part X) in the new state.

### The noble lie

Epicureanism is powerfully and refreshingly relevant, offering a straightforward way of dealing with the issues of life and death. The chapters in this book provide a changeable of contemporary opinions about Epicurus' teachings.

This doesn't mean Epicururs pleaded for overindulgence

He made a hierarchy of desires

Natural and necessary desires

2 types of pleasure:

Static pleasure: the absence of needs or wants -> the best pleasure

Epicurus was celibate and lived with followers. He was also more focused on friendship as opposed to romance.

Natural and non-necessary desires

Normal food will bring static pleasure in the same way luxurious food does

Vain desires

These are unnatural and based on opinion, what society makes us think we need

There is no afterlife

Remind ourselves of the shortness of life, do not postpone happiness

Enchiridion means handbook: practical guide for life

Starts with the dichotomy of control;

Only things that are in our control are good or bad, everything outside of our control is indiffeerent. We shouldn't worry about them.

Example: Epictetus had a lame leg.

The book starts off with his early childhood, where he reflects on the inherent violence of children, caused by original sin (chrisitan belief that man is sinful). There’s a parallel with other philosophies. Most philosophies/religions realize that on this basis, humans are flawed. These flaws seem to follow from how we evolved. And so a big part of what these philosophies try and solve is exactly how to overcome our basic urges.