A&B #28

Hey friends,

Sorry for the delay in this week's newsletter, I spent the weekend helping my sister move into her new apartment and then had to catch up on some personal errands. 

Here are two interesting threads I wrote recently:

• The first is about reading banned books.

• The second is quitting books and 4 strategies you can use to determine when to quit a book.

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

📚 Book Lessons:

This week I read James Altucher's new book Skip The Line. In it, James shares dozens of techniques to acquiring skills quickly and jumping the metaphorical line to success. If you enjoyed his first book Choose Yourself, you'll like his new book.Here are 3 lessons from the book: 1) 10,000 Experiments > 10,000 HoursInstead of spending 10,000 hours getting good at a skill, instead, aim to do 10,000 experiments. Experiments are easy to do and have a huge upside (experiment works and it's a success) with a low downside (experiment fails but you learned along the way).For instance, before James raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to build a company in the dating space, he first hired a freelancer programmer to see if it was possible to build his idea. The programmer informed James that the app wouldn't work on iPhone because of privacy reasons so that was the end of the experiment. Although it might sound like the experiment "failed", James actually saved himself a ton of time and money by running an experiment to test his idea.2) Borrow Hours From Your Other SkillsIf you want to get good at a skill quickly, realize that you don't have to start from zero. Chances are you can borrow experience from other skills and apply them to the new thing you're trying to learn.For example, James was able to borrow the skills he learned from being a writer (storytelling, hooks, one-liners, etc.) and apply it to stand-up. He was also able to apply his stand-up skills (audience engagement, reading the crowd, etc.) and apply it towards his public speaking gig. 

3) Have A Plus, Minus, and Equal

If you want to master a skill quickly, you need to have a plus (someone that teaches or mentors you), a minus (someone you teach or mentor), and an equal (someone at your level that you can compete or learn with).By having a plus, you'll be able to learn from the experience and wisdom of others. By having a minus, you'll understand the knowledge better yourself. And by having an equal, you'll be challenged and have someone to learn with along your journey.

✅ Actionable Advice:

1) Do more experiments

• When trying something new, look at it as an experiment. You'll either succeed or learn from it. 

2) Examine your other skills and see where you can borrow from them

• If there's a new skill you want to learn, self-reflect on the skills you've already gained and see if there's any overlap or ways that you can borrow from those existing skills.

3) Find your plus, minus, and equal

• Find someone you can learn from.

• Find someone you can teach.

• Find someone you can compete or learn with.

🎧  Podcast Update:

Here are 5 podcasts that will teach you how to become a better reader.• Shane Parrish on Freedom Pact (#80)• Ryan Holiday on Tim Ferriss Show (#410)• Anne Bogel on The Reader's Journey (#4)• Alan Jacobs on The Art of Manliness (#587)• Eric Jorgenson on The Reader's Journey (#13)More details and reading lessons here. 

📖  Reading Lesson: Here are 12 tips to help you read more books.

⭐️  Weekly Quote:I've said this multiple times but it's always worth repeating:• The books I love, you may find boring.• The books you love, I may find boring.Not every book is for every person, and that's okay.(share here)

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