Thread by @warikoo

20 books that helped me, more than years of school or college ever will.

A thread...

It was 2009 when @vivpahwa gifted me
REWORK by @jasonfried @dhh

The book changed me.
Threw open a different way of looking at the world.
Came to define "resist the obvious" for me as a life lesson.

It remains my most gifted book till date.

amzn.to/3ktKrhH

2016: I had just laid off 80 of my colleagues for no mistake of theirs
And this book came to my rescue

BETTER UNDER PRESSURE
"CEOs must master three essential attributes, realistic optimism, subservience to purpose, and finding order in chaos."

amzn.to/3icfyNQ

When I first read
GRIT: THE POWER OF PASSION AND PERSEVERANCE by @angeladuckw
I felt like I would want my life to be such a story.

"Passion for your work is a little bit of discovery, followed by a lot of development, and then a lifetime of deepening."

amzn.to/3fxXziS

Entrepreneurship was made cool by the media

And then came
THE HARD THINGS ABOUT HARD THINGS
by @bhorowitz

“Life is struggle.” I believe that within that quote lies the most important lesson in entrepreneurship: Embrace the struggle.”

amzn.to/3fs62nW

As someone who loves to ask questions, this book opened my mind to a whole new set of them

SAPIENS
by @harari_yuval

“Money is the most universal and most efficient system of mutual trust ever devised.”

amzn.to/2XtPzcN

I love autobiographies

TOOLS OF THE TITANS
by @tferriss
gave me multiple autobiographies in one.

“If you let your learning lead to knowledge, you become a fool. If you let your learning lead to action, you become wealthy.”

amzn.to/33zfi78

I have come to believe that everyone in life requires a coach

THE TRILLION DOLLAR COACH
taught me how
An absolute must for leaders

“Not what happened and who’s to blame, but what are we going to do about it?”

amzn.to/2PKCIP0

Getting to know about Stoicism has helped me immensely in life

A GUIDE TO THE GOOD LIFE: THE ANCIENT ART OF STOIC JOY
is a great book to understand stoicism

“the easiest way for us to gain happiness is to learn how to want the things we already have.”
amzn.to/31KceCU

If I ever write a book, I know it will be on the lines of

THE SUBTLE ART OF NOT GIVING A F*CK
by @IAmMarkManson
I love its authenticity and realism

“Who you are is defined by what you’re willing to struggle for.”

amzn.to/2XUAQYi

For the longest time I used to suck at giving feedback.

And then I read
RADICAL CANDOR
by Kim Scott
which changed everything for me

“The way you ask for criticism and react when you get it goes a long way toward building trust—or destroying it.”

amzn.to/31GpIQ5

If there is one book I would love everyone to read every year of their life, it will be

HOW WILL YOU MEASURE YOUR LIFE
by @claychristensen

“It's easier to hold your principles 100 percent of the time than it is to hold them 98 percent of the time.”

amzn.to/33SDTV0

IMO, one of the most simple yet powerful books of our times is

ATOMIC HABITS
by @JamesClear

“You should be far more concerned with your current trajectory than with your current results.”

amzn.to/3g9WkHc

This book shook me to my core and made me realize what is important to me in my life

MAN'S SEARCH FOR MEANING

“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.”

amzn.to/3aJUKKT

What @nntaleb did for me in his book
SKIN IN THE GAME
was explain the meaning and importance of risk, like nothing else ever had

“What matters isn’t what a person has or doesn’t have; it is what he or she is afraid of losing.”

amzn.to/31epFfr

I started following @KapilGuptaMD and his thoughts moved me.
So I picked up his book

THE DIRECT TRUTH
I was shocked at how little I knew what's inside my head.

“Why do I get angry when I am insulted? A: Because you entertain the verity of the insult.”

amzn.to/2Qj7Eq1

IMO there isn't a better guide to understanding startups, than

THE HIGH GROWTH HANDBOOK
by @eladgil

“In fact, the general model for successful tech companies, contrary to myth, is that they become distribution-centric rather than product-centric."

amzn.to/3kXRnVr

If there is only 1 autobiography that I would recommend, it would have to be

SHOE DOG
by Phil Knight

“The single easiest way to find out how you feel about someone. Say goodbye.”

amzn.to/2RDpmFm

Nothing calms me down than reading Ghalib
Thank you @PankajBansalPB for gifting me

LOVE SONNETS OF GHALIB

It shocks me to read how much did Ghalib understand human emotions.

amzn.to/2RJ1hwx

Back as a kid obsessed with X-Files (and in love with Scully), the book

CHARIOTS OF THE GODS
added fuel to my imagination

I remain a student of aliens :)

“The positive thing about the skeptic is that he considers everything possible!”

amzn.to/32HCsHM

The only fiction I have ever read
(and will perhaps ever read)
was the only fiction I would ever need to read

THE FOUNTAINHEAD
This is a priceless book.

“To say "I love you" one must know first how to say the "I".”

amzn.to/33DTHJl

If you liked my recommendations, then I encourage you to sign up for my weekly newsletter where I share my current reads, beyond a lot of other things I do not share elsewhere

ankurwarikoo.com/newsletter

Any other books you would recommend, that you feel I would enjoy and learn from?