📚 10 Books mentioned in "Cal Newport: Take The Pressure Off Productivity" of The Daily Stoic

I want to be better at like really something I'm really working at like when I wrote Deep Work, for example, it was, yeah, I came out of this environment, the theory group at MIT, in which like focus was the number one thing.

The host describes his experience in the theory group at MIT, highlighting the importance of focus, while referencing his book 'Deep Work'.

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Yeah, you go back and read David Allen, what you get, what's his goal? Occasional moments of Zen-like peace, among the mind, like there's nothing to turn you into a processing machine and a survival process you, right?

In this segment, the host discusses the book 'Getting Things Done' by David Allen, emphasizing its goal of attaining moments of Zen-like peace in one's mind, as opposed to merely becoming a productivity machine.

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Like I always tell people for me, the most important phone call probably in my life is when I decided to write a book. I called a family friend who was an agent and said, 'Explain to me how to sell books, and in particular what would be the very narrow path that like a 20 or 21-year-old could follow to sell a book?'

The speaker discusses the significance of a crucial phone call he made to an agent, seeking advice on the process of selling books, particularly focusing on how a young person could navigate this path to get their book published.

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I was like, okay, got have my standard advice for writing a book and he had this whole like alternative world built out about how he was going to run around the whole. It involved him spending a lot of money, yeah, on these marketing firms and these marketing firms were going to get a lot of attention to his self-published book.

The host recounts a story about someone discussing their plans for self-publishing a book. The person intends to invest significantly in marketing firms to help promote their work.

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I think this book, Slow Productivity, is like the most of the books I've written where it's a question I have.

In this segment, Cal Newport discusses his book 'Slow Productivity', emphasizing that it embodies a question he has been contemplating and is reflective of the themes present in his other works.

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And so I was like, I got to really—I really got to clean up my understanding of these intuitions and instincts I have about slowly working towards what matters because I've actually created a lot of things as I've gotten better and gotten more stature and the opportunities are everywhere. And I felt like I was in danger of impeding my own progress, so this Slow Productivity is probably the book I most had myself in mind as a reader.

In this segment, Cal Newport discusses his book 'Slow Productivity', which he wrote to help clarify his understanding of how to work steadily towards meaningful goals, indicating that he considers himself the ideal reader for this work.

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And then it's okay, we're going to do the four cardinal virtues books, we're going to, you know, really push the studio quality pod, you know, the plays. It was like you push chips in, right?

The guest refers to 'the four cardinal virtues books', discussing them in the context of previous works associated with the podcast host.

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And you can actually see this by looking at business advice literature like books like the popular books, right? So in the 80s and 90s, he was like, the big name is going to be Stephen Covey, right?

The host discusses business advice literature, highlighting its significance and referencing popular books from authors like Stephen Covey.

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As you’ve mentioned, obstacles away sold a great number of copies, but you received a modest advance. The publisher’s hesitance reflected the dynamic values you expressed earlier; it may not feel fair on the surface initially, but building on smaller wins has its benefits.

During the conversation, the guest highlights the significant sales of the host's book, 'The Obstacle Is the Way', while mentioning that the host received a modest advance from the publisher.

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In your case, truly the obstacles away sold incredibly well over time, closing the loop on the early takes of its career and growth.

The guest discusses the success of the host's book, 'The Obstacle Is the Way', highlighting how it has sold exceptionally well over time and has contributed to its growth.

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So you get seven habits, you get first things first, read these books, they're very optimistic, they're all about self-actualization. If you've ever read these books, it's like, you figure out your roles in life, yeah.

The host discusses 'The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People' by Stephen Covey, focusing on its principles of self-actualization and the importance of identifying one's roles in life.

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So early in grad school, I'm at MIT. I had published these two books about how to be a good student, right? And I had a blog.

The speaker shares his experience in grad school at MIT, noting that he published 'two books about how to be a good student,' which ties into the advice he was offering.

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