Shows
More To LearnAdam Jones: Best Books Under 150 PagesI met up with my old buddy Adam Jones (former co-host of the What You Will Learn podcast) to discuss our favourite short books. Some of these books are quick and easy reads, some are small in stature but hefty in nature, really packing a punch. I guess the old adage holds true: it's not the size that counts, but how you use it. This was quite an unstructured chat, rattling off books we liked (or didn't like) that were 150 pages or less. If any of these books tickle your fancy, check out the full e...2023-09-2525 min
More To LearnSteve Glaveski: How Books Can Change Your LifeSteve Glaveski is an author, a podcaster, an entrepreneur, and a mate. We've both interviewed eachother a couple of times for our respective podcasts, and in this episode we go deep on Steve's reading journey. We talk about WHY Steve reads, some reasons NOT to read, books that have changed Steve's life, books Steve would prescribe if he was to create a cirriculum for a university course based on non-fiction books, and how lockdowns shifted Steve's perspective on life. PLUS - For a little extra fun hidden in the show notes, here's a song...2023-08-2430 min
More To LearnAdam Jones's Reading Origin StoryAdam Jones is back behind the mic. After 7 years of reading books and podcasting together on What You Will Learn, Adam joins me to talk about: how he got into reading in the first place, what differentiates a bad book from a good book from an awesome book, face-slapper / jaw-dropper books we've each read since our previous podscast came to a close 2023-08-0134 min
More To LearnRanking Robert Greene (with Adam Jones)This episode was sparked by a conversation Adam Jones and I had over a brunch. Adam Jones said he'd been battling through, trying to read Seduction by Robert Greene, and we tried to rank Robert Greene's books in order from our favourite to our least favourite. As our mutual favourite author of all time, even a 'bad' Robert Greene book is still better than most other books out there... but this is our unfiltered views on how they stack up against each other. Check out Robert Greene at his website: https://powerseductionandwar.com/books/ 2023-07-1231 min
More To LearnWelcome to More To LearnMy name is Adam Ashton and i’m kind of addicted to learning… Instead of going to some 12 step program, I’ve decided to fuel this addiction. I started my learning journey in 2015 when I read 10books. In 2016 it was 30, and every year since it’s been around 60 to 70 books a year… I cant get enough! I started sharing the best bits from the best books on the What You Will Learn podcast where my cohost Adam Jones and I did over 400 episodes in 7 years. I’ve written 5 books as well, most notably Attitude in...2023-06-2402 min
What You Will LearnThe GoalThe Goal is about new global principles of manufacturing. It's about people who try to understand what makes their world tick so that they can make it better. As they think logically and consistently about the problems, they are able to determine cause and effect relationships between their actions and the results. Developed by Eli Goldratt, The Goal contains a serious message for all managers in the industry and explains the ideas, which underline the Theory of Constraints (TOC). Goldratt believes that the goal of an individual or an organisation shouldn’t be defined in absolute ter...2022-04-0720 min
BrainToolsThe Sh*t They Never Taught You with Adam Ashton & Adam Jones | BrainTools #36BrainTools for motivation, productivity and living a good life in this guest episode with Adam Ashton & Adam Jones from the What You Will Learn Podcast.
Adam Jones and Adam Ashton are the brains behind the What You Will Learn Podcast, where they dissect and reveal insights from the most useful books in the world, which has amassed over 4 million downloads. They just released their book The Sh*t They Never Taught You which incorporates lessons from over 100 of these books, which we’re so excited to get stuck into.
This episode was packed with tonnes of Br...2021-10-2742 min
The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, and Neuroscience‘What You Will Learn’ from the Best Books Ever with Adam Ashton & Adam Jones #PodcastersForJustice Co-hosts of the top international podcast "What You Will Learn," Adam Ashton and Adam Jones, spoke to me about why writers should (and can) read more, how to turn a podcast into a book, and The Sh*t They Never Taught You. What You Will Learn became Australia's #1 Book Podcast with over 4 million downloads, 300 episodes, and interviews with some of the biggest non-fiction authors in the business (including Seth Godin). The Adams pledged to deliver "The Best Bits From The Best (Non-Fiction) Books" weekly on their show, and now they've...2021-09-2450 min
What You Will LearnThink AgainThink Again by Adam Grant - The Power of Knowing What You Don't KnowThis book is an invitation to let go of knowledge and opinions that are no longer serving you well and to anchor your sense of self in flexibility rather than consistency. If you can master the art of rethinking, you'll be better positioned for success at work and happiness in life.Thinking again can help you generate new solutions to old problems and revisit old solutions to new problems. It’s a path to learning more from the people ar...2021-08-0527 min
BestbookbitsAdam Ashton & Adam Jones Interview | The Sh*t They Never Taught | What You Will Learn | BestbookbitsAdam Ashton & Adam Jones Interview | The Sh*t They Never Taught | What You Will Learn | Bestbookbits https://www.whatyouwilllearn.com/ https://www.whatyouwilllearn.com/theshit/ https://www.instagram.com/whatyouwilllearn/?hl=en https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/what-you-will-learn/id1125635053 https://open.spotify.com/show/1oQ6gWZqHHBgsrpIISZiAr -------------------------------------------------- 👉 HIRE ME FOR COACHING & MENTORING https://go.bestbookbits.com/mentoring 👉 GET A COPY OF MY NEW BOOK HERE https://www.xlibris.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/806947-success-in-50-steps 👉 DOWNLOAD 150 SUMMARIES BELOW https://go.bestbookbits.com/150 👉 DOWNLOAD MY COURSE https://go.bestbookbits.com/coaching -------------------------------------------------- -----Subscribe to our BestBookBits Channel For more Videos----- https://www...2021-08-0240 min
What You Will LearnOrdinary MenAt the height of the Second World War, the German army had minimal resources to continue the war to the East with Russia, and simultaneously execute Hitler's "Final Solution". The Nazi party had already used up all of the ideological killers in their country. They were left with the dregs of society. They would have to use Joe the local Butcher, Jim the Primary School Teacher even Grandpa George to get the job done. The only people left all had working class jobs like truck drivers, dock workers, construction workers and machine operators. They were "normal people" like you...2020-09-1232 min
What You Will LearnLoserthinkDespite evidence to the contrary, we all use our brains. BUT - most of us have never learned how to think effectively. We’re not talking about IQ or innate intelligence, we’re talking about thinking as a LEARNED SKILL. We’re talking about a productive method of thinking and reasoning. Scott Adams, the creator of the Dilbert cartoons, author of How To Fail At Almost Everything And Still Win Big and Win Bigly, calls this ‘Loserthink’. Loserthink doesn’t mean ‘dumb’ or ‘uninformed’, it simply means unproductive or ineffective. It’s not a value judgement of a person as a whole, j...2020-09-0529 min
