In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I want to introduce you to some books that will make you look at the world in a different way.
The theme of these books centers on how your life situation is much better than you give it credit for. It’s not just the spoiled child of rich parents who take life for granted. I’ve discovered that it’s anyone who is born to a way of living without understanding the details of how life was in an earlier time.
Without further ado, let’s discuss the books.
Contents
The Rational Optimist by Matt Ridley
This is the best book on finding out how awesome we have it. Mr. Ridley breaks down how life is better now from a comprehensive list of metrics including disabilities of the elderly, life expectancy, GDP, electricity, A/C, heating, personal phones, computers, transportation, health, and disease.
Bill Gates wrote about how surprised he was about the sentiments from the 2016 election made it clear that many Americans thought that their life was worse than their ancestors. I, too, was surprised. But then, I realized many people just aren’t aware of the data. Instead, they use their limited life experience to conclude how bad life is. Additionally, I was acquainted with personal development gurus like Jim Rohn and Tony Robbins who have spoken about how we’re better off than ever before while the general public hasn’t.
One of my favorite passages discuss how all of us have access to food, clothes, electronics, heating, A/C, and other purchases in our shopping centers that are crafted from countries all over the world, at our disposal, something that the richest men just a couple generations ago couldn’t access.
I’m hoping books like this one will tip the scale. And if you just want to feel better about your life, you only need to read the first few chapters. But if you want to go deeper, the book explores thought-provoking details of why we’ve progressed and more.
Existing book summary articles and reviews on the web don’t do the book justice. They’re poorly written and miss the point of the book, which end up giving the book a worse review than it deserves.
Factfulness, by Hans Rosling, with Ola Rosling and Anna Rosling Ronnlund
This book and the author pursues the same goal of educating the world more on how we’re better than we think and where we still need to improve. The author has other books and TED talks that are worth viewing if you want even more info (or just a different digestible form). Hans is exceptionally data-oriented. Prepare to see beautiful charts, graphs, and evidence in a compelling, clear way.
Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think by Peter Diamandis and Steven Kotler
This book discusses our progress and how fast we will continue to grow into the future as a society. The book covers innovations in water, food, energy, healthcare, education, and freedom. Peter Diamandis has other books (and newer ones) that cover similar topics.
Hillbilly Elegy by J. D. Vance
You may have heard of this before since Bill Gates has recommended it and the Netflix adaptation just hit Top 10 on Netflix (although the ratings aren’t great for the film, so I’d recommend the book version first). If you want a book that focuses on a profile of an individual’s life, look no further. I loved this book since it tells the story of a boy who grew up in a chaotic, dysfunctional, toxic, poor family, and despite his obstacles, he had just enough help and encouragement from his grandmother to make the best of it and become a successful Yale grad and lawyer.
This story is one of the most inspirational I’ve encountered since it proves that bad circumstances doesn’t mean you have to end up unsuccessful. That’s why I recommend it with my highest praise. I believe it’s applicable to many of my readers since they’ve been dealt a less-than-ideal hand with how their parents treat them and have to fight with the false belief that it’s all over or that they will never have any control. This book is a great reminder to stop complaining and having a fatalistic mindset.
I also love that the author, as an adult, admits he’s still got his flaws and psychological issues and reactions he’s dealing with because of his upbringing. He’s humble, starting off by saying that he doesn’t think he’s some big success, but argues he has a story worth telling and that he’s achieved some level of success given where he came from.
He even discusses the political side of solving the causes of families like his that are left behind by the nation since he gets asked that a lot and admits there is no simple, easy, or obvious fix given the complexities of it.
