Alexis Ohanian Sr.
Co-Founder of Reddit, Venture Capitalist
Book Recommendations:
Recommended by Alexis Ohanian Sr.
“As someone whose has the privilege of spending a morning training with the 🐐 @Schwarzenegger I highly recommend you check out @BornFitness new book and apply!! (Plus Adam's Twitter content is great so I'm sure the book is) https://t.co/OhPgOHvAbG https://t.co/JSNFx755Vx” (from X)
by Adam Bornstein, Arnold Schwarzenegger·You?
by Adam Bornstein, Arnold Schwarzenegger·You?
FOREWORD BY ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER. What if the healthiest diet included the foods that were enjoyable and respectful of our stressful, overbooked lives? You couldn’t screw it up! Here’s a can’t-miss plan that will build unbreakable habits by incorporating mindset changes, easy restaurant options, and more from “the perfect person to blaze a better path” (Arnold Schwarzenegger). The diet industry is great at making you follow more diets, not making you leave dieting behind. You don't need another restrictive, unrealistic plan; you need tools that help you enjoy what you eat (including takeout!) and be healthier at the same time. Adam Bornstein is a bestselling author, and has consulted health icons including Arnold Schwarzenegger, LeBron James, Cindy Crawford, and Lindsey Vonn. He’s one of the most trusted voices in health because of his ability to get results without gimmicks, supplements, or suffering. In this easy-to-follow book, Bornstein shows how upgrading your health and losing weight for good requires you to turn your back on the typical dieting culture by following successful habits and frameworks not typically seen in nutrition and fitness. It includes A 6-week plan that allows you to eat the foods you prefer without counting calories or stressing macros. Take-out options from the top fifty most visited restaurants in America (so you can eat anywhere guilt-free)Thirty satisfying, nutritious recipes for all meals, including cinnamon-raisin French toast sticks, nachos, and sweet potato mac & cheese with baconQuick and easy meals, and effective workouts that can be done in as little as 15 minutes.Once you learn a better way to build healthy habits, you can leave behind the shame and guilt of most plans and make the healthy lifestyle changes you’ve been chasing.
Recommended by Alexis Ohanian Sr.
“@CycleNinja @kevinace Love this book! Changed my life (reason I ended up co-founding Reddit) https://t.co/DWGk04nMgi” (from X)
“To my taste, the greatest American myth of cosmogenesis features the maladjusted, antisocial, genius teenage boy who, in the insular laboratory of his own bedroom, invents the universe from scratch. Masters of Doom is a particularly inspired rendition. Dave Kushner chronicles the saga of video game virtuosi Carmack and Romero with terrific brio. This is a page-turning, mythopoeic cyber-soap opera about two glamorous geek geniuses—and it should be read while scarfing down pepperoni pizza and swilling Diet Coke, with Queens of the Stone Age cranked up all the way.” —Mark Leyner, author of I Smell Esther Williams Masters of Doom is the amazing true story of the Lennon and McCartney of video games: John Carmack and John Romero. Together, they ruled big business. They transformed popular culture. And they provoked a national controversy. More than anything, they lived a unique and rollicking American Dream, escaping the broken homes of their youth to co-create the most notoriously successful game franchises in history—Doom and Quake—until the games they made tore them apart. Americans spend more money on video games than on movie tickets. Masters of Doom is the first book to chronicle this industry’s greatest story, written by one of the medium’s leading observers. David Kushner takes readers inside the rags-to-riches adventure of two rebellious entrepreneurs who came of age to shape a generation. The vivid portrait reveals why their games are so violent and why their immersion in their brilliantly designed fantasy worlds offered them solace. And it shows how they channeled their fury and imagination into products that are a formative influence on our culture, from MTV to the Internet to Columbine. This is a story of friendship and betrayal, commerce and artistry—a powerful and compassionate account of what it’s like to be young, driven, and wildly creative.
Recommended by Alexis Ohanian Sr.
