Episodes

Hey! I'm taking a two week mid-year break from fresh episodes, so ICYMI, here's a rebroadcast of the most popular episode of 2021 so far (which incidentally is my favourite book of the year... so far). About the book A riveting, deeply personal account of history in the making—from the president who inspired us to believe in the power of democracy. In the stirring, highly anticipated first volume of his presidential memoirs, Barack Obama tells the story of his improbable odyssey from young man...

Hey, have you subscribed to the bookmark newsletter? A fortnightly email with book reviews and ideas of what you should be reading next. Click here to subscribe. This week, it's time for another quarterly check in on my favourite reads from the last three months. If you missed the first part of the 2021 'best books', you can listen to it here. This time I'm talking about... Turning Right by Kay Bretz (hear more about this book here) Rare Breed by Sonny Bonnell and Ashleigh Hansberger (hea...

About the book A compelling, un-put-downable account of recreational marathon runner Kay Bretz’s transformation into one of the best ultra runners in the world. The reader follows the author during his physical, mental and professional challenges and celebrates his hard-fought wins as he discovers the motivation to succeed, leaving behind his former motivation to avoid failure. It all started by turning right when his entire perspective on what he was capable of started to shift. Turning Right ...

About the book We can all be more creative. John Cleese shows us how. Creativity is usually regarded as a mysterious, rare gift that only a few possess. John Cleese begs to differ, and in this short, immensely practical and often very amusing guide he shows it’s a skill that anyone can acquire. Drawing on his lifelong experience as a writer, he shares his insights into the nature of the creative process, and offers advice on how to get your own inventive juices flowing. Not only does he explai...

About the book Throughout our decade of aligning leaders, we witnessed an alarming lack of acceptance for unique people and “crazy” ideas that don’t fit the mold. We responded with our book Rare Breed to tear up the rule book and succeed on your own terms. Readers will learn how to resist constant pressure to conform, plus: How being rebellious has the power to move mountains — if you know what you’re rebelling against. How being audacious makes you a visionary — unless it spirals into reckle...

Something different this week on the podcast.⁠ ⁠ I've had a lot of conversations recently with leaders who are struggling to adapt to hybrid working, who are facing challenges in their teams, or who are just feeling overwhelmed.⁠ ⁠ So this week on Steph's Business Bookshelf, I'm sharing three essential books for leaders to read (yes, it was a tough list to whittle down to three).⁠ ⁠ The three are...⁠ ⁠1) Dare to Lead by Brené Brown⁠ 2) The Coaching Habit and The Advice Trap by Michael Bungay Sta...

ABOUT THE BOOK As high-achievers, we’ve been conditioned to believe that the path to success is paved with relentless work. That if we want to overachieve, we have to overexert, overthink, and overdo. That if we aren’t perpetually exhausted, we’re not doing enough. Getting ahead doesn’t have to be as hard as we make it. No matter what challenges or obstacles we face, there is a better way: instead of pushing ourselves harder, we can find an easier path. Effortless offers actionable advice for ma...

Thanks for listening. Please consider supporting the podcast with your next book purchase - save the Steph’s Business Bookshelf affiliate stores for Book Depository (Global) or Bookshop.org (US) in your browser. You can also say thanks by buying me a coffee. About the book The unauthorized story of lululemon. This is a book about ordinary people who took an opportunity to be creative, to be innovative, and to maximize their potential. Chip Wilson's part in this story comes from the learnings o...

About the author Cal is a computer science professor at Georgetown University. In addition to my academic research, he writes about the intersection of digital technology and culture. Cal is particularly interested in our struggle to deploy these tools in ways that support instead of subvert the things we care about in both our personal and professional lives. He’s a New York Times bestselling author of seven books, including, most recently, A World Without Email, Digital Minimalism, and Deep W...

I’m talking about something a little bit different this week, it’s not a book, but an essay. And one that is talked about and referenced regularly on podcasts and in other books.⁠ ⁠ I have quite strong feelings about the fact that more books should be essays. Some of the books I’ve enjoyed the least, would have been very fine essays. But no, they had to go and stretch it beyond its capacity over a mediocre 250 pages.⁠ ⁠ Luckily, Kevin Kelly didn’t do this. He either has more sense, or doesn’t ne...

About the book At last, a book that shows you how to build—design—a life you can thrive in, at any age or stage Designers create worlds and solve problems using design thinking. Look around your office or home–at the tablet or smartphone you may be holding or the chair you are sitting in. Everything in our lives was designed by someone. And every design starts with a problem that a designer or team of designers seeks to solve. In this book, Bill Burnett and Dave Evans show us how design thinki...

In this episode I mention a podcast which I've recently recorded with my friend Shane Hatton, all about learning. You can find the links to listen to it here, or search Phone Calls with Clever People on your podcast player. About the book What if everything you did was your choice, including how you spend your time, how much money you make, with whom you have relationships, and only doing work that aligns with your purpose? Sound hard? It’s as simple as changing the core question you ask yours...

