Showing results by author "Summary Shorts" in All Categories

Leonardo da Vinci was one of those geniuses that could do anything: he was an architect, a sculptor, a painter, amongst other things. He didn't really specialize in one particular field. Back in his day that was not an issue; it was encouraged to have your hand in a little bit of everything. Today, we have become increasingly more specialized. In his book, The Da Vinci Curse, Leonardo Lospennato gives clues and tips as to how a person with multiple talents can live in an increasingly specialized world. We will review and summarize these points here.

In this edition of Summary Shorts, we will analyze and summarize the ideas put forth in Aja Raden's Stoned: Jewelry, Obsession, and How Desire Shapes the World and learn how the value of these gems and precious stones changed through history.

Despite the availability of "stuff", our lives are often not very fulfilling. As we pursue one shiny object after another we come to the realization that none of it is making us happy. And worse still, it estranges us from our true purpose in life. There must be another way. Alan Watts, in his book The Wisdom of Insecurity, proposes a solution. In this edition of Summary Shorts, we will analyze and summarize the ideas put forth in The Wisdom of Insecurity and learn how to truly experience life when consumerism fails us.

Not many people will tell you that they are motivated by their jobs. In fact, we would wager that most people would say they are not motivated by their jobs at all and that if they didn't need the money, they wouldn't be at their current jobs. In other words, they are not motivated. Dan Ariely, in his book, Payoff, discusses what really motivates people and surprisingly, it is not money. What motivates is an underlying sense of meaning. Here we will summarize and analyze Payoff.

In Benny Lewis's book Fluent in 3 Months he discusses several ways one could learn another language easily and effectively. In this edition of Summary Shorts, we will analyze and summarize the ideas put forth in Fluent in 3 Months and learn how to learn a language in the most efficient manner possible.

If you have been on top of the news as of late you would have heard of the various scandals and exposes of the rich and powerful sheltering their money in offshore tax havens. Tax havens are a very popular way for those who have the means to hide their assets from taxation as well as other legal proceedings. In this review of The Hidden Wealth of Nations by Gabriel Zucman, we will analyze, discuss, and summarize the book's key points.

There is no doubt about it, 9/11/2001 changed the world. What is really fueling this hate for Americans and the West is radical Islam and certain Islamic principles in general. The only way we can address these issues is by helping Islam evolve some of its core principles to fit into the modern world. In Ayaan Hirsi Ali's Heretic, she addresses the problems within Islam that inspire terror and how to remedy them. This review and analysis sums up the main points of her book.

In this summary, we will analyze, discuss, and summarize the key points in Tubes by Andrew Blum.

When we think about viruses, we think about diseases such as the flu. For the most part, the flu comes and goes—the body is able to fight it. For some, it can be deadly. There are of course more dangerous viruses out there such as Ebola that in some cases kills 90 percent of those infected. In today's world, viruses can spread very quickly and it's for this reason we must be vigilant. Carl Zimmer in his book A Planet of Viruses discusses what viruses are and why they are so hard to eradicate. He also explains how not all viruses are bad and are, in fact, vital to our survival. Enjoy!

Robert Greene, in his book Mastery, lays out exactly what we all need to do to gain mastery in any given field. In this book, we will analyze, discuss, and summarize Robert Greene's Mastery and see if we too can become masters in whatever endeavor we want to embark upon.

Sonia Shah, in her wonderful book Pandemic: Tracking Contagions, from Cholera to Ebola and Beyond, goes into some depth as to how we need to prepare for a future pandemic. In this review, we will analyze, discuss, and summarize the key points in Pandemic: Tracking Contagions, from Cholera to Ebola and Beyond. Enjoy!

Doesn't it seem like some geographical areas seem to produce more innovation and invention than others? We have Silicon Valley which is the hub of all the top tech innovations. In the ancient past, we had Athens which was the founding city of western philosophy and genius; a genius that until this day informs our societies. In this review of the book The Geography of Genius, you'll hear about how Eric Weiner addresses why it seems as if some places are hotbeds for genius, innovation, and invention.

So, what truly motivates us? Daniel Pink, in his remarkable book, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us takes us on a journey to discover just that. In this review, we will discuss and analyze some of key concepts of the book. We will discover three main types of motivation, Motivation one-point-zero and Motivation two-point-zero, the latter of which still motivates us today. He later goes on to say that there is a better way, a Motivation three-point-zero. A motivation based upon the inner sense of fulfillment. Let us explore Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us and learn what exactly these three types of Motivation are and how they stack up next to one another.

Despite Brazil being part of the BRIC nations, those with the most potential for growth in the global economy, Brazil is considered economically backwards in many ways. You get an idea of this when you look deeper into its politics and economic policies. In this edition of Summary Shorts, we will analyze and summarize the ideas put forth in Brazillionaires, a book that truly exposes the dark side of Brazil's rise and arguably its inexorable fall.

For the most part, most of us are of average health and fitness. We may not run marathons that often, but we are pretty healthy and that might be just fine. But what if you could make your body into a super-fit machine? In Ben Greenfield's book 30 Ways to Reboot Your Body, he goes into some detail as to how to get you from just average to super fit, super strong, and having staggeringly great health. In this summary, we will discuss the core concepts in his book. You will learn what needs to be done to be super healthy and fit.

We all know that the mind is an incredible place. Despite this, the mind itself is not programmed to maximize our happiness. It is a repetition-loving mechanism and will often keep us stuck in old outdated patterns that may not serve us. These patterns often pass on from generation to generation. In the Code of the Extraordinary Mind, Vishen Lakhiani teaches us how to break through this outdated and generationally acquired programming to achieve the life we have always wanted. We will review and analyze Lakhiani's book.

When one thinks about Berkshire Hathaway, the business giant, we often tend to think of Warren Buffet. We know that Buffet is known to be a legendary investor, of that we cannot deny. Little do people know that the vice-president of Berkshire Hathaway is also a legendary investor in his own right. In this book we will summarize and discuss Tren Griffin's book Charlie Munger: The Complete Investor and learn more about Charlie himself. We will also discuss the concepts of value investing and other investment ideas from this icon of investing.

In today's diet-crazed society, one main theme seems to emerge. Carbohydrate-heavy foods are not good for you. This is a major principle of the low-carb movement. Is this assessment correct? What if that was all wrong? In The China Study, we will find out just how beneficial a plant-based diet is and why we don't need to fear carbs as much as we need to fear meat. In this edition of Summary Shorts, we will analyze and summarize the principles in The China Study and see how we can apply them into our daily diet and overall nutrition regimen.

In today's diet-crazed society, we are on a seemingly endless search for the perfect diet. In Dave Asprey's The Bulletproof Diet he explains what the perfect diet should look like: one that can help achieve peak health. In this edition of Summary Shorts, we will analyze and summarize the principles in The Bulletproof Diet and see how we can apply them into our daily diet and overall nutrition regimen. Enjoy!

Desires are the fuel that runs our life, for good and for ill. In fact, if desire ceased, so would the human race. In Danielle Laporte's book The Desire Map, she uncovers ways to tap into our desires so we can live a more fulfilling and authentic life. In this edition of Summary Shorts, we will analyze and summarize the principles in her book and see how we can apply them into our daily lives so we can live more authentically.