“@dsaezgil Great book” (from X)
by Greg McKeown·You?
by Greg McKeown·You?
THE LIFE-CHANGING NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • MORE THAN TWO MILLION COPIES SOLD “Essentialism holds the keys to solving one of the great puzzles of life: How can we do less but accomplish more?”—Adam Grant, bestselling author of Think Again Essentialism isn’t about getting more done in less time. It’s about getting only the right things done. Have you ever found yourself stretched too thin? Are you often busy but not productive? Do you feel like your time is constantly being hijacked? If you answered yes to any of these, the way out is the Way of the Essentialist. Essentialism is more than a time-management technique. It is a systematic discipline for discerning what is absolutely essential, then eliminating everything that is not, so we can make the highest possible contribution toward the things that really matter. By forcing us to apply more selective criteria for where to spend our precious time and energy, the disciplined pursuit of less empowers us to reclaim control of our own choices, instead of giving others the implicit permission to choose for us. Essentialism is not one more thing to do. It’s a whole new way of doing less, but better, in every area of our lives. Join the millions of people who have used Essentialism to change their outlook on the world.
Recommended by Alexis Ohanian Sr.
“Great book on the subject (and let's not start on how Japan has never addressed things like Unit 731 or other war crimes) The Wages of Guilt: Memories of War in Germany and Japan https://t.co/ufTvxWQTLw” (from X)
The author of Playing the Game explores the diverse ways in which Germany and Japan have dealt with the legacy of World War II, explaining how which East and West Germany have come to terms with the Holocaust, and the impact of the atomic bomb on Japan.
Recommended by Alexis Ohanian Sr.
“This is a great idea. And GRIT is a great book. @angeladuckw is a genuine American Hero. https://t.co/PrxHU1fPvx” (from X)
by Angela Duckworth·You?
by Angela Duckworth·You?
In this instant New York Times bestseller, pioneering psychologist Angela Duckworth shows anyone striving to succeed—be it parents, students, educators, athletes, or business people—that the secret to outstanding achievement is not talent but a special blend of passion and persistence she calls “grit.” Drawing on her own powerful story as the daughter of a scientist who frequently noted her lack of “genius,” Duckworth, now a celebrated researcher and professor, describes her early eye-opening stints in teaching, business consulting, and neuroscience, which led to the hypothesis that what really drives success is not “genius” but a unique combination of passion and long-term perseverance. In Grit, she takes readers into the field to visit cadets struggling through their first days at West Point, teachers working in some of the toughest schools, and young finalists in the National Spelling Bee. She also mines fascinating insights from history and shows what can be gleaned from modern experiments in peak performance. Finally, she shares what she’s learned from interviewing dozens of high achievers—from JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon to New Yorker cartoon editor Bob Mankoff to Seattle Seahawks Coach Pete Carroll. Among Grit’s most valuable insights: *Why any effort you make ultimately counts twice toward your goal *How grit can be learned, regardless of I.Q. or circumstances *How lifelong interest is triggered *How much of optimal practice is suffering and how much ecstasy *Which is better for your child—a warm embrace or high standards *The magic of the Hard Thing Rule Winningly personal, insightful, and even life-changing, Grit is a book about what goes through your head when you fall down, and how that—not talent or luck—makes all the difference.
Recommended by Alexis Ohanian Sr.
“This is a fantastic book! 👏 Feed your mind https://t.co/CLMwWkHM89” (from X)
Over 5 million copies sold around the world. The original book from Morgan Housel, the New York Times bestselling author of Same As Ever. Doing well with money isn't necessarily about what you know. It's about how you behave. And behavior is hard to teach, even to really smart people. Money – investing, personal finance, and business decisions – is typically taught as a math-based field, where data and formulas tell us exactly what to do. But in the real world people don't make financial decisions on a spreadsheet. They make them at the dinner table, or in a meeting room, where personal history, your own unique view of the world, ego, pride, marketing, and odd incentives are scrambled together. In The Psychology of Money, award-winning author Morgan Housel shares 19 short stories exploring the strange ways people think about money and teaches you how to make better sense of one of life's most important topics.
