3 Books I’m Kicking Myself For Not Reading Earlier

Some books leave me frustrated.

They leave me frustrated because I’m kicking myself for not reading them earlier! It’s a wonderful, yet rather annoying sensation when this happens. On the one hand, you’re happy you read the book, but on the other hand, you’re kicking yourself for not grasping the opportunity you had to read it beforehand.

I read my fair share of books, but here are 3 I’m Kicking Myself For Not Reading Earlier…

Why didn’t I read them earlier?! Why have I spent so long procrastinating on reading them?!

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Fyodor Dostoyevsky is regarded as one of the greatest writers of all time and many would argue that Crime and Punishment is potentially one of the best books ever written.

Wrote in 1866, Crime and Punishment follows a desperate former student, Raskolnikov through the poverty-stricken streets of St. Petersburg, Russia. Raskolnikov murders an old pawnbroker without any form of regret or remorse as he starts to resent the world. However, as time progresses Raskolinkov’s conscience slowly begins to catch up with him when he finds himself playing a game of cat and mouse with a suspicious police officer.

I’ll be honest, I was intimidated to read Crime and Punishment for a very, very long time. I’d seen so many people ranting and raving about how amazing the book is, but I couldn’t bring myself to read it.

After all this procrastinating, I finally decided to give it a read, and wow! My mind was well and truly blown away! I can sit here now and honestly say: Crime and Punishment is easily one of the best books I’ve ever read. It’s phenomenal! It’s a masterpiece!

It’s one of them books that makes you re-think your perspectives on life. The way Dostoyevsky explores into and explores human nature and society is nothing short of ridiculous.

Here are a few quotes from Crime and Punishment…

“To go wrong in one’s own way is better than to go right in someone else’s.”

“Pain and suffering are always inevitable for a large intelligence and a deep heart. The really great men must, I think, have great sadness on earth.”

“Taking a new step, uttering a new word, is what people fear most.”

Poor Charlie’s Almanack by Peter D. Kaufman

To the outside world, billionaire businessman, investor, and philanthropist Charlie Munger was probably most well known for being Warren Buffet’s business partner, but he was so much greater than that.

In Poor Charlie’s Almanack, author Peter D. Kaufmann perfectly draws on and captures Munger’s obscene amount of knowledge across a seemingly unlimited amount of subjects from business and finance, psychology, philosophy, history, and almost any subject you could think of!

Poor Charlie’s Almanack gives us the ultimate breakdown and introduction to the mental models Munger used to approach life, learning, investing and decision-making, which made him such a great man.

I’m a big fan of Charlie Munger. He’s incredibly funny, witty, ridiculously intelligent, and incredibly wise, and I’d credit Poor Charlie’s Almanack with revolutionising my approach to learning and life in general.

It’s easily one of the best books I’ve read so far this year, one I’ll be re-reading again in many years to come.

Here are a few quotes from Poor Charlie’s Almanack…

“In my whole life, I have known no wise people (over a broad subject matter area) who didn’t read all the time — none, zero. You’d be amazed at how much Warren reads — and at how much I read. My children laugh at me. They think I’m a book with a couple of legs sticking out.”

“Spend each day trying to be a little wiser than you were when you woke up. Day by day, and at the end of the day if you live long enough like most people, you will get out of life what you deserve.”

“Acquire worldly wisdom and adjust your behaviour accordingly. If your new behaviour gives you a little temporary unpopularity with your peer group…then to hell with them.”

Never Finished by David Goggins

Known as the ‘toughest man on the planet’, David Goggins is a former US Navy Seal, ultra-marathon runner, and cyclist as well as being a former record holder for the number of pull-ups completed in 24 hours (4025 pull-ups to be precise!). In truth, if you have never heard of David Goggins, then you must have been living under a rock!

In Never Finished, Goggins takes us behind the scenes of his ‘mental lab’, where over the years he’s managed to develop and craft his crazy, unbreakable mindset. As it turns out, David’s previous limits were only the beginning and the quest for greatness is one that is never going to end.

Never Finished is the follow-up book from Goggins’ other smash hit memoir, Can’t Hurt Me, which I’ve read several times over. For whatever reason I never got around to reading Never Finished until last month and I’m sad it took me so long to read it, because it’s ridiculously motivating and inspiring, just like Can’t Hurt Me.

If you’re looking for a book to get you fired up and get your s**t together, then Never Finished is the perfect place to start, I promise!

Here are a few quotes from Never Finished…

“Every minute you spend feeling sorry for yourself is another minute not getting better, another morning you miss at the gym, another evening wasted without studying. Another day burned when you didn’t make any progress toward your dreams, ambitions, and deepest desires. The ones you’ve had in your head and heart your entire life.”

“I’m haunted by my future goals, not my past failures. I’m haunted by what I may still become. I’m haunted by my own continued thirst for evolution.”

“It is a lifelong quest for more knowledge, more courage, more humility, and more belief. Because when you summon the strength and discipline to live like that, the only thing limiting your horizons is you.”