3 Difficult Books That Smartest People Read To Lead Better
“Read this book! “
“This is the new bestseller!”
“Oh, you haven’t read this one yet?”
“Please, read this one.”
“This is the best book!”
And in this noise we end up overlooking the classics that laid the foundation of the world that we’re in right now.
I’m in no way aspire you recommend a new book to “add” to your reading list. My only motivation to write this article is to empty your shelves and read these if you can only read 3 books on leadership in your lifetime.
Now none of this title will directly help you in making money, improving relationships, or just to have that “competitive edge.” NO.
These titles are going to make you more meditative, less susceptible, build sharpest thinking and a more matured mind to navigate in the world. This is why I personally read these books in the first place.
1) Doctor Faustus
So, technically, this is not a book. But rather a play written by one of the finest English writer to this day.
Doctor Faustus is written by Christopher Marlowe, a contemporary of Shakespeare, who went too heavy with big questions of life while seizing all opportunities to make double entendre and bawdy jokes.
It has a quite simple plot, and a pretty famous one. We follow the story of Faustus, a genius, who summons Mephistopheles from hell asking for a life of power and abundance for 24 years in exchange for his soul. Mephistopheles accepts the deal, and there starts the adventures of Faustus.
It is an entertaining piece of writing while also maintaining critiques on subjects like power, greed, and regret, etc. Things that all of us struggle with even today.
2) The Illiad
Written by Homer for some two and a half millennium ago, Illiad tells the story of the Trojan war fought between the Greeks & Trojans.
Though covering multiple dimensions of the war and the life then, it focuses primarily on the story of Achilles. Achilles a reputed soldier in the Greek army has a dispute with his leader. The dispute ends up in Achilles’ humiliation by the leader. He swears to not fight and asks Zeus via his mother to favor Trojans instead of Achilles in the war.
The result leads to a tragedy that is not a rarity in today’s world. When one talented person is neglected of his honor and it is usually followed by vengeance that only leads to destruction.
The Illiad was also used by ancient Greeks to teach their students the art of war — strategies & tactics, as Homer covers them so well in it.
3) Coriolanus
Shakespeare is one of the keen observer of human psyche. As seen in his plays he does deep speculations on why people take certain decisions, while also discussing their consequences (quite like Marlowe).
Coriolanus is also a play — a historic one. Coriolanus is a roman general who is famous for winning battles for Roman empire. But there is a catch — he doesn’t like the roman public. In his childlike innocence, he treats his duty with utmost significance but he doesn’t like the general public.
So after one his victorious battle, when the senate decides to promote Coriolanus to the position of a senator. He is faced with the dilemma of winning the approval of the general public for whom he only reserves contempt and nothing else.
Shakespeare stretches the story on this internal dilemma and let the audience deal with the tragic aftermath.
I would say it is a must read is because it shows the mindset of super-achievers and needless to say it’s not rare for them to look them at general public with contempt, if not disgust.
Personally, this play opened my eyes to the importance of humbleness and humility that you need to have irrespective of how dedicated you are to your work.
These are one of the finest books that have been ever produced. And what makes them superior is they stood well the test of time. But again needless to say though their theme and plot sounds a bit obvious — they hide the deep meaning in the subtext. So, make sure you’re paying attention while reading them.
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