A&B #22

Hey friends,

I'm writing to all 4,545 of you today.If you need some motivation to read this weekend, here's some inspiration and wisdom about the value of reading from the late and great professor Carl Sagan.If you're motivated to read, but don't know what to read, here are 7 awesome book recommendation sources to check out.And if you'd like to challenge yourself as a reader this week, here are some fun reading challenges to try.

Alright, let's dive into this week's newsletter!

🎧 Podcast Update:

No new podcast this week.However, you can catch up on my 5 most popular episodes here.

📚 Book Lessons:

I recently finished Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson. The book is a timeless business classic that uses a simple parable to reveal profound truths about dealing with change in work and life. The point of the story is that we have to be alert to changes in the cheese (our goals), and be prepared to go running off in search of new sources of cheese when the cheese we have runs out.Here are 3 lessons from it:1) Be Aware of Small ChangesLife doesn't change overnight. It's a gradual process. That's why it's important to pay attention to small changes that take place every day. In the book, Hem and Haw (two of the characters in the maze) don't notice that their supply of cheese keeps getting smaller and smaller each day.Eventually, the day comes when they have no more cheese and they're shocked with their situation. Because they weren't monitoring their environment and were too busy enjoying their current supply of cheese, they didn't have a plan for when they ran out of cheese and were caught off guard when reality struck them.This is a simple yet important lesson to remember: "Noticing small changes early helps you adapt to the bigger changes that are to come."2) When Things Change, So Should YouIn the book, Hem and Haw keep going back to the same spot in the maze hoping that their pile of cheese will magically reappear. But it doesn't happen and as the days go by, they become more irritable and stressed. One day, Haw realized that the longer they stayed in their situation, the worse off they would be. "We keep doing the same things over and over again and wonder why things don't get better," says Haw. So instead of repeating their mistake, Haw decides to go back into the maze and search for new cheese. "Sometimes things change and they are never the same again. This looks like one of those times. That's life! Life moves on. And so should we."  3) Fear Doesn't Always Have To Be A Bad Thing Fear is often associated with a negative emotion, but it doesn't always have to be this way. Fear can be good if channeled properly. If you're afraid things might get worse if you don't do something, fear can prompt you into taking action. In Haw's situation, he was afraid of going back into the maze and searching for new cheese, but he was more afraid of being stuck in his current situation without any cheese.And most of the time, our fears are scarier in our minds than our reality. As Haw teaches us, "What you are afraid of is never as bad as what you imagine. The fear you let build up in your mind is worse than the situation that actually exists."  

✅ Actionable Advice:

5 Core Lessons From The Book:

• 1) Change Happens

  • The "cheese" in your life will keep on moving.

• 2) Monitor & Anticipate Change

  • Pay attention to the situation so you know when what worked before stops working and prepare for it.

• 3) Adapt To Change Quickly

  • Let go of your old strategies and adopt new ones.

• 4) Enjoy Change

  • Savor the adventure and enjoy the journey to finding new cheese.

• 5) Be Ready To Change Quickly Again & Again

  • Life keeps on moving and so must you.

4 Questions to ask yourself and reflect on:

• What "cheese" am I chasing?

• Is my strategy working?

• Am I prepared with a new strategy if things change suddenly?

• Is fear holding me back from trying something new?

📖 Reading Lesson:3 Tips To Being A Better Reader:1) Sample Several:

• Start lots of books.

2) Finish Few

• But only complete the ones you truly enjoy. It’s okay to quit non-interesting books.

3) Return Rest

• Return the books you didn't like or donate them to your local library.

⭐️ Weekly Quote:“I wish I spent more time reading books when I was younger.”-Future You

📸 Photo of the Week:

David Rubenstein is the co-founder of the private equity firm The Carlyle Group. He's worth about $3.2 billion.

In a podcast with Tim Ferriss, he shared his thoughts on the importance of reading books. He also shared some scary statistics about aliteracy (people who know how to read but choose not to):

• 30% of Americans who graduate from college never read another book in their life.

• 50% of Americans have not bought a new book in the last 5 years.

Knowing how to read is not enough, you must actually spend time doing it. Remember that reading is a superpower, use it to your advantage.

Read the

🙏 Hey everyone, this week's newsletter is brought to you by: The Art of ReadingHey everyone, I'm still building my online reading course. It's my first time building a course so there's a lot to learn and do. I had to push back the release date because I'd rather share a late but well-produced product than something finished but rushed.So since the course date is being moved, I'm extending the pre-sale price special.

• Use code "EMAIL99" to get the course for $99 instead of $149.

Thank you for your support everyone, I'll see you next week!Read on,Alex W.PS: If you enjoyed this newsletter, please share it with a friend. They can subscribe here.