The Best Book(s) I Read This Year

One of the best pieces of advice I ever received was to read books that could help solve a problem I was facing. It seems obvious, but simply choosing books that I thought would help me overcome some obstacle I was facing (either personally or professionally) made it significantly easier to read more consistently.

As I read more, I realized that there are actually very few unsolved problems in the world today. Many of the problems I have struggled personally to figure out have already been solved (and recorded) by some of the most brilliant minds the world has ever seen. So why not pick up some of that revelation for myself by cracking open a book?

Each year, I read somewhere between 30-40 books (the Bookworm podcast I cohost with Joe Buhlig where we read and discuss a book every two weeks certainly helps with that). As I reflected on the books I read this year, I noticed a theme for many of my favorite books of mental models and creative thinking. Seems I’ve been on a kick lately about looking at things from different perspectives and asking better questions. But as I look at all of my favorite books from the year, the clear winner has to be The Great Mental Models, Volume 1.

What I love about this book is that it gives you some very simple mental models (or lenses) that you can use to look at things. These lenses allow you to see things from a different point of view. For example, if you’re trying to decide between two solutions you could look at the decision through the lens of Occam’s Razor (which says the simplest solution is the best solution). Once you apply that lens, it becomes obvious that the simple option is the one you should choose.

Another example of a mental model is a clarifying question. I have learned that when you ask the right questions, the answers usually become clear. For example, you could reframe Occam’s Razor into a clarifying question by asking, “which of these is the simplest solution?” Another clarifying question might be something like, “what would this look if it were easy?” Asking this question could help you identify the ideal scenario or simplest version of a project, making it more sustainable (and more enjoyable) in the long run.

The beautiful thing about mental models is that there is no prescriptive way to use them. In fact, the whole premise of the book is to collect a bunch of them so that you can mix-and-match in any scenario.

My favorite mental model from the book is actually the first one, The Map is Not The Territory. This mental model simply states that any map you look at is not the the territory that it represents. By definition, a map must be smaller than the actual territory. Therefore, choices were made by the map maker (cartographer) about what was important enough to include on the map.

For most maps, this isn’t an issue. If you’re looking at a road map, it’s obvious what is important – the map should include all roadways and major landmarks. The goal of the map to help drivers get from one location to another. But what about deciding what job to take or who to marry? Wouldn’t it be great if you had a map to help you make the “right” choice in situations like these?

Well, I have good news and bad news for you.

• The good news: you can make a map that can help you make decisions like these.
• The bad news: no one is going to giving it to you.

By embracing the role of cartographer in your own life, you can create your own value-based maps to help you get where you want to go. You get to decide what’s important, and what isn’t – what makes the cut, and what gets discarded.

This is extremely important when reading books for personal development IMHO. No single author will have all the answers, but you can glean something the “conversation” in any book you read.

When I realized that I didn’t need to apply everything I read, it became extremely freeing. Now I keep the things that I feel are valuable, but don’t feel the pressure to capture everything the author is saying. I jot down things that stand out to me (add them to my “map”) in a mind map as I read, then dump everything into Obsidian when I’m done. Here’s what it looks like:

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(If you want to download a PDF of my notes for this book, here you go.)

There are lots of other great books I’ve read this year, but this one was easily the most impactful. Here’s a short list of some of my other favorites:

• ​Liminal Thinking by Dave Gray – This book taught me the true scope of reality and how much I didn’t know.
• ​Courage is Calling by Ryan Holiday – An inspiring call to do the brave thing you are scared of.
• ​The Extended Mind by Annie Murphy Paul – A great book about using our bodies to make better intuitive decisions.
• ​Think Again by Adam Grant – The case for knowing what we don’t know and being willing to relearn.
• ​Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman – A perspective-shifting book that is important in understanding our own insignificance and what really matters.
• ​How Will You Measure Your Life by Clayton Christiansen – Business case studies to learn how to make better personal decisions? Yes please.

Until next time – keep going, and keep growing!

— Mike Schmitz