Ayush, How do you come across top tier content again and again?
5th April, 2023
5:30 PM
Dear Reader,
I was going somewhere on my motorcycle when I got an idea for this article. This was a topic I wanted to address for some time. The reason is, well nevermind the reason. If you’d like to know how I discover good content that makes me smarter and life better, do read on.
Why don’t I tell you how I stumbled upon some of the greatest content on earth on various subjects and you can figure out the pattern yourself?
48 Laws of Power — Robert Greene (Book)
This is one of the best books on the psychology of power out there. It is full of highly actionable advice and lessons masterfully extracted from great personalities of history, such as Napoleon, Caesar, Thomas Shelby (jk) etc.
I was introduced to this gem of a book by some guy’s comment on a youtube video, probably on psychology or power. The name is badass, so I checked out the reviews, and sure enough, they were all amazing. Bought it instantly, and it’s been one of my favourite books ever since.
Napoleon: A Life — Andrew Roberts (Book)
Some hundreds, or even thousands of biographies have been written about Napoleon, but allegedly this one is THE BEST of all of them. I haven’t read any other book, so I took the reviewers at face value. But I can attest to the fact that the book is indeed very well written. It is a masterpiece in terms of storytelling, and reading it made me absolutely fall in love with Napoleon.
Just like the last book, I came to know about this one from a youtube comment as well.
How to take over the world (Podcast)
I related with Thomas Shelby when he said
“I have trouble sleeping.”
But instead of reading Greek literature, I listen to podcasts. And when I was reading Napoleon, I wanted to read and listen about nothing and no one else, so I checked out what podcasts there are on him.
This podcast called “How to Take Over The World” caught my eyes, and I started it.
And I must say, it’s got my vote for the best history podcast out there. There’s a few others that I like, but this is easily my favorite.
The narrator Ben Wilson knows his stuff very well, and he flawlessly ties his research into a story he could deliver the highlights of in around a couple hours. And his voice is quite soothing. History asmr.
Since discovering him, I’ve listened to quite a few of his podcasts and I cannot recommend it enough.
Huberman Lab Podcast
Andrew Huberman is a professor of neurobiology and opthalmology at the Stanford School of Medicine.
I’ve listened to his podcast so many times, this line from his introduction is imprinted in my brain.
His podcast is dedicated to bring science to the public in a zero cost to consumer way, and he does a great job of doing so. His podcast is packed with actionable information on various topics like Focus, Sleep, Health, Creativity and more.
I came to know about him when he appeared as a guest on the Joe Rogan Podcast (another great podcast, but it’s far too common to be included in this list) or the Lex Fridman Podcast (too common, same as Joe’s)
The Last Kingdom — Netflix
It’s a historical show set in the 9th century England, when the vikings were raiding the English lands.
I came across this how? Well…
I was studying about Winston Churchill, and found out he won a noble prize in literature and that he was a gifted writer. So I wanted to check his writing out.
I looked up what books he had written, and mostly they were about British Politics and wars and I wasn’t much interersted in those. But there was one called “The History of the English Speaking people”, which sounded interesting so I got it.
I started, and two chapters in I thought if I could watch a show set in this era instead of reading a book, I’ll get a better feel and understanding of what really went down, so I looked up if there were any, and thus I found The Last Kingdom.
I started it instantly, and within 72 hours I finished in it’s entirety. I simply couldn’t stop watching it. It’s based on a novel series called “The Saxon Stories” by Bernard Cromwell, and I might pick up those later.
Now, I could go on and on..but I suppose you get the idea. I guess the gist of it is to follow your curiosity — it will take you to wonderful places.
See ya.
