📚 James Clear, Chess Scandal, and Socrates


Bite-sized insights for curious leaders & learners every other Sunday.

Visit BobbyPowers.com or Substack for more book recs & articles.

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🔥 Insightful Quotes

🗣️ "About 99% of the time, the right time is right now." -Kevin Kelly


🗣️ "An ounce of action is worth a ton of theory." -Friedrich Engels


🗣️ "At the end of the day we are accountable to ourselves—our success is a result of what we do." -Catherine Pulsifer


🗣️ "Life can be much broader, once you discover one simple fact, and that is, everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you. And you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use." -Steve Jobs

Articles to Fuel Lifelong Learning

Linchpins for Living: 70 Life Lessons You Can Start Using Today to 10X Your Life

Use this advice I've gradually learned or stolen over the years to inspire your own life rules


The Secret to Success: Start Small on Something Big (Like Really, Really Small)

“Radical incrementalism” can help you become sneakily productive. Here's how you can use it to dominate any big project.

📚 Books Worth Your Time

The Power of Beliefs by Shawn Achor
Nonfiction: Psychology, Self-Help

Achor has one of the coolest jobs ever: happiness researcher. His books are always uplifting and actionable, and this one is no different. He unpacks seven core beliefs that lead to success & fulfillment.

See takeaways

Checkmate by Ben Mezrich
Nonfiction: Chess, Scandal, Investigative

I preordered this book last month as soon as I learned three things:

  1. It's written by Ben Mezrich (who wrote the books behind The Social Network and 21).
  2. It's about a huge chess scandal (and I'm a big chess nerd).
  3. It's already been picked up for an A24 film produced by Emma Stone and Nathan Fielder.

Mezrich botched a few chess details, but it was a wildly fun read. I read it in two days.

🧑‍💼 Quick Leadership Takeaway

🗣️ "I would trade all of my technology for an afternoon with Socrates."
-Steve Jobs


Starting as a new manager is like walking down a sparsely lit path in the middle of a dense forest.

You’re equipped with a weak little flashlight and can only see the next couple of moss-covered steps. It's a bit disorienting, and you're not sure exactly where you're going.

But thankfully, there are plenty of knowledgeable guides who have walked this path before, and they're well-equipped with maps and floodlights.

These mentors are often ready and eager to help, but you need to ask.

Mentorship has a rich legacy. Here are some famous mentor relationships throughout history, from all walks of life:

  • Philosophy: Socrates mentored Plato, who mentored Aristotle
  • Writing: Ralph Waldo Emerson mentored Henry David Thoreau
  • Film Acting: Audrey Hepburn mentored Elizabeth Taylor
  • Film Directing: Steven Spielberg mentored J.J. Abrams
  • Communication: Maya Angelou mentored Oprah Winfrey
  • Business: Warren Bennis mentored Howard Schultz
  • Music: Usher mentored Justin Bieber
  • Music: Dr Dre mentored Eminem

Do you have a mentor yet?

If not, consider who in your network you could learn from. Offer to take them to coffee or set up a phone call with them. I bet they'd love to help.

🤓 A Personal Tidbit

I'm riding high with energy right now, coming off two great days at the Craft + Commerce conference in Boise.

The conference is for online creators and entrepreneurs, and the schedule was loaded with inspiring keynotes and actionable tips.

One of the highlights was meeting a few of my creator heroes, including James Clear (author of Atomic Habits) and Nathan Barry (founder of Kit and host of The Nathan Barry Show).

👇 Helpful Resources

Visit me at BobbyPowers.com for more articles and book reviews about leadership, communication, and personal development.

You can also access high-res PDFs of my 1-pagers and cheat sheets here.

🧑‍🏫

Articles to Help Your Career

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My Fave Books of All Time

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Leader & Learner newsletter from Bobby Powers

Join 3,000+ new & aspiring leaders who subscribe | I read 70+ books/year & write about Leadership, Books, & Communication | Bylines in Fast Company, The Startup, etc. | Visit me at BobbyPowers.com

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