3 Books That Will Change Your Life

00:06:15
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTvm5LfhDzg

摘要

TLDRThe speaker shares three books that have significantly impacted their life: Machiavelli's 'The Prince', which captivated them with its brutal realism; Thucydides' 'History of the Peloponnesian War', which they studied in ancient Greek and found to have a modern perspective on history; and Carlos Castaneda's series on Don Juan, which explores indigenous culture and personal power. They also acknowledge the influence of Friedrich Nietzsche and Dostoevsky but do not specify particular works. Overall, these books have left a lasting impression on the speaker.

心得

  • 📚 The speaker values impactful books over the greatest ones.
  • 📖 'The Prince' introduced brutal realism and clarity.
  • 📜 Thucydides' work showcases a modern perspective on ancient history.
  • 🌍 Castaneda's books explore indigenous culture and personal power.
  • 🧠 The speaker acknowledges the influence of Nietzsche and Dostoevsky.
  • 🔍 Each book shaped the speaker's understanding of human nature.
  • 💡 The speaker's reading journey spans thousands of books.
  • 🗣️ The speaker reflects on their youthful interpretations of these texts.
  • ✨ These books continue to resonate with the speaker today.

时间轴

  • 00:00:00 - 00:06:15

    The speaker reflects on three impactful books rather than the greatest ones, emphasizing their personal significance. The first book, Machiavelli's 'The Prince', captivated the speaker at age 15 despite a lack of understanding, due to its brutal realism and clear, pragmatic style. The second book, Thucydides' 'History of the Peloponnesian War', studied during college, taught the speaker mental discipline and showcased a modern narrative style that remains relevant today. The third book, a series by Carlos Castaneda, explores indigenous culture and power dynamics, leaving a lasting impression on the speaker. Although Friedrich Nietzsche and Dostoevsky also influenced the speaker, they could not be narrowed down to a single work.

思维导图

视频问答

  • What is the first book mentioned?

    The first book mentioned is Machiavelli's 'The Prince'.

  • Why did the speaker find 'The Prince' impactful?

    The speaker loved its brutal realism and clarity, despite not fully understanding it at a young age.

  • What is the second book discussed?

    The second book is Thucydides' 'History of the Peloponnesian War'.

  • What did the speaker learn from studying Thucydides?

    The speaker appreciated the intricate style and modern perspective of Thucydides on historical events.

  • Who is the author of the third book?

    The third book is by Carlos Castaneda.

  • What themes are explored in Castaneda's works?

    Castaneda's works explore indigenous culture, personal power, and confronting mortality.

  • Did the speaker mention any other influential authors?

    Yes, the speaker mentioned Friedrich Nietzsche and Dostoevsky.

  • What is the speaker's overall sentiment about these books?

    The speaker feels these books have had a significant and lasting impact on their life.