What You Will LearnPitch AnythingIn 1953, James Watson and Francis Crick introduced the world to their new discovery: the double-helix DNA structure. This so-called "secret of life" was widely considered the most important scientific discovery of the 20th Century. Their presentation won them a Nobel Prize. The most striking part of the pitch? It was only 5 minutes long. That was the COMPLETE presentation - introducing the secret of life, presenting their scientific discovery, explaining all of the need-to-know-details, showing how it works. You need to pause and consider for a moment. If these two blokes can explain the greatest innovation...2020-08-2930 min
What You Will Learn200th BOOK!We started the podcast back in June 2016. In the last four-and-a-quarter years, we've read and reviewed 200 books on the podcast! We thought it was a great milestone to take a step back and have a look at what lessons we've learned from all of the books we've read and how they can tie in together.A couple of years ago when we hit our 100th book, we did our "Top 10 Lessons". You can listen to that podcast episode here: 100th BOOK – Our Top 10 Lessons. They all hold up pretty well! Feel free to go and check out tha...2020-08-2340 min
What You Will LearnWhite FragilityThe identities of all of the most powerful people in the country are similar: they're white, male, middle and upper class, and able bodied. Acknowledging this may be dismissed as political correctness, but Robin Diangello notes it is still a fact. Those people in the seats of power are making decisions that affect those not sitting at the table.Identity politics gets a pretty bad wrap. But looking through history, this has proven results. For example, women's suffrage, the American disability act, Title 9, federal recognition of same sex marriage.Robin Diangelo’s hope is that yo...2020-08-2225 min
What You Will LearnHow to Lie with StatisticsBenjamin Disraeli: "There are three types of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics" There are some great statisticians and data manipulators out there, and that can manoeuvre things in a way to get exactly the result they want. Any time you see a statistic, you should consider that it might be a lie. You need to learn some of these tricks so that you can defend yourself. The author says that the crooks know exactly how to manipulate data and statistics, so the honest people must learn the tricks as a matter of self defense...2020-08-1526 min
What You Will LearnBeing MortalYou and everyone you know is going to one day die. This is an uncomfortable fact. So uncomfortable that we try to push it out of our minds. But this leaves most people totally unprepared for their meeting with the ‘Grim Reaper’. Doctors learn a lot in medical school, but mortality isn't on the curriculum. The textbooks have almost nothing on ageing, frailty or dying. How the process unfolds, how people experience the end of their lives and how it affects those around them seem useless to the Western World. Being Mortal explores how we might...2020-08-0832 min
What You Will LearnThe Selfish GeneThe Selfish Gene is one of the most influential books on Evolutionary Biology in history. Written by Richard Dawkins, the book shows us that we are just big lumbering robots whose purpose is to pass on genes. The gene itself sometimes generates selfish behaviour of the animal it inhabits. But it can also use altruistic behaviour, even sacrifice itself on the behalf of family who may share the same genes. In this episode we look evolution, competition, human purpose and memes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2020-08-0151 min
What You Will LearnThe PrinceThe word 'Machiavellian' gets bandied around all the time. Frank Underwood from House of Cards, Richard Hatch from Survivor, Lord Baelish in Game of Thrones or Scar from The Lion King, each were able to manipulate in different ways to ultimately get what they want. For them, effectiveness was more important than being perceived as "nice". The Prince was written in 1532 by Niccolo Machiavelli. To Machiavelli, the greatest evil was stagnation and complacency. The agents of healthy change were what he called "new princes". It has become one of the most influential instruction manual for l...2020-07-2533 min
What You Will LearnThe Power of Positive ThinkingThis book is written to suggest techniques and to give you examples which demonstrate that you do not need to be defeated by anything, that you can have peace of mind, improved health, and never-ceasing flow of energy. In short, that your life can be full of joy and satisfaction.THE PROBLEM: Too many people are defeated by the everyday problems of life. They go struggling, perhaps even whining, through their days with a sense of dull resentment at what they consider the 'bad breaks' life has given them. In a sense there may be such...2020-07-1824 min
What You Will LearnSteve JobsSteve Jobs is the authorized self-titled biography of Steve Jobs. The book was written at the request of Jobs by Walter Isaacson, a former executive at CNN and TIME who has written best-selling biographies of Benjamin Franklin and Albert Einstein.The saga of Steve Jobs in Silicon Valley is the creation myth at large. Launching a startup in the parents garage and building it into one of the world's most valuable companies. He didn't invent everything outright, but he was a master at putting together ideas, art and technologies in ways that invented the future. 2020-07-111h 04
What You Will LearnThe Life Changing Magic of Tidying UpThe Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up - by Marie KondoThis book has the potential to change your life. The act of tidying is a series of simple actions in which objects are moved from one place to another. It involves putting things where they belong, something so simple that even a six year old should be able to do it. Yet most people can’t. A short time after tidying their household descends into a disorganised mess.When you follow the advice of this book and finish putting your house in order, yo...2020-07-0438 min
The Spaniard ShowTalks 293 - Adam Ashton & Adam Jones, ”What You Will Learn” PodcastersAfter recording this episode, Spanny ate dinner, and his guests ate breakfast. That’s because they were on the other side of the world in Australia. You’ll meet Adam and Adam (Ashton and Jones) of the ”What You Will Learn” podcast. Guess what? It’s all about books! So you know that Spanny ate this one up! He and Adam and Adam discuss embedding books in the brain … how each of them takes notes … copying the reading habits of teenagers … the advantage of starting as podcasting nobodies … and more. Oh, and The Spaniard improves his grasp on Aussie slang. ...2020-06-2500 min
What You Will LearnBest of Season 4Thanks for listening to Season 4 of What You Will Learn!In this episode, we'll recap our favourite lessons from our favourite books of Season 4. We go through our 'honourable mentions', then each of our respective Top 10s. The was a seriously strong season: we re-did some of our favourites in Mindset and The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, plus some new favourites in Range, Mastery and The Slight Edge.Listen in to hear how we ranked them (especially where we agreed and disagreed!). Check out the post here with the short written summary of...2020-06-041h 01
