Scott Monty

Neoclassical Strategist, Corporate Advisor, Speaker. Was first head of social @Ford. Timeless Wisdom: https://t.co/gL7k1vMON6

We may earn commissions for purchases made via this page

Book Recommendations:

SM

Recommended by Scott Monty

Fantastic book that’s needed now more than ever. https://t.co/dRQl9snES8 (from X)

The Everyday Patriot is a rousing call to action based on the values that have made America a nation of great power and promise. In these pages, Tom Morris gives us a new vision for what citizenship and patriotism can mean at our moment in history. He reminds of us of the ideals on which the country was founded and shows how we can use them every day to revive our democracy by rebuilding our sense of a vital shared enterprise. The ideas in this book may well help to heal some of our divisions and bring us together in new ways. When the Declaration of Independence was adopted and printed on July 4, 1776, a great nation was launched into the world, a grand new republic upholding the values of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all its citizens. Since that day, America has served as a beacon of hope for the world, despite many stumbles and setbacks along the way. This little book can inspire each of us to help keep that hope alive in our own time. “Times of trouble prompt us to recall the ideals by which we live.” Michael J. Sandel, Harvard University

SM

Recommended by Scott Monty

The recommended book for this week's newsletter (above) has been updated to reflect @DavidAmerland's Intentional. More from David: https://t.co/RZb7p72px4 (from X)

Live your life the way you want to. Manage stress better. Be more resilient and enjoy meaningful relationships and better health. We all want that. Such life leads to better choices, better jobs, loving romantic partners, more rewarding careers and decisions that are fully aligned with our aims. What stops us from getting all that is the complexity of our brain and the complicated way in which the external world comes together. The misalignment between the internal states we experience and the external circumstances we encounter often leads to confusion, a lack of clarity in our thinking and actions that are not consistent with our professed values. Intentional is a gameplan. It helps us connect the pieces of our mind to the pieces of our life. It shows us how to map what we feel to what has caused those feelings. It helps us understand what affects us and what effects it has on us. It makes it possible for us to determine what we want, why we want it and what we need to do to get it. When we know what to do, we know how to behave. When we know how to behave we know how to act. When we know how to act, we know how to live. Our actions, each day, become our lives. Drawn from the latest research from the fields of neuroscience, behavioral and social psychology and evolutionary anthropology, Intentional shows how to add meaning to our actions and lead a meaningful, happier, more fulfilling life on our terms.

SM

Recommended by Scott Monty

I've known @LeeLeFever from his @CommonCraft videos over a decade ago. He's amazing. Lee's new book is BIG ENOUGH. It's about designing a business to be intentionally small, scalable, and resilient. Order here and get free stickers: https://t.co/sPIvV1WFCD (from X)

An eye-opening antidote to the endless-growth mindset, Big Enough offers an alternative path to career success. In this illuminating book, entrepreneur Lee LeFever gives an inside view of building a scalable, product-focused business, while never compromising on quality of life. Lee and his wife, Sachi, responded to the promise of the internet by building a home-based business, Common Craft, that was profitable yet small enough to pivot and innovate. Lee takes you through the multiple business models they pursued―marketplace, digital product licensing, subscription services, distribution partnerships, and more―and offers his best tips for how you, too, can build a lightweight business that supports a life you love. A must-read for anyone interested in entrepreneurship, business strategy, and e-commerce, Big Enough arms you with insights into how technology and innovation are changing the face of business―and how the science of happiness and the pursuit of values can help redefine what it means to be successful.

SM

Recommended by Scott Monty

@jgombita @nireyal Great lessons from his fine book, Indistractable. I recommended it a few weeks back in my newsletter: https://t.co/jO1XK6ZWrV (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.

SM

Recommended by Scott Monty

@Harari_Yuval's book covers essential and urgent topics that will shape our present and near future, including nationalism, religion, immigration, artificial intelligence, and even the nature of truth. Fascinating read. https://t.co/rUpDE2PxoT (from X)

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In Sapiens, he explored our past. In Homo Deus, he looked to our future. Now, one of the world’s most innovative thinkers explores what it means to be human in an age of bewilderment. “Fascinating . . . a crucial global conversation about how to take on the problems of the twenty-first century.”—Bill Gates, The New York Times Book Review A FINANCIAL TIMES BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR How can we protect ourselves from nuclear war or ecological catastrophe? What do we do about the epidemic of fake news or the threat of terrorism? How should we prepare our children for the future? 21 Lessons for the 21st Century is a probing and visionary investigation into today’s most urgent issues as we move into the future. As technology advances faster than our understanding of it, hacking becomes a tactic of war, and the world feels more polarized than ever, Harari addresses the challenge of navigating life in the face of constant and disorienting change and raises the important questions we need to ask ourselves in order to survive. In twenty-one accessible chapters that are both provocative and profound, Harari untangles political, technological, social, and existential issues and offers advice on how to prepare for a very different future from the world we now live in: How can we retain freedom of choice when Big Data is watching us? What will the future workforce look like, and how should we ready ourselves for it? Why is liberal democracy in crisis? Harari’s unique ability to make sense of where we have come from and where we are going has captured the imaginations of millions of readers. Here he invites us to consider values, meaning, and personal engagement in a world full of noise and uncertainty. When we are deluged with irrelevant information, clarity is power. Presenting complex contemporary challenges clearly and accessibly, 21 Lessons for the 21st Century is essential reading.

SM

Recommended by Scott Monty

@benedictevans And double shelving. I’m reading Among the Gently Mad by @NBasbanes and he makes a great point about book collectors: we may not read every book we buy, but we at least know what’s in them. (from X)

A field guide for the modern book collector From the author of A Gentle Madness-a book with more than seventy thousand copies in print that delighted bibliophiles everywhere-comes a twenty-first-century guide to book collecting that deals with both the traditional methods of acquisition and the electronic tools now available on the Internet. Sharing the superb insight he has gathered from booksellers over the years, Nicholas Basbanes offers a refresher course on the fundamentals that endure, while questioning certain practices of doubtful validity. Topics include how to determine if a book is a first edition, how to spot book club editions, the importance of dust jackets, scouting the flea markets, how to work the book fairs, and the importance of handling the goods, as well as discussing less tangible issues like spotting trends and having a focus. Then he takes a long look at the pros and cons of Internet buying, illuminating how you can use these electronic tools to your advantage and making this the book no modern collector will want to be without.