Uncommon Sense Teaching: Book Overview (+ Exercises)

A teacher standing in front of a classroom full of young students

What if all of our ideas about teaching are wrong? How can teachers create truly effective lesson plans? Teachers and students alike often struggle. In Uncommon Sense Teaching, Barbara Oakley and Beth Rogowsky team up with neuroscientist Terrence Sejnowski to explain how your brain actually processes and stores information. They also provide practical, science-based strategies to help you harness your brain’s natural learning mechanisms.  Continue reading for an overview of the book, including exercises to help you apply the book’s principles to your own teaching.

How to Do Things You Hate—Book Overview (Peter Hollins)

A silhouette of a person vacuuming a carpet in their home

Do you struggle to stay disciplined in work and life? Should you be focusing more on short-term or long-term values? In the book How to Do Things You Hate, Peter Hollins explains that avoiding doing the things you don’t want to do creates a spiral that makes everything worse. Instead, he teaches you how to strengthen your self-discipline so you can find the motivation to get things done. Continue reading for an overview of Hollins’ book, complete with exercises.

The Founder’s Dilemmas by Noam Wasserman: Overview

An entrepreneur reading a book while sitting in a chair

How do you decide who to select as a cofounder of a company? What are the benefits and drawbacks of venture capital funding? As an entrepreneur, you’ll need to consider the tradeoffs that come with each decision you make—and how each decision, in turn, creates new decisions that you’ll have to consider. In The Founder’s Dilemmas, Noam Wasserman explores the critical choices entrepreneurs face, including the fundamental tradeoff between wealth creation and maintaining control. Read more in our overview of The Founder’s Dilemmas.

The Biggest Bluff: Book Overview (Maria Konnikova)

A man playing poker at a table with stacked chips and cards

What is the relationship between skill and chance in life? What can we control, and what must we leave up to luck? In a world obsessed with certainty, Maria Konnikova’s book The Biggest Bluff reveals how poker—with its blend of skill and chance—teaches invaluable lessons about decision-making in uncertain conditions. A psychologist turned professional poker player, Konnikova demonstrates that while we can’t control life’s outcomes, we can master the decisions we make. Read more in our overview of The Biggest Bluff.

The First Rule of Mastery: Book Overview & Takeaways

A woman reading a book in a red chair

Do you lose sleep thinking about other people’s opinions of you? How can you let go of this worry and start living your life? The First Rule of Mastery examines the high price you pay for worrying about what others think, including missed opportunities, anxiety, and depression. Michael Gervais and Kevin Lake present a comprehensive framework for escaping the prison of other people’s opinions. Read more in our overview of The First Rule of Mastery.

Professional Troublemaker: Book Overview & Takeaways

A woman reading a book in front of a crowd of people while wearing a mask

Do you want to become more comfortable with who you are? Do you struggle to speak up, even if it’s the right thing to do? In her book Professional Troublemaker, Luvvi Ajayi Jones argues that challenging the status quo is scary. Still, it’s worth doing because it’s a powerful way to improve our lives and the lives of others. Read more in our overview of Professional Troublemaker.

Gad Saad’s The Parasitic Mind: Book Overview & Takeaways

Gad Saad speaking at the 2023 AmericaFest at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona, on December 18, 2023

Are dangerous ideologies spreading through our universities and institutions like infections? What happens when emotion overtakes logic in academic and public discourse? Gad Saad’s The Parasitic Mind: How Infectious Ideas Are Killing Common Sense presents a provocative diagnosis of society. Saad warns that certain progressive movements are undermining the core values that built Western civilization. His book examines how these ideas spread and what they mean for the future. Read more to discover Saad’s framework for understanding modern intellectual conflicts and his prescription for defending reasoned debate.

Ros Atkins’s The Art of Explanation: Book Overview & Takeaways

A public speaker, seen from behind, presenting a talk to a large audience in an auditorium

Do you struggle to get your point across clearly when explaining complex ideas? Are your presentations and conversations leaving people more confused than clear? Ros Atkins’s The Art of Explanation: How to Communicate With Clarity and Confidence reveals the code to effective communication. The BBC journalist’s seven-step method transforms muddy messages into crystal-clear insights that actually stick with your audience. Continue reading to discover how to master the skill that separates great communicators from the rest.

Abundance—Book Overview (Ezra Klein & Derek Thompson)

Journalist Ezra Klein standing in front of a door wearing a formal shirt and tie

Where do America’s biggest problems stem from? What if America could create a world of plentiful resources? In their book Abundance, journalists Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson argue that excessive bureaucracy and regulatory barriers are creating manufactured scarcity in housing, energy, and innovation. Their solution: a new “abundance agenda” that removes obstacles to building while maintaining important protections. Continue reading for an overview of Abundance.

Tiny Experiments by Anne-Laure Le Cunff (Book Overview)

A black and white image of a pencil on a checklist with the title "Goals" written on the top

How is the traditional goal-setting approach fundamentally flawed? How can you ensure that you’re pursuing goals that align with your authentic self? In Tiny Experiments, neuroscientist and entrepreneur Anne-Laure Le Cunff challenges our ingrained beliefs about achievement and offers an alternative. She says to treat your life as a laboratory for discovery rather than a linear path to predetermined destinations. Keep reading for an overview of the book so you can learn how to pursue true growth and fulfillment.