Hey Insiders!

For the last month and a half, I have been taking part in the 75 Hard Challenge.

It has been an incredible experience and is already paying off in huge ways physically…

(The scale shows a number I haven’t seen in 4 years)

But one of the best parts of the challenge has turned out to be the reading!

It has forced me to make time to read some of the books that have been on my list for a long time

And one of those books has completely shifted the way I look at things.

So that got me thinking…

What books have truly changed my life?

Five books quickly rose to the top!

Interestingly, when I added up the total number of pages between these 5 books I realized that if you were to read just 15 pages every single day, you could read all 5 of these books in just under 100 days!

That means that in less than 100 days (just before the end of 2023) you could receive all the life-changing benefits I’ve received from these books.

So, I wanted to share those with you!

Here are my top 5 life-changing books and why you should read them, in no particular order.

Let’s dive in 👇

Change Your Live in 100 Days with These 5 Books

1. 4000 Weeks by Oliver Burkeman

I decided to start with this book because it’s the one that inspired me to write this list in the first place.

4000 Weeks is a quasi-productivity book, but instead of giving you hacks for getting more things done in less time, it flips the concept on its head.

The main premise is that, on average, you live only 4000 weeks (~76 years) and realistically speaking you will never be able to complete all the things you want to in that time.

Oliver Burkeman suggests that our culture’s focus on productivity is actually a way of trying to escape the reality of death, by attempting to control time.

The book is an uncomfortable slap in the face.

In some ways it red pills you and wakes you up from your unrealistic dream that you will be able to do it all and forces you to reexamine your priorities and the way in which you view time and how you use it.

Enjoying this so far? Consider sharing it with someone you think will also like it👇

2. The Almanac of Naval Ravikant by Eric Jorgenson

Easily the book that I’ve gifted the most.

Naval Ravikant is a legendary angel investor that can list companies like Uber, Twitter, and Notion in his portfolio. He’s also the founder of AngelList and in recent years has become somewhat of an online philosopher.

This book was written by Eric Jorgenson who collected all of Naval’s published ideas across mediums, from Tweets & blog posts to podcast appearances, and organized them in a cohesive way.

The result is one of the most impactful books I’ve ever read on building wealth & happiness.

Naval’s views on leverage alone have impacted almost everything that I do today.

3. The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss

If you’re reading this newsletter you’ve likely heard of this book before or probably read it yourself so I won’t spend much time on it.

4HWW basically started the modern digital nomad movement and pushed lifestyle businesses into the mainstream.

While much of the actionable advice isn’t pertinent anymore (running ads today looks very different from 2008) the general ethos and mindset are as valuable today as it was when the book was published.

If you haven’t read it yet it should be the next book you read.

Top Tip: Towards the end of the book is a chapter titled Filling the Void. According to Tim, it’s the chapter most people gloss over and yet is the most important. After 7 years as a digital nomad, I couldn’t agree more. Don’t skip this chapter.

4. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

This is probably one of the first non-fiction/personal development books I ever read and impacts my life to this day.

I use things I learned from How to Win Friends every day and have found many of the lessons incredibly helpful in my podcasting journey.

In the book, Dale Carnegie explains how you can build a relationship with anyone.

It’s a guide on how to understand people, get them to like and trust you, and build a truly powerful network.

There’s a reason why over 30 million copies of this book have been sold and why it’s been a fixture in most “top X books” lists for over 70 years.

It’s truly a game-changer.

5. The Formula: The Universal Laws of Success by Albert-Laszlo Barabasi

I’ve written about The Formula before, it kind of blew my mind the first time I read it, and yet I don’t hear many people talking about it

Maybe that’s because the title sounds a bit weird…

I actually felt pretty embarrassed reading this book in public 😅

But don’t let that stop you!

Despite having a title that would make you think that it’s full of The Secret style advice it’s actually written by a physicist known for his work in network sciences and medicine.

The book is a summary of the research that Barabasi and his assistants conducted while studying the science of success at Boston University.

The research culminates in 5 “laws” that anyone can use in their day-to-day life to increase the chances of achieving their goals.

It’s incredibly actionable and will help you understand why some people are seen as a success, while other, equally talented people, are not.

📆 UPCOMING EVENTS:

Aug 28-31: NomadEire [📍Tralee, Kerry County, Ireland] - Wide-ranging discussion on all things related to nomadic life along with skill sharing, business coaching, and celebration of what Ireland can offer digital nomads.

Sept 28 - Oct 1: Nomadness Fest [📍Louisville, Kentucky, US] - A festival for travelers of color and their allies. 30+ speakers covering topics such as branding, business, domestic travel, effects of over-tourism, and much more.

Sept 30: DNCH [📍Bern, Switzerland + Virtual] - Learn about location-independent life and meet like-minded people interested in the digital nomad lifestyle.

Oct 9-15: The Nomad World [📍Albufeira, Portugal] - Transformative experience for digital nomads and remote workers from across the globe. A mix of expert talks, hands-on workshops, and beach-side fun, aimed at celebrating freedom, connection, and personal growth.

Dec 7-13: Nomad Island Fest [📍 Madeira, Portugal] - Learn from world-class industry experts on topics like mindset, marketing, tech, wealth & health.