It is time to offer my top reading (and watching or listening) suggestions for summer 2022. We do this every year in anticipation of summer vacations. This year, knowing that not many of us have time to read (or listen) as much as we want, we’re including some favorites from the past few years, too. In case you missed them.
Whatever you do, wherever you go, remember that summer vacation is about finding time to focus on Family (and friends), Fitness and Fun—three of our 7 F’s of True Success. It’s also about prioritizing yourself—recharging your energy and imagination and potential.
Corsini’s Top Read, Watch or Listen List (with favorites from 2018-2022) is especially aimed at leaders. Suggestions are listed by topic:
- (2022) Finding purpose. From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life by Arthur C. Brooks. If you think you might be a workaholic (or a “success addict” as Brooks calls it), you might want to read this book. Even if that’s not the case, read it anyway. It’s a great road map for finding propose and meaning in life as we age. We’re talking real purpose—not just temporary wins, accolades and the admiration of others. This is an excellent read for anyone in their 40s, 50s or 60s—or anyone questioning the true purpose about what they are doing.
- (2022) Negotiating. Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It by Chris Voss. Voss is a former international hostage negotiator for the FBI, and he shares nine game-changing principles—that are often counterintuitive—on how to be more persuasive both in and out of the office. Here’s his TEDx Talk, too: https://bit.ly/3lxn1up
- (2022) Perseverance & working smart. The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick) by Seth Godin. Any time you start something difficult like launching a company, converting to new software, learning a new skill, etc. you’ll probably reach a point where you want to quit—that’s what Godin calls “the dip.” This book is about having the self-awareness to know when to keep going and when to stop, and I’ve shared Godin’s ideas often with executives about to engage in a big goal. Godin suggests you decide when you’ll quit before you start. We only have so much time, money and energy, after all, so we need to recognize when and how to spend it—and when to take advantage of the best opportunities.
- (2021) Positive self-talk & mental toughness. Chop Wood Carry Water: How to Fall in Love with the Process of Becoming Great by Joshua Medcalf. I’ve listened to this book three times in the past 12 months. For those of you who follow Coach Nick Saban, a lot of what Medcalf says will sound familiar. (“Surrender the outcome and commit to the process.”) The book is a powerful story of one boy’s journey to achieve his life goal of becoming a samurai warrior, but it’s ultimately about overcoming obstacles and self-doubt.
- (2021) Biography about leadership. The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company by Robert Iger. In this memoir of leadership and success, Iger, who retired as CEO in 2020 but is credited with reinventing Disney, offers 10 principles that are necessary for true leadership. These include optimism, courage, decisiveness and fairness. Also important: He led the company with an eye to the future. Today, Disney counts Pixar, Marvel Entertainment, Lucasfilm and 21st Century Fox among its properties. There’s a Disneyland in China now, and the company’s ESPN + and Disney + and Hulu subscription services were ideally situated to make pandemic quarantine easier to endure (while making Disney even more profitable).
- (2021) Overcoming obstacles. The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph by Ryan Holiday. This bestselling author makes our list for the third year in a row. (I still read his Stillness is Key every year.) The Obstacle Is the Way is based on stoicism, the ancient Greek philosophy of enduring adversity with perseverance. Marcus Aurelius put it this way nearly 2000 years ago: “The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.” Holiday gives multiple examples of how some of the most successful people in history have turned their obstacles into opportunities. The idea is that we shouldn’t see obstacles as stopping points but instead view them as launching points for success. If you find yourself stuck in a rut, this is the book for you.
- (2020) Happiness. The How of Happiness: A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want by Sonja Lyubomirsky. Speaking of Ryan Holiday, this is the one book he recommends everyone read. It’s an easy-to-follow workbook that offers exercises in how to think about happiness as well as quizzes for understanding our individual potential for joy and how to sustain it. What I like best about this book is that the usable information about “happiness” is based on science and years of research—not feelings or assumptions.
- (2020) Motivation & making a difference. Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life … and Maybe the World by Admiral William “Bill” McRaven. This book grew out of McRaven’s riveting and wise University of Texas at Austin commencement address. If you haven’t yet heard that speech, spend 20 minutes and go to https://bit.ly/3ajiTGU. McRaven is a former Navy SEAL, and he shares 10 principles he learned during his SEAL training that have helped him overcome challenges throughout his life. He also wrote a great follow-up book, Sea Stories: My Life in Special Operations.
- (2019) Leadership. Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin. I continue to recommend this book because it’s a compelling, unorthodox way of looking at leadership. The authors take lessons from the battlefield and apply them to life in the boardroom (and life in general). Several of our clients have recommended this book over the years, so it’s back by popular demand. Here’s a great YouTube summary of the book: https://bit.ly/2HkZc4B.
- (2019) Overcoming adversity & prejudice. Black Titan: A.G. Gaston and the Making of a Black Millionaire by Carol Jenkins. I’m also recommending Gaston’s memoir, Green Power: The Successful Way of A.G. Gaston. When Gaston moved to Birmingham in 1905, he had almost nothing, but by the 1960s he was probably the richest Black man in America. His businesses ranged from an insurance company to a funeral home to a savings and loan association. Throughout his life, Gaston quietly promoted voting rights and equal rights, and his A.G. Gaston Motel provided shelter (and meeting space) for Civil Rights icons like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In 1987, Gaston sold his companies—valued at $23 million—to 350 long-time employees for just 10% of the value. Read these books for a close-to-home, rags-to-riches story of a heroic and incredibly successful entrepreneur.
Bonus book!
(2018) Self-awareness. Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone by Brené Brown. This wildly successful social scientist looks at what it means to truly belong. This is especially important now in a climate of increased polarization. True belonging (and really being yourself), she writes, is a daily practice that demands authenticity, integrity and courage. If you get the audiobook, she is the narrator. (I love all of Brown’s books and podcasts! She’s always authentic and has great things to share—and an engaging way of sharing them.)