What You Will LearnDecisiveWe're awful at making decisions. A survey found that 44% of lawyers don't recommend that students become lawyers. 83% of mergers/acquisitions fail to add any real value to the company. Hundreds of thousands of tattoos are removed each year. Young people start relationships that are bad for them, middle-aged people let work interfere with their personal lives, elderly have regrets about not smelling the roses more when they were younger.We need a better process for making the big decisions. Our generic process is usually: encounter a choice, analyse our options, make a choice, then live w...2020-05-3040 min
What You Will LearnGuns, Germs and SteelJared was studying bird watching in New Guinea when he came across a local politician Yali; who asked the question he asked was "why is it that you white people developed so much cargo and brought it to New Guinea, but we black people have little cargo of our own?" It was a simple question and this book is the answer. Diamond shows us how “History followed different courses for different peoples because of differences among peoples' environments, not because of biological differences among peoples themselves” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more i...2020-05-2345 min
What You Will LearnA Whack on the Side of the HeadA Whack on the Side of the Head - by Roger van Oech"How You Can Be More Creative" Creative thinking is absolute vital to success. The author even says that creative thinking is just like sex for the mind (not sure what his sex life is like, but each to his own...). But we all have a bunch of 'mental locks' that trap us in our current ways of thinking. As much as we try, we can't break free from these mental locks. Some times we just need a 'whack' to snap u...2020-05-1628 min
What You Will LearnMalcolm Turnbull, 29th Prime Minister of Australia: Politics, The Media & Embracing AntifragilityMalcolm Turnbull was the 29th Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 2015 to 2018. His career also spanned through Journalism, Law and Investment Banking.In this episode we spoke to Malcolm about books, the Murdoch Media influence and the world post-corona. Watch the video version here: https://youtu.be/kwiqyMizH0E Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2020-05-1346 min
What You Will LearnA Bigger PictureMalcolm Turnbull was the 29th Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 2015 to 2018. His brand new autobiography takes us on a journey through his early career, then his beginning in politics, then through his achievements (and struggles) whilst Prime Minister.In this episode, we look at how Turnbull was able to achieve everything he achieved. From his early success in journalism, to jumping across to becoming a barrister, fighting in (and winning) some of Australia's biggest legal cases, to investment banking, doing billion-dollar deals and amassing a fortune for his client (and himself), then finally rising the...2020-05-0939 min
What You Will LearnStillness Is The KeyThis is the third and final instalment of Ryan Holiday's modern stoicism trilogy. We've previously review The Obstacle Is The Way and Ego Is The Enemy, now it's time for Stillness Is The Key.With all of the chaos going on in the world around us, it's hard for us to find the time and mental focus we need to get things done. We're always reachable, the news constantly has something new we need to read, there's always another podcast to listen to, our to-do list keeps getting longer and longer. In order to do more and...2020-05-0244 min
What You Will LearnMastering The Market CycleMastering the Market Cycle, by Howard Marks will help you understand when is the optimal time to invest given a market's conditions.Between 2010 - 2020 there has been an unprecedented growth in the world's stock market. But in March 2020 it dropped suddenly and significantly. The question is: when is the time to be defensive or aggressive, when buying shares in the market, start your new business or borrow money to buy property? When things are going well and everyone is optimistic, or when things are poor and everyone is pessimistic?Warren Buffet said "the less prudence wit...2020-04-2542 min
What You Will LearnThe Slight EdgeThe alarm goes off at 6am. Without conscious thought your hand shoots out and hits snooze... A 10 minute reprieve. You tentatively slip a foot out from under the covers. You open one eye. Still dark out.Now you face a choice: You could sit up, switch on the light and start grinding your brain into gear, prod your groggy grey matter to search out three things you're grateful for so you can write them down. You could then fire up the machinery of tired legs, hips, and back to crane yourself out of bed and go do...2020-04-1830 min
What You Will LearnHow to Stop Worrying and Start LivingOn the slope of Long's Peak in Colorado lies the ruin of a gigantic tree. Naturalists tell us that it stood for 400 years. During the course of its long life it was struck by lightning fourteen times, hit by avalanches, bushfires and storms of four centuries. It survived them all.In the end, however, an army of beetles attacked at the tree and levelled it to the ground. The insects ate their way through the bark and gradually destroyed the inner strength of the tree by their tiny but incessant attacks.Like this magnificent tree, it...2020-04-1140 min
What You Will LearnDavid Epstein: Going wide to find your perfect career matchWe spoke with David Epstein, author of 'Range' and 'The Sports Gene'. Range is AA's favourite book of 2020 so far, and we only got to scratch the surface in our book summary episode. In this interview with the author, we speak about: how you should focus on skill development rather than comparing yourself to others around you, not settling for a career you're not in love with because you feel like you're in a rush to achieve things quickly, and stories about how low-level engineers became world famous inventors and how creators with a broad range of p...2020-04-0841 min
What You Will LearnRangeRange - by David Epstein'How Generalists Triumph In A Specialised World' There are two paths to success. One is 'specialisation': committing to a field early, getting a head start on your peers, rigorous deliberate practice, refining a narrow focus on specific skills. This approach is popularised in many books and many biographies. But the other approach is 'generalisation'. This means going wide not deep, going through an early 'sampling period' where you test a lot of different potential paths forward, then recognising that switching careers later in life isn't career suicide but y...2020-04-0432 min
What You Will LearnSimon Sinek: Long-term thinking during a global crisisThe pressure around the world has been turned up. In the short term (finite game) you can't deny the pain that many are going through. But looking at it through a longer-term perspective (infinite game) it is a hurdle that could offer opportunities for reinvention. "It is just reality that many businesses will fail, they will go bankrupt... The ones who will survive are the ones that don't try and double down on their old business models, but attempt to reinvent their business models." We chat with Simon Sinek (author of Start With Why and The Infinite Game) about...2020-03-3132 min
