#32 J.K. Rowling: The Benefits of Failure

#32 J.K. Rowling: The Benefits of Failure

What I learned from Very Good Lives by J.K. Rowling [https://www.amazon.com/Very-Good-Lives-Importance-Imagination/dp/0316369152?crid=1V1LF69AM52GK&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.3-nMD4TL4Bb0TBH1tfQxeqxdGBl_sajqEdfrhTlwwO9Xme_eYxy_ZhXnY7rI05QyRoLrodrI2Mme6yIp1QDJuC0vQ6xVTKIJLdeuJqg_MOLh-DONHweGqimVF5XsFfpVv8yBel-uBNdfzS4t_VGVLtblpD_4plmtBHnXFtHOPFLQbr85xLECRIEe_9sHveppm6kGkAp-ZXvuxBfppeRN40VmfbXiKbeiSw6ihYVo-kc.PZ5mRHrON6diCwTcz9o_iC1r2mjqAdscquvuqQjJVqA&dib_tag=se&keywords=very+good+lives+jk+rowling&qid=1779908218&sprefix=very+good+lives+,aps,247&sr=8-1&linkCode=sl2&tag=uncommonexc0f-20&linkId=047ee3bc614a9dfae1fad752f110d4f6&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl] This powerful book is based on her 2008 Harvard commencement address [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHGqp8lz36c]. J.K. Rowling is best known as the author of the Harry Potter series, wrote one of the most widely read book series in history after crawling out of rock bottom. This included a failed marriage, unemployment, and near poverty as a single mother. In this speech turned book, she shares two lessons she wishes she had known at graduation: the hidden benefits of failure, and the crucial importance of imagination.  _________________________________________________ Official Sponsors of Uncommon Excellence:  Readwise [https://readwise.io/uncommonexcellence/]helps me retain the most powerful ideas from every book, article, and highlight, so I can apply them, not just admire them. If you’re serious about learning at the level of the greats, Readwise is non-negotiable. Start your 2-month free trial at Readwise [https://readwise.io/uncommonexcellence/] Uncommon Excellence Merch [https://uncommon-excellence-shop.fourthwall.com/]: This isn’t about clothing, it’s about what it represents. A commitment to never settling, to chasing greatness, and to living with purpose. Every piece is a reminder of the standard we hold ourselves to: uncommon effort, uncommon ambition, uncommon results. Wear it as a symbol of the mindset that builds legacies. Click the link to join the movement [https://uncommon-excellence-shop.fourthwall.com/]. Uncommon Excellence AI [https://www.delphi.ai/uncommon-excellence/talk]: Designed to think like a founder, it’s trained on the lessons, books, and mindset that fuel the world’s greatest builders and thinkers. Whether you’re refining a business idea, breaking down a strategy, or tackling your next big move, this AI challenges you to think sharper, act bolder, and unlock your next level. Click here to try Uncommon Excellence AI now [https://www.delphi.ai/uncommon-excellence/talk#] Join the Uncommon Excellence Notes [https://uncommon-excellence-newsletter.beehiiv.com]for my notes for every podcast episode and my Top 10 Highlights of each book.

#31 How Walt Disney Thought (Part 2)

What I learned from The Official Walt Disney Quote Book [https://amzn.to/4skIWVA] During his long career, Walt Disney frequently commented on his philosophies of life, his ideas, his dreams, and his hopes for a better world. This book is a collection of those quotations attributed to Walt.  Walt once said, “In order to make good in your chosen task, it’s important to have someone you want to do it for. The greatest moments in life are not concerned with selfish achievements but rather with the things we do for the people we love and esteem, and whose respect we need.”  _________________________________________________ Official Sponsors of Uncommon Excellence:  Readwise [https://readwise.io/uncommonexcellence/]helps me retain the most powerful ideas from every book, article, and highlight, so I can apply them, not just admire them. If you’re serious about learning at the level of the greats, Readwise is non-negotiable. Start your 2-month free trial at Readwise [https://readwise.io/uncommonexcellence/] Uncommon Excellence Merch [https://uncommon-excellence-shop.fourthwall.com/]: This isn’t about clothing, it’s about what it represents. A commitment to never settling, to chasing greatness, and to living with purpose. Every piece is a reminder of the standard we hold ourselves to: uncommon effort, uncommon ambition, uncommon results. Wear it as a symbol of the mindset that builds legacies. Click the link to join the movement [https://uncommon-excellence-shop.fourthwall.com/]. Uncommon Excellence AI [https://www.delphi.ai/uncommon-excellence/talk]: Designed to think like a founder, it’s trained on the lessons, books, and mindset that fuel the world’s greatest builders and thinkers. Whether you’re refining a business idea, breaking down a strategy, or tackling your next big move, this AI challenges you to think sharper, act bolder, and unlock your next level. Click here to try Uncommon Excellence AI now [https://www.delphi.ai/uncommon-excellence/talk#] Join the Uncommon Excellence Notes [https://uncommon-excellence-newsletter.beehiiv.com]for my notes for every podcast episode and my Top 10 Highlights of each book.

