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I picked this book up to support the whole purpose of this blog – to accelerate my personal and professional learning process. It has provided good material to reflect on, and a few concrete steps to implement which I’ll go into more detail with later. This review is chapter-by-chapter – barring the boring ones. Becoming a Dynamic Learner The author suggests that the way to thrive in the global, specialised, non-routine economy is to become a dynamic learner....

Meditation in its “pure” form involves emptying the mind to a state where it just exists undisturbed and calm. However, most meditation programs and introductions focus heavily on achieving a close proxy to that empty state – the state of full focus on only one thing. Usually it’s one’s breathing, the feeling of contact with the ground, or perhaps a soundscape of the ambient noise in one’s environment. When focusing 100% on any one thing, it calms the mind....

This is one of those reads you know you’ll want to come back to. Ryan’s frank prologue describing his own situation, and how it prompted him to write the book, is a bold statement. It seems to say; here I am, imperfect, hurt, and growing, and here is my best attempt to share what I’ve learned. The book opens with a quote: Do not assume that he who seeks to comfort you now, lives untroubled among the simple and quiet words that sometimes do you good....

We have so little time. Often, I am struck by the insignificance of all that I am, and all that I have done. Struck by a desire to be more, do more, change more. A desire that all too often is unfulfilled. Is it fuelled by ego? If so it should be quelled. Is it a legitimate desire to change the world for the better? Perhaps “being more” is a means to an end - by being more, I can do more, and therein lies the meaning....

As life beats down upon a man, tearing at his resolve. The most important step a man can take is the next one. Not the first step on the journey. Always the next one. The journey is the goal. This idea was articulated in Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson, and resonated so deeply that it bears sharing.