Speeches, Essays, and Short Stories that Have Changed My Life, Part I

Personal Growth and Leadership

Personal Renewal, by John Gardner

Solitude and Leadership, by William Deresiewicz

The Disadvantages of an Elite Education, by William Deresiewicz

This is Water, by David Foster Wallace (VIDEO)

Conan O'Brien’s 2011 Dartmouth Commencement Address (VIDEO)

Conan O'Brien’s 2000 Harvard Commencement Address (VIDEO)

J.K. Rowling’s 2008 Harvard Commencement Address (VIDEO)

Eric Thomas’s “How Bad Do You Want It” Speech (VIDEO)

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Leaning into Reality

The LeanGains Guide, by Martin Berkhan

Discourse, by Mark Twight (this is a collection of short essays, all of them worth reading)

Nonmoral Nature, by Steven Jay Gould

Surfing: the Royal Sport, by Jack London

To Build a Fire, by Jack London

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Effecting Change in the World

Letter from a Birmingham Jail, by Martin Luther King Jr.

Creating Shared Value, Harvard Business Review

Collective Impact, Stanford Social Innovation Review

Triple Strength Leadership, Harvard Business Review

Hot Groups, Harvard Business Review