Below are the people and products that have made my life better. I recommend checking out any that interest you. Feeling adventurous? Check out someone or something you aren’t familiar with and learn more!
Influences*
- Seth Godin – Seth’s daily blog, his books especially Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?, Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us, and Your Turn…still need to read The Practice
- Brené Brown – Unlocking Us podcast and Dare to Lead podcast (lifechanging and my #1 game changer for 2020-2021), all of her books especially Dare to Lead and The Gifts of Imperfection: 10th Anniversary Edition, Dare to Lead Organizational Read-Along
- Shane Parrish – The Knowledge Project podcast, Sunday Brain Food newsletter, Decision by Design course
- Tim Ferriss – The Tim Ferriss Show podcast, Five Bullet Friday newsletter, his books especially The 4-Hour Work Week (affiliate)
- Jen Brown – Sparta Chicks Radio podcast
- John Amaechi OBE – The Promises of Giants (affiliate) It is certain to be my favorite book of 2022 and I have quite the list of tough competitors still to read.
- Morning Brew – business newsletter (referral link), primary news source in my information diet so I have more room for curating helpful information
- Money Scoop by Morning Brew – financial newsletter (referral link)
- Inside Higher Ed Daily News Update – account is free but login required for unlimited articles)
- Adam Grant – Granted newsletter, Work Life podcast including Taken for Granted interviews, his books especially Give and Take
- Ryan Holiday – Daily Stoic daily email, his books especially Ego is the Enemy…still need to read the others
- Arianna Huffington – especially Thrive Global newsletters and Goodnight Smartphone (affiliate)
- Dan Pink – The Pinkcast newsletter, his books especially Drive
- Chase Jarvis – his book Creative Calling and Creative Live’s 30 Days of Genius series, Chase Jarvis LIVE Show and podcast
- Indra Nooyi – especially her thoughtful and sincere book, My Life in Full: Work, Family, and Our Future (affiliate) and any interview she gives. She is a incredibly engaging speaker.
- Derek Sivers – blog
- Jonathan Vieker – blog
- Colin Wright – newsletter
- Leo Babauta – Zen Habits newsletter
- Carol Dweck – her book Mindset
- These audiobooks were my game changers in 2017 and I highly recommend them – Collective Genius: The Art and Practice of Leading Innovation by Linda A. Hill, Greg Brandeau, Emily Truelove, and Kent Lineback (affiliate) and Creativity Inc. by Ed Catmull (affiliate)
- Harvard Business Review – if you make an account you can sign up for free newsletters, articles per month are still limited without a paid account
- Josh Kaufman – his book The Personal MBA, interviews, Ted Talk The First 20 Hours
- Trevor Noah – especially his book Born a Crime (affiliate) – you must do the audiobook on this one. Trust me!
- Jon Meacham – Hope Through History podcast, It Was Said podcast
- Matthew Kepnes – Nomadic Matt newsletter
- Ramit Sethi
- Glennon Doyle – her book Untamed
- Randall Stutman – Admired Leadership framework, interviews on The Knowledge Project and The Daily Stoic
- Roger Martin – interview on The Knowledge Project
- Angela Duckworth – her book Grit
- Matt Mullenweg – especially Distributed podcast, founding developer of WordPress used for this blog
- Susan Cain – her book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking and Ted Talks
- Gary Vaynerchuk
- James Altucher – his book The Power of No: Because One Little Word Can Bring Health, Abundance, and Happiness
- Tara Brach – especially guided meditations and her book Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life With the Heart of a Buddha
- Gretchen Rubin – especially her book Better Than Before, The Four Tendencies framework
- Chris Voss – his book Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It
- Mark Sisson – especially his book The Primal Blueprint
- Danny Dreyer – founder of Chi Running method
- Kevin Kelly – his book The Inevitable: Understanding the 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future and the articles 1,000 True Fans and 99 Additional Bits of Unsolicited Advice
- The Minimalists – especially their book Minimalism: Live a Meaningful Life
- HigherEdJobs newsletter
- Girls on the Run
*When possible book links go to our local independent bookstore Dragonfly Books in Decorah, Iowa. If Dragonfly doesn’t have it, there will be an Amazon link marked as “(affiliate)” next to the book. As an Amazon Associate I’ll earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.
Things That Bring Me Joy
- Trail Running Film Archive (regularly updated link to thousands of hours of trail running films)
- 3×5 Post-it Notes (affiliate)
- Legal pads (affiliate)
- Altra Lone Peak 4.5 or 5 trail shoes and Escalante or Torin road running shoes
- Hüma gel
- Tailwind Nutrition (Lemon and Unflavored) for racing and long runs
- Nuun for recovery
- Primal Kitchen barbecue sauces, ketchups, buffalo sauce, salad dressings especially Lemon Turmeric or Honey Mustard, and avocado mayos especially Chipotle
- Oofos sandals
- Smartwool and Darn Tough wool socks
- Running buffs and chunky infinity scarves from Cara Corey Designs
- Coros Apex 42 mm watch (affiliate)
- T-Fal 5-Quart Non-Stick Skillet (affiliate)
- Non-alcoholic beverages and taking a break from drinking is the game changer for 2022 so far. Friends know that I love good beer and wine so these recommendations should speak to how well these companies are doing at mimicking the alcoholic version.
- Grüvi (I recommend the Juicy IPA and dry secco)
- Curious Elixirs subscription booze-free cocktails with adaptogens (referral link)
- Athletic Brewing Co. (My referral link gets you a free 6-pack when you order 2 or more 6-packs and I get a 6-pack too. Everybody wins! I recommend Free Wave Hazy IPA, Soul Sour, and All Out Extra Dark.)
- Sitka Salmon Shares fish subscription
- When I’m not reading all of the nonfiction above, I enjoy Louise Penny – Inspector Gamache Series and Patricia Cornwell – Scarpetta Series as well as YA fiction from Zoraida Cordova (Hollow Crown Series), Holly Black (Folk of the Air Series), and Sarah Henning (Kingdoms of Sand & Sky Series, Sea Witch Series)
- The Oatmeal cartoon
- The Awkward Yeti cartoon
- Red Piglet clothing and designs
- WonderJoy candles and soy melts
- Toppling Goliath Brewing Co., Pulpit Rock Brewing Co., and so many more
Combining the Ordinary to Become Extraordinary 