3 Books for Tough Times

Dec. 9, 2020

We may be working through tough times, but these recommended reads have the power to motivate and inspire. 

If you’ve watched any of our R+W Interview: Burnout Series yet, you’ll likely pick up on the fact that, while challenging, there are plenty of resources to get you through those tough periods. 

One such resource? Books, of course. Here are three books our R+W Interview Series guests have credited with helping them through difficult times:

Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

“Based on his experiences in Nazi death camps, including Auschwitz, from 1942 to 1945, Frankl's timeless memoir and meditation on finding meaning in the midst of suffering argues that man cannot avoid suffering but can choose how to cope with it, find meaning in it, and move forward with renewed purpose.”

Don’t have time to read it? Check out this video summary.

Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds by David Goggins

“For David Goggins, childhood was a nightmare - poverty, prejudice, and physical abuse colored his days and haunted his nights. But through self-discipline, mental toughness, and hard work, Goggins transformed himself from a depressed, overweight young man with no future into a U.S. Armed Forces icon and one of the world's top endurance athletes. The only man in history to complete elite training as a Navy SEAL, Army Ranger, and Air Force Tactical Air Controller, he went on to set records in numerous endurance events, inspiring Outside magazine to name him The Fittest (Real) Man in America. 

In Can't Hurt Me, he shares his astonishing life story and reveals that most of us tap into only 40% of our capabilities. Goggins calls this The 40% Rule, and his story illuminates a path that anyone can follow to push past pain, demolish fear, and reach their full potential.”

Don’t have time to read it? Check out this speech from Goggins. 

The Obstacle is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph by Ryan Holiday

“The book draws its inspiration from stoicism, the ancient Greek philosophy of enduring pain or adversity with perseverance and resilience. Stoics focus on the things they can control, let go of everything else, and turn every new obstacle into an opportunity to get better, stronger, tougher. As Marcus Aurelius put it nearly 2000 years ago: “The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.” 

Ryan Holiday shows us how some of the most successful people in history—from John D. Rockefeller to Amelia Earhart to Ulysses S. Grant to Steve Jobs—have applied stoicism to overcome difficult or even impossible situations. Their embrace of these principles ultimately mattered more than their natural intelligence, talents, or luck.”

Don’t have time to read it? Here’s a video summary.

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