What You Will LearnThe Infinite GameThe Infinite Game - by Simon SinekThere are two types of games: finite and infinite. Finite games have clearly defined rules and boundaries, and all players know what the objectives are and what they need to do to win. Infinite games have no clear rules and there is no winning or losing - the only objective is to keep playing. Business is an infinite game, but too many companies are playing with a finite mindset.In this episode, we'll talk about the five essential practices for cultivating an infinite mindset. These lessons are...2020-03-2845 min
What You Will Learn7 Habits of Highly Effective PeopleThe Seven Habits of Highly Effective People is a book that everyone needs to read. The habits aren’t specific to an industry or a point in time, these are pervasive habits that you should constantly be practicing and applying. When we first read this book it shot straight to our #1 and it stayed there for years – it was very hard to knock off top spot.The seven habits are grouped: the first three habits for them 'private victory' (the things that relate to you as an individual – personal effectiveness), the next three are the 'public victor...2020-03-2158 min
What You Will LearnThe Paradox Of ChoiceThe Paradox of Choice - by Barry Schwartz'Why Less Is More' or 'How the culture of abundance robs us of satisfaction' Barry Schwartz is the author of The Paradox of Choice. One day, went to the store to buy a new pair of jeans. He said to the store person that he wanted a pair of blue jeans: 32 waist, 28 leg. She asked – do you want them stone washed, acid washed, torn, distressed? do you want zip fly or button fly? do you want them faded or regular? do you want them slim fit...2020-03-1425 min
What You Will LearnBig MagicBig Magic - by Elizabeth Gilbert'Creative Living Beyond Fear' In Big Magic, Elizabeth Gilbert refers to magic, literally like in the Hogwarts sense. She is referring to the supernatural, the mystical, inexplicable, the surreal, the divine, the transcendent, the otherworldly. Because the truth is, she believes that creativity is a force of enchantment that is not entirely human in its origins. Gilbert believes that our planet is inhabited not only by animals and plants and bacteria and viruses but also by ideas. Ideas are driven by a single impulse: to be m...2020-03-0728 min
What You Will LearnNever Split The DifferenceYour career, finances, reputation, love life, even the fate of your kids - at some point all hinge on your ability to negotiate.Chris Voss spent more than two decades at the FBI, including 15 years negotiating hostage situations from New York to the Philippines and the Middle East. At any time there are 10,000 people in the FBI, but only one lead international kidnapping negotiator. Soon he discovered these skills from the FBI worked everywhere. It turned out that the approach to negotiation held the keys to unlock profitable human interactions in every domain and every i...2020-03-0131 min
What You Will LearnPrinciplesPrinciples - by Ray DalioOver the course of our lives we make millions of decisions, essentially bets, some large and some small. It pays to think about how we make them because they ultimately determine the quality of our lives.Ray Dalio is an American billionaire investor, hedge fund manager and philanthropist. Ray Dalio wrote a set of principles to help with his daily decisions which many have a similar rhyme that can be executed via a set of principles. In this episode we cover: embrace reality and deal with it, being radically...2020-02-2329 min
What You Will LearnA Brief History of TimeA Brief History of time is a popular science book on cosmology written by Stephen Hawking. It is a book for readers who have no knowledge of the universe and are curious to learn more about science. In this episode we'll talk about Space and Time, Black Holes, The Expanding Universe and the Universe and Meaning. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2020-02-1541 min
What You Will LearnSeth Godin: Making the choice, taking responsibility, becoming indispensableSeth Godin is back for round 2. We drill into the choices we make - to take responsibility or relinquish it, to be generous or follow the script, to try something new or stick to the job description. We also spoke about the importance of REAL skills (some people call them ‘soft skills’). 'Hard Skills’ are the essential ticket you need to get a seat at the table - for you it may be coding, or doing engineering computations, or knowing how to use google analytics or post facebook ads. But these just get you in the door - they don’t make...2020-02-1237 min
What You Will LearnLinchpinOur world is filled with factories. Factories that make widgets, insurance, websites, movies, take care of sick people and answer the phone. You can become a great factory worker if you pay attention in school, follow instructions, show up on time and try hard and in return they would take care of you. You won't have to be brilliant, creative or to take big risks. The factories would pay you a lot of money, give you health insurance and offer you job security. It's a pretty seductive bargain, so seductive for that century, we embraced it. We set up...2020-02-0826 min
What You Will LearnThe Power of HabitThe Power of Habit - by Charles Duhigg"Why we do what we do in life and business"William James wrote in 1892: "All of our life so far as it has definite form, is but a mass of habits". Most of the choices we make each day may feel like the products of well-considered decision making, but they're not - they're habits. Though each habit means very little on its own, over time, the meals we order, what we say to the kids each night, what we spend and the way we organise our thoughts...2020-02-0122 min
What You Will LearnMindsetMindset - by Dr Carol S Dweck'Changing the way you think to fulfil your potential' This book is about one pervasive view we adopt for ourselves and our abilities: we either have a 'fixed mindset' or a 'growth mindset'. Those with the fixed mindset believe that we have a natural level of talent or ability that we are born with and cannot change, whereas those with a growth mindset believe that everything can be learned and improved upon. These 'mindsets' rear their heads in business, sport, relationships. This simple distinction becomes a sel...2020-01-2531 min
What You Will LearnEmotional IntelligenceEmotional Intelligence - by Daniel Goleman 'Why it can matter more than IQ: The groundbreaking book that redefines what it means to be smart' Emotional Intelligence is a guide to making sense of the senselessness. Daniel Goleman worked as a psychologist first then as a journalist for the NYT, and has been tracking the progress of our understanding of the realm of irrationality. From this position, he's been seeing two growing trends: one portraying a growing calamity in our shared emotional life, the other offering some helpful remedies. This book is all about t...2020-01-1832 min
