Hey all, do you know any books that will improve myself as a character and a person. Many thanks!
“Thus spoke Zarathustra” and “The Myth of Sysiphus”
Edit: I am not done with it yet, but “Meditations” from Marcus Aurelius has been great too.
“Lone Survivor,” by Marcus Lutrell (read it, way more in it than the movie)
“Touching the Void,” by Joe Simpson
“Way of The Peaceful Warrior.” by Dan Millman
“The Tao of Pooh,” Benjamin Hoff
“Marine Sniper: 93 Confirmed Kills,” by Charles Henderson
“Infinite Jest,” David Foster Wallace
There is no exhaustive list that will make one a strong person. It is a life long pursuit of discipline, exploration, trial and error.
Start with researching what you think the model of a strong person is, who you have in mind that you think is worthy to emulate, and see what they’ve read.
You’ll get a varying list of recommendations from us but you can always start with ancient philosophers from both the west and the east (think Plato, Aristotle, Confucius, Sun Tzu, Marcus Aurelius, etc.) up to the Enlightenment to contemporary. Read the classic standard histories of civilizations and then try some different perspectives. Read economics and political and social philosophies - again, from varying perspectives.
There is no sequence of books that is right or wrong but focus on books that have stood the test of time that are touted by the people who you look up to…
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Agree with @polo77j
A couple I’ve found helpful:
Ego is the enemy - Ryan Holiday
Mastery - Robert Greene
I don’t think a man’s character is cultivated from books, though.
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I’ve read 48 Laws - how was Mastery?
Agree with this … reading only helps inform your actions. It’s actions which define character.
Boring as fuck, lol… It’s worth reading, though.
Word … with that gleaming recommendation, it’ll stay low on my reading list, lol.
I enjoyed 48 Laws thoroughly, however…It’s high on the re-read list
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I can confirm that thus spake zarathustra will make you a stronger person.
One I recommend is either/or by kieerkegard- You don’t have to come to the same conclusions as he does though.
Ahhh, you might like it. I struggle when books feel like school work…
“Way of the Peaceful Warrior” by Dan Millman.
I just re-read a different law every 3 days. It’s a book you don’t have to read all the way through in one shot, imo.
I think you’re exactly right. I have a similar approach to Meditations … read one two or a few a day … get to the end and start it over again.
I have been reading “The sickness unto death” and have so far enjoyed my time with Kieerkegard. Picked up a few more of his works that I am excited to read.
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I also recommend ‘the name of the rose’ by Umberto Eco. If you succesfully read this for pleasure, you will feel smug and good about yourself, probably making you stronger.
I dunno if it makes you a stronger person, but I think everyone should read-
The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable by Nassim Nicholas Taleb at least once.
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On Combat, On Killing, Warrior Mindset.
All these books are by Lt. Col. Dave Grossman. He was also a professor at West Point. Being prior military and now a LEO, these books are great for me. Check em out!
The Ninja by Eric Van Lustbader.
An indispensable look on the general ins and outs of being a ninja in the 70s.
x2 Zarathustra, most of Nietzche especially Gay Science
Influence -Robert Cialdini
Radical Honesty -Brad Blanton
Conversations with God -Neale Donald Walsh
As a Man Thinketh -James Allen
The Consolations of Philosophy -Alain De Boton
Why Men Marry Bitches -Sherry Argov
Gay Science was super fun. Was hard for me to not just flood the thread with Nietzsche, haha. Really loved the Geanology of Morals and the Walter Kaufmann translation of The Will to Power just about blew my mind. The Anti-Christ was also probably his most intense read for me. Everything else seemed a little more in touch with his “light feet” philosophy, while The Anti-Christ was like mudstomping.