The Books

Theory 2 Action Podcast

 

So among all of our segments on the podcast, we have:

• reviewed over 107 Unique books (with more 📚 coming) for their micro nuggets of wisdom 💡
• covered over 20 categories all around the concept of "FLOURISHING"   ...pretty big deal to us
• exceeded over 150 episodes...and counting...(this is quite fun!! 😀🥳💪)

So be sure to check out our FREE podcast and use the categories or the search function to find your favorite books for a FREE listen.

We add more FREE content each and every Tuesday and Thursday, be sure to sign up for the free episode notifications!

...want even more 💡 wisdom? 👇

 

 

ACADEMY REVIEWED BOOKS

 ** 26 **   =  TOTAL NUMBER OF BOOKS REVIEWED…more coming soon

This is where we breakdown the great books for their 5-7 key ideas for a FULL audio book review--We call, an Academy Review

want to be a member?(CLICK HERE)🎓⚡️💡

 

🤓(Coming soon) Behind the Bookcase 📚

 

July 2022

 

1. Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy Seals Lead and Win by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin  

(review length: 42 mins)

• One of the best leadership books I have ever read.   If you want to learn how to lead others and lead yourself, listen closely to this book and review.

 

 

 

2. The Miracle Morning: The Not-So-Obvious Secret Guaranteed to Transform Your Life before 8 a.m. by Hal Elrod

(review length: 35 mins)

• If you want to FLOURISH in your life, then you will want to start your day off right and more importantly you want to learn the structure and tactics from this book.

 

 

 

3. FREE BONUS  -  Lincoln on the Verge:  Thirteen Days to Washington by Ted Widmer 

(review length: 50 mins)

• A riveting thirteen day journey through a divided country at the side of the 16th President of the United States in February of 1861.  If you like history, you will love this book and review.

 

 

 

4. FREE BONUS  - Outlaw Platoon:  Heroes, Renegades, Infidels, and The Brotherhood of War in Afghanistan by Sean Parnell

(review length: 47 mins)    **CAUTION** - Sensitive material covered; not suitable for children.

• Because of the professionalism, courage under fire, and the extreme circumstances that this infantry platoon had to endure to complete its mission and come home, I can recommended this book whole-heartedly.  You will be--as I am--proud to be an American after listening to this story.

 

August 2022

 

5. Spark:   The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain by Dr. John J. Ratey

(review length: 33 mins)

• If you exercise every day you will ensure you're getting your biology right and in this book and review, Dr. Ratey will convince you--by exercising--you are getting your brain right too!

 

 

 

6. Atomic Habits:  An Easy & Proven Way To Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear

(review length: 35 mins)

• Good habits are the building blocks to living a flourishing life.   This book and summary helps you to create, develop and refine our good habits and break our bad habits.  

 

 

September 2022

 

7. Eat That Frog:  21 Great Ways To Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time by Brian Tracy

(review length: 31 mins) 

• Productivity is essential in living a flourishing life and in this book and summary we learn from one of the best in the productivity domain, Brian Tracy.   By learning how to make a decision, stay disciplined and follow through with determination, he helps us to conquer our first task of the day which is often our hardest task.  By doing so, we set the standard of the day.

 

 

 

8. Deep Work:  Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport

(review length: 33 mins)

• This book covers the 21st century superpower of “Deep Work” as Cal Newport teaches us.   By combining the key ideas learned in The Spark Academy Review and those key ideas learned in this review, you will find yourself “stacking” some great habits and flourishing skills upon each other at a practical level. To live a flourishing life, we should want to improve in our Deep Work habits.   

 

 

October 2022

 

9. The Storm Before The Storm:  The Beginning of the End of the Roman Republic by Mike Duncan

(review length: 45 mins)

• Author Mike Duncan brings alive the corruption, deceit, drama, and downfall of one of the most important times in World History, the decline and collapse of the Roman Republic.  They say history often repeats itself and the United States entering the 21st century has many similarities to the decline and fall of the Roman Republic.  If you are a lover of history or you want to compare America’s situations now to one of the greatest civilizations in humankind, The Storm Before the Storm is a great read.

 

• In 2014, I first heard Admiral McRaven’s speech at the University of Texas graduation ceremony.   His 10 lessons were and are inspiring, simple and direct.   I was very excited when I saw this book, Make Your Bed was being published in 2017.  In this Academy Review, we explore McRaven’s great advice in how to measure a person, finding someone to help you paddle and ultimately his best advice, dont ever, ever ring the bell!