What You Will LearnMastery (Part 3: Unleashing Creativity)This is Part 3 of our 3-part series on 'Mastery' by Robert Greene. Now that we've discovered our calling in part 1, then went through an apprenticeship in part 2, it's time to bring in creativity to make something new and original and masterful. Using historical examples, Greene gives us some strategies for developing something unique. If you're just discovering this episode, you might want to check out the previous two episodes first to lay the foundations:Part 1 = Discover Your CallingPart 2 = The ApprenticeshipPart 3 = Unleashing Creativity Hosted on Acast. S...2020-01-1025 min
What You Will LearnMastery (Part 2: The Apprenticeship)All of us are born with an essentially similar brain, with more or less the same configuration and potential for mastery. Why is it then that in history only a limited number of people seem to truly excel and realize this potential power?In today's episode we cover part 2 of our 3-part series, The Apprenticeship phase. We will learn about the 3 Modes of the Apprenticeship Phase, strategies for completing the ideal apprenticeship, and the Mentor dynamic. Part 1 = Discover Your Calling (previous episode)Part 2 = The Apprenticeship (this episode)Part 3 = Unleashing C...2020-01-0828 min
What You Will LearnMastery (Part 1: Discover Your Calling)Robert Greene has done it again with Mastery. All of us are born with an essentially similar brain, with more or less the same configuration and potential for mastery. Why is it then that in history only a limited number of people seem to truly excel and realise this potential power?We are a one time phenomenon in the universe - our exact genetic makeup has never occurred before nor will it ever be repeated. At your birth a seed is planted, that is your uniqueness. This is Part 1 of our 3-part series, in...2020-01-0426 min
What You Will LearnThe BodyThe body is often likened to a machine. But it is much more than that, it works 24 hours a day for decades without for most part, needing regular servicing or the installation of spare parts. It runs on water and a few other organic compounds, is soft and rather lovely, reproduces itself with enthusiasm, feels affection and appreciates the sunset How many machines behave like that? In this episode we'll take you through the best bits of Bill Bryson -The Body, we'll look at the microbial organ, food, exercise medicine and death. Enjoy!2019-12-2046 min
What You Will LearnThe One Minute ManagerThe book breaks down effective management through the tale of the 'One Minute Manager' through 3 simple secrets. The First Secret - One Minute Goals Most organisations when you ask people what they do and then ask their boss, normally you get two different lists. Once the manager has told you what needs to be done, or you have agreed what needs to be done, each goal is recorded on no more than a single page. The OMM then feels that a goal and its performance standard should tak...2019-12-1420 min
What You Will LearnEgo Is The EnemyEgo Is The Enemy - by Ryan Holiday'The fight to master our greatest opponent'All of us, at every stage of life, are the victims of our own ego. Our ego leads us to strive too far, expect too much, assume that we're deserving - all before we've even done the work. If we achieve success our ego makes us do things that lead us to failure, if we fail our ego crushes our attempts to get up and try again."It's always nice to be made to feel special or...2019-12-0734 min
What You Will LearnDr Karl (Round 3): Random Road Trip Through ScienceOur third annual pilgrimage to Sydney took us right back to Dr Karl's office. His brand new book, Dr Karl's Random Road Trip Through Science, features an Augmented Reality app with Dr Karl popping out of the book to share his wealth of wisdom. (If you've been listening to the show for a few years, this is certainly 'breaking the script' and is a definite 'purple cow'). We talk about a bunch of random scientific things Karl learnt this year, as well an injecting a nice amount of conspiracy theory too. Check out mor...2019-12-0435 min
What You Will LearnEat That Frog!Eat That Frog! - by Brian Tracy'21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time'There is never enough time to do everything you have to do. You are literally swamped with work and personal responsibilities, endless emails, social media, projects, side projects, stacks of newspapers to read, a pile of books you want to get to 'some day' as soon as you get caught up on everything else. But the fact is that you are NEVER going to get caught up. You will never get 'on top' of...2019-11-3019 min
What You Will LearnRadical AcceptanceRevealed how painfully burdened they feel by a sense of not being good enough. We don't have to wait until we are on our deathbed to realize what a waste of our precious lives it is to carry the belief that something is wrong with us. Yet because our habits of feeling so insufficient are so strong, awakening from the trance involves not only inner resolve, but also an active training of the heart and mind. Through Buddhist awareness and practices, we free ourselves from the suffering of trance by learning to recognize what is t...2019-11-2325 min
What You Will LearnNeil Pasricha (Round 2): You Are AwesomeAfter first speaking with Neil Pasricha 12 months ago about his book The Happiness Equation, he's back to chat about his brand new book You Are Awesome. It's all about building resilience, shifting from fragile to antifragile, and thickening up your skin a little. Check out everything Neil is doing at his site: https://www.neil.blog/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-11-1937 min
What You Will LearnGritGrit - by Angela Duckworth'Why passion and resilience are the keys to success' Angela Duckworth studied successful people and found that the mega-successful weren't the smartest, the fittest or the most talented, but the ones who had the most grit. Grit, this combination of passion and perseverance, turned out to be the strongest indicator and predicator of eventual success.The good news? Even if you score pretty poorly on the Grit Assessment (like we both did), you can grow your Grit. Through interest, purpose, practice and hope, you can actually i...2019-11-1629 min
What You Will LearnCollapseLurking behind the mystery of ancient ruins is the mystery with the nagging thought: might such a fate eventually befall our own wealthy society? Will tourists someday stare mystified at the New York skyscrapers, much as we stare at the jungle overgrown ruins of Maya cities? Perhaps we can still learn from the past, but only if we think carefully about its lessons. The book has a 5 point framework of possible contributing collapse to societies: 1 - Environmental damageCould be exceptional imprudence of the people and exceptional fragility in as...2019-11-0943 min
What You Will LearnMJ DeMarco (Round 2): Taking the Red PillMJ DeMarco writes some of the most eye-opening books we've read - The Millionaire Fastlane and Unscripted. If you haven't realised it yet, the world is ran by numerous scripts that aren't designed for you to live your best life. In this episode, we run the analogy of the red pill deep: breaking down the BS and biases we all hold, the importance of your F-This Event, and how you could use a job to propel you onto the Fastlane. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-11-0636 min
