Digital Minimalism in a Noisy World

by jerrynihen Comment Closed
I recently finished reading Cal Newport's latest book, Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World. Cal Newport describes Digital Minimalism as: A philosophy of technology use in which you focus your online time on a small number of carefully selected and optimized activities that strongly support things you value, and then happily miss out on everything else. Explained in more detail, Newport writes: This process requires you to step away from optional online activities for thirty days. During this period, you’ll wean yourself from the cycles of addiction that many digital tools can instill, and begin to rediscover the analog activities that provide you deeper satisfaction. You’ll take walks, talk to friends in person, engage your community, read books, and stare at the clouds. Most importantly, the declutter gives you the space to refine your understanding of the things you value most. At the end of the thirty days, you will then add back a small number of carefully chosen online activities that...
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The Five Best Books I Read in 2017

The Five Best Books I Read in 2017

by jerrynihen Comment Closed
The Five Best Books I Read in 2017 Creating these lists every year is a good reflection on the books I read, what I’d learned, and some fulfilling moments throughout the year. Here are the five best books I read in 2017: So Good They Can’t Ignore You, By Cal Newport After enjoying Cal Newport’s “Deep Work” on a plane ride to Ireland in 2016, I immediately picked up “So Good They Can’t Ignore You" at the beginning of 2017. “Follow your passion is dangerous advice.” The first third of the book argues (quite well) how often people are lead astray and feel lost because they can’t find their “passion.”  From Steve Jobs to Steve Martin, Newport utilizes famous figures to demonstrate the true art of mastery, and how most people develop their passions later on into a career, rather than “following their passion.” I’ll be honest, I’ve never been a fan of Steve Jobs. I think in the “Apple” genius, not enough attention goes to...
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My Favorite Books from 2016

My Favorite Books from 2016

by jerrynihen Comment Closed
I read an average of one book a week this year, far short of my goal of reading 100 books this year. My goal for 2017 is taking a page from Warren Buffett’s book (ha, pun alert) and striving to read “500 pages a day.” Below I’ve listed the 5 best books I read this year, with some excerpts from each: The Score Takes Care of Itself by Bill Walsh I’m not usually a fan of sports-centric motivational or leadership books, but this book was in a class of its own. Walsh took the 49ers from the worst team in the NFL to the Super Bowl in less than 3 years. What was fascinating was his systematic (known as the Standard of Performance) way of doing so. His courage and emphasis on the fundamentals is an amazing lesson to all people trying to tackle greatness. He emphasizes that with upholding these standards and the fundamentals of the craft—whatever they are for any chosen craft—success...
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