You are what you read
“You are what you eat” is a profoundly accurate statement, and unless there are other mysterious schemes contributing to our bodily compositions I’m yet to discover, it must be true.
But if you zoom in a little bit more and have a look at the neural activity in the brain, an entirely new universe emerges – one that is, in my opinion, more fascinating than the physical body itself.
If “you are what you eat” is true of the physical body, then to a significant extent “you are what you read” is true of the metaphysical, where “reading” is the consumption of information.
I believe the brain influences the state of our physical bodies more than vice versa. Indeed, the brain and body are physiologically connected, but when we allow our thoughts to lead us to make dumb or negligent decisions regarding our physical activities, our bodies will deteriorate, in turn weakening our resolve and willpower, resulting in even dumber decisions. Conversely if our brainwaves lead us to perform good (or improved) levels of physical activity, in whatever form they come, a positive feedback loop emerges, leading to clearer thinking, and so on. Thus, to improve your brain and your body (your life), start by reading as much and as deeply as you can about important things, ignoring the allure of toxic distractions such as social media and podcasts that reaffirm existing beliefs.
Hang on, how did I find the time to read 42 books last year?
It just dawned upon me as I was writing that previous paragraph that 42 books is a tremendous amount of literature for someone with my schedule to fit in, so how did I do it?
Let’s say each book takes 10 hours on average to read / listen to on Audible. That’s 420 hours.
It is fairly accurate to say that I read every chance I get, as scarce as these opportunities seem.
On a non-running morning (4x per week), I get up around 4am and read for an hour before the children surface. That’s 208 hours per year.
I spend perhaps 6 hours a week alone in the car, of which about 50% of the time is spent listening to loud Heavy Metal and the other half listen to books on Audible. That’s 156 hours per year.
There’s probably around 30 or so solitary hours per year in airports or on planes which is the perfect time to read.
Then there’s those rainy Sundays that my wife and I agree to just sit around and read all day (I love these days!) – say another 26 hours there.
And voila! 420 hours. I’m as surprised as you are!
At risk of writing another novel, the below is what I read / listened to in 2024. I ended up ranking just the Top 11 for integrity reasons. It would have been annoying if I got to the 40th or so book and decided upon reflection it deserved a higher ranking.
And that’s the thing with reflection – you find yourself accepting, rejecting or valuing things differently the more you think of them.
Rank Title Author Cover Thoughts 1 Can’t Hurt Me David Goggins
I first read this book in 2019 and have re-read it many times since. Can’t Hurt Me is not just my favourite book of 2024 – it’s my favourite of all time. David Goggins demonstrates that success is not endowed but earned through prolonged suffering. I read Can’t Hurt Me whenever I’m about to attempt something big like an ultramarathon or a new high-risk business venture. If there’s a voice you want in your head, it’s Goggins’.
2
Born To Run
Christopher McDougall
I first read this book circa 2015 and have re-read it several times since. This book is not only an excellent source of running information you won’t find anywhere in the “sports health” industry but is one of the most epic adventures I’ve had the pleasure of reading. Christopher McDougall tells his story about his treacherous journey into Mexico’s deadly copper canyons to discover the secrets of running. Born To Run is funny, entertaining, informative and riveting. There really isn’t another book quite like it.
3
The Black Swan
Nassim Nicholas Taleb
You know you’ve read a good book when it changes your entire perspective on something so fundamental. The Black Swan has re-wired the way I process the inconvenience of uncertainty, with particular emphasis on the improbable events that change everything forever. NNT (as he calls himself in the book) has enlightened me with a deeper appreciation for the randomness dominating our lives in both the physical and social universes. With philosophy laying the foundation for ideas, NNT emphasises the sheers complexity of the moving parts of our society ranging from our personal desires to the global economy. With so much that is unknown, it is no wonder that mainstream academics, economists, policymakers and so-called “experts” constantly get things so spectacularly wrong, justifying poor outcomes with words like “unprecedented” and “unpredictable.” NNT demonstrates that nothing is unpredictable if you are prepared to use your imagination and look where others aren’t.
