scott stonehouse

Soundtracks by Jon Acuff (Re-read)
This might be my favorite book by Jon Acuff. Soundtracks are his word for repetitive thoughts. We have them ruining in our minds constantly. Often, they aren’t true, helpful, or kind. But we can choose our soundtracks. We can change the playlist. This book is about how to go about doing that.

This might be one of the most important skills someone can learn. The ripple effects in your life of being able to do this well (or not) are significant. This book will help you learn to do it better.

Quitter by Jon Acuff
A good read. It is especially helpful for people who dream about quitting their jobs and doing something else. Instead of being negative, bitter, and a drag on your coworkers, what if you could see your current job as the venture capital firm funding your dream job? I think this book has some wise, practical advice for people who want to jump ship into the unknown. In short: Don’t. Make a plan. Be a great employee where you are. Sharpen your skills while you build your dream job.

One of the ideas from the book that I appreciated was enjoying the gift of invisibility. In other words, be thankful for the time while you are small and unknown to make mistakes and experiment. That is the approach I am taking with this blog. Rather than waiting until I can do everything perfectly (which will never come), I am jumping in. It might not be great, but starting is more important. The fact that it isn’t amazing is only known to about 5 people in the universe! I will keep working on it and get better.

Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
This was another prequel to the original Hunger Games trilogy. This one is about Haymitch, who in the original trilogy was Katniss’ drunk mentor. It is the story of how he won the Hunger Games and became the Haymitch we meet later. Fun read.

The Energy Bus by Jon Gordon (audio)
A short, motivational book.

The No Complaining Rule by Jon Gordon (audio)
Another short, motivational book.

Do Over by Jon Acuff (audio)
This was good but I probably learned less from this book than any of Jon’s other books. Still, I love his style, his humor, and his way with words. One soundtrack I took from this book was “Ask for the Cheat Codes” meaning ask people who have already accomplished what you want to accomplish how they did it. You don’t have to figure it out on your own. It’s like a video game. Learn from someone who has already conquered the level. Ask for the cheat codes and do what they did. I will definitely be posting about this maxim!

Tiny Habits by BJ Fogg (Re-read)
This is such an important book to me. When I was learning how to create habits it was Atomic Habits (James Clear), The Power of Habit (Charles Duhigg), and this book that shaped my views and approach. Along with managing the soundtracks in your mind, being able to establish or eliminate habits is one of the more important skills in life.

All three authors are working with the same elements: make the action small (which helps make it easy), connect it with reliable prompts/cues, make it rewarding. Each author helps strengthen or clarify different parts of the process. One of the things that Fogg focused on was the importance of celebration after doing the tiny habit. Make it fun and rewarding. He called it “Shine”.

My plan is to do a multi-post series on what I have learned about habits that will cover these three books in more detail.