What You Will LearnUnscriptedUnscripted - by MJ DeMarco'Life Liberty, and the Pursuit of Entrepreneurship' Has life regressed into paying bills and living for a weekend?You weren't born to slave 9 - 5, Monday through Friday, paying the bills and then die. When life's final moment arrives, what will your spirit sing? Regret and remorse? Or peace and happiness?UNSCRIPTED: is your pen to rewrite a future that's already been written, don't wait for life's twilight to dream about time machines, it exists in the moment. The opportunity to resurrect your dreams and c...2019-11-0233 min
What You Will LearnGetting Past NoDaily life is full of negotiations that can drive you crazy.Over breakfast you get into an argument with your spouse about buying a new car, your spouse thinks it's time but you say "we can't afford that right now"You arrive at work for a meeting with your boss, you present her with a carefully prepared proposal for a new project, but she interrupts within the first minute and says "we already tried that and it didn't work.During lunch you try to return a defective toaster you bought last week, but the store person refuses to...2019-10-2629 min
What You Will LearnHow to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win BigHow to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big - by Scott Adams Scott Adams is the creator of the 'Dilbert' cartoon series. Before this world-wide phenomenon though, Adams is happy to admit the looong list of things he tried (and failed at) before eventually achieving success. Each failed attempt gave him a lesson, something he could take with him and apply to the next thing he tried. Even as Dilbert was growing in success, he still worked full time for 10 years, drawing Dilbert at 5am before work.This book provides some im...2019-10-1935 min
What You Will LearnEverything is F*ckedEverything is F*cked - by Mark Manson'A book about hope' In the infinite expanse of space/time, the universe does not care whether your mother's hip replacement goes well, or your kids attend college, or your boss thinks you make a great spreadsheetYou care, and you desperately convince yourself that because you care, it all must have some great cosmic meaning behind it. You care because deep down, you need to feel that sense of importance in order to avoid the uncomfortable truth, to avoid the incomprehensibility of yo...2019-10-1224 min
What You Will LearnMeditationsMeditations - by Marcus Aurelius Originally written as a diary almost 2000 years ago, the struggles people faced then are almost identical to the ones we are facing today. This is one of the core books on stoic philosophy.We recap some of the vital passages of the book and pull out the key themes: differentiating between the things you can control and the things you can't, responsibility and taking ownership, being indifferent toward things like death and change, and living in the present instead of the past or the future. 2019-10-0539 min
What You Will LearnTalking To StrangersTalking to Strangers - by Malcolm Gladwell'What we should know about the people we don't know' We think we can understand people. We think that by meeting someone, shaking their hand, looking into their eyes, we can get a grasp on who they are, how they feel, and what their motives or intentions are. We think that a little bit of personal knowledge gives us a big insight into their character - a job interviews shows us if they'll be a good employee, a first date can indicate the likelihood of compatibility.2019-09-2926 min
What You Will LearnNir Eyal: Becoming Indistractable by reclaiming your time and attentionFive years ago, Nir Eyal wrote the best-selling book 'Hooked'. It was all about the four-step process businesses can use to make habit-forming products and services. By getting people 'hooked', by getting people to almost the point of addiction and compulsion, businesses can thrive (think Facebook, Candy Crush and Spotify as some examples).Now, Nir writes gives us individuals a four-step methods to get UNHOOKED in his brand new book Indistractable. This book is all about reclaiming our time and attention by adding more focus and traction to our lives - becoming "Indistractable". T...2019-09-2627 min
What You Will LearnHookedHooked - by Nir Eyal'How to build habit-forming products' If a business can turn their product or service into a 'habit', then they've got you 'hooked'. It makes it much harder for the user to change to a competitor, usage becomes more frequent and more irresistible, and it becomes far more profitable for the business.Nir Eyal takes us through the 'Hook Model' which teaches business what they need to build into their offering to get consumers hooked:Triggers (external & internal)ActionVariable RewardInvestment Hosted on Acast. See a...2019-09-2127 min
What You Will LearnThe Uninhabitable EarthWe've all heard of 'climate change' and we hear dystopian ideas about the horrors we may face if we don't take appropriate action, but what will life on the planet ACTUALLY look like if our planet heats up too much? Check out our website with all of our book ratings: www.whatyouwilllearn.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-09-1442 min
What You Will LearnThinking Fast and Slow (part 2)This book is the bible of behavioural economics. After introducing 'System 1' and 'System 2', the 'fast' and 'slow' thinking from the title, this episode dives into more of the applications of this discovery.THIS episode: Over confidence: - Narrative fallacy - Hindsight/outcome bias Choices: - Intuitions vs formulas - Planning fallacy - Loss aversion - Sunk cost fallacy Two selves: - Experiencing vs the remembering self Thinking F...2019-09-0746 min
What You Will LearnThinking Fast and Slow (part 1)Thinking, Fast and Slow - by Daniel KahnemanThis book is the bible of human behavioural psychology. Author Daniel Kahneman won the 2002 Nobel Prize due to his work on Prospect Theory, a big part of this book. The book is so dense we'll need to cover it over two episodes.This week we will learn about:System 1 - which operates automatically and efficiently,System 2 - which allocates attention to effortful activities. And - that our brain has limited resources making us irrational, and prone to biases such a...2019-08-311h 04
What You Will LearnTurning ProTurning Pro - by Steven Pressfield'Tap your inner power and create your life's work' Pressfield book 'The War of Art' told us all about the REAL challenge of creating important work: confront (and beating) the Resistance. In that book, he showed us that the beat way to beat it was by Turning Pro. This follow-up book dives deeper into the difference between and amateur and a professional, and shows us exactly what is required of us if we are to become the best version of ourselves. Ho...2019-08-2528 min
What You Will LearnKevin Rudd: 26th Prime Minister of AustraliaKevin Rudd came from humble beginnings in country Queensland to become the 26th Prime Minister of Australia in 2007. He is author of the books 'Kevin Rudd - The PM Years' and 'Not for the Faint Hearted'.Mr Rudd is currently the President of the Asia Society Policy Institute and is living in New York. On his most recent return visit to Australia, we were able to sit down and have a chat.In this episode we talk about:- why young people (including us) are disengaged with politics- the...2019-08-2159 min
