- I have a few books I’m reading to improve myself.
- The books include but aren’t limited to The Little Book of Ikigai, The Latte Factor and How to Win Friends and Influence People.
The Little Book of Ikigai
by Ken Mogi
- What are your most sentimental values?
- What are the small things that give you pleasure?
I had to define ‘sentimental’ before I answered this question. I began this little book as I do many other things: out of curiosity. I feel strongly about discovery. I think that’s why I asked Chris if I could go take pictures with him in that high school math class.
I also refuse tradition. I’ve seen much too much done a certain way “because we always have”. This, to me, feels as insufficient as a parasol in the desert.
Really really, I’m torn over work and money. See, I’m in the mix with a few who might agree, work is changing drastically. For me, it’s been that work isn’t done at the price of what you would like to do- you pay a price to do what it is you care about for work. Or, at least, it might take you there one day.
To hear my mother rather teach or act or perform, hurts as she truly accepts she did not possess the circumstances required to do so. I only argue she might do it, if only she try.
This book, along with Atomic Habits, The Paradox of Choice, and The Science of Getting Rich are all explorations with discoveries that await me- on my journey towards these things I care for: freedom & discipline, abundance & scarcity, choices & alternatives, our fates versus our determination, self-discovery and art.
The Latte Factor
by David Bach
Not by coincidence, but with canny selection did this book feature an individual wrestling with the same questions we broached before.
- What are your most sentimental values?
- What are the small things that give you pleasure?
I had to read to the fourth chapter before I arrived at the real nexus of our protagonist’s issue, but it’s relatable on an existential level. I can’t afford it. **Then again, Zoey Daniels mentioned the same issue…
In the first chapter, we come across a cryptic message.
If you don’t know where you’re going, you might not like where you end up.
What am I doing with my life? Zoey asked herself.
I wonder, too, what life would be like had I accepted the crushing gear of society, rotating me from milestone to milestone from cradle to grave, without so much as an option.
I gave up routine. In all honesty, I gave up ‘hard work’ and ‘discipline’ too. I let other people guide me most places, while I coasted. When everyone had set in their mind directions they wanted to go, I was slow to decide truly what I want. My answer changes a lot, too.
In the second chapter, Zoey sounds like me, for real. I can’t afford it. A car, a place on my own, my college debt, that black Nike rugby or a tripod for my setup. Unlike Zoey, however, I don’t have a prospective, better-paying job lined up.
Now, within the third chapter, I glean a sense of this story’s direction. A different perspective comes from Zoey’s barista Henry.
He describes several things.
“For one, the oculus is figuring out where you want to stand. Where you stand, what you see from there, is the key to putting together the right picture. That’s what creates the perspective you want.”
As someone who cares about imagery and discovery, I knew what he meant. Sometimes, we did wild things ‘for the shot’. Some truly changed my perspective. Some just changed the scene. It was after climbing buildings for three summers straight that I realized, I rather capture the people, the story unfolding than just the law-defying locations.
Henry highlights the picture happens before you shoot. Within the mind’s eye.
He sums it all up with this advice, rattling both Zoey Daniels and myself.
“Perhaps you’re richer than you think.”
Doesn't always feel like it. Some days, feels like I'm being played, like a game.
How to Win Friends and Influence People
Revised Edition
by Dale Carnegie
I have this book because I lifted it from my dad. I’ve seen it on a ton of sites touted as an impeccable, valuable read. If you’ve read some of my work, maybe I’ve obscured the fact that I do not always agree with my father. In fact, we are at odds, where I feel he humors way too many charlatans where I might be a subject matter expert. He might even think I’m the charlatan since I don’t have a bunch of wealth to show for all my knowledge and time invested.
He’ll see.
That aside, given the book’s got such high regards, I’m diving in. The title gave me the impression of a book recommended by fellow charlatan 
I like that Carnegie said this was an action book. I learned from James Clear it’s easy to be caught in motion.
I want to end this discussion as I started it. I reflect upon these two questions, and invite you to do the same:
- What are your most sentimental values?
- What are the small things that give you pleasure?