 

November 2022

 

• When I first read this book in 2012--which was given to me by a good friend--I was blown away by its simplicity yet its effectiveness.   The Compound Effect is a primer for the 21st century by teaching us the very fundamentals for success, namely, to do mundane, unsexy and unexciting daily disciplines over time which will result in radical differences in your life.  I have treasured this book for over the past ten years and keep returning to it and im sure you will too once you read it and execute on its fundamentals.  Enjoy this book and review!

 

• In Above The Line, we don't have just a football book, but a leadership book.   Urban Meyer teaches us how to build a great business culture modeled after his 2014 Ohio State Championship season.  In this Academy Review, we learn the key ideas of E+R=O, No B.C.D. and Intentional vs Default mindsets.   Whether you are wanting build a winning business culture or just improve your personal leadership skills, this book and review will help you to achieve your goals...And always, Go Buckeyes!! ENJOY!!

 

December 2022

 

• Mindset is the new psychology of success, and it can help you change your life. Carol Dweck, world-renowned Stanford psychologist and author of Mindset, shows us how we can change our mindset to achieve our fullest potential. Learn how to grow your mindset and find success in any field.
  

 

 

14.  52 Little Lessons from Its A Wonderful Life by Bob Welch

(review length: 40 mins)

• Does George and Mary Bailey come to your house each and every Christmas?  They do at mine!
  Bob Welch digs deeper to find the hidden nuggets and little teachable moments in this memorable classic Christmas movie!   To fully enjoy this book and its review, is to grab your egg nog and enjoy this one in front of roaring fire because after all, Clarence--the angel--teaches us, "no man is a failure who has friends."
  

 

 

January 2023

 

15. Eat Move and Sleep by Tom Rath

(review length: 29 mins)

• Eat Sleep Move is one of the most practical books I have read. Broken down into three sections per chapter, each section is devoted to the three central topics of Eat Move and Sleep, Tom Rath continuously gives us great idea after great idea. As we know, large and tall buildings are built with great foundations, so if we want to build our foundation of a flourishing life--a good start begins with this book, Eat Move Sleep.

• Plague Upon Our House: My Fight at the Trump White House to Stop COVID from Destroying America details the behind-the-scenes events of the Trump COVID19 Task Force from July 2020 to November 2020. This is certainly one of the most pivotal periods in American History and certainly the most pivotal in the American History of Healthcare. Dr. Scott Atlas--certainly has the medical credentials--but doesn't pull any punches and speaks only facts in the face of an unrelenting Washington press core while naming names about the tragedy of healthcare policy decisions that was lockdowns, school and business closures and not following the science. I enjoyed hearing the truth for once in the last three years and im sure you will too!

 

 

 

February 2023

 

• The Great Leaders had what the ancient Greeks called prononia meaning “strategic foresight.”  Leaders like Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt had it and it is the balancing of what to look for, who to listen to and the actions that are desperately needed in times of extreme crisis.  In Dichotomy of Leadership by U.S. Navy Seals, Jocko Willink and Leif Babin brilliantly explain to us, what the English Poet Rudyard Kipling poetically told us over a century ago, “If you can keep your head when all about you / Are losing theirs and blaming it on you, “ or “If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster / And treat those two impostors just the same.”   This is one of my favorite books of all time, the second in the leadership series after Extreme Ownership and a book I highly recommended.  I hope you enjoy it too!

• Cal Thomas proposes the question: does America have an expiration date? He suggests this date may be 2026, based on the work of Sir John Glubb’s research.  Thomas examines the history behind his claim, suggesting America's constitutional republic may soon morph into something unrecognizable.  The book offers a compelling argument and a fascinating historic look at this potential future for America.

 

March 2023

 

• The Screwtape Letters is one of the most ground-breaking books of Christian literature to ever come out of the 20th century. Written in a correspondence format that alternates between screwtape, a devil senior advisor, and his nephew wormwood, an inexperienced junior tempter, this book dives headlong into how pride, subtlety and powerlessness affect interactions between two celestial beings bound by their mutual desire for greed and success.  Through every witty remark that comes laced with moral lessons about humanity, each page charms as much as it provokes.  You will enjoy this unique perspective on the cosmic struggle--namely of good vs evil--where all of us find ourselves.

 

 

20.   The Courage to Be Free by Ron DeSantis  

(review length: 47 mins)

• FL Governor Ron DeSantis is one of the most successful GOP governors in the last 60 years, providing a refreshing roadmap that has worked incredibly well in Florida and could be utilized all over the country. In his book, The Courage to be Free: Florida’s Blueprint for America’s Revival, you can get an up-close look at how DeSantis' strategies have proved to be successful during COVID lockdowns and vaccine mandates.  He certainly puts theory into action, exhibiting Alexander Hamilton’s “energy in the executive” from Federalist #70 to produce tangible results and push back against uni-party elites.