4
The WEIRDest People In The World
Joseph Henrich
Western, Educated, Industrialised, Rich & Democratic (WEIRD). If this feels normal to you, you are in rare company In fact, the way “Western” societies live today is not only abnormal on current and historical scales but is the result of rapid divergences from dominant human behaviour that really took off around the 16th century. The WEIRDest People In The World compellingly reveals the influences that transformed the ”West” into the prosperous societies we have today. Initially I was taken aback by the hypothesis but the more I read and the more I thought about it, the more it made sense to me. This book has given me a greater appreciation of our shared history and sincere gratitude for the brave souls who painstakingly shifted the zeitgeist toward the glorious Western society we enjoy today.
5
Walking Disaster
Deryck Whibley
Deryck Whibley is the lead singer and rhythm guitarist for Canadian punk-rock band Sum41. I grew up on Sum41. They are the soundtrack of my adolescence. I knew Deryck’s life was a little fucked up, but until I read Walking Disaster I didn’t know how bad things got or why. Deryck’s tell-all autobiography is truly one of sex, drugs and rock n’ roll, and he has a literary swagger that I find highly entertaining and inspiring. You can feel Deryck’s discomfort in revealing the darker corners of his journey and how they influenced his music, but even if you don’t know or like his music, his story is candid, funny, dramatic and uplifting.
6
Bourbon for Breakfast
Jeffrey A. Tucker
Speaking of literary swagger, meet Jeffrey Tucker. I became obsessed with reading his work from my subscriptions to some “alternative” news sources he writes for. The best of his work is in Bourbon for Breakfast – a collection of essays on a range of political, social and economic issues. Most of the essays start with some trivial matter, such as the water pressure in the shower, and then build up to how the government has taken from us yet another innocent pleasure hard-won by the gift of the free markets. Reading Jeffrey’s work gives me a range of emotions, consisting of disgust for central planning and autocracy, delight for freedom and entrepreneurism, and a general tailwind for some of the values I hold dearest. Of all the political identities and “ism’s” out there, I can confidently say classical libertarians are the closest thing to “my people.”
7
Choose Your Enemies Wisely
Patrick Bet-David
If you’re wanting to be inspired or seeking tried-and-tested strategies for growing a successful business, Bet-David is your man. From an illiterate party animal to successful kingpin entrepreneur, this man has “walked the walk.” The thing I admire most about Choose Your Enemies Wisely is it follows the basic structure of the books I love. It tells a story of what happened, what mistakes were made, and the unpopular wisdom learned. Narrated by the author in his charming but brutal accent, the Audible version is highly recommended.
8
The Secret Life of Real Estate & Banking
Phillip J Anderson
If you are wanting a deep dive into the history of money, real estate, stocks and bonds – basically the entire global financial system, this book is for you. Packed with thousands of data points and historical events from a wide variety of sources spanning over 500 years, Phillip J Anderson provides a prophet-like tale of the financial markets, and in particular how they follow real estate and credit cycles as if conducted by the invisible hand of the 18.6 year (average) cycle. They don’t teach you this stuff in the comfy confines of academia, and I guess that is why the overwhelming majority of so-called “experts” in the media, government and large corporates constantly get their predictions so spectacularly wrong, yet maintain positions of power and influence by virtue of the sheer ignorance of poor-to-middle class voters and consumers. It’s a slow burn, but The Secret Life of Real Estate & Banking is highly recommended if you wish to build a successful real estate and share portfolio.
9
Showing Up
Ned Brockman
To me, Ned Brockman rivals David Goggins as how much one can endure, revealing the transformative power that lies within prolonged suffering. But that’s about all they have in common. Unlike Goggins, Ned had a good childhood with a good father, and from the very first page it feels like you’re reading from the mate you never met. Ned’s inspiration to suffer for a greater cause came from striking a friendship with a bloke from Sydney who was down on his luck. From this chance encounter, Ned found his calling. He would endure tremendous levels of suffering to raise money and awareness for homelessness in Australia. And suffer he did! Showing Up gives you a brief history of Ned’s childhood before ripping into his heroic journey running from Perth to Sydney. Clocking over 100 agonising kilometres per day, Ned transformed himself from a kid with a mullet attempting something stupid very few thought he’d finish, to world-famous sweetheart, revered for his humility, toughness and charitable nature.
