Thoughts on: Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacsson

Asshole, crybaby or smelly hippie? Steve Jobs can be described in many ways. He certainly was a flawed man, yet brilliant! The products he brought into this world disrupted whole industries, a result of always demanding the impossible.

What really stood out for me in this book was how much of a hippie this guy actually was, and how the influence of his LSD experiences and eastern philosophy impacted on the products he created.

📝 Steve was adopted, and a sense of abandonment what’s a big theme in his life. One of the most moving parts of the book is when Steve’s biological father casually mentions to his sister that “I had a restaurant ones and this Steve Jobs character used to eat there all the time”. Both not knowing they where family.
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📝 He could bend reality, and make people believe they could achieve the impossible. In essence, this was because Jobs had an unshakable belief that the rules of the game didn’t apply to him.
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📝 Steve hygiene was a huge problem at Apple. He believed firmly that his diet (containing almost exclusively fruits) made it safe for him to not to use deodorant or shower.
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📝 When a reporter asked about the 2 year delay of his NeXT computer, Jobs answer was: “It’s not delayed, it’s five years ahead of its time”.
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📝 “He had a this ability to focus on just 2-3 thing and say no to everything else. This is a rare and valuable trait.”
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📝 Want to see Jobs bringing his A-game? Watch the unveiling of the original iPhone on YouTube. Look how proud he is!
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⭐️ TAKEAWAY: Jobs was sold on on the zen buddhist idea of detachment from material things. Still he created tons of them which might sound very paradoxical. But thinking more thoroughly about it it’s actually the other way around. The thing he created have had a tremendously dematerializing effect on society. The iPod (with iTunes) replaced shelves filled with CDs. The iPhone replaced video players, cameras, photo albums, handheld gaming consoles, calculators etc..
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Excellent book! Probably my favorite biography of all time!
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5/5

Check out my reading lists for more great books!

Thoughts on: “Zen Mind, Beginners Mind”

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I feel like some book are meant to be studied rather just being read. There are some book that I decided not to review for this reason. Reading them ones just don’t do the trick, usually this is the case with esoteric writings like today’s book.
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So I read the book two more times after finishing it. Not because the book was fantastic in any way but to see if there was any value in repeating the information. Maybe it would reveal new insights?
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It kinda worked! like peeling an union – each round exposed a new layer of understanding and more concepts made sense. Unfortunately re-reading didn’t turn it in to a “must read” recommendation. 😜
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📝 When you are a beginner it’s easy to learn. The challenge is to keep this mindset – the beginners mind – when you get to an advanced level.
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📝 “Real calmness should be found in activity itself. We say: it’s easy to have calmness in inactivity. It’s hard to have calmness in activity. Calmness in activity is true calmness.”
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📝 Zazen: “If you continue to this simple practice everyday you will attain a wonderful power. before you attain it it’s something wonderful but after you attain it it’s nothing special.”
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It’s a cool book about Zen practice and you should probably pick it up if you are into meditation and feel like you need some inspiration to spice things up. ———————
Which books did I end up not writing reviews for, you ask? So far it’s “Power vs. Force” and “The Kybalion”. Did you ever run into books where you not sure how you feel about them? 🤔
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3/5

 

Check out my reading lists for more great books!

My Most Anticipated Book of 2017!


After reading several of his earlier works (Franklin, Einstein & Jobs) I can’t wait to get my hands in Walter Isaacsons Leonardo Da Vinci biography!

What books are you looking forward to this year?

I’m back in the running trail with a new book in my ears!

Made a glorious return to the running trail today after struggling with a nasty cold for a while. 

Rewarded myself with this book to accompany me on the trail as I prepare for a race I’m running in November.

“Stranger in the woods” by Michael Finkel tells the story of a man that one day decided to just fuck off and go live in the woods. Don’t we all dream about doing that sometimes?! 
What are you reading this weekend? 

Meeting the mysterious @BooksOnTheTub.

05.45 AM – Meeting the mysterious man behind Books on the Tub.

He got a hold of my “to-read”-list and had a few books in his collection that where in the list. So this morning, at un ungodly hour, I meet him in person for the first time and got a stack of interesting books.

  • “King of the world” – David Remnick
  • “The Four Alignments” – Don Miguel Ruiz
  • “Siddhartha” -Herman Hesse

 

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I don’t know if this makes (Z)ense?


When I read books on very esoteric/unusual topics it feels like its pretty hard to review them after just one read. These books are usually pretty condensed and each sentence by itself needs some reflection. 

In an attempt to remedy this I’m reading (in this case listening) the book several times before I review it. Now I’m on my third round of “Zen mind, Beginners mind” which filled with complex ideas and zen paradoxes. Let’s see how that works! 

My first finding from doing this is that it feels like peeling an onion. With every rereading I find another layer of understanding. I wonder how many layers there are!

New Book!

New Book – New Topic.

Reading up on some light theory that might help me in my work as an Environment Artist in the games industry. Let there be light (and shadow, terminator, fill, translucency, caustics etc….)!

Light for Visual Artists: Understanding & Using Light in Art & Design

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