What TNW is reading (week 16)

Ah, welcome welcome.

I see you enjoyed last week’s edition and are back for more. Well we won’t disappoint. For the uninitiated (go back and start at post one, please) the team at TNW has made a New Year’s Resolution to read a bit more. So every week, a select number of our team will share with you what’s currently living on their nightstand, or saved in Pocket, or is sitting in that browser tab begging to be read.

This week we have a book from childhood that gets better with age, how to not have any more meetings (at a desk, anyway) and the secret sauce of the world’s most ‘effective’ people. Happy reading.

Siddhartha – Herman Hesse

I was in 9th grade when our english teacher, Dr. Obryhim assigned us Siddartha to read one month before summer break. Of course, me and my adolescent classmates all thought to ourselves, “what?! We thought we were done reading books for the year!?!” I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I couldn’t be happier that he made this mandatory homework.

Written by Herman Hesse in 1922, this book is about a young Indian boy’s life and his journey of self-discovery in which he goes through different castes, lifestyles, and spiritual learnings.

Since reading it for the first time nine years ago, I’ve re-read it several times, and each time the takeaway of the story is different, depending on what stage of my life I’m in. I definitely recommend this book to anyone in need of motivation, plus it’s a quick read at about 175 pages!

– Dimitri M Nataf, Campaign Manager

The Wander Society – Pop Up City

Meetings can be boring and suck the life out of people. That all changes when you walk around the neighborhood instead of locking yourself into a room.

When I have a meetings with people I’ll try to take them for a walk instead. Our office is next to a city park, so that works very well. People are used to it now and will show up next to my couch (I don’t have a desk either) with their coats, and invite me to ‘discuss something’ and off we go. I haven’t started wandering without a goal, but will try that next.

This article is about a book, which looks amazing, and introduces the ‘secret underground movement’ of ‘The Wander Society’. Start wandering today, and join famous wanderers like Steve Jobs, Jack Kerouac and Oscar Wilde.

– Boris Veldhuijzen van Zanten, CEO

Rare Earth: Why Complex Life is Uncommon in the Universe – Peter D. Ward and Donald Brownlee

Ever looked up at the stars at night and wondered whether there’s life out there? According to palaeontologist Peter Ward and astronomer Donald Brownlee it may actually be quite common.

An exciting prospect, if you have a fascination for bacteria. For overwhelmingly that’s what you’d find. That said, there’s little speculation about aliens here. With just one case of life amongst the stars to study, they mostly deal with good old planet earth, throwing in a range of astronomical “what might have been” scenarios and future projections to place it in a cosmic context.

A grand saga unfolds on earth and its charmed, mostly single celled life. Yet even if, like all complex lifeforms, we’re like extras making but a brief appearance, we’re the first ones to get a good look at the script. That’s kind of awesome.

– Sam Blok, Back-End Developer at Index.co

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change – Stephen R. Covey

This book is by far one of the most influential pieces ever written in personal development. The seven habits introduced by the author are simple yet inspiring and applicable to many different areas of life.

These principles can be life changing. Without exaggeration, I’ve seen how applying these habits have changed the minds of several people around me. Including myself.

You might be already aware of several of the ideas explained in this book or even practicing them daily. However, we often tend to forget these simple rules that help us live more purposefully. Thus, the book is a perfect read to remind us how to be more effective.

So what are the habits? No spoilers here. If you haven’t read it yet, I highly recommend you to do so. I bet you’ll be once again inspired by the simple truths of life.

– Merilin Lilium, Marketing Manager of TNW Deals

This is a #TNWLife article, a look into the lives of those that work at The Next Web.