Recommended by Alexis Ohanian Sr.
“Such a great book. I recall first learning about the "hot hand fallacy" in a cog sci class in college. Something about it just didn't feel right - if you've played any basketball, you've seen the hot hand and even experienced it yourself. This is a riveting story https://t.co/DOxH29APpX” (from X)
by Ben Cohen·You?
by Ben Cohen·You?
How can you maximize success—and limit failure? Wall Street Journal reporter Ben Cohen brilliantly investigates the mystery and science of streaks, from basketball to business. "A feast for anyone interested in the secrets of excellence." —Andre Agassi For decades, statisticians, social scientists, psychologists, and economists (among them Nobel Prize winners) have spent massive amounts of precious time thinking about whether streaks actually exist. After all, a substantial number of decisions that we make in our everyday lives are quietly rooted in this one question: If something happened before, will it happen again? Is there such a thing as being in the zone? Can someone have a “hot hand”? Or is it simply a case of seeing patterns in randomness? Or, if streaks are possible, where can they be found? In The Hot Hand, Wall Street Journal reporter Ben Cohen offers an unfailingly entertaining and provocative investigation into these questions. He begins with how a $35,000 fine and a wild night in New York revived a debate about the existence of streaks that was several generations in the making. We learn how the ability to recognize and then bet against streaks turned a business school dropout named David Booth into a billionaire, and how the subconscious nature of streak-related bias can make the difference between life and death for asylum seekers. We see how previously unrecognized streaks hidden amidst archival data helped solve one of the most haunting mysteries of the twentieth century, the disappearance of Raoul Wallenberg. Cohen also exposes how streak-related incentives can be manipulated, from the five-syllable word that helped break arcade profit records to an arc of black paint that allowed Stephen Curry to transform from future junior high coach into the greatest three-point shooter in NBA history. Crucially, Cohen also explores why false recognition of nonexistent streaks can have cataclysmic results, particularly if you are a sugar beet farmer or the sort of gambler who likes to switch to black on the ninth spin of the roulette wheel.
Recommended by Alexis Ohanian Sr.
“💪 best book I read in a minute https://t.co/0OdvKMroYv” (from X)
by Inc. Complex Media, Marc Ecko, Joe La Puma·You?
by Inc. Complex Media, Marc Ecko, Joe La Puma·You?
In 1985, Nike released Michael Jordan’s first sneaker, the Air Jordan 1, and sneaker culture was born. With vibrant photographs and illustrations throughout, as well as input from some of the sneaker world’s most important voices, Complex Presents: Sneaker of the Year is a must-have for hypebeasts and sneakerheads everywhere. Foreword by Marc Eckō Contribution by Joe La Puma Sneaker of the Year explores the past 35 years of sneaker culture with the expertise, authority, and passion that only Complex can offer. Now, thousands of people wait in line at Supreme, and companies throw millions of dollars at LeBron James to keep him in their marketing plans. The trend that saw steady growth for decades with the emergence of sports, hip-hop, and sportswear advertising has exploded into a phenomenon. And no one has watched that phenomenon more closely than Complex. Highlights include: Converse Weapon (1986)Vans Half Cab (1992)Reebok Instapump Fury (1994)Nike Zoom LeBron 3 (2005)Supra Skytop (2007)Balenciaga Arena (2013)Nike React Element 87 (2018) Fashion designer Marc Ecko says in his foreword, “The players who attached their names to iconic sneakers became icons themselves, figures whose personalities could shape multinational companies from the boardroom down. Jordan—and Charles Barkley, and Allen Iverson, and dozens more—rose to the level that had once been off limits to athletes. . . . What began with Jordan wearing a pair of sneakers culminated in a moment of economic and social justice. It’s a power shift we have never seen again in any industry—and something we may not witness again” Whether you owned them back in the day or collect them now, this is a full-color trip down memory lane for sneakerheads.
