- Rating System
1 star: this is a good book on this topic
2 stars: I highly recommend you read this book
3 stars: I feel like you are unknowingly hindering your success if you don’t read this book
Self Improvement
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck by Mark Manson
Tak’s take: A self help that tells you all the harsh but real truths you need to accept to actually be happy. To help alleviate the pain, Mark Manson is absolutely hilarious and there are a lot of fucks thrown around for comedic relief but it doesn’t hide the fact that this would be the book to tell you that your cooking sucks, you’re not that smart, and you probably shouldn’t wear that dress.
Who should read it:
- Those who like self help books but hate unrealisitic, overly positive books that don’t give you the actual truth.
- Those who think they’re special, believe they can get to a point where their lives can be completely awesome-tabulous and problem free.
- Those who like to blame others for their misfortunes.
My favourite takeaway: Don’t hope for a life without any problems, there’s no such thing. Hope for a life full of good problems.
Rating: 3 stars
The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy
Tak’s take: to be successful in 99% of things, you need to take a long term look at things. Instead of one giant action, it often requires everyday tiny improvements that compound over time.
Who should read it:
- Those who are looking to have any sort of success in business, career, finances, health, relationships, or self improvement.
Rating: 2 stars
My favourite takeaway: three friends Scott, Larry, and Brad started to make changes in their lives. Scott started eating 125 less calories a day, Larry stayed the same, and Brad ate 125 more calories a day. After 31 months (940 days), Scott lost 33.5 pounds while Brad gained that (117,500/3,500 calories per pound). Just by making incremental changes, Scott and Brad had a 67 pound difference within 31 months.
Daring Greatly by Brene Brown
Tak’s take: in order to feel deserving of love and good things, we need to understand and address our shame and dare to live more vulnerably. If any book makes you look inside and think deeply about yourself, this would be it.
Who should read it:
- Everybody… seriously. Men, women, single people, people in relationships, young people, old people, parents, those who feel empty, those who are happy.
Favourite takeaway: The less we talk about shame, the more we have it in our lives.
Rating: 3 stars
The Courage to be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga
Tak’s take: If there is a book that would absolutely dismantle your bullshit past, present, and future and slap you in the face with it… it’s this book. A perspective from the third but lesser known giant of psychology Alfred Adler, this book takes a counterintuitive approach to popular psychological concepts, written as a wise old philosopher talking to a naive young boy… and it blows my mind with every chapter.
Who should read it:
- Those who believe that something is causing you to be the way you are right now (parents, politics, insecurities, peers, technology.)
- Those who love the taste of life with no bullshit
My favourite takeaway: we set a goal (consciously or not) and find things that justify our goal, even if it works against our true desires.
Rating: 2 stars
The Mask of Masculinity by Lewis Howes
Tak’s take: Men spend their lives wearing masks so we don’t have to be vulnerable. Whether it’s a mask of being fit, rich, invincible, alpha, successful with women or others, these masks stop us from expressing ourselves truly to those we love (and who are waiting to love us, the whole us.) As a man, our free lives start when we have the courage to take the masks off.
Who should read it:
- Men
- Women who want to understand men better
My favourite takeaway: everybody has insecurities, but we put on masks so we don’t have to show it and look weak.
Rating: 2 stars
The Way of the Superior Man by David Deida
Tak’s take: This book is for men who are unapologetically masculine. Not those who are spineless and smiley or overly aggressive and abusive, but unapologetically masculine in their pursuit for mastering work, life, women, spirituality, and sexual desire. This book is brilliant. Some things that didn’t make sense to me when I first read it are unbelievably true.
Who should read it:
- Men who are willing to live more courageously
- Men who are willing to love and live fully
My favourite takeaway: The masculine uses his strength and his direction to seek freedom.
Rating: 3 stars
The Four Agreements by don Miguel Ruiz
Tak’s take: Four extremely simple agreements you need to make with yourself to keep your mental state healthy. Just the sheer simplicity of these agreements put into practice will make unbelievable changes to your life. This book has a special place in my heart because it was recommended to me by a therapist when I was going through a tough time battling irrational thoughts.
Who should read it:
- I feel like saying “everybody” is a cop out answer but fuck it: everybody.
My favourite takeaway: The four agreements are the takeaways. Just read the book dammit.
Rating: 3 stars
Essentialism by Greg McKeown
Tak’s take: Having less, doing less, and thinking about less will help you keep yourself grounded and happy since you are only going to have the important things in your life. However living with less is a constant, disciplined pursuit, which is exactly what Greg McKeown outlines in the book.
Who should read it:
- Those who are constantly overwhelmed by life.
- Those who have a lot of shit, do a lot of shit, and spend time with a lot of people they don’t give a shit about.
- Those who feel like they don’t have control of their lives.
