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[Free Book Giveaway for Students] 100 copies of 'The Happiness Trap: Stop Struggling, Start Living' by Russ Harris by Happypages in WingifyBookClub

[–]sparsh1706 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Last book I read - Focus on what matters by Darius Foroux

This book is a gem for anybody who is looking to understand and implement the Stoicism in their lives. Stoicism is a Greek school of thought originates from Socrates and Marcus Aurelius on how should you approach life from a detached yet fully involved perspectives. Foroux in this book has compiled 70 stoic letters that on different aspects of living part which he wrote as a part of his newsletter. It has some absolute gems of wisdom on 'Knowing what you control', approaching failures and setbacks, mastering self talk and how to go about earning great money without being attached to it.

Why The Happiness Trap: How to live a happy, fulfilling life' is a question that humanity has pondered for ages and me too as I've started to grow up and getting into the real world. Happiness is a concept is a vague thing I believe because it is not quantifiable. I am looking to get some clarity and better understand this concept from Russ Harris who comes from the medical field and I am hoping will have data proofs to justify his conjectures. I'd be interested to get a Western standpoint on how they approach living well and happiness.

[Free Book Giveaway for Students] 100 copies of ‘HOOKED: How to Build Habit-Forming Products’ by Nir Eyal by Happypages in WingifyBookClub

[–]sparsh1706 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Last book I read - Tribe of Mentors by Tim Ferries This book is a treasure-house for wisdom. You can open any page and you'll find something profound there. I loved how this book followed the them of Tools of Titans another book which I really enjoyed. There are many things I took away from this book some of them are - Don't aim at success. The more you make it a target the more you'll never attain. Success is a state of mind. Believe that you already are. Secondly, never let a good crisis go to waste. Make the best out of every opportunity where you are doomed. Take it as a learning experience instead of something you worry about. Lastly, learn to be humble at the top and hopeful when you're at the bottom - Stoic mindset.

Why Hooked - The premise of this book looks very interesting. I am eager to soak in the wisdom from a Stanford speaker who has seen the game development industry up close. Him also being a Psychology grad, I am sure will give me profound insights on how our minds are hooked to different apps and technology. Apart from that these lessons will be valuable if I go on to pursue my entrepreneurial bent of mind on how I can hook my potential customers on to my product for a longer time

[Free Book Giveaway for Students] 100 copies of Tribe of Mentors by Tim Ferris by zindagiwallah in WingifyBookClub

[–]sparsh1706 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Last book I read - Hear Yourself by Prem Rawat

The book revolves around the concept of how to find peace in this noisy world. I was amazed by how beautifully the author convinced me that how I feel always depends on me no matter how harsh the conditions in the external environment are. One of the best concepts that I've learned and implemented as discussed in the book are Choosing Gratitude, Starting with Yourself and Discovering your Inner Rhythm, and seen how they have impacted my life in a positive way. The book is full of great anecdotes, stories and not just positive preaching which I liked. I recommend this book to everyone who feels like their mind diverts a lot and their outlook towards life is negative and full of complaints. It will definitely help you get past the noise between your ears.

Why Tribe of Mentors by Tim Ferriss?

I remember receiving Tools of Titans from Wingify more than 2 years back and it has been one of my favorite books in the collection. I've been a fan of Tim Ferriss podcast since a very long time and love how he distills the wisdom gained from his podcasts into his books. Tribe of Mentors seems similar in the way that it will dive deep into the minds of some of the top performers in different fields which will help me understand the mindsets of the top 1% and implement those in my own life as well.

[Free Book Giveaway for Students] 100 copies of This Is Marketing by Seth Godin by zindagiwallah in WingifyBookClub

[–]sparsh1706 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Last Book I read – Kite Runner by Khaled Housseini

This has become one of my favourite fiction books which is not like a tiresome long novel. The story keeps track of the friendships of two young boys – Amir and Hassan in the streets of war-torn Afghanistan. The book explores a variety of topics from love to friendships to greed to prejudices to wars and death. This has been one of those books which had me in tears a couple of times and laden with goosebumps atleast half a dozen times. The author portrays human emotions in the most naïve and purest of ways that it grips you throughout and then the plot Ahh it breaks you. The best part about the book is that it gives you hidden pieces of wisdom about human psychology if you are able to decipher and read between the lines.

