Recommendations

My Favourite Quotes

“Hope is not a strategy. Luck is not a factor. Fear is not an option.”

James Cameron

“To laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children . . . to leave the world a bit better . . . to know even one life has breathed easier because you lived. This is to have succeeded.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Research your own experience.
Absorb what is useful.
Reject what is useless.
Add what is essentially your own.”

Bruce Lee

“Some people need more focus.
Others need to broaden their perspective.
Some people need to try harder.
Others need to stress less.
Some people need to care more.
Others need to let it go.
The secret is you are both people.
The key is to know which one you are in the moment.”

James Clear

“The struggle ends when the gratitude begins.”

Neale Donald Walsch

“I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.”

Bruce Lee

“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”

Viktor E. Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning

“Slow is smooth. And smooth is fast.”

My Favourite Questions

These are some questions I ask myself. They help keep me focused on my most important work for the day.

• What am I working on?

• What would excite me?

• What do I want to learn today?

• Who or what am I resisting right now?

Quake Books

Quake books are ones that made an impact on me or shook my worldview.

Whether it's a small quake or a bigger one these books shaped how I view and deal with the the world.

Out of these quake books, I've bolded my favourite ones.

Hope you find a book or two that shakes you to your boots. If you have any recommendations (particularly books that are 25+ years old!), send me an email at roxine[at]roxinekee.com!

• So Good They Can't Ignore You by Cal Newport

• Braving the Wilderness by Brené Brown

• The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown

• Everything is F*cked by Mark Manson

• The Subtle Art of not Giving a F*uck by Mark Manson

• Atomic Habits by James Clear

• Great by Choice by Jim Collins

• Daily Rituals by Mason Currey.

• Confessions by St Augustine.

• Anything You Want by Derek Sivers

• Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon

• How to Read a Book by Mortimer Adler

• Zero to One by Peter Thiel

• Good to Great by Jim Collins

• Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

• Deep Work By Cal Newport

• Shoe Dog by Phil Knight

• The War of Art by Steven Pressfield

• Linchpin by Seth Godin

• Mastery by Robert Greene

• The Promise of a Pencil by Adam Braun

• Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

• Blink by Malcolm Gladwell

• No Limits by Michael Phelps

• Open by Andre Agassi

• The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday

• The Inner Game of Tennis by Timothy Galloway

• Mind Gym by Gary Mack & David Casstevens

My Favourite Articles

Here are some links to articles on concepts I talk about a lot, whether it's in this blog or in my day-to-day conversations.

• "The ladders of wealth creation: a step-by-step roadmap to building wealth" by Nathan Barry

• 1000 True Fans by Kevin Kelly

• "Maker's Schedule, Manager's Schedule" by Paul Graham

• "Do Things that Don't Scale" by Paul Graham

• "The Gap" by Ira Glass. Pair this with Steal Like An Artist and So Good They Can't Ignore You from the book list above.

My Favourite Podcasts

Yes, I enjoy listening to The Tim Ferriss Show most of the time. But, then, who doesn't? Instead, here are some underrated shows made by masterful podcasters that I think you'll enjoy.

• Canadaland Commons: Dynasties

• Dissect

• WBEZ Chicago's Making series