Recommended by Alexis Ohanian Sr.
“Great book! https://t.co/uIClaAP8hL” (from X)
In this instant New York Times Bestseller, Geoff Smart and Randy Street provide a simple, practical, and effective solution to what The Economist calls “the single biggest problem in business today”: unsuccessful hiring. The average hiring mistake costs a company $1.5 million or more a year and countless wasted hours. This statistic becomes even more startling when you consider that the typical hiring success rate of managers is only 50 percent. The silver lining is that “who” problems are easily preventable. Based on more than 1,300 hours of interviews with more than 20 billionaires and 300 CEOs, Who presents Smart and Street’s A Method for Hiring. Refined through the largest research study of its kind ever undertaken, the A Method stresses fundamental elements that anyone can implement–and it has a 90 percent success rate. Whether you’re a member of a board of directors looking for a new CEO, the owner of a small business searching for the right people to make your company grow, or a parent in need of a new babysitter, it’s all about Who. Inside you’ll learn how to • avoid common “voodoo hiring” methods • define the outcomes you seek • generate a flow of A Players to your team–by implementing the #1 tactic used by successful businesspeople • ask the right interview questions to dramatically improve your ability to quickly distinguish an A Player from a B or C candidate • attract the person you want to hire, by emphasizing the points the candidate cares about most In business, you are who you hire. In Who, Geoff Smart and Randy Street offer simple, easy-to-follow steps that will put the right people in place for optimal success.
Recommended by Alexis Ohanian Sr.
“Love to see WoTP on a list with some classics. And shoutout to my pal @eladgil his book is required reading. https://t.co/rdC7VSpIpA” (from X)
High Growth Handbook is the playbook for growing your startup into a global brand. Global technology executive, serial entrepreneur, and angel investor Elad Gil has worked with high-growth tech companies including Airbnb, Twitter, Google, Stripe, and Square as they’ve grown from small companies into global enterprises. Across all of these breakout companies, Gil has identified a set of common patterns and created an accessible playbook for scaling high-growth startups, which he has now codified in High Growth Handbook. In this definitive guide, Gil covers key topics, including:The role of the CEOManaging a boardRecruiting and overseeing an executive teamMergers and acquisitionsInitial public offeringsLate-stage funding. Informed by interviews with some of the biggest names in Silicon Valley, including Reid Hoffman (LinkedIn), Marc Andreessen (Andreessen Horowitz), and Aaron Levie (Box), High Growth Handbook presents crystal-clear guidance for navigating the most complex challenges that confront leaders and operators in high-growth startups.
Recommended by Alexis Ohanian Sr.
“Another must-read/listen from @nireyal (Hooked before that) I was vigorously nodding along to parts of this book. A great foundation for bringing intention and focus to your work- and home-life. Recommending to everyone at @Initialized as well as our founders https://t.co/O5hbILT2Qy” (from X)
"Indistractable provides a framework that will deliver the focus you need to get results." —James Clear, author of Atomic Habits "If you value your time, your focus, or your relationships, this book is essential reading. I'm putting these ideas into practice." —Jonathan Haidt, author of The Righteous Mind NATIONAL BESTSELLER WINNER OF THE OUTSTANDING WORKS OF LITERATURE (OWL) AWARD INCLUDED IN THE TOP 5 BEST PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY AUDIBLE INCLUDED IN THE TOP 20 BEST BUSINESS AND LEADERSHIP BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY AMAZON FEATURED IN THE AMAZON BOOK REVIEW NEWSLETTER, JANUARY 2020 GOODREADS BEST SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY OF 2019 FINALIST You sit down at your desk to work on an important project, but a notification on your phone interrupts your morning. Later, as you're about to get back to work, a colleague taps you on the shoulder to chat. At home, screens get in the way of quality time with your family. Another day goes by, and once again, your most important personal and professional goals are put on hold. What would be possible if you followed through on your best intentions? What could you accomplish if you could stay focused? What if you had the power to become "indistractable?" International bestselling author, former Stanford lecturer, and behavioral design expert, Nir Eyal, wrote Silicon Valley's handbook for making technology habit-forming. Five years after publishing Hooked, Eyal reveals distraction's Achilles' heel in his groundbreaking new book. In Indistractable, Eyal reveals the hidden psychology driving us to distraction. He describes why solving the problem is not as simple as swearing off our devices: Abstinence is impractical and often makes us want more. Eyal lays bare the secret of finally doing what you say you will do with a four-step, research-backed model. Indistractable reveals the key to getting the best out of technology, without letting it get the best of us. Inside, Eyal overturns conventional wisdom and reveals: • Why distraction at work is a symptom of a dysfunctional company culture—and how to fix it • What really drives human behavior and why "time management is pain management" • Why your relationships (and your sex life) depend on you becoming indistractable • How to raise indistractable children in an increasingly distracting world Empowering and optimistic, Indistractable provides practical, novel techniques to control your time and attention—helping you live the life you really want.
