The launching pad for my “Personal Development Journey” was exposing myself to new ideas from great thinkers.
AKA reading books.
But I didn’t start doing this until I was 25.
Before that, all of my ideas and thinking were projected on to me through family, friends, teachers, bosses, coworkers, etc.
My perspective was limited and rigid.
Passive Consumption Didn’t Work (At First)
Before I committed to reading, I would get new ideas through podcasts, YouTube videos, Social Media, or some other form of easily digestible education.
It’s not like I wasn’t trying.
But for me, without a strong foundation of personal learning (I like this term better than “personal development”), most ideas I consumed were in one ear and out the other.
Maybe I’d learn something about mindset or personal growth and think…
“Oh wow that’s a good way to see the world”
“That’s cool, I should think more like that”
But then I’d fall back into the routine of life, not implement it and forget about it.
Smart People Read
They say the most successful people in the world have one thing in common in their home:
A library
But reading was boring to me.
I didn’t have the focus or discipline to sit down, read a book, let ideas marinate in my mind and give them a chance to show up in my habits and behavior.
Short Chapters
In my mid 20s, I became world class at buying books and not reading them.
I felt this internal call to do more, get better, think bigger and make more significant impact on the world.
But every book felt like a mini-textbook as I stared at page after page of wall-to-wall text and struggled to make any progress.
Then I read The Obstacle Is The Way by Ryan Holiday.
The short chapters completely changed my relationship with reading.
I had no idea books could even be formatted the way Obstacle was.
You mean chapters can be as short as a page or two? Unbelievable!
Lesson: when I feel like I’m making progress, I become addicted to action
Exposure & A New Perspective
The ideas within Obstacle radically shifted my views on life.
I went from resisting reading and seeing it as an enormous chore to furiously turning page after page and thinking:
Why has no one told me ideas like this exist???
It felt like I was getting better with every new word I read.
Lesson: formatting matters and the ability to focus must be developed
Just because I didn’t like the books I tried to read prior to Obstacle didn’t mean I didn’t like reading.
The Key To Life: Creating Sparks
Obstacle was my spark that caught flame.
I read the other books in the 3 part series (Ego Is The Enemy & Stillness Is The Key) and became more confident each time I picked up something new to read.
But not everything resonated.
Some ideas landed. Some didn’t.
I realized that was ok.
The only thing that mattered was that I kept exposing myself to new ideas, doubling down on some and implementing them in my thinking/behavior.
A Personal Curriculum
Last month, I listened to Founders Podcast #90 and learned of something that Charlie Munger stole from Ben Franklin.
It’s the idea that, if you want to be successful, you have to gather a combination of books that elevate the way you think, act and see the world.
I see this as a proactive exercise that determines your level of self-education.
Do I want to seek out Ivy League level thinking? And gather ideas from the smartest people who have ever lived?
Or am I going to settle for an elementary education? And limit myself to ideas just from the people that I personally know?
You Can’t Force It
When this idea clicked, my mind immediately jumped to making a list of books I read that would look good on paper.
That’s not how it works.
My spin on the personal curriculum is that it can only be assembled in hindsight.
I told you I read Ego Is The Enemy and Stillness Is The Key.
I liked those books, but guess what? They didn’t resonate on a deep enough level for them to make my list.
I have to stick to books that have actually (and significantly) changed how I operate.
Ryan Dreyer 101
Here’s my list:
Obstacle Is The Way
Atomic Habits by James Clear
The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday
These are the foundational books that altered and improved the trajectory of my life.
But as with any college curriculum, I can have a 201, 301, 401 and beyond.
I’ll share those another time.
Summary Ideas
I told myself I didn’t like reading until I discovered books that were easy to read
A Personal Curriculum is your unique collection of books that shape how you think, act and see the world
You can’t force your Personal Curriculum and can only include books that lead to change in thinking/behavior
Your Personal Curriculum can expand beyond “101” as you continue to develop as a person
Do you have a personal curriculum? Share it in the comments below.
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