10
Let Your Mind Run
Deena Kastor & Michelle Hamilton
Until I read Let Your Mind Run, all the books I had read about endurance and suffering were written by men. When you think about it, it is strange how heroic tales of suffering and the resulting wisdom are dominated by men. Women are the real masters of suffering. Every human ever born was a result of an orgasm on part of the man, and excruciating pain on part of the woman. When you think about it, it makes perfect sense that women have better completion statistics for ultramarathons when compared to men. But this book is not about any of that – that is just my own commentary! Let Your Mind Run is Deena’s story about her rise from a girl who found herself dominating school cross-country, to national and world champion in distances ranging from cross country to the marathon. Deena shares her challenges, struggles and triumphs in a beautifully womanly way. I call upon her wisdom just as much as the men I worship in my own feats of endurance. I have found the way Deena deals with pain to be far more effective than the masculine-type “fuck you, suffer more” mantra I have used in the past. I will be delving further into this in my second book, scheduled for release in early 2026.
11
11 Unpopular Reasons Why I’m Rich and You’re Not
Bryce Jenkins
Okay, I agree. Ranking my own book above the 31 other wonderful texts I read is nothing short of self-interested and biased. But hey, if you claim not to be self-interested or biased, you are a liar and a hypocrite. I place 11 Unpopular Reasons in this list not because of how much I enjoyed reading it (some of my work still makes me cringe), but because of how much I enjoyed writing it. I truly did not know myself until I wrote this book. This ultra-introspective experience helped define my purpose in life. I am a better man for sharing my story and the wisdom learned, unpopular as it may be. Since publishing this book on 29 February (the most unpopular date on the calendar) I have sold thousands of copies in print, Kindle and Audible, and I have received dozens if not hundreds of messages from people saying how much they enjoyed it and how it inspired them to squeeze a little bit more out of themselves. I truly could not have asked for a better outcome. I have come to see inspiration as a virtuous feedback loop. I could not have achieved all the wonderful things I have without the stories of struggle and triumph from the people I admire. It is for this reason I feel a sense of duty and obligation to pass the inspiration on, so that others can also achieve wonderful things. For me, as someone whose ambitions dwarf his abilities, every day is a struggle, but I face it with an unwavering sense of purpose and conviction to my values. Reading (and writing) books will not make you successful, but if you do the work and live according to the values you hold dearest, you will achieve great things – I guarantee it.
The other amazing books I read / listened to, in alphabetical order:
12 12 Rules For Life Jordan B. Peterson 13 Before & Laughter Jimmy Carr 14 Beyond Order Jordan B. Peterson 15 Dishonesty Is The Second-Best Policy David Mitchell 16 Do Hard Things Steve Magness 17 Down with the System Serj Tankian 18 Easy Money Ben McKenzie & Jacob Silverman 19 Endure Cameron Hanes 20 Factfulness Hans Rosling 21 Greenlights Matthew McConaughy 22 Inventions Rube Goldberg 23 Life After Lockdown Jeffrey A. Tucker 24 Napolean the Great Andrew Roberts 25 Nation of Victims Vivek Ramaswamy 26 Never Finished David Goggins 27 Our Enemy, The Government Thukar Ramesh 28 Suffering and Virtue Michael S. Brady 29 The Anxious Generation Jonathan Haidt 30 The Coddling of the American Mind Jonathan Haidt & Greg Lukianoff 31 The Four Agreements Don Miguel Ruiz 32 The Globalization Myth Shannon K. O’Neil 33 The Hard Thing About Hard Things Ben Horowitz 34 The Market Loves You Jeffrey A. Tucker 35 The Mystery of Banking Murray N. Rothbard 36 The New Great Depression James Rickards 37 The Real Anthony Fauci Robert F. Kennedy Jnr. 38 Thinking About It Only Makes It Worse David Mitchell 39 Trump: The Art of the Deal (1987) Donald J. Trump 40 Woke Inc. Vivek Ramaswamy 41 Your Next Five Moves Patrick Bet-David 42 You’re Making Me Hate You Corey Taylor