Books Recommended by Scott Perry
Read the interview: Scott Perry
In Scott Perry’s words:
I don’t read much fiction these days, but favorites from my past are A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin, Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, and The Razor’s Edge by Somerset Maugham. All three are well crafted tales of the struggle to find meaning and one’s place in the world.
Books by Scott Perry
9 books recommended by Scott Perry
Meditations
Meditations, by Marcus Aurelius is one that I’ve read annually since I was in the 7th Grade. It’s the personal journal of the last of the Five Good Emperors of Rome. Meditations delivers wisdom in short reflections and reminders on a variety of topics such… Read the full quote
Meditations, by Marcus Aurelius is one that I’ve read annually since I was in the 7th Grade. It’s the personal journal of the last of the Five Good Emperors of Rome. Meditations delivers wisdom in short reflections and reminders on a variety of topics such as the importance of gratitude, dealing with difficult people, duty, and the individual’s place in society and the cosmos. [...] I first read Marcus Aurelius while translating his maxims in Latin class. They resonated so deeply that I asked for extra quotes to translate as homework!
My teacher loaned me his copy of Meditations and I read it through in one sitting. What struck me was that Marcus spoke to himself in the same way that I did, always reminding himself to cultivate his virtue and the content of his character. I borrowed my teacher’s copy of Meditations so often that he gifted it to me when I graduated. It’s been a constant companion ever since, but I didn’t associate it with Stoic philosophy until I was approaching my 50th birthday. We had moved and my copy of Meditations had gone missing, so I purchased a new copy. It was the Gregory Hays translation, which has an excellent overview Stoicism.
The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles
In addition to Meditations and other texts on Stoicism, Steven Pressfield’s The War of Art and Seth Godin’s The Icarus Deception have had a profound impact on my life and vocation. Both provide a unique lens for identifying what it means to be a creative and what it takes to deliver work that matters to those that need it.
A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy
The historic Stoic and Buddhist texts are very accessible, but William Irvine’s A Guide to the Good Life is a gentle introduction to Stoicism’s relevance to modern life and touches on its similarities to Buddhism.
The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever
Michael Bungay-Stanier’s The Coaching Habit was the first book I read when I received the altMBA6 “care package.” It delivers a system for developing worthwhile habits and engagements that I found compelling and effective. I use the seven question system Michael teaches in my work as a guitar teacher, life coach, and musical collaborator.
The Icarus Deception: How High Will You Fly?
by Seth Godin
In addition to Meditations and other texts on Stoicism, Steven Pressfield’s The War of Art and Seth Godin’s The Icarus Deception have had a profound impact on my life and vocation. Both provide a unique lens for identifying what it means to be a creative and what it takes to deliver work that matters to those that need it.
Real Artists Don’t Starve: Timeless Strategies for Thriving in the New Creative Age
by Jeff Goins
I just dropped reading a book that was not delivering on its promise and pulled Jeff Goins’ Real Artists Don’t Starve out of my “read-next” stack. It was gifted to me by my altMBAAlumni friend Brigitte Anderson Cutshall who would make a great guest in this series!
Similar reading lists
- Mike Benkovich (3 books in common)