 

 

April 2023

21.   The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
 

(review length: 34 mins)

• Steven Pressfield masterfully details in this book, the internal war that is conducted between writers or artists or anyone who creates professionally for a living and that of "resistance!".   His technique is refreshing with short, pithy and concise sentences which brings the reader face-to-face with Pressfield's teachings.   If you aspire to be a writer or any other sort of creator in the professional sense, The War of Art: Break Through The Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles is required reading.

 

 

 

 

 

22.   Failing Forward by John Maxwell
 

(review length: 35 mins)

• Failing Forward is a modern classic work written by The Godfather of the Personal Development genre, John Maxwell.   This book helps us to look at our own failures, take ownership of them, learn from them and begin to start Failing Forward.  In this review, we explore the key ideas of Failing Forward vs Backward, what's the root of achievement and how to respond to any failure and much more.   Check out this great classic book if you want to turn your failures into successes!

 

May 2023

 

 

 

23.   Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose
 

(review length: 46 mins)

• Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose is one of the best historical WW2 books ever written. The book was the inspiration for the famous 2001 HBO miniseries of the same name. Ambrose's research for this book was extensive, from hundreds of hours of oral testimonies to visiting the battlefields themselves. This brings to life the soul of Easy Company, a small combat unit in the 506th regiment, 101st Airborne Division, as they fight their way through Normandy and all the way to Hitler’s Eagles Nest.  The book captures both the best and worst of combat, from camaraderie among soldiers to moments of terror and despair. It is an honest and moving account that will leave readers with a greater appreciation for what these brave men went through during World War II. I highly recommend it!

 

 

 

 

24.   The Art of Mental Training by DC Gonzalez
 

(review length: 31 mins)

• Are you ready to unlock the secrets of mental training and unleash your peak performance? Listen in as we take inspiration from the wise teachings of a Mr. Miyagi like figure in "Karate Kid" and explore key insights from DC Gonzalez's book, "The Art of Mental Training." Discover how to harness the power of mental control to enhance your everyday life and achieve a flourishing existence.
  
  We've got you covered with proven strategies for mastering mental performance, attitude, and visualization techniques like Imagineering, first made famous by Walt Disney. Learn how to interrupt negative self-talk, boost your emotional well-being, and prepare yourself for success.   Remember, "Whatever is going on inside your head has everything to do with how well you end up performing." 

 

 

June 2023

 

25.   Do the Work by Stephen Pressfield
 

(review length: 33 mins)

• What's standing between you and your creative dreams? Could it be a sneaky enemy called resistance, lurking in the shadows of fear, self-doubt, and procrastination? Join us as we tackle Steven Pressfield's insightful book "Do the Work," and uncover the secrets to conquering creative resistance and unleashing your full potential.
  
  Discover how to slay your personal dragons and bring your projects, dreams, and visions to life. We'll delve into the sevens principles of resistance, the duel, and examine the two key questions it poses, as well as the powerful answers we must provide. Drawing inspiration from the iconic story of Hamlet, we'll discuss the importance of "shipping the product" and see how it can help us overcome the struggle to finish what we've started. Don't miss this enlightening conversation that will guide you through the labyrinth of creative resistance and show you how to triumphantly emerge on the other side.

 

 

 

 

 

26. Sitting Kills, Moving Heals by Dr. Joan Vernikos 

(review length: 33 mins)

• Ready to turn your health on its head? This book promises to redefine your perspective on fitness, wellness, and the gravity we often take for granted. Joining us is Dr. Joan Vernikos, ex-director of the life sciencedivision at NASA, and author of the transformative book, Sitting Kills Moving Heels. Drawing from her extensive experience in training astronauts, Joan challenges us to see gravity not as a force to be battled, but rather as an ally in our pursuit of health and vitality.
  
  Through this review, we'll uncover the astonishing parallels between the physical deterioration experienced by astronauts in space and the health issues we encounter due to our modern sedentary lifestyles. Joan will guide us through the power and potential of 'G-Habits' - simple, achievable actions like standing, stretching, and walking - and how they can maintain fitness levels and keep us agile, even without traditional workouts. From the depths of outer space to the comfort of your living room, this episode is an inspiring journey of discovery that will leave you eager to reclaim your health and harness the power of perpetual motion. Get ready for liftoff!

 

 

 

July 2023

MOJO 2.0

(Coming Soon)