My favourite takeaway: Focus on the vital few. What really matters in your life?
Rating: 2 stars
What’s the Point of Self-Impovement Anyway? by Mark Manson (blog article)
Tak’s take: If you are or were like me, and consumed a lot of non-fiction, self improvement, self-help type information, sometimes you couldn’t help but ask yourself “what’s the point of it all?” In this article, Mark Manson gives you a completely accurate answer of what the point of it is. (Hint: you shouldn’t learn it forever).
Who should read it:
- Those who have read more than 5 self help books in the last year.
Rating: 2 stars
Career/Business/Finance
Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
Tak’s take: This was the first book to start my self improvement journey. This book teaches you the basic but super extremely absolutely definitely critical information about personal finance that the school system or your parents never taught you. This is written as a story of a child getting money advice from his best friend’s dad who is very rich and contrasting that to traditional advice his real middle class dad gave him. This book is so easy to understand because those who don’t read this book pretty much have the financial intelligence of a child, like Robert Kiyosaki. This book will help you not make the financial mistakes that may be irreversible the longer you wait.
Who should read it:
- Those who don’t have money but want it
- Those who have jobs
- Those who don’t have an investing strategy for a secure future
- Is it safe to say that’s 80% of the adult population?
My favourite takeaway: The rich have their money work for them, the poor and middle class work for money.
Rating: 3 star
Rich Dad’s Guide to Investing by Robert Kiyosaki
Tak’s take: If Rich Dad Poor Dad was the white belt of personal finance advice, this would be the blue belt. Still beginner knowledge, but competent beginner knowledge. Rich Dad’s Guide to Investing is similar to Rich Dad Poor Dad but this time Robert is a young adult who finished college and left military school, so the information is more advanced. This book goes deeper on the principle of having money work for you by building business assets and using money made to invest in various types of investments.
Who should read it:
- Those who’ve read Rich Dad Poor Dad and are ready to learn more.
My favourite takeaway: Build business systems!
Rating: 2 star
So Good They Can’t Ignore You by Cal Newport
Tak’s take: Don’t follow your passion! Doing work that you love comes from developing skills and expertise in fields that you enjoy and people will pay you well for. This comes from taking a craftsman mindset to diligently improve your skill sets and avoiding common traps.
Who should read it:
- Those who are willing to work to build a career they love.
- Those who’ve ever been told to “follow your passion.”
My favourite takeaway: subscribing to the passion theory can make you less happy.
Rating: 2 stars
Social Life
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
Tak’s take: How has a book published in 1939 made its way into the 21st generation while being hailed as the best self help book of all time? By teaching timeless principles on how to effectively deal with people. Dale Carnegie’s principles of people is something that everybody should know if they plan on interacting with people at any point in their lives.
Who should read it:
- People who talk to other people
My favourite takeaway: Try and see things from the other person’s perspective.
Rating: 3 stars
What Women Want by Tucker Max & Dr. Geoffrey Miller
Tak’s take: This is the bible for men’s dating advice. What do you get when you combine someone who has become famous and rich off of his dating success with one of the world’s leading evolutionary psychologists who specializes in sexual selection? You get What Women Want. This is the most no-bullshit, straightforward, simple, logical men’s dating advice book I’ve ever read. Instead of focusing on what to say or what to do, it focuses on becoming a man who women have evolved to want.
Who should read it:
- People with one X chromosome and one Y chromosome.
My favourite takeaway: Make decisions with science, not stupidity.
Rating: 3 stars
Models by Mark Manson
Tak’s take: One of the best men’s dating advice books that focus on reducing your neediness in your relationships with women. Mark Manson argues that neediness is the most unattractive trait in men since it shows you don’t respect yourself enough to value yourself equal to a woman. This comes from a lack of vulnerability and ability to express your truth, which is exactly what Mark Manson details in this no-bullshit dating advice book for men.
Who should read it:
- Single men, or even men in relationships.
- If you realize women aren’t attracted to you and you can’t seem to find out why.
- Anyone who has consumed any pick up artist, “alpha male”, seduction, or other manosphere type information in the last 6 months.
My favourite takeaway: “Until you learn to trust your own actions and pursue women with your own unique style and personality, you have learned absolutely nothing.”
Rating: 3 stars
No More Mr. Nice Guy by Robert Glover
Tak’s take: This book is God’s gift to men who are constantly overlooked, friendzoned, or strung along by women. The problem isn’t the woman, but it’s you and your inability to assert yourself and your desires. Robert Glover shows you how to go from a “nice guy” to an integrated man, a man who is kind but is also assertive – which is what women truly want, not spineless “nice guys” or dickhead assholes.
Who should read it:
- Those who need to read “Models by Mark Manson”
- Those who’ve been friendzoned by a woman they were interested in in the last 6 months.
