Yep, I listen to books now. Writing and editing this blog is the only thing that keeps illiteracy at bay. I've traded in traditional reading.
Why I Love Audiobooks
I enjoy books. Particularly non-fiction. It gives me an opportunity to learn from an expert and incorporate their most valuable lessons. What to eat, what habits to adopt and what marketing strategies to implement. So I can be healthy and wealthy :).
The problem is, I don't prioritise books over the 73 other tasks on my to do list. My annual reading is reduced to the time an air-hostess (is that the politically correct term?) says "please switch off your electronic devices".
Thankfully, as soon as my reading took a nose dive I discovered Audible. Five minutes into my first book and I was hooked. I now smash through an audiobook every fortnight. I throw on my favourite wireless headphones and clean the house or hit the gym. Learning while I do something monotonous.
The comprehension isn't perfect, especially since I listen to it at 1.5x the reading speed, but it means I can punch out a book in about five trips to the gym. If you're not on the podcast or audiobook bandwagon then I suggest you change that asap.
Fire up an account with Audible and use that smartphone of yours for good.
The 5 Books To Listen To For Your Health
Most of the books I listen to aren't diet related. I read the Michael Pollan / Mark Bittman / Joel Fuhrman stuff years ago. After these books, and these documentaries and these Ted Talks, I know what I'm supposed to eat. They all say the same thing. EAT PLANTS. Fruit and vegetables. That will never, never change.
I'd love to recommend some great audiobooks that prove my point but the best books on nutrition aren't available on audio yet. There's some Michael Pollan stuff but my favourites of his are read by other people and I hate it when an author outsources the narration. You don't get the full experience.
If you're desperate for some health specific recommendations, then here's five:
- Darya Pino Rose - Foodist
- Dan Harris - 10% Happier
- Michael Pollan - Cooked
- Mark Bittman - A Bone To Pick
- Bhante Henepola Gunaratana - Mindfulness In Plain English
Now onto my list. These are the books I've absolutely loved to listen to this year:
My 5 Favourite Audiobooks This Year
5. Aziz Ansari - Modern Romance
Not all books have to be serious. I love Aziz's take on modern relationships. Hilarious, interesting and the comedian narrates it himself.
4. Derek Sivers - Anything You Want
I stumbled upon Sivers through the Tim Ferriss podcast. He's not your typical entrepreneur. He's engaging, fascinating and helps you look at life through a different lense. This audiobook is a quick and powerful 90 minutes.
3. Dr Brian Wansick - Mindless Eating
Amazing book on the psychology of eating. Seriously fasinating. There's hundreds of tips that will help you understand how we eat. Want to lose weight? Use smaller plates.
2. Grant Cardone - The 10X Rule
Grant Cardone is the Tony Robbins of sales. Some of you will get really excited by that description, and some of you will throw up in your mouth.
Cardone will come across as a cliche, capitalistic American to some. But I find him tremendously entertaining and motivating. He's the reason I love authors that read their own books. He's a charismatic and passionate narrator who expands on his written words. He'll motivate you to chase goals bigger than you ever envisioned.
1. Gary Keller - The ONE Thing
This audiobook prompted me to write this article. And give it the number one spot.
What is the ONE thing you should focus your attention on? What is the ONE thing you should do today over every other task?
Prioritise by importance and work on it until it's done. Then move onto the next one. Avoid living in your inbox, get off Facebook and throw out your to-do-list. These suggestions seem obvious but if you're an ambitious person you ABSOLUTELY have to listen to this book. My summary isn't doing it justice.
Not only does Keller give you recipes for efficiency and achieving the goals that Grant Cardone will help you set, but he also discusses the role of nutrition. As he says, "Our brain is 1/50th of our bodyweight but it uses 1/5th of our calories." He goes into detail about what foods power your brain. And what foods, and tasks, deplete your energy.
The studies that Keller references are fascinating and the solutions are simple. I cannot wait to investigate brain food further and create recipes that help with focus and mental stamina. Every human with a job should read or listen to this material.
Give Me More Audiobook Recommendations
Ok. While I'm on a role, here are the next five audiobooks I'll be listening to. They come recommended by award winning authors:
- Greg McKeown - Essentialism
- Garth Stein - The Art Of Racing In The Rain
- Ben Horowitz - The Hard Things About Hard Things
- Ryan Holiday & Stephen Hanselman - The Daily Stoic
- Yuval Noah Harari - Sapiens
Got something I have to listen to? Be brave and leave a comment or send an email to james@greenpress.co