These will make you happier, smarter, and more successful.
Many of us don’t know how to breathe correctly.
I can hear your instant gasp. Alas, how can someone breathe wrong?
From the power of breathing correctly to unlocking the secret door to talent, discover new and profound insights in these recommended reads by Joe Rogan.
Your brain will do a happy dance as you cruise through this treasure trove of knowledge.
Source: Books that Joe Rogan praised or recommended on Twitter/X
How to break free of the shackles created for us?
Toltec Civilization is a civilization from ancient central Mexico, which existed between the 10th and mid-12th centuries. Don Miguel Ruiz, a Mexican himself, brings us wisdom from the old and teaches us how to apply it to our lives.
The author introduces the concept of ‘domestication’. Children learn rules from their parents, society, teachers, and religious leaders. This ‘domesticates’ them.
When we grow up we keep on ‘domesticating’ ourselves. To break free of ‘domestication’, Ruiz advises us to practice four agreements.
“Whatever happens around you, don’t take it personally… Nothing other people do is because of you. It is because of themselves.”
The 4 agreements are as follows:
Be impeccable with your word
Don’t take anything personally
Don’t make assumptions
Always do your best
“Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama.”
These four rules make all the sense to me.
Staying truthful, not taking others’ words to heart, not assuming based on partial information, and doing your best.
In one way or the other, I have been applying these rules to my life. And yes, they are GREATLY beneficial. The author does go into detail about each of them which provides good insight.
Trust me, it’s a must-read for everyone.
Understand happiness to achieve it.
Jonathan Haidt, a social psychologist takes us on a deep dive inside the concept of happiness.
He gives us a metaphor for our brain in the first chapter. He then uses this metaphor throughout the book.
“Love and work are to people what water and sunshine are to plants.”
He divides the brain into two parts, a rider and the elephant. The elephant is the limbic system which is responsible for our primitive desires and involuntary actions. The rider is the neocortex, which is responsible for rational thought and reasoning.
Haidt uses ancient lessons from Budha, Jesus, and Aristotle as well as modern studies and data.
“If you want your children to grow up to be healthy and independent, you should hold them, hug them, cuddle them, and love them. Give them a secure base and they will explore and then conquer the world on their own.”
What I like most about the book is the nuanced approach of the author. He doesn’t give black-and-white answers, a testament to the author’s wisdom.
For example: Is happiness intrinsic or extrinsic? Haidt tells us that the answer lies between the two extremes.
If you want to discover the ins and outs of happiness, this book is for you.
Were humans meant to be promiscuous?
As a strong proponent of monogamy, this book makes me feel uncomfortable.
This is what reading is all about, i.e. challenging your views and reading other opinions. And it doesn’t mean that you have to abandon your values.
Ryan and Jethá challenge the widely held notion that humans were supposed to be monogamous and have been in various societies throughout history. They believe humans are supposed to be sexually promiscuous.
“No group-living nonhuman primate is monogamous, and adultery has been documented in every human culture studied- including those in which fornicators are routinely stoned to death.”
The authors back up their argument with examples of human societies in old times. Before the agricultural revolution, humans were hunter-gatherers. According to Ryan and Jetha, hunter-gatherer groups were mobile and they allowed for their members to have multiple sexual partners.
The authors cite many benefits of a sexually open lifestyle like parenting the tribe’s children together, lowering jealousy, and increasing social bonding.
They attribute adultery and unfaithfulness to our ‘unnatural’ monogamous lifestyle.
This book is controversial. I believe the authors don’t have many facts to back up their claims. It is an interesting insight nevertheless.
Yeehaw! How America took control of its Wild Wild West.
This book provides a historical account of a forty-year battle that went on between Indian natives and American settlers.
It specifically focuses on the tribe of Comanches who were fearless warriors. They drove out other tribes and gave settlers a very hard time.
“There were no horses at all on the continent until the Spanish introduced them in the sixteenth century.”
Other tribes domesticated the horses but the Comanches learned how to fight using horses.
The author gives us the fascinating account of a white woman Cynthia Ann Parker, who was captured by the Comanches at 9 years old. She grew up to marry one of them and had a son, Quanah Parker. Quanah was the Comanche leader who led the last war.
“THERE IS HISTORY that is based on hard, documented fact; history that is colored with rumor, speculation, or falsehood; and history that exists in what might be termed the hinterlands of the imagination.”
Parts of the book might be too graphic but it is a very engaging read.
As one reader’s review puts it, “History that reads like a novel.”
We have forgotten how to breathe.
Advancement isn’t always positive.
From brittle bones to narrow passageways, humans are suffering from ‘dysevolution’. Dysevolution is the opposite of evolution. In evolution, the body evolves for the better.
A lot has to do with our calorie-rich diet and sedentary lifestyle.
The author focuses on one act. It comes naturally and automatically to us. Still, we are doing it wrong.
What is it?
Breathing.
“Mouthbreathing, it turns out, changes the physical body and transforms airways, all for the worse.”
Two main lessons from this book are:
Breathe through the nose
When we breathe through the nose instead of our mouth, we absorb 18% more oxygen.
Stop over breathing
Just like overeating, humans are overbreathing. Breath slowly.
“The perfect breath is this: Breathe in for about 5.5 seconds, then exhale for 5.5 seconds. That’s 5.5 breaths a minute for a total of about 5.5 liters of air.”
To achieve the above, you have to train yourself. Observe correct oral posture. Breathe slowly and take long breaths. Have fewer breaths in a minute.
This, according to the author, is the cure for sleep apnea, snoring, asthma, and more.
Life is tough. Deal with it.
