Hey there —

Imagine you’re at Barnes & Noble and debating whether to get How to Win Friends and Influence People or The Lord of the Rings. 📚Which one would you read if you wanted to expand your skill set? For many, reading is a frivolous activity unless you’re extracting knowledge from it. After all, a book that’ll teach you how to win friends and influence people sounds way more impactful than reading about wizards and hobbits. 🧙‍♀️

Some of the world’s top performers reaffirm the notion that self-help is more useful than fiction. Steve Jobs recommended 31 books; only 5 of them were fiction. Warren Buffet endorsed zero fiction books out of 52 titles! Even our very own Matt D’Avella didn’t mention any fiction in his video, “Six Books that Changed My Life.” 💔

But what if reading fiction came with more bonuses than just getting lost in a story?

That’s right. Research shows that under those “silly stories” are some benefits that’ll give the self-help category a run for its money. 🏃

It turns out that reading fiction is CrossFit for the brain because it forces us to form connections between the material and our own lives. This exercise in imagination boosts our counterfactual reasoning and critical thinking capabilities.

Reading fiction can also melt away stress. A study conducted at The University of Sussex found that it reduced stress by 68%, making it more effective than tea, music, or a stroll outside.

It can also deepen your empathy. The more engrossed you are in a story, the higher your potential for empathy as you experience the world as someone with a different gender, culture, age, race, and more.

Fiction allows us to escape reality and return as a better person (we can’t always say the same about Netflix or Instagram 🙃).

But don’t dismiss self-help just yet — an actionable self-help book can change your life.

Before you dash to your local library, there are plenty of sites — such as Project Gutenberg — that have thousands of books online for free.

Next time you’re figuring out what book to read, remember those “silly stories” aren’t “mindless entertainment” — they’ll boost your critical thinking, relax you, and deepen your emotional intelligence.

So, go ahead, grab that fantasy novel — you’ll be better off for it. 😉

How to make someone say yes

by Nudge

How do you convince someone to say yes?

If you were a strategic kid, you would wait until your parents were in a good mood. But in the adult world, things don’t function quite the same way. 😅

That’s where the Nudge podcast comes in. Hosted by consumer behavior expert Phill Agnew, you’ll learn about the “why” behind our decisions — and how to use that knowledge in marketing.

This episode covers tons of persuasion techniques, such as reducing your “customer effort score” and the “door in the face” (not as harsh as it sounds, promise).

Listen to the podcast episode →

Invisible women: Data bias in a world designed for men

by Caroline Criado Pérez

There’s an abundance of data on men, which makes them “the norm.” But, 49.58% of the world’s population are women — and this data creates a bias toward men.

That’s a problem because data is used to allocate resources and influence critical decisions about everything from medical research to politics, and disaster relief.

In her book Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men, Caroline Criado Pérez dissects how this bias impacts women. It’ll leave you gobsmacked and infuriated, but also enlightened.

Read the book →

Discover the best graduation speeches

by Sahil Patel

Who doesn’t love a poignant commencement speech designed to inspire college graduates?

This website, created by Sahil Patel, has curated some of the best-known commencement speeches across the years.

You’ll find motivational addresses from icons such as Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey, and Will Ferrell. You can even filter them by various professions, such as “Comedian”, “Author”, and “Investor.”

Check out the site →

I'm loving The Overstory by Richard Powers. In this novel, nine people are united by their love of trees and join the fight against deforestation. Thanks to this book, I now see the oak tree outside my bedroom window in a totally different light. 🌳
— Alice, Freelance Writer

I just watched the docuseries Pepsi, Where’s My Jet? on Netflix. It’s a true story about one kid's attempt to redeem enough Pepsi Points to get a harrier jet. It’s a really fun watch and it ultimately becomes a David vs. Goliath court case that shines a light on the fine print of advertising (or lack-thereof).
— Mark, Product Development

I've been listening to Eddie Vedder's Into The Wild. I first watched the film (and fell in love with the soundtrack) back when I first got interested in minimalism in 2010. Giving me serious nostalgic vibes and calming my nerves during a currently hectic period of my life!
— Matt, Slow Growth Founder

My partner and I recently got to see Florence + The Machine (my all-time favorite music artist) in concert and it was amazing. Her latest album, Dance Fever, was my most listened-to album this year and it’s still on repeat. Two of my fav tracks are Free (I highly recommend checking out the music video starring Florence and Bill Nighy), and Morning Elvis — the crescendo gives me goosebumps every time.
— Ashley, Content Writer

Written by Alice Lemée

Edited by Matt D'Avella & Kerstin Sheppard