Many people see others who appear to be more successful, in their careers, and their impulse is to ask them to "go to coffee." Honestly, I did this in the past a few times. But let me tell you: very rarely do these sorts of things work. Instead, you have to do the hard stuff. And that's reading and thinking. The rest will just come. And if you are out in the world (especially on X) and speaking your mind, making observations, helping people out both online and in real life) it will all work out. I know that sounds weird. But it will.
And so, for those of you who have cold DM’d me and asked me to go for coffee, I have two things instead to offer you. First and foremost, my userguide, which is exactly that: a guide for how to interact with me. Perhaps you find yourself reading this because you sent one such message. Here we are. My promise to you: read this page to the end. And read some of the books. Maybe even read all of the books. It’ll be much better than if we had gone to coffee.
I have known brilliant people in my life, those who learn languages effortlessly, grasp complicated topics with ease, who have a preternatural capacity to remember the strategic, operational, and tactical to such a degree that you seem to be conversing with something more digital than biological. I am none of those things. In fact, I would go so far to say that I was never a great student, and had to work exceptionally hard to become even a good student. After eight years in uniform, I would say “I’m good for the Navy… just not good in the Navy.” Average recall, inability to keep my mouth shut (you might say “oh that’s a great and enviable habit” until you tell a 3-star Admiral that his prized Aircraft Carriers won’t survive 24 hours of the next war and he starts screaming at you and literally ends your career on the spot), average to above average communication skills (I hate to say it but my best medium is X, if you have continued reading to this point you’ll realize that I am verbose and overly direct in person and in writing), and while I do have a fairly good read on people it is often overcome by my impulses to tell the truth, often leaving me, minutes later, with my internal monologue catching up to current events with the assessment that, “I could have done that more diplomatically.”
All this to say: I am no hero. Nor a magic totem, whereby a rub of my belly will bring you good luck. I have my strengths and weaknesses, and I can almost guarantee you that, unless you approach me with a specific thing in mind (e.g. pitching me your startup because nobody else understands the value of, for example, a network of space lasers), “a coffee” with me will not change your life.
What will? Reading.
Reading has equipped me with tools and simulated experiences that have helped me improve myself as a thinker and doer. The books below represent my current list of high-impact reads that concisely communicate sets of mental models that have proven useful in my life, and the lives of others I respect. Consider these shortcuts to learning hard lessons, and more.
I've assembled them in tranches. I'll keep building this out, but they are books, articles, and videos that have helped me develop frameworks with which to operate in the modern world.
On to the main show:
BOOKS
Tranche 1: Books that provide frameworks around how to think.
Tranche 2: Insight into the fundamental nature of information and the universe.
Tranche 3: On influence and its uses.