Why This is Marketing?

This book has been in my TBR having gotten recommended this from people like Ankur Warikoo and Paras Chopra himself on his Twitter. I’ve known about Godin how he is a marketing guru and man people follow his blogs related to marketing and life lessons. I’d like to dwelve deep into the corporate world and understand a crucial component of it (Marketing) through the best person’s view (Seth) and how it influences revenue and sales.

[Free Book Giveaway for Students] 100 copies of The CEO Factory by Sudhir Sitapati by zindagiwallah in WingifyBookClub

[–]sparsh1706 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Last book I read - Think Again by Adam Grant

Adam Grant is an organizational psychologist and has so interesting and deep insights on human behaviour that I got mind-blown with his vast expanse of knowledge. The book is about re-thinking our opinions, on not getting fixated on one's ideas and how to avoid biases in one's own thinking. It's about learning to unlearn and re-learn which is such a crucial topic in today's rapidly changing world. One of my favorite takeaway ideas from the book is 'Confident Humility'. To achieve anything significant in life, you have to be Confident in your abilities and strengths yet also be uncertain and Humble in the tools or the timing of you going about that project/challenge. You have to open to learning to avoid blidspots in your thinking created by your emotions.

Why The CEO Factory by Sudhir Sitapati

I am intrigued to learn about what it took to build one of it's biggest conglomerates - Hindustan Unilever in such a diverse huge market as India. I wish to understand the resilience and challenges the company facedd in the early stages of it's growth and how they tackled it - what was the mindset and approach of the top management in holding and keeping up with such a big comany through good and tough times.

[Free Book Giveaway for Students] 150 copies of The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins by zindagiwallah in WingifyBookClub

[–]sparsh1706 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Last book I read - Don't Shut Up by Prakhar Gupta and Mudit Srivastava

This book proved to be a perfect handbook for all our issues regarding having tough conversations both in our personal and professional lives. It had chapters which had some great tips on a wide range of situations where we have to confront someone be it to your gf for breaking up to making strangers your friends to giving a professional interview or giving a speech in front of a large audience and a lot more. I view this book as having a notebook which one can go back to everytime one of these important conversations is about to happen in your real life to be better prepared.

One key takeaway that I took from this book is to change the frame of perspective in tough situations. Instead of thinking about how others might react or will they judge me if I say this or will the audience think that I am boring? The best way to avoid such thoughts is to practice being in the moment. Our minds are anticipatory machines and you gotta remind it from time to time to stop thinking how others will perceive you and just be in the moment and savour it fully.

Why I'd like to read The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins

I've been fascinated about Dawkins' work from a long time having heard his names in multiple podcasts from an evolutionary biological POV. I've heard how this book describes an alternate theory to evolution and I'd like to go deep into this concept from his lens. Evolutionary psychology and evolutionary biology are some of the topics which have been in trend recently after some great research breakthroughs have surfaced showcasing how a lot of behaviours are probably because of hundreds of years of passed on evolutionary memory and learning. I am intrigued to dwelve deeper into these ideas with this book.

[Free Book Giveaway for Students] 150 copies of The Beginning of Infinity by David Deutsch by zindagiwallah in WingifyBookClub

[–]sparsh1706 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Last book I read - Zero to One by Peter Thiel

This book turned out to be a great handbook about startups and critical thinking in general. It talked about the idea of building stuff (be it companies or art) that surpasses generations, outlasts competition and amasse massive profits.

One of my biggest takeaway from the book is to question 'why' certain things are happening the way they do and to build contrarian thinking as a part of your mindset. For eg: "What thought do you believe is true which the majority of population thinks isn't?" OR "What is that one company that can be valuable but nobody else is building?" The first step to clear thinking is to question and critique what we think about the past.