About the book Getting rich is not just about luck; happiness is not just a trait we are born with. These aspirations may seem out of reach, but building wealth and being happy are skills we can learn. So what are these skills, and how do we learn them? What are the principles that should guide our efforts? What does progress really look like? The Almanack of Naval Ravikant is a collection of Naval’s wisdom and experience from the last ten years, shared as a curation of his most insightful int...

HEY! It's the Easter long weekend so I'm enjoying a short break and sharing this popular episode from the back catalogue that you may have missed. It's also one of the books I've shared the most over the last ten years - The Happiness Trap by Russ Harris. Enjoy... About the author Russ Harris is a doctor, therapist, father, trainer of health professionals, and author of The Happiness Trap (plus eight other books). Russ started his career as a newly-graduated doctor back in 1989, and soon disco...

A slightly different episode this week as I wrap up the first quarter of 2021 (I know, how did that even happen?!) with a round up of the five best books I've read so far. Some are new books, some are not new books. But there might be something you haven't read yet. Follow my reading adventures on Goodreads. Support my book habit: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/stephsbookshelf See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Business Bookshelf affiliate stores for Book Depository (Global) or Bookshop.org (US) in your browser. Or you can buy me a coffee. About the book In Thriving Mind. Dr. Jenny Brockis has draws on deep research and 30+ years of helping people solve persistent and serious problems to provide science-based strategies for overcoming them as well as the habits to help avoid them in the future. Walking you through common issues, such as loneliness, stress, relationship breakdown, loss of social conne...

Consider supporting the podcast with your next book purchase. Save the Steph’s Business Bookshelf affiliate stores for Book Depository (Global) or Bookshop.org (US) in your browser. [00:00:00] Welcome back to Steph's Business Bookshelf. And this week's episode; the book Think Like a Rocket Scientist by Ozan Varol. Keep listening to find out why you need to fail more successfully. Welcome back. I'm your host, Steph Clarke. And as usual, every week. I'll be sharing with you the three big ideas f...

About the book Your brand is the stories people share about you when you’re not in the room, and it’s these brand stories that determine if people buy from you, employ you, work for you or invest in you. When the stakes are that high, wouldn’t you want to take control of it? In Magnetic Stories, business storytelling expert Gabrielle Dolan reveals how you too can create and share stories that stick. Learn how to: define and distinguish your brand stand out from the competition implement bran...

About the book Intelligence is usually seen as the ability to think and learn, but in a rapidly changing world, there’s another set of cognitive skills that might matter more: the ability to rethink and unlearn. In our daily lives, too many of us favor the comfort of conviction over the discomfort of doubt. We listen to opinions that make us feel good, instead of ideas that make us think hard. We see disagreement as a threat to our egos, rather than an opportunity to learn. We surround ourselves...

About the book The only person you need to start and run a highly profitable and sustainable company is you What if the real key to a richer and more fulfilling career was not to create and scale up a new business, but rather, to be able to work for yourself, determine your own hours and become a (highly profitable) and sustainable company of one? Suppose the better-and smarter-solution is simply to remain small? Company of One is a refreshing new approach centered on staying small and avoidin...

About the book A riveting, deeply personal account of history in the making—from the president who inspired us to believe in the power of democracy. In the stirring, highly anticipated first volume of his presidential memoirs, Barack Obama tells the story of his improbable odyssey from young man searching for his identity to leader of the free world, describing in strikingly personal detail both his political education and the landmark moments of the first term of his historic presidency-a time...

Hey there, if you like this episode, please consider buying your next book from my Book Depository or Bookshop (US) affiliate sites, or buying me a coffee. About the book "Only staying active will make you want to live a hundred years." --Japanese proverb According to the Japanese, everyone has an ikigai--a reason for living. And according to the residents of the Japanese village with the world's longest-living people, finding it is the key to a happier and longer life. Having a strong sense o...

About the book Matthew McConaughey has been keeping diaries for 35 years as a way of recording his thoughts and “trying to work out the riddle of life”. These diaries formed this book. As he puts it he “took a one-way ticket to the desert and wrote this book: an album, a record, a story of my life so far. This is fifty years of my sights and seens, felts and figured-outs, cools and shamefuls. Graces, truths, and beauties of brutality. Getting away withs, getting caughts, and getting wets while t...

About the book In this book, Derek tells you everything he learned from starting, growing, and selling CD Baby, compressed into an entertaining and useful one-hour read. No secrets held back, Derek shares the biggest mistakes, keys to its success, and the philosophies behind the big decisions. Called “40 lessons for a new kind of entrepreneur”, it’s 10 years of experience in one hour, designed to be immediately usable for your own business or project. (You can buy the book and support the pod...