The World's Best Book Summaries
What is the peak-end rule? How does the peak-end rule determine what you remember about an experience? The peak-end rule states that when people reflect on an experience, they tend to ignore the duration of the experience. Instead, they focus on two key parts: 1) the emotional peaks—the moments of strongest positive or negative emotion, and 2) the end of the experience. Here is why the peaks always stand out in memory, blurring the rest as background.
What does science have to say about human sexuality? What are the most notable theories of sexuality? Sex educator Emily Nagoski identifies two models that made an impact on our conceptualization of human sexual response: the four-phase model and the triphasic model. We’ll explore both of these models below.
Is Levitsky and Ziblatt’s book How Democracies Die worth reading? Did the success of Trump—an inexperienced outsider with possibly authoritarian instincts—suggest that democracy in the U.S. is backsliding? In How Democracies Die, authors Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt set out to analyze democracy’s long-term prospects for survival in the United States. To this end, they examine the historical processes by which democratic norms and institutions came to extinction in other countries in the 20th and 21st centuries and offer a blueprint for how to save the U.S. This How Democracies Die review covers the book’s context, background, and critical reception
Why is working for money no longer secure? What are the dangers of relying on employment to generate income? According to Robert Kiyosaki, working for money is no longer a safe bet for financial security, much less financial freedom. He says that people who generate income from the work they do (employees, self-employed, and small business owners) are at a much higher risk today than they were in the past because of the economic changes that took place over the past half-century. Here is what’s wrong with working for money, according to Kiyosaki.
What are the two modes of thinking? Can you deliberately alternate between them? Your brain naturally alternates between two modes of thinking: focused thinking and diffuse thinking. You can learn to switch between these two modes in order to solve problems. Read more to learn when and how to alternate between modes of thinking.
What is Brian Tracy’s book Goals! about? What is the key message you can take away from the book? In his book Goals!, motivational speaker Brian Tracy shares the mindset and the steps that will help you reach your goals in the shortest amount of time. As we’ll explore, he believes that goal-setting requires changing your mindset, being clear about what you want, using visualization, and keeping track of your progress. Once you have set this foundation, you can start setting and achieving your goals. Here is a brief overview of Goals! by Brian Tracy.
Will democracy survive? What can be done to prevent America from democratic backsliding? According to Levitsky and Ziblatt, the authors of How Democracies Die, American democracy is going to face strong challenges. The authors present three key factors that they believe will determine whether or not democratic norms survive in American politics: 1) the behavior of party leaders (particularly Republicans), 2) public opinion, and 3) the possibility of crises like war or terrorist attacks. We’ll discuss the implications of each below.
What is the B quadrant? How does one break into Kiyosaki’s B quadrant from the E or S quadrants? According to Kiyosaki, the B quadrant (big business owner) is a far likelier path to wealth than working in the E or S quadrants because you can take advantage of other people’s time to generate wealth. Kiyosaki says you have two choices when trying to establish yourself in the B quadrant: create your own business system, or buy one that already exists. Kiyosaki offers four routes to owning your own system in the B quadrant. Here is how to break into the B
Do you struggle to stick to your goals and follow through to the end? How do you commit to the goals you set for yourself? Once you have a strong conviction that you can achieve whatever you set out to do, it’s time to commit to your goals on paper. When you write down your goals, you solidify them in your mind, thereby increasing the likelihood that you’ll actually follow through with them. Here is how writing down your goals can help you increase your commitment to them and help you follow through.
What does the ESBI quadrant represent? What does each letter stand for? Can you be in more than one income quadrant simultaneously? Robert Kiyosaki’s ESBI quadrant represents four ways of generating income: E (as an employee), S (as a self-employed or a small-business owner), B (as a big-business owner), and I (as an investor). The way you generate income defines your quadrant, not what you do to earn it. You can, and in many cases should, generate income in multiple categories. Keep reading to learn about the key characteristics of each quadrant.