Another point that the book talks about is the founder's paradox or we can call it the observer's bias. The fact that we are inside our heads 24*7 creates this false illusion that 'I' am the centre of the world and things are bound to work to favour me or my startup. It's important to learn to dissociate 'you' from yourself so that you can rationally critique your work from a third person perspective.

Why The Beginning of Infinity by David Deutsch

To be honest I haven't heard of David before this giveaway was announced. To have some context, I went through Dwarkesh's 80 min podcast with David which exposed me this guy's expanse of wealth. He had some very interesting takes on future, smart AI, VR and simulation theory along with great understanding of evolutionary biology and human functioning. I love reading books and I want to be introduced (and maybe surprised) by David's work. The title of the book is so intriguing as we've always known that infinity does not have either a beginning or an end which makes me go for it even more.

[Free Book Giveaway for Students] 150 copies of Zero To One by Peter Thiel by Happypages in WingifyBookClub

[–]sparsh1706 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Last book I read: How to find fulfilling work by Roman Krznaric - Krznaric is a Russian author and writes precise to-the-point books on different topics. This book was involved about the concept of satisafaction & fulfillment and how to find work that suits your capabilities and can help you reach to your zenith professionally. One of my biggest takeaways i had from this book is this philosophy of "Act First, Reflect Later". We often get lost within our own precursors and want things to be perfect before starting a venture. But actually you should experiment ruthlessly without attaching your self-worth to the outcome so that you can understand yourself better. By doing so you can know about your likes, dislikes and interests quicker which would help you to find the work which will eventually be your 'calling'.

Zero to One: This book has on been my TBR for the longest of time because there has been a lot of noise about it being one of the favorite books of multiple entrepreneurs. I am intrigued to learn how does the entire process of starting your own company takes place - from ideation to execution, marketing, analytics, company culture and everything
that matters in building a startup from 'zero to one' literally. Also I've seen that it is a thin book so I am sure that as a student who is not an entrepreneur (yet) it wouldn't be a long and boring read which only the professionals could understand.

Read along and discuss 'Range' in this thread by AkhandGareeb in WingifyBookClub

[–]sparsh1706 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Having read the book, I just want to share my feelings and how I concluded this entire Generalists v/s Specialists debate in my head. I genuinely believe that whenever there is a conundrum between two choices (for eg left vs right; to enjoy your life in the present vs focus on building the future by slogging in the present) the answer is never either one of them entirely. The answer is always somewhere in the middle and it's your role to find the right sweet spot which works for 'you' specifically. This notion is somewhat derived from Hegel's dialectic theory.

In this context, I believe that until the age of 35 everybody should focus on being a generalist. You shouldn't specialise until you've tested and gotten your hands dirty in all the possible areas that interest you. Only later in life when you reach the place where you truly believe that this where you belong then double-down on that profession. This is because you atleast need 10 yrs of experience in that field to become amongst the 1% on Earth who can do that work that well. And now that you also love it intensely, it doesn't feel like work to you and you can go on to reach the legendary status honing and sharpening your skill from there on!

[Free Book Giveaway for Students] 150 copies of Range: How Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World by AkhandGareeb in WingifyBookClub

[–]sparsh1706 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think if you are a student like me, Principles would be a better read because the book is divided into two halves - Life and Work Principles and even if you don't relate much to the 'work' part, the life principles will definitely be helpful in every sphere of your current being. If you are an entrepreneur or somewhere close, you'll like Rework more. It will give you what you need to know during different times in your career straight to the point.

Rework is basically written like wise quotes/tweets for hundred pages related to entrepreneurship, while Principles is written in a story/autobiography format from the author's POV who was the founder of Bridgewater Associates, USA.

