The Five Types of Wealth...
...and five other recommendations to enjoy this summer.
Dear You,
Today I’d like to offer you a selection of books, music, and life philosophies to enjoy this summer (or winter, for friends in the southern hemisphere).
The Five Types of Wealth: The first one is Sahil Bloom’s forthcoming book, The Five Types of Wealth. I’m excited to read this book, because I’ve subscribed to Sahil’s newsletter for a while now, and it’s always full of fascinating and transformative gems. Also, I’ve had a sneak peek at the Prologue, and in just a few pages it gave me chills, made me cry, and offered a visualization exercise that I want to share with my kids. The five types of wealth that Sahil addresses in the book are:
Time Wealth
Social Wealth
Mental Wealth
Physical Wealth
Financial Wealth
I’d be curious to know which type of wealth you’d most like to learn about?
You can pre-order Sahil’s book here! (Pre-ordering comes with various goodies, like having him come to your Book Club if you order enough copies.)
I love the Gaelic cairn on the cover:
2. Five minutes of music from the heavens: Arthur Rubinstein, playing Chopin’s Nocturne in B Flat.
One of those books that gets you looking at life through an entirely new lens: I read “The Status Game,” by the bestselling author Will Storr, a couple of years ago, and am planning another read this summer. I was just scrolling through the reviews on Amazon and they are full of well-deserved comments like this: “I feel like my head has exploded and [I] am seeing everything in an entirely new light. Highly recommend as a way to understand yourself better and your fellow humans, and what makes us susceptible to such odd behaviors. This book explains perfectly why it's impossible, for example, to reason with someone who has a tightly held belief and why the more educated you are the more likely to have a blind spot on said belief…” Also - the British cover for the book is characteristically wry and genius, as only UK book covers can be:
One and a half minutes of happiness: Here’s a video whose main purpose is to bring you joy: "Misirlou", a song from Pulp Fiction, performed by musicians at a French supermarket (via “Science Girl” on X) (If you’re having trouble clicking through to the video, use the link provided in the above words, “Here’s a video”):
Answering the Timeless Questions, via Russian Literature: Have I told you before about the great Northwestern professor of Russian literature, Gary Saul Morson? His introductory class - on *literature*, a subject that’s famously undersubscribed these days - attracts 500+ students and is one of the most popular electives on campus. When you read GSM’s books, and listen to his lectures, you’ll understand why. Here’s a recorded conversation (with written transcript) on “The Abiding Truths of Russian Literature”. And here’s GSM’s most recent book, “Wonder Confronts Certainty: Russian Writers on the Timeless Questions, and Why Their Answers Matter". He has so much to say on life, love, and the seeds of contemporary politics. Don’t blame me if you find yourself falling down a GSM rabbit hole, looking for all his interviews you can find!
What should you do in your ninth decade? I have never met the woman in this photograph, and don’t even know her name. But her daughter, Sonia Nolten (whom I also don’t know) posted this photo of her mother on social media, along with this description: “My mum is 80 today. I asked her what she wanted to do in her 9th decade and she said “learn Farsi so I can read Persian poetry.” Never change, mum.” THIS IS A WOMAN AFTER MY OWN HEART - and maybe after yours, too.
So I will leave you with this question: What do YOU want to do in your ninth decade? What do you want to learn, what do you want to read, what do you want to love?
Please let us know, in the comments below!
(AND DON’T FORGET about our Candlelight Chat this Sunday, at 1 pm ET, with special guest Cody Delistraty, who will be talking about his insightful new book, The Grief Cure - we’ll send out log-in info to Quiet Life members, this Saturday.) I am looking forward to seeing you!
❤️ Susan
I have thought about this many times during my life. Once, a therapist took me on a journey to find out the telos (aim) of my life. He walked (metaphorically) through a wood with me until we reached a clearing and pointed me to a house, in which I was to find my future.
While I crossed the clearing on my own, I imagined what I would find. I saw myself packing my suitcase to fly to the next conference, or would I get ready to teach my next class at university?
I reached the house and entered. There I was, sitting on a leather chair with a small desk surrounded by books. There were four more such chairs and desks. The desks each carried a computer, and suddenly I new what I had meant to see outside. There were some places around the house that had the little shift as if there was a lens. I was reminded of James Bond's invisible car. There was just enough shift to be irritated but not really see. Those were the connections into all the world that connected this house with many more.
When I saw Dr. Strange, the sanctum reminded of of that scene.
Why four more seats? We would gather in groups of five, with different characters and personalities. We would research, dialog, read, write.
Visitors would come and spend some time with us, only to return to their communities later. At times we would mentor or accompany somebody for a longer time.
Nothing of this was hierarchical. We were no gurus or zen masters nor were we monks. We were people who had found their purpose in learning and mentoring.
Maybe that is what I will do in my 9th decade.
I'm going down the Wade Davis rabbit hole. His anthropologic orientation on the cultures and times we live in, as well as historical perspectives and how they impact humanity and current day, his insight into the far reaches of cultural tribes to how the US has decimated the Andean peoples in Columbia, and of course, "The UnRaveling of America" essay that received over 5m views (published in Rolling Stone)...I am fed by his words, intelligence and richness of perspective. Pico Iyer did help him with the title of his latest "Beneath the Surface of Things." These dives into learning are enriching me during these easily triggering times.