Instead of sunshine and roses, Goggins’ autobiography gives you tough love and wake-up calls.
His journey is inspirational. From growing up in poverty, abuse, and suffering to becoming a world-renowned endurance athlete and motivational speaker.
“It won’t always go your way, so you can’t get trapped in this idea that just because you’ve imagined a possibility for yourself that you somehow deserve it.”
Through hard work and perseverance, Goggins pushed himself to join the US Air Force and later Navy SEALs.
“It takes relentless self discipline to schedule suffering into your day, every day.”
The author lets us in on his Cookie Jar technique. When he could barely walk at the end of a marathon, he started thinking of all his achievements. Each cookie (victory) from the past helped to keep him motivated till the end.
“To exist in this world, we must contend with humiliation, broken dreams, sadness, and loss.”
This book is a gold mine of motivation, inspiration, and life lessons.
The self-made man is a myth.
Success doesn’t come from an individual talent, as many of us believe.
Gladwell outlines that where we come from, our genes, society, environment, and luck, all have a role to play. Surprisingly, even our birth dates have a say in whether we will be successful or not.
“Success is not a random act. It arises out of a predictable and powerful set of circumstances and opportunities.”
The author explores the secret to success for many famous people like Bill Gates and star athletes. For example, access to a computer at a time when most didn’t allow Bill Gates to become Microsoft’s founder.
This book also talks about the 10,000-hour rule. True expertise comes from practicing a skill for a minimum of 10,000 hours.
“Practice isn’t the thing you do once you’re good. It’s the thing you do that makes you good.”
This book will make you get up and get going while being grounded in reality.
What did the CIA’s MK-ULTRA have to do with the cult leader Charles Manson?
If you haven’t heard of the Manson family murders, give it a Google search and then read this summary.
Was Charles Manson a deluded sociopath or a lab rat for LSD experiments by the CIA?
That is the question that O’Neill asks. On an assignment to cover these murders, he discovers new information which leads him down an obsessive path of research and interviews for 20 years.
He didn’t end up doing the original assignment though, in case you are wondering.
“And so, feeling the line between “researcher” and “conspiracy theorist” blurring before me, I hunkered down in the library to read about the many ways our government has deceived us.”
At times O’Neill goes on too many tangents offering different theories. He also touches upon the JFK assassination which might be a bit far off.
Those who love to ask questions about the official narratives would love this book.
What is the secret to acquiring talent?
Figure out how to build talent… and then go do it!
“Deep practice is built on a paradox: struggling in certain targeted ways — operating at the edges of your ability, where you make mistakes — makes you smarter.”
The talent code has three parts:
Deep Practise
Practice with struggle > practice without struggle
A simple example given in the book is of two groups of students. Group A studied a paper for 4 days. Group B studied it for 1 day and was tested on it for 3 days.
At the final test, Group B scored 50% more than Group A.
Why?
With every test, group B struggled. And that targeted struggle made them acquire more knowledge in the same amount of time.
Ignition
Ignition is hot and sudden. It’s like when you see someone achieving something. You have a moment of self-reflection, ‘If they can, why can’t I?’
Ignition gives you motivation.
Master Coaching
A good teacher can customize his teaching methods to every student’s needs. They know their student’s limits and potential. Coyle calls them ‘talent whisperers’.
Combine the above three and you’ll become talented.
“Skill is a cellular insulation that wraps neural circuits and that grows in response to certain signals.”
One of the most interesting tidbits that this book offers is the role of the nerve insulator myelin. Every time we use a neural circuit, for example, while throwing a ball, cooking, etc., myelin wraps more of itself around that particular neural circuit. It prevents the leakage of electrical signals and makes the circuit stronger.
This is how talent is built.
I enjoyed learning the concepts in this book and would like to recommend it to all those who want to become talented.
This investigative book on the Scientology movement will both intrigue and horrify you.
A religion founded in the 1950s, Scientology has perplexed and scared many people. It is referred to as a cult or new-age religion.
This book covers the journey of the Scientology movement from the start till now, including the inner workings of the church of Scientology. It has numerous accounts from current and former members.
This book has the life history of the Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard, and also that of the current leader of Scientology.
“…clinging to absurd or disputed doctrines binds a community of faith together and defines a barrier to the outside world.”
For this book, the author conducted hundreds of interviews. He also explores Scientology’s connection to famous Hollywood celebrities.
“The Citizens Commission on Human Rights, a lobby group created by the Church of Scientology that runs the psychiatry museum, maintains that no mental diseases have ever been proven to exist.”
The author also counters the number of followers that the Scientology church claims to have. Independent studies have revealed that only 30,000 Americans classify themselves as Scientologists.
The account written by Wright will both intrigue and mystify you.
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Reference:
Source of Book Recommendation 1:
Source of Book Recommendation 2: https://twitter.com/joerogan/status/1091443004169023488
Source of Book Recommendation 3: https://twitter.com/joerogan/status/276827723358404608?s=20
Source of Book Recommendation 4: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4emaXjcHyntXQ9sN2Z3Chm?si=47a7154a1bc64fc8
Source of Book Recommendation 5: https://twitter.com/joerogan/status/1281668862291763200
Source of Book Recommendation 6: https://twitter.com/joerogan/status/1069406577340366848?s=20
Source of Book Recommendation 7: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2YXIDPs07hoBtyJjYwm6pN?si=e3b176180e13454a
Source of Book Recommendation 8: https://twitter.com/joerogan/status/1275838232564039680
Source of Book Recommendation 9: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0EhasbSj0fRh9tNhdAF2Cg?si=9d7f280dcbc94702
Source of Book Recommendation 10: https://twitter.com/joerogan/status/655056220936470532