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  • 00:00:00
    there are some books that stick out in
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    my mind that have had a very very big
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    impact on me and so I like to answer
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    that question by not the three greatest
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    books ever but the three books that have
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    had the most impact on my life
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    I read like
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    thousands over the years thousands of
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    books for research and so it's kind of
  • 00:00:27
    like people will often ask you who's
  • 00:00:29
    your favorite child if you have a lot of
  • 00:00:30
    children and you'll inevitably say it's
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    like the last one
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    Etc so it'll be like the last books I
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    read are my favorites but there are some
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    that stick out in my mind that have had
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    a very very big impact on me so I can
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    remember when I was very young
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    I must have been 15 or so I got a copy
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    of Machiavelli's the prince
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    now I can assure you that I hardly
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    understood a word of it I had never
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    worked anywhere I had no knowledge and
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    power I had never been in like a
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    court-like environment I'd never been
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    around anybody to do like a prince or
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    anything but I loved that book I thought
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    it was fantastic it had no relevance to
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    my life in high school obviously but
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    what did I love about it I loved the
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    brutal realism of it I love the fact
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    that he was looking at human beings as
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    if we are these animals that we are and
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    he was analyzing it without all the
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    usual guilt all the usual moralism going
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    on in the world he was just presenting
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    us as we are
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    I didn't really understand
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    experientially what he was talking about
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    but the style of the clarity the
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    pragmatism the beautiful language
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    entranced me and so I probably read that
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    book six or seven times over the years
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    different formats but that paperback
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    that really strange little spindly
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    little tiny little paperback that I had
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    when I was 15. boy that had a huge
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    impact on me and you can see obviously
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    the influence on my books the second
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    book I studied ancient Greek
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    college and you'll think God that has to
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    be the most irrelevant subject anyone
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    could ever study in University and
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    you're probably right but it taught me
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    some great things it's the ultimate
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    mental discipline and I remember
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    when I was in my
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    second year I believe
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    we were given through Kennedys we call
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    thucydides history of the Peloponnesian
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    War
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    it took me three days to read one
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    paragraph in ancient Greek the language
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    was so difficult so weird I had to think
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    about each word and sentence Etc and I
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    thought
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    I came out of that I go this the style
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    of this is so insane it's so intricate
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    it's so brilliant it's so it's so
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    convoluted yet logical in its own way
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    and I became an incredible fan of
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    thucydides and obviously I read it later
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    on in English the whole book and it's
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    the most beautiful thing you can ever
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    read because
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    here you're reading about our history
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    as humans some 2500 years ago in ancient
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    Greece and you've got this narrator
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    who's so modern
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    someone who could be somebody who's
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    sitting right next to you who has this
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    very clear perspective and he's
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    describing these events so far in the
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    past they're so dramatic and they're so
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    exciting and he's analyzing it
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    brilliantly I wish we had a handful of
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    riders to this day who could be like
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    that who could have that Clarity who
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    could have that kind of logic who could
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    have that kind of analytical ability but
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    it existed 2500 years ago in this great
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    historian thucydides he wrote one book
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    that I know of the history of the
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    Peloponnesian War but it's the most
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    marvelous adventure you could ever go on
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    to a fantastic book and a huge influence
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    on me almost as powerful as the
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    Machiavelli
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    the third book is a very weird one it's
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    not something that most people know
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    about or that I've ever really discussed
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    but it had a very large impact on me and
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    it's it was a series of books written in
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    the 60s by a writer named Carlos
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    Castaneda he was talking about the
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    teachings of Don Juan which is the title
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    of one of his book and he had a book
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    called The Journey to exit lawn and if
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    you ever pick up a copy of the jury dig
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    slow I think it's in the early 70s he
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    said it came out
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    1971. you will understand where Robert
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    Greene got a lot of the 48 Laws of Power
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    and the 33 Strategies or these are
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    amazing books
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    um you know sometimes I wonder if they
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    date so well because they come from the
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    drug period And basically what it's
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    about is the author is an anthropology
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    student at UCLA named Carlos Castaneda
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    and he goes to study indigenous Indian
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    practices and he comes upon this Yaki
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    Indian named Don Juan who kind of
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    initiates him in all of the ways of
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    indigenous culture and it includes
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    eventually ingesting peyote and learning
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    to become a crow and all these weird
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    things that you think wow that's that's
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    too weird but a lot of it is this stuff
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    that's all about power it's all about
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    controlling yourself it's all about
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    confronting your mortality it's all
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    about becoming this great warrior in
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    life and you know if I read it now I
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    still love it it's not the same as when
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    I read it when I was 16 and I was
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    getting excited about all that stuff but
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    it's still very impactful it's still a
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    wonderful book and I'm actually using a
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    little bit in the law of sublime
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    so those are the three books that I
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    think have had the largest impact on me
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    of course I'm leaving out Friedrich
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    Nietzsche who had probably the greatest
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    impact on me of all but there's not one
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    book I can single out there's like eight
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    books and then of course there's my
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    favorite novelist Dostoevsky who had a
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    huge impact on me I can't pick out one
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    novel I'd have to do three or four so
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    that's my convoluted long-winded way of
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    answering that question
标签
  • Machiavelli
  • The Prince
  • Thucydides
  • History of the Peloponnesian War
  • Carlos Castaneda
  • Don Juan
  • indigenous culture
  • personal power
  • Friedrich Nietzsche
  • Dostoevsky