- Those who are passive in their relationships with women and with people in general.
My favourite takeaway: “Nice guys” are not nice at all. They are actually extremely manipulative.
Rating: 2 stars
End The Box To Box Cycle by Tak Maeda
Tak’s take: Shameless plug for my upcoming book that is designed to help people overcome the loneliness that comes as a result of living life exclusively in one of two boxes: at home or at work, by showing people how to build a social life that will ultimately be responsible for your lifelong happiness.
Who should read it:
- Those who feel lonely.
- Those who have lots of acquaintances and casual friends but little real friends.
- Working people who think they’re too busy to develop friendships.
My favourite takeaway: It’s about becoming a person capable of creating social connection.
Rating: 5 million stars
Just For Fun
Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins
Tak’s take: If a child who was physically and emotionally abused by his father, racially abused by his peers and community grew up to be a 300 pound cockroach exterminator what would his life look like? What if that same man decided in a moment of spraying roaches to lose 100 pounds in 3 months to become a Navy SEAL then went on to go through the Navy’s “Hell week” three times, become a SEAL, run countless number of ultramarathons, break the world pull up record, and become the toughest man alive? What would that book look like? Who knows…
Who should read it:
- Anyone who needs a kick in the ass to get back at it.
- Anyone who feels like they’re operating at full capacity.
- Anyone who needs a reminder that they’re in control of their life.
My favourite takeaway: When you think you’re done, you’re only at 40% of your capacity.
Rating: 1 star
Living With a SEAL by Jesse Itzler
Tak’s take: What if that SEAL from Can’t Hurt Me lived with a multi millionaire with a family in Manhattan for a whole month? Long before Goggins wrote his book, Jesse Itzler met him at one of Goggins’ races and invited him to live with him to help shake up his normal, boring life. What made Jesse want to invite Goggins when he saw him at this race? It was a 100 mile race around a track where teams of 4 would come in and take turns running a mile until they hit 100 miles… Goggins had no teammates.
What follows is an absolutely hilarious story about what happens when the toughest man alive lives with a man for a month and won’t take no for an answer. This book had me dying of laughter.
Who should read it:
- If you want a funnier, normal person version of Can’t Hurt Me’s intensity.
- If you want to read one of the funniest first person stories ever.
My favourite takeaway: Google me motherfucker
Rating: 1 star
10X Rule by Grant Cardone
Tak’s take: Anything big you want in life is going to take 10x more effort than you originally expected. With Grant Cardone’s bold and brash mentality, he encourages you to think 10x bigger and do 10x more work in order to achieve 10x what you’ve ever imagined.
Who should read it:
- Anyone with ambitious goals
My favourite takeaway: Assume responsibility for everything (aka don’t be a little bitch or a crybaby, according to Grant.)
Rating: 1 star
Sperm Wars by Robin Baker
Tak’s Take: If there’s one book that absolutely messed me up mentally, it’s this one. Full of facts about infidelity, sexual conflict, and other bedroom battles, it’s a book filled with things you’d rather not know but you need to know. Did you know that 10% of all children are not fathered by their biological father, and there are actually biological reasons why people may cheat on their partner (conciously known or not)? See what I mean about the whole messing you up thing now?
Who should read it:
- Men who have kids, will have kids, or want kids.
“Trust, but verify” – Ronald Reagan
The Art of the Deal by Donald J. Trump
Tak’s take: Controversy alert! While I may not be running around with a MAGA hat chanting “build that wall” anytime soon, I must say I really enjoyed this book. Just the size and complexity of Donald Trump’s business deals have me in awe, and it inspires me to think big.
Who should read it:
- Those who don’t absolutely hate 45.
- Business enthusiasts who like thinking big.
My favourite takeaway: If you’re going to think, you might as well think big.
Rating: 1 star
I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell by Tucker Max
Tak’s take: Tucker Max in his famous book I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell shares the funniest, outrageous, most ridiculous stories of him drinking with his buddies and hooking up with girls. This has got to be one of the funniest books I’ve ever read but it’s one of those stories where you are entertained to read but don’t necessarily want to experience first hand, or at least that’s how I see it. Bonus points for having the most memorable book title.
Who should read it:
- Those who want to read ridiculous stories and laugh your ass off.
My favourite takeaway: From the book, nothing really but I’ve watched multiple interviews with Tucker about his writing, and I got two really important takeaways that have helped me write.
- 1: write everything for your reader. Although Tucker’s stories are about him, everything he writes is about entertaining his readers.
- 2: be honest and share the whole truth. Tucker’s books wouldn’t have been that great if he only selected the stories that made him look good. More than half of the stories in his books are about times where he did something stupid or made a fool of himself, but those are often the funniest stories. While I won’t be writing about drunken experiences anytime soon, I will make sure to write honesty and openly.
Rating: 1 star