What You Will LearnDare to LeadDare to Lead - by Brene Brown'Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts' Brene Brown boldly calls for braver bolder leaders to pass on a better world for our children. But typically cultures are held back by an inability to lean into vulnerability - we avoid tough conversations, lack connection and empathy and avoid risks. Daring Leadership is the antidote to these issues.In this episode we discuss:- the call to courage- avoidance of the armoury, and- shame and empathy ...2019-08-1723 min
What You Will LearnAustin Kleon: Injecting Creativity and Art into everything you doAustin Kleon is the author of three books that we've review on the podcast: Steal Like An Artist, Show Your Work and Keep Going.We spoke with him about about who is a 'creative', the false dichotomies we've set up between 'work' and 'art', and how everyone can harness the power of creativity to make things better by making better things. Check out Austin's site and sign up to his free weekly newsletter: https://austinkleon.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-08-1438 min
What You Will LearnShow Your WorkShow Your Work - by Austin Kleon'10 ways to share your creativity and get discovered' After the runaway success of 'Steal Like an Artist', Kleon was always asked the same questions: how do I actually get my stuff out there? how do i get found? how do i get an audience for my work?This book begins to answer some of those questions. It stresses the importance of maintain the mindset of an 'amateur', thinking about the process (not just the products), telling good stories, and building a regular process o...2019-08-1125 min
What You Will LearnZero to OneZero to One - by Peter Thiel and Blake Masters'Notes on Startups, or, How to Build the Future' - The next Bill Gates will not build an operating system. - The next Larry Page or Sergey Brin won't make a search engine. - The next Mark Zuckerberg won't create a social network.If you are copying these guys, you aren't learning from them.Of course, it's easier to copy a model than to make something new. Doing what we already know how to do take...2019-08-0334 min
What You Will LearnHomo DeusHomo Deus - by Yuval Noah Harari'A brief history of tomorrow' For thousands of years the top of our list of concerns were famine, plague and war. While this haven't been completely solved, we're pretty close and they have been transformed from incomprehensible and uncontrollable forces of nature into manageable challenges. Having secured unprecedented levels of prosperity, health and harmony, and given our past record and current values, YNH predicts that humanity's next targets are likely to be: Immortality, Happiness and Divinity. Hosted on Ac...2019-07-2744 min
What You Will LearnAntifragileAntifragile - by Nassim Taleb'Things that gain from disorder' Wind extinguishes a candle but energises fire. Likewise with randomness/uncertainty/chaos, you want to be able to use them, not to hide from them. You want to be the fire and wish for the wind.Most people think the opposite of fragile is robust, resilient or solid. But the resilient and robust are items that neither break nor improve. The opposite of fragility should be negative fragility - there is not yet a word for it, so Taleb terms it...2019-07-2038 min
What You Will LearnQuietQuiet - by Susan Cain'The power of introverts in a world that can't stop talking' The world today seems to value confident, outgoing, bubbly personalities who are comfortable in all social settings and aren't afraid to speak up. But Cain reveals that those with the loudest voice don't necessarily have the best ideas. This book is both a call to organisations to foster the power of introverts, as well as an appeal to introverts to best step outside of their comfort zones and play the role required of them. 2019-07-1426 min
What You Will LearnOh, The Places You'll Go!Oh, The Places You'll Go! - by Dr Seuss (Theodor Geisel) This may look like a kids book (and it is) but we've dug out some serious life lessons that link up with a whole bunch of other ideas we've read in other 'real' books. This one is a must-read, it'll take you less than 10 minutes. We pulled out our top 5 lessons, and we'd love to hear yours too - email us any time at podcast@whatyouwilllearn.com to tell us what you thought. Check out website with our rati...2019-07-0730 min
What You Will LearnFreakonomicsFreakonomics - by Stephen J Dubner & Steven Levitt'The hidden side of everything' Economics ultimately boils down to the study of incentives. Incentives are all around us, whether natural or manufactured (like by a parent, teacher, boss, politician or economist). In this episode, we talk about 4 major areas of economics, using a few stories and studies from the book to flesh out the concepts: - Moral incentives VS Economic incentives - Information Asymmetry - Correlation VS Causation - Risk Assessment Ho...2019-06-3037 min
What You Will LearnBest of Season 3Thanks for listening to Season 3 of What You Will Learn!In this episode, we’ll recap our favourite lessons from our favourite books of Season 3.We’ll be back in July for regular 'juggernaut month'.If you want to hear some WYWL in the break, we've curated our best content into a top 10 episodes, both interviews or book reviews. If you want the list, head to: www.whatyouwilllearn.com/bestOr get a book from our Top 50: www.whatyouwilllearn.com/top50 AJ's Top 10:10. Originals - by Adam...2019-06-031h 00
What You Will LearnQ&A #2 - May 2019In this episode, we’re answering your questions! Listeners sent in the questions they’ve always wanted to ask us. We spoke about our process, a book WE might want to write, our learning journeys, knowing when to quit your side hustle, and being consistent with our reading and podcasting. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2019-05-2844 min
What You Will LearnKeep GoingKeep Going - by Austin Kleon'10 ways to stay creative in good times and bad' Austin Kleon wrote Steal Like An Artist (about injecting more creativity into your work), then Show Your Work (about sharing that creativity with the world and getting discovered), now Keep Going (about continuing to be creative, even when it feels like it's a never ending battle).In this book, we learn about how to wake up every day and be creative, how to stay buoyant and move on to the next project regardless of success o...2019-05-1928 min
What You Will Learn200th EPISODE!Since starting the show almost exactly 3 years, we've done 199 episodes. Today is Number 200! In June 2016, we literally hit 'record' on the laptop, talked crap for 20 minutes, then published it. As more and more people started listening, we gradually increased the time and effort we invested into the show. In this episode, we recap some short snippets from 20 of our favourite guest interviews that we've conducted with international best-selling authors over the years (in chronological order): 1. Matthew Michalewicz [starts from the 5min 15sec mark] 2. Timber Hawkeye [9:50] 3. JP Sears [14:28] 4. S...2019-05-171h 42
What You Will LearnThe Barefoot InvestorThe Barefoot Investor - by Scott Pape'The only money guide you'll ever need' A bushfire raged through Scott Pape's town and took everything form his family - their home, their farm, their sheep, and everything they owned. Their life's possessions now amounted to a charred pile of rubble. And just as everything seemed to be falling apart, Scott looked in the mirror and said 'I've got this'.This book is all about helping you with your personal finances so that you too can look in the mirror and say 'I've g...2019-05-1248 min
