New Year, Same Compounding

The three books that carried me through 2025, and the shelf you helped build

Last year, around this time, I did something I don’t do often enough.

I asked for encouragement.

Not the vague kind. The real kind. Stories. Anecdotes. Quotes. Books. Podcasts. The wisdom people carry around and reach for when life gets loud.

I was turning 40, and instead of throwing a big party, I wanted something more useful: a stack. A set of lenses. A few anchors for the next decade.

What came back was a reminder I needed. Momentum is rarely a solo act. The best people I know build in public, but they learn in community.

This year, I read 16 books. My goal is always to get as close to 20 as I can, and I mean real reading, not audiobooks. The number matters less than what it did for me.

Reading slowed my brain down enough to think straight. It sharpened my exceptions recognition. It gave me language for what I was seeing in markets, in venture, and in myself.

Three books stood above the rest.