Why Start a Podcast About Books I'm Reading?
Introducing Just The Good Parts: Bite-size lessons from battle-tested books to level-up as a maker, marketer and leader.
Obviously there's no secret shortcut to success....
But reading comes dangerously close to a real-life cheat code for solving many, many problems in my journey to teach myself to create and share meaningful work.
Pound-for-pound, reading has done more in less time to grow my confidence to tackle otherwise overwhelming problems than any other activity.
I developed a near-bottomless appetite for reading as a wide-eyed 6 year-old devouring paperback fiction by flashlight.
Honestly, I never really slowed down when it comes to books, but as a 25 year-old I'm more fascinated by deep dives into what it takes to create software that millions of people discover, fall in love with, and rely on daily.
Or how to develop the timeless qualities required to become a fearless, pivotal leader leveraging razor-sharp judgment to steer a massive business through perilous challenges.
So, I've cultivated a habit reading the kinds of books I hope will help push me to become a remarkable maker, marketer and leader.
And now I'm revealing my private notebook of lessons I'm learning to the world.
My hope? Anyone who's hungry enough to learn at a breakneck pace can piggyback off the latest and greatest insights I'm uncovering each week from battle-tested books.
And selfishly, this process should force me to aggressively double-down on the quality of books I'm reading and dig deep to crystallize only the most pivotal lessons so I can share them freely in plainspoken book notes and podcast episodes.
Want to follow along? Each week, I'll round up what I'm learning and sharing in this newsletter with a few helpful notes and fascinating links sprinkled throughout.
Subscribe now to make sure you're getting:
Weekly book recommendations and reviews so you're only spending your time diving into the most impactful resources for your personal growth
Easy-to-skim summaries of the key lessons and unconventional ideas that will give you an edge as a maker, marketer, and leader
As always, I'm eager for feedback and book recommendations @matopher on Twitter.
P.S. — Listen to this podcast episode to hear me explain why I started this up and subscribe to get future content.
What I'm Reading Lately
Atomic Habits. One of the best books on setting (and maintaining) habits I’ve come across. This is my second year in a row to read it and it’s 100% worth digging into to re-think how you’ll approach starting or stopping habits this year.
Measure What Matters. One of Google’s secret weapons for setting ambitious goals is the OKR system (Objectives and Key Results). For almost two years, I’ve worked alongside a team that’s bought into goal-setting this way — but this is the best resource I’ve come across to clearly understand the nuance and context to deploy this approach to stretch goals in any organization. Read it if your team needs to level-up their goals.
The Boron Letters. A quick, delightful copywriting deep dive from one of the all-time direct marketing greats, Gary Halbert. Every marketer should read this to make their writing irresistibly clear and convincing.
Tweet of the Week
Links Worth Checking Out
Tim Ferriss broke down his power list of the most impactful books he read last year and it's well worth flipping through for your 2020 reading list.
The Basecamp team recently published their Guide to Internal Communication. It's a tightly written manifesto everyone should read to be more conscious and present in their day-to-day work communication.
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That’s all for now. If you found this valuable, check out the podcast and more at justthegood.parts
I’d love your feedback to make this better next time around. Just give me a shout.
Cheering for you!
Matt