10 books that will forever change your views

Living means learning, and reading is an opportunity to learn from the experience of others. I am working on the Blinkist project , we are completely absorbed in books: we plunge into the world of the best non-fiction books and squeeze out the most important things from there, turning them into small articles for reading. To this point, we have studied more than 600 books, compiling (and also changing) during this time our point of view on many things.

Based on our personal experience, it seems to us that this list of 10 books created by influential writers and thinkers from various fields (from psychology to economics) can help you change your views on the world, work, other people, and yourself .

BOOKS THAT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE OUTLOOK

“Fooled by chance. On the hidden role of chance in business and everyday life ”(Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance)

We seriously underestimate the influence of luck and chance in our lives, using concepts such as “talent”, “determinism”, when “luck” and “chance” actually come into play.

In this book, Nassim Nicholas Taleb provides examples from life that will remove the veil of confidence from your eyes and show that all events in life are mainly controlled by chance. Read this book to take a fresh look at the ups and downs in life, and also discover why it is often unfair.

The Wisdom of Crowds

Of course, group thinking can be dangerous, but under the right circumstances, the crowd can make surprisingly reasonable decisions and even give better results than experts or more intelligent individuals in these groups. If a group has many independent thinkers who are ready to use their intellectual giftedness for the common good, then you reach the peak of collective genius.

In this book, James Surowiecki collected examples from popular culture, psychology, biology, and more, to illustrate the impact of this idea on how we vote, make decisions, do business, and live in this world.

BOOKS THAT WILL CHANGE YOUR OPPORTUNITIES

Born to take root: Why some ideas survive and others not? (Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die)

Successful stories, advertising campaigns, and viable ideas share the same common expressive characteristics: they are simple, unexpected, solid, reliable, and emotional - their stories are similar.

In this book, Chip Head and Dan Hez explain why some ideas survive and others don't, and how to make your idea more viable and “sticky,” like good old Velcro .

“The future is in the right hemisphere. What to do and what to think in the age of new creative thinking ”
(A Whole New Mind: Why Right Brainers Will Rule the Future)

Historically, people with developed right cerebral hemispheres have been underestimated, but with the transition from the information era to the age of conceptual economics, they become the superpower of the future.

In the business world, we are increasingly discovering that the analytical thinking that provides the left brain is certainly important, but it is not enough. Creative thinking, ingenuity, sensitivity - this is what helps us to be successful in our professional life and contributes to our personal well-being.

In this book, bestselling author Daniel Pink invites you on a journey that talks about the potential of the two hemispheres and why the qualities that the right hemisphere is responsible for are increasingly valued (among them are the ability to design, sensitivity and humor )

«Охота за идеями. Как оторваться от конкурентов, нарушая все правила» (Weird Ideas That Work: How to Build a Creative Company)

И рутинная, и инновационная работы важны для успеха компании. Но как же на самом деле распознать разницу между ними и понять, какой вид деятельности и где будет наиболее полезным? Это умение бесценно.

Профессор Стэндфордского университета Роберт И. Саттон (Robert I. Sutton) предлагает изучить природу инноваций, экспериментов, провалов и творческой свободы. Это изменит ваше представление о творческом подходе и предложит пути использования инноваций в вашем бизнесе – с помощью определенных ожиданий, выбора сотрудников и стратегий, которые не только приводят к успеху, но и помогают бороться с неудачами.

«Драйв: Что на самом деле нас мотивирует» (Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us)

Let's talk about external motivation: it is based more on awards and sanctions that come from outside, external motivation is used for short-term projects. However, in the long run, it is passion and dedication, which are the hallmarks of internal motivation, that give us fuel to search for meaning and success.

The second (in our article) book, Daniel Pink, tells us about internal and external motivation, what affects each of them, and how we can develop an awareness of internal motivation and inspire others.

BOOKS THAT MAKE YOU ANOTHER LOOK AT OTHER PEOPLE

“Introverts. How to Use Your Character Traits ”(Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking)

Both introverts and extroverts possess qualities that can be extremely valuable for people from their midst, but different conditions and working methods are needed for this and that personality category, which will help to reveal a person’s full potential.

In this book, writer and researcher Susan Cain reveals the distinction between introverts and extroverts and tells how the “ideals of extroversion” have changed the typical workplace of an extrovert dream over the past 150 years. The book describes how you can combine the abilities of two personality types for stunning success in a common cause.

Be sure to read this to establish contact with your inner introverted “I” and learn how to respect this feature in other people.

“Promoting the Right Choice: Health, Finance, and Well-being” (Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness)

Look at the artificially aged jeans, the atomic bomb and the image of Miley Cyrus , and the obvious reality appears before us in a terrible light: we humans make the wrong decisions all the time.

We do not always do what is best for us. Why is that? Sometimes we have too little or, on the contrary, information that is too complicated for perception. Or we are more likely to act by intuition, rather than follow a reasonable plan. It happens that we succumb to temptation, and sometimes external forces control us.

Richard H. Thaler, a leading specialist in behavioral economics and personal adviser to US President Barack Obama, shows us how some shocks — subtle changes in the context of the situation that make it harder for us to make the wrong decision — can help us achieving goals.

BOOKS THAT WILL CHANGE YOUR SELF-PERCEPTION

“The Right
Mindset: Unleashing Your Potential ” (Mindset: How You Can Fulfill Your Potential)

As young children, we accept one of two types of thinking: fixed (static) or dynamic (growth thinking). Surprisingly it sounds, but the perfect choice determines our future life: what we feel, what we can achieve, and what we are willing to risk.

Carol Dweck, a professor of psychology at Stanford University, teaches us how to determine your mindset, take a different look at our own ideas, outlooks on life, attitudes to certain things. The book tells how to develop your dynamic thinking in order to maximize your potential. Read this book to understand who you really are, and your awareness of your own abilities will change forever.

“The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion” (The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion)

Where does moral judgment come from? If you answer something like “simple prudence,” then you are mistaken. Moral judgments arise from our ephemeral friend - intuition. Intuition is more likely to act as a lawyer, justifying our moral judgments in relation to others, supporting our own interests and reputation.

This book shows us that it is emotions and intuition (and not reason) that govern our moral judgments, showing how understanding the fundamentals of morality that are close to us can positively influence decision making.

ALSO RECOMMEND OTHER POSTS ON THE MEGAMO BRAIN:

Secrets of self-development, or How to become a happy victim of success The
key to success, or How great leaders act and make decisions
Blogs and websites about self-development