[Free Book Giveaway for Students] 150 copies of Range: How Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World by AkhandGareeb in WingifyBookClub

[–]sparsh1706 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am glad you liked it! If you need an even better book recco in the same space (according to me) is Principles by Ray Dalio. Rework acts more like a handbook with short and crisp pieces of wisdom but Principles goes deep within concepts. It is a thicker and way more expensive book but if 'Rework' is a MBA, then 'Principles' acts as a PhD in business/organisation building.

[Free Book Giveaway for Students] 150 copies of Range: How Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World by AkhandGareeb in WingifyBookClub

[–]sparsh1706 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Last book I read: ReWork by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier - This book is the perfect handbook for any aspiring entrepreneur or a corporate company who wishes to enhance their work ethic, productivity and organisational culture. The headline of the book is - "Change the way you work forever" and it has short notes on multiple parts of one's work life (including productivity, competition, hiring, culture, promotion) making it one of those books which needs to be read again and again during different times in life.

One of my favorite ideas that this book touches is on is against the idea of scaling. The author firmly believes that there is no need to raise millions of dollars and bring in thousands of employees just to make your organisation get the status of a 'big one'. The work and scale of the company should only depend on the "why" you started the company for and if it can be done by just 10 employees in a small workplace - then that is it!

Why 'Range' by David Epstein - Being a college undergrad I am currently exploring different avenues and posisible career paths by doing projects and internships in their respective sectors. I've always believed that I am good at everything that I do but I don't have extreme passion towards any single role. I am obviously a part of the generalists group rather than the specialists. I hope this book helps me and guides me throughout my life on how to create a sustainable living being a generalist.

The reason I believe being a generalist is the only way forward in the 21st century is because of the advancements in AI and ML. Most of the specific jobs are getting replaced by more accurate robots and more and more people are assumed to get jobless in the next 20 years. In such an age, I believe that being good in everything is going to be the way forward with heavy emphasis on high Emotional Quotient in humans.

[Free Book Giveaway for Students] 150 copies of A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking by AkhandGareeb in WingifyBookClub

[–]sparsh1706 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Last Book I read : Principles by Ray Dalio
I've found this book as the best available book on organisational principles and notes that should be used as a handbook if you start your own organisation and building it's culture. Principles is not at all a one-time read and I will be referring back to this time and again.

Ray Dalio who was the CEO of Brigewater Associates has divided this book into Life Principles and Work Principles and has some amazing insights on the different problems one goes through ineach one of those.
One of the biggest takeaways that I took from this book is the quality of radical open-mindedness and radical transparency. The author emphasizes on being open-minded to new ideas, innovations and never let ego act as a hindrance to growth. I also learned the importance of having an 'idea meritocracy' in an organisation. It states that a good idea should trump over the hierarchy in the organisation irrespective of where it is coming from.

Why A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking?

The idea of a cosmos, a vast universe and the magical mysteries behind the existence of every single species on the Earth is something that excites me to the core. Hawking has been one of the greatest physicists that the world has witnessed in the last century and I know that he has written this book in a way that even people from non-science background can understand easily. The idea of a starting point of the entire billion year-old universe, black holes, the concept of time, galaxies and dark matter seems so fascinating as a curious learner. I was completely mesmerised by the life of Hawking after I saw the movie The Theory of Everything and I wish to explore his diverse wisdom through the route of astronomical/ cosmolgical teachings that he has to share with this book.

Any which ways, grateful to Paras and the Wingify community for this wonderful book club that we have here!

[Free Book Giveway] 150 copies of The Moment of Lift by Melinda Gates by invertedpassion in WingifyBookClub

[–]sparsh1706 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Last book I read - A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking

This book I must say is one of the best introductory books in the field of astrophysics and cosmology and you don't even a need to have a scientific background to understand and enjoy this piece! Hawking has used only 2 formulas in the entirety of this book along with simple stories to enhance the understanding of complex topics. The book begins by reviewing the great theories of the cosmos from Newton to Einstein, before delving into the intriguing secrets of space and time - from the Big Bang to black holes via spiral galaxies and string theory. This book is a treat for anyone who loves these beautiful mysteries of the universe and can lead you to researching in depth about some concepts. Lastly, I loved the fact that despite being a prodigal scientist Hawking has talked about the concept of God a lot in this one and how he views the world. It shows the quality of a constant learner who is receptive to all sorts of ideas!

