The Bible
If this thing is true (and I think it is) then it’s more important than everything that’s ever been written. It reveals the purpose of life, our place in the universe, and more.
Resources
Things I use, read and recommend.
Formative Books
East of Eden
A story of two families, a story of us all. The magnum opus of one of America’s greatest.
Desiring God
Happiness and how to (counterculturally) get it.
Amusing Ourselves to Death
How mediums (and technology) change us.
Naked Economics
Economics made fun. Should be required reading for all Americans.
Ragamuffin Gospel
Our biggest problem? Saying we believe in grace - but not really believing it. Ragamuffin pushes grace from your head down to your heart.
Guns, Germs, and Steel
Why did the West conquer the world? Guns, Germs, and Steel. How did Europe master these while everyone else didn’t?
Total Truth
How to think about worldview, science, and Christianity. [A philosophy of everything]
4-Hour Workweek
Modern life enables lifestyle design. Use Pareto’s and Parkinson’s Law to exponentially increase productivity and build your life on your own terms.
Getting Things Done
A life-changing system for keeping it all in order.
Atomic Habits
Redesign who you are not with willpower but with a deeper understanding of how humans create habits.
Digital Minimalism
A way of living well in the 21st century without ceding your minds to Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Dorsey, etc.
Deep Work
You have four hours per day to change the world. Don’t blow it.
Red Rising
A young boy colonizing mars from the mines attempts to remake the solar system against the powers that be. One of the best fiction trilogies ever.
Rich Dad, Poor Dad
Key to living in a capitalist world: Buy assets before liabilities. Watch your life change.
The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry
The way of Jesus in the 21st century.
Team of Rivals
The greatest telling of the figure who looms so large in America’s past (and present) is one that places him among his contemporaries.
Things I recommend
Journal
“Know Thyself” - Dream, Plan, Think, Do. It all starts with a journal and a pen.
Sauna
-10 degrees = Sad face. -10 degrees + Sauna = Joy.
Silent. Hot. Healthy. Good for mind, body, and soul. Prerequisite for cold climates.
Rad Power Bikes
Blaze around town at blistering speeds on the most affordable e-bike. Ditch the car and join the revolution!
Visible Phone Service
Verizon service. $25/mo (when you’ve got a party of any 4 people).
Use this link to get your first month for $5.
Mr. Money Mustache
PhD in Personal Finance. Spending does not equal happiness.
The Bible Project
The most engaging, efficient resources ever created for understanding the bible. (start here)
Wait But Why
Deep context on fundamental aspects of our present and our future. (e.g. start w/ “Iraq article” from 2014)
People
Here are some of my influences. Maybe you’ll dig them too.
Cal Newport
Thought leader for productivity and living well in the technological age.
Tim Keller
Late Manhattan Pastor who speaks to moderns and bleeds the gospel.
Mr. Money Mustache
Master of Personal Finance and disentangler of happiness/spending conflation.
John Mark Comer
Pastor-turned incredible writer, navigating the Way of Jesus in the Modern Age.
Nancy Pearcey
Worldview thinker giving deep context to current issues in church, culture, and science.
Charles Wheelan
Lucid communicator of crucial but historically boring topics like economics, money, and political centrism.
John Mearsheimer
Mearsheimer’s paradigms will help you understand the past, present, and future of geopolitics, especially as it relates to great world powers.
Abraham Lincoln
Maybe the greatest leader of men the world has ever seen.
Music
Spotify calls me “The Adventurer.” According to Spotify, I listened to ~90 genres last year. And apparently, I’m in the top .01% of Jill Barber fans. “I’m not obsessed, you are!” Here’s what I’m listening to. Perhaps someday I’ll post some of my own creations…
What I'm Listening To
Make sure to sort it by “Recently Added” first so you’re getting my up-to-date fancies (and not my faves from a decade ago.
Also, feel free to follow me on Spotify at brettaripley.
Brett Playing Music
This is a placeholder for future productions.
If you know some of my old high school / college friends, though, I’m sure my stuff is out there somewhere :).
Free resources
Some of my most asked-for living docs. Free to use, no email needed.
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