What You Will LearnThis Is MarketingThis Is Marketing - by Seth Godin'You can't be seen until you learn to see' Seth Godin is a marketing guru, and this book represents the culmination of decades upon decades of marketing lessons and advice. You won't find any scripts or templates, and you won't find anything scammy or short-term. This book is all about empathy, understanding and being a human (not typical advice you hear in most marketing books, but vital words of wisdom to consider before starting your next project). Hosted on Acast. See ac...2019-05-0531 min
What You Will LearnEXTRA: Presentation at The Entrepreneur ClubThis extra episode is the recording from a presentation we recently did for The Entrepreneurs Club in Melbourne.In our presentation we discussed the content we wished we knew 4 years ago when we first started trying side hustles.We explore some of the best book concepts we've learned in the context of 'The Dip'.Finding Your Dip (drawing from The Black Swan, Lean Start-up, The Click Moment)Pursuing Your Dip (drawing on So Good They Can't Ignore You)In The Dip (drawing on The War of Art and Perennial Seller) Hosted...2019-05-0249 min
What You Will LearnThe Most Important ThingThe Most Important thing - by Howard Marks'Uncommon Sense for the Thoughtful Investor' Howard Marks is the Founder of Oaktree Capital Management, who hold US$122 billion in assets under management. This book is a compilation of all his investment philosophies, which can be applied to help you make better decisions when investing money, time or energy. There isn't any step-by-step instructions, just advice on ways to thinking to avoid the many pitfalls that most investors fall in. In this episode we cover:Second level thinkingUnderstanding market efficiency,Understanding, recognising and controlling r...2019-04-2841 min
What You Will LearnFactfulnessFactfulness - by Hans, Ola and Ana Rosling'Ten reasons we're wrong about the world - and why things are better than you think' When we think about the world - poverty, violence, war, man made disasters, climate change and corruption - it seems that things are bad and feel like they're getting worse. Factfulness shows us this isn't the actually the case - we're the victim of many cognitive biases that cloud our judgement and that lead to an overdramatic worldview. This book shines a light on our 'mega misconceptions' and offers y...2019-04-2032 min
What You Will LearnAtomic HabitsAtomic Habits - by James Clear'An easy and proven way to build good habits and break bad ones' Our outcomes in life aren't dictated by the big one-off things we do, but rather the small things we consistently do every day. The habits may seem insignificant on a day-to-day level, but when you look back in 10 or 20 years, you'll very clearly see the impacts of your positive or negative habits.The author breaks up behaviour into four moments and what we need to do at each point in order to i...2019-04-1330 min
What You Will LearnLessons of HistoryHistory lets us see the patterns and make better decisions in the present moment. As we've progressed our human nature hasn't changed, but we've found new ways of achieving old means. This book gives us history's lessons through the lens of different filters.In this episode we cover:- Biology and history- Character and history- Morals and history- Economics and history- Socialism and history- Growth and Decay of Civilisations Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/p...2019-04-0631 min
What You Will LearnCal Newport: Career Progression and Consciously DisconnectingCal Newport is the author of some phenomenal books that work together to form a great trilogy:So Good They Can't Ignore You highlights how skills are far more important than passion and emphasises the importance of developing 'career capital' in order to get a job that you allows you to enjoy what you do and make an impactDeep Work shows us that the best way to develop that career capital is to block out chunks of uninterrupted time to focus and work hard on important projects and skillsDigital Minimalism sheds light on the dangers of being constantly...2019-04-0344 min
What You Will LearnOriginalsOriginals - by Adam Grant'How Non-Conformists change the world' There are two paths to success: be a conformist or be an original. Both can lead to eventual success, but each require a different approach to life. This book is all about how everyone can be more creative and bring new ideas to the table by being an 'original'. We talk about the things you can do to come up with more good original ideas, how you can spread these ideas, and the mindset required to keep moving along the path less taken.2019-01-1232 min
What You Will LearnAlex Banayan: Alternative paths to success through 'The Third Door'Alex Banayan was lying on the bed in his college dorm room staring at the ceiling wondering what he actually wanted to do with his life. He knew he wanted to do something big, so he tried researching his heroes to see how they got started. But after reading through business books and biographies, he couldn't find the very FIRST thing people did - before they had a name or a reputation or money or credibility, how did they get a foot in the door?Because he couldn't find the book he was looking for, he decided...2018-09-1929 min
The Podcast About Podcasts'What You Will Learn' With Adam JonesAdam Jones is a co-host of the 'What You Will Learn' podcast (I'm the other host!). We read a book each week and share the biggest and best lessons with our audience. The books we tackle are wide-ranging and draw from areas such as business, personal finances, health, science, personal development, entrepreneurship, marketing, investing, philosophy and spiritualism. Check out the show at www.whatyouwilllearn.com See the full blog post of Adam Jones's podcasting lessons at www.thepodcastaboutpodcasts.com/lessons/adamjones 2017-05-0131 min
Publish A BookTimber Hawkeye: Author Of 'Buddhist Boot Camp' And 'Faithfully Religionless'Timber was working in corporate America until he realised it wasn't the life he was meant to be living. Instead of getting caught up in the never-ending desire for more and more material possessions, Timber sold virtually everything he owned and moved to an island. He only had to work part time because all of the activities he enjoyed were free. Timber found Buddhism and went full-Zen-monk. He no longer wears his maroon robes, but he still teaches and shares Buddhist principles that everyone can use to enhance their lives. I learned a lot from this conversation and hope you...2017-02-2037 min
What You Will LearnCrush It!"Why NOW is the time to cash in on your passion" For the first time, we disagreed on this one. Ashton loved it, Jones hated it. This book is all about building your personal brand, building an audience and a community by pumping out content about things you love to talk about. By putting out videos, podcasts and blog posts, you can eventually build enough of an audience that you can monetise. You can then make money through advertising, books and TV deals, speaking engagements, consulting, retail, affiliate deals, so so much more! E...2016-09-0308 min