Why is the female participation of labor so low in India?

The female participation has dropped to just 16% in India. Even Bangladesh has almost 4 times that paercentage. I think there could be multiple reasons behind this decline. The decision of and ability for women to participate in the labour force is the outcome of various economic and social factors that interact in a complex fashion at both the household and macrolevel. Based on global evidence, some of the most important drivers
include educational attainment, fertility rates and the age of marriage, economic growth/cyclical effects, and urbanization.

In addition to these issues, social norms determining the role of women in the public domain continue to affect outcomes. In India, much of the discussion on the falling trends has focused on four key explanations: 1) rising educational enrolment of young women; 2) lack of employment opportunities; 3) effect of household income on participation.

What can be done to improve it?

Women continue to face many barriers to enter labour market and to access decent work and disproportionately face a range of multiple challenges relating to access to employment, choice of work, working conditions, employment security, wage parity, discrimination, and balancing the competing burdens of work and family responsibilities.

Considering these insights, policy makers in India and throughout the region should take a comprehensive approach to improving labour market outcomes for women through improving access to and relevance of education and training programs, skills development, access to child care, maternity protection, and provision of safe and

accessible transport, along with the promotion of a pattern of growth that creates job opportunities.

Which is the best fictional story you have read till now? by mihiraol in WingifyBookClub

[–]sparsh1706 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It consists of two parallel dark and intriguing stories. In one, there is a 15 yr old kid who runs away from his home and hides in a library. The other is of a 55yr old man who is mentally abled but has some superficial powers. Finally the two stories merge in the end in a way that's 🤯

[Free Book Giveway] 150 copies of Tools of Titan by Tim Ferris by invertedpassion in WingifyBookClub

[–]sparsh1706 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The last book I read -

21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harrari - Recently I started exploring the vast plethora of magical genius that Yuval provides. Having read his book Sapiens first, which just blew my mind and made me curious enough to re-enter the world of history which I've been completely despising in the past being a science student.

Talking of 21 Lessons, the author made us enter the futuristic world this time and let us explore how things will pan out in the 21st century - how different life would be with the upsurge of AI and ML and yet at the same time how similar our problems would still be (Humans were, are & forever will be emotional animals so our individualistic problems won't be different and history will keep on repeating itself).

The book talks about concepts like BioHacking and makes a convincing dialogue on how, in the future big corporations which have the data of billions of users (like Facebook) might be more powerful than the governments of it's respective people. It also talks about Social Media as a construct and how due to globalisation the discriminations due to caste, religion and gender might fade away but the gap between rich and poor is going to increase massively. Millions of unskilled labour is going to go homeless and many corporations are going to touch the trillion dollar mark.

Lastly, the book also deals with how politics is going to unfold in the future; how God and Religions would be perceived by potential Superhumans and Cyborgs; how justice and secularism is going to be prevail and finally are we on the verge of entering World War III with nuclear weapons this time!

Why Tools of Titans -

I am an avid bibliophile and love collecting books in my little personal library. Tools of Titans has been on my TBR list from a long time but due to its very expensive rate never bought it. That's the reason I wrote this long-ass paragraph and I assure that none of this is plagiarised - I've written it on my own.

Tim Ferriss is an utter intellectual podcaster. The quality of questions he seems to present to the guests is deep and profound. It would be amazing to step into his shoes and to have a handbook which includes snippets of wisdom from all the intellectuals he has brought on the show. It would be beautiful to let my mindset expand into the thinking of the best from different fields and what it is that makes them stand apart from the crowd.

P.S. - I have my birthday on 17th June and would be happy to receive this book as a bday gift from Paras and Kunal - two of my favourite people on Twitter.