#30 The Philosophy of Walt Disney (Part 1)

What I learned from The Official Walt Disney Quote Book [https://amzn.to/4skIWVA] Drawn from his own words, this is a deep exploration of how Disney actually thought about work, failure, money, leadership, and what it takes to build something that lasts. This is more than a collection of quotes. It’s a blueprint about building, about adversity, and about pursuing work that matters. If you want to understand how to create something timeless, this is how Walt Disney thought. _________________________________________________ Official Sponsors of Uncommon Excellence:  Readwise [https://readwise.io/uncommonexcellence/]helps me retain the most powerful ideas from every book, article, and highlight, so I can apply them, not just admire them. If you’re serious about learning at the level of the greats, Readwise is non-negotiable. Start your 2-month free trial at Readwise [https://readwise.io/uncommonexcellence/] Uncommon Excellence Merch [https://uncommon-excellence-shop.fourthwall.com/]: This isn’t about clothing, it’s about what it represents. A commitment to never settling, to chasing greatness, and to living with purpose. Every piece is a reminder of the standard we hold ourselves to: uncommon effort, uncommon ambition, uncommon results. Wear it as a symbol of the mindset that builds legacies. Click the link to join the movement [https://uncommon-excellence-shop.fourthwall.com/]. Uncommon Excellence AI [https://www.delphi.ai/uncommon-excellence/talk]: Designed to think like a founder, it’s trained on the lessons, books, and mindset that fuel the world’s greatest builders and thinkers. Whether you’re refining a business idea, breaking down a strategy, or tackling your next big move, this AI challenges you to think sharper, act bolder, and unlock your next level. Click here to try Uncommon Excellence AI now [https://www.delphi.ai/uncommon-excellence/talk#] Join the Uncommon Excellence Notes [https://uncommon-excellence-newsletter.beehiiv.com]for my notes for every podcast episode and my Top 10 Highlights of each book.

Uncommon Moments: The Art of Concentration

Uncommon Moments #3 focuses on this quote... “Do not many of us who fail to achieve big things … fail because we lack concentration—the art of concentrating the mind on the thing to be done at the proper time and to the exclusion of everything else?”- John D. Rockefeller _________________________________________________ Official Sponsors of Uncommon Excellence:  Readwise [https://readwise.io/uncommonexcellence/]helps me retain the most powerful ideas from every book, article, and highlight, so I can apply them, not just admire them. If you’re serious about learning at the level of the greats, Readwise is non-negotiable. Start your 2-month free trial at Readwise [https://readwise.io/uncommonexcellence/] Uncommon Excellence Merch [https://uncommon-excellence-shop.fourthwall.com/]: This isn’t about clothing, it’s about what it represents. A commitment to never settling, to chasing greatness, and to living with purpose. Every piece is a reminder of the standard we hold ourselves to: uncommon effort, uncommon ambition, uncommon results. Wear it as a symbol of the mindset that builds legacies. Click the link to join the movement [https://uncommon-excellence-shop.fourthwall.com/]. Uncommon Excellence AI [https://www.delphi.ai/uncommon-excellence/talk]: Designed to think like a founder, it’s trained on the lessons, books, and mindset that fuel the world’s greatest builders and thinkers. Whether you’re refining a business idea, breaking down a strategy, or tackling your next big move, this AI challenges you to think sharper, act bolder, and unlock your next level. Click here to try Uncommon Excellence AI now [https://www.delphi.ai/uncommon-excellence/talk#] Join the Uncommon Excellence Notes [https://uncommon-excellence-newsletter.beehiiv.com]for my notes for every podcast episode and my Top 10 Highlights of each book.

#29 Why We Read

What I learned from The Reading Life: The Joy of Seeing New Worlds Through Others' Eyes by C.S. Lewis [https://amzn.to/4sYuILB] Most conversations about reading today are obsessed with speed, volume, and efficiency. C.S. Lewis thought this completely missed the point.  For him, reading was not about finishing books but about escaping the narrowness of a single life. It was learning to see through other eyes, feel with other hearts, and inhabit other centuries without losing yourself.  In this episode, we explore Lewis’s quietly radical vision of reading: why great books enlarge the mind, why rereading matters, why some stories change us forever, and why the deepest purpose of books is not information but transformation.  To read well, Lewis believed, is to become a thousand men, and return more fully yourself. _________________________________________________ Official Sponsors of Uncommon Excellence:  Readwise [https://readwise.io/uncommonexcellence/]helps me retain the most powerful ideas from every book, article, and highlight, so I can apply them, not just admire them. If you’re serious about learning at the level of the greats, Readwise is non-negotiable. Start your 2-month free trial at Readwise [https://readwise.io/uncommonexcellence/] Uncommon Excellence Merch [https://uncommon-excellence-shop.fourthwall.com/]: This isn’t about clothing, it’s about what it represents. A commitment to never settling, to chasing greatness, and to living with purpose. Every piece is a reminder of the standard we hold ourselves to: uncommon effort, uncommon ambition, uncommon results. Wear it as a symbol of the mindset that builds legacies. Click the link to join the movement [https://uncommon-excellence-shop.fourthwall.com/]. Uncommon Excellence AI [https://www.delphi.ai/uncommon-excellence/talk]: Designed to think like a founder, it’s trained on the lessons, books, and mindset that fuel the world’s greatest builders and thinkers. Whether you’re refining a business idea, breaking down a strategy, or tackling your next big move, this AI challenges you to think sharper, act bolder, and unlock your next level. Click here to try Uncommon Excellence AI now [https://www.delphi.ai/uncommon-excellence/talk#] Join the Uncommon Excellence Notes [https://uncommon-excellence-newsletter.beehiiv.com]for my notes for every podcast episode and my Top 10 Highlights of each book.