Recommended by Alexis Ohanian Sr.
“Agree! Best book I've read this year. Wasted so many hours just proving to myself I'd be the last one up working at @reddit and for what??? Stupid. Diminishing marginal returns after enough hours without sleep. https://t.co/cT7fDNBF3A” (from X)
by Matthew Walker PhD·You?
by Matthew Walker PhD·You?
“Why We Sleep is an important and fascinating book…Walker taught me a lot about this basic activity that every person on Earth needs. I suspect his book will do the same for you.” —Bill Gates A New York Times bestseller and international sensation, this “stimulating and important book” (Financial Times) is a fascinating dive into the purpose and power of slumber. Sleep is one of the most important but least understood aspects of our life, wellness, and longevity. Until very recently, science had no answer to the question of why we sleep, or what good it served, or why we suffer such devastating health consequences when we don't sleep. Compared to the other basic drives in life—eating, drinking, and reproducing—the purpose of sleep remained elusive. An explosion of scientific discoveries in the last twenty years has shed new light on this fundamental aspect of our lives. Now, preeminent neuroscientist and sleep expert Matthew Walker gives us a new understanding of the vital importance of sleep and dreaming. Within the brain, sleep enriches our ability to learn, memorize, and make logical decisions. It recalibrates our emotions, restocks our immune system, fine-tunes our metabolism, and regulates our appetite. Dreaming mollifies painful memories and creates a virtual reality space in which the brain melds past and present knowledge to inspire creativity. Walker answers important questions about sleep: how do caffeine and alcohol affect sleep? What really happens during REM sleep? Why do our sleep patterns change across a lifetime? How do common sleep aids affect us and can they do long-term damage? Charting cutting-edge scientific breakthroughs, and synthesizing decades of research and clinical practice, Walker explains how we can harness sleep to improve learning, mood, and energy levels; regulate hormones; prevent cancer, Alzheimer’s, and diabetes; slow the effects of aging; increase longevity; enhance the education and lifespan of our children, and boost the efficiency, success, and productivity of our businesses. Clear-eyed, fascinating, and accessible, Why We Sleep is a crucial and illuminating book.
Recommended by Alexis Ohanian Sr.
“It's a really great book https://t.co/gJgPHGKqjz” (from X)
by Matt Mochary, Alex Maccaw, Misha Talavera·You?
by Matt Mochary, Alex Maccaw, Misha Talavera·You?
Matt Mochary coaches the CEOs of many of the fastest-scaling technology companies in Silicon Valley. With The Great CEO Within, he shares his highly effective leadership and business-operating tools with any CEO or manager in the world. Learn how to efficiently scale your business from startup to corporation by implementing a system of accountability, effective problem-solving, and transparent feedback. Becoming a great CEO requires training. For a founding CEO, there is precious little time to complete that training, especially at the helm of a rapidly growing company. Now you have the guidance you need in one book.