Since 2011, when I published my book and began blogging, I have also been a regular reader of other blogs. My favorite, Becoming Minimalist, has countless useful posts to help you have a simpler, better life. Reading Becoming Minimalist, and other minimalism blogs, led to several changes in my life.…
I recently read the book Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson. Stevenson founded the Equal Justice Initiative, a legal practice dedicated to defending the poor, the wrongly condemned, and those trapped in other ways in our criminal justice system. The book's central story is of Stevenson's fight to get Walter MacMillian, wrongly…
I recently finished reading an extremely disturbing book, Missoula, by John Krakauer. Krakauer is the author of two other fascinating, non-fiction books I had read, Into Thin Air and Into the Wild. While Missoula was disturbing, I couldn’t put it down. Subtitled “Rape and the Justice System in a College…
Just over two years ago, after seeing the movie Fruitvale Station, and coincidentally, around the same time, reading the book The New Jim Crow, I wrote a blog post about the importance of seeing the humanity in people, and how that relates to being a leader. ("Be a Leader" is one of the Six…
Over the last two weeks I shared some background, and then some highlights from a wonderful book, Zen Habits: Mastering the Art of Change by Leo Babauta. As Leo explains, quitting a bad habit is harder than starting a good one because you have the urge to continue the bad habit. Here…
I just finished reading a wonderful book, Zen Habits: Mastering the Art of Change by Leo Babauta. Last week I introduced the book and shared some background, and this week I’ll share some of the highlights from Leo’s book, which I highly recommend. Mindfulness. Leo learned to watch his mind. He…
I just finished reading a wonderful book, Zen Habits: Mastering the Art of Change, by Leo Babauta. Leo has written, in many ways, what I have envisioned as a possible follow-up to Six Simple Rules for a Better Life. I wanted Six Simple Rules for a Better Life not to be another one…
One of the most amazing books I’ve read is The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer (no relation). I’m grateful to my good friend Larry for giving me the book for my birthday last year. The book has a message of extreme positivity & happiness. Here’s my interpretation of my favorite…
Not long after I published Six Simple Rules for a Better Life, I read a book called Willpower, by Roy Baumeister & John Tierney, which had come out the same month. In my book’s introduction, I talk about the importance of breaking down your big goals into small pieces, and…
I’ve been a fan of Joshua Becker’s blog on minimalism and simplicity for several years. Last year, an article I wrote was published on his site. I’ve also enjoyed his books, and now he has a new one, Clutterfree with Kids, and I'm pleased to write this book review. While…
Pronoia: “The delusional belief that other people are plotting your well-being or saying nice things about you behind your back” One of the books I enjoyed reading this summer was Give and Take by Adam Grant. I first learned about Grant, and his book, in this New York Times piece, Is…
Martin E. P. Seligman is known as the father of the positive psychology movement. In positive psychology, the idea is to focus on helping people to be happier rather than solely focusing on treating conditions. Helping people to be happier is a huge driver for me and because I’m not…