Book Recommendation #1: 'From Strength To Strength' by Arthur C. Brooks
Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life
This week, I'm excited to start something new.
A new section "A Book A Week," where we will uncover the wisdom from great books to help you elevate your life, unleash creativity, boost productivity, and build the future you desire. Each week, I distill the most impactful ideas from the books I’m reading, curating concepts that can make a real difference when applied to your life.
The first book of the shelf is From Strength To Strength by Arthur C. Brooks.
I heard about From Strength To Strength on a podcast and immediately bought it. Since then it has been sitting on my to-be-read shelf. Well, there's no better time to dive into it than now, as I start this new routine.
I always like to know a bit about the author before reading a book. Here’s some background on Arthur C. Brooks. He is a Harvard professor with a PhD in social science, a bestselling author, and a columnist at The Atlantic. Brooks uses science and philosophy to provide actionable strategies for living best life. He speaks on human happiness.
The book begins with the premise that as we age and our abilities decline and the areas where we find our early career success are no longer our strengths. So Brooks suggest that we must learn to "take the leap" from a career based on fluid intelligence to one based on crystallized intelligence.
What are fluid intelligence and crystallized intelligence?
Fluid intelligence, as defined by Cattell in his 1971 book Abilities: Their Structure, Growth, and Action, is the ability to reason, think flexibly, and solve novel problems. This type of intelligence diminishes with age.
Crystallized intelligence, on the other hand, is the ability to use knowledge accumulated over time. It tends to increase through one’s forties, fifties, and sixties and does not diminish until quite late in life, if at all.
The book is divided into eleven chapters. I enjoyed the opening story in Chapter 1, where Brooks describes a chance eavesdrop on a very famous man on a plane. The man, distraught about his professional decline, was complaining to his wife that he'd rather be dead. This was a well-known man, universally beloved as a hero for his courage, patriotism, and accomplishments and yet he was miserable in the eighties. As a social scientist this incident started a new quest for Brooks.
I also liked Chapter 4 which is about chipping away the things that are not relevant to you in your second half of life. One of the technique Brooks suggest is “Reverse Bucket List.” I liked it because I have problem with chipping away a lot of stuff in my life - both physical and mental.
Cicero believed three things about older age.
First, that it should be dedicated to service, not goofing off.
Second, our greatest gift later in life is wisdom, in which learning and thought create a worldview that can enrich others.
Third, our natural ability at this point is counsel: mentoring, advising, and teaching others, in a way that does not amass worldly rewards of money, or prestige.
In this book, Brooks shows the three forces holding us back (they are our addiction to work and success, our attachment to worldly rewards, and your fear of decline) and shows us how to remove them.
If you’re in the second half of your life, this book is must read.
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As always, thanks for reading.
Talk to you next week.
Being in the second half of life is a challenge, as your active career often ends, and you are searching for the next purpose. I know this search as I am living it. I love this piece!
Sounds like an interesting read. When I read about the overheard conversation on the plane I immediately thought of my sister who is four years younger than me. She made a similar comment recently which shocked me. She has a good group of friends, a supportive family except they don’t live in the same town, our brother lives nearby, she has a good group of friends, she is active with bike riding, pétanque and water fitness, but I think since her husband died nearly three years ago she still feels so much alone.