Wisereads Vol. 87 — Jash Dholani's How to Start, Seth Godin on winning an argument with a toddler, and more
Last week, we featured a full copy of The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim. This week, we're sharing an exclusive 3-chapter preview of Jash Dholani's latest release, How to Start: The Art of Beginning Big Things.
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Most highlighted Articles of the week
Productivity
Productivity starts with choosing the right problem and doing the work—something OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says gets easier when you enjoy what you're doing. "I don’t think most people value their time enough—I am surprised by the number of people I know who make $100 an hour and yet will spend a couple of hours doing something they don’t want to do to save $20."
Have We Been Thinking About A.D.H.D. All Wrong?
In a recent viral essay, writer Paul Tough draws on landmark studies and expert interviews to reframe A.D.H.D., a diagnosis given to 11.4 percent of U.S. children. "The message to children is often that A.D.H.D. is a binary, biological category, and if your symptoms place you in that category, your brain has a deficit, and you have a disorder. The alternative model, by contrast, tells a child a very different story: that his A.D.H.D. symptoms exist on a continuum, one on which we all find ourselves; that he may be experiencing those symptoms as much because of where he is as because of who he is; and that next year, if things change in his surroundings, those symptoms might change as well."
How to win an argument with a toddler
Marketer Seth Godin compares bullies and defensive bureaucrats to toddlers, explaining how to recognize when you’re interacting with one or slipping into that mindset yourself. "The toddler puts on a show of having an argument, but they are holding a tantrum in reserve. If they ‘win’ the argument, no tantrum is needed. If they lose, they can tell themselves that they tried but the other person deserved the tantrum because they didn’t listen."
Most highlighted YouTube Video of the week
How To Get The Most Out of A Book - Analytical Reading 101
You’ve likely heard of reading between the lines—but what about writing between them? In this video, Robin Waldun unpacks How to Read a Book by Mortimer Adler, a cornerstone of the Readwise canon. Signposting, chapter summaries, and other tools turn reading into an active conversation. "I want you to think of this entire marking process as sort of an exchange with the author. Because when you've purchased a book, when you decide to read this book, the idea that you're trying to get out of this book cannot happen without a conversational exchange."
Most highlighted Twitter Thread of the week
She’s reinventing the science of aging
Craig Brockie spotlights Julie Clark, the 56-year-old whose biological age clocks in at 36, despite skipping the latest biohacks. "Julie’s philosophy? Consistency > Perfection. She skips the trackers and eats the occasional donut. As she put it, 'Perfection adds stress. We’re all human, and life happens. Just get right back up and continue.'"
Most highlighted PDF of the week
Prompt Engineering
Google’s latest whitepaper on prompt engineering skips the jargon and leans into practical examples—especially helpful if you’re prompting through an API. One key takeaway: "Growing research suggests that focusing on positive instructions in prompting can be more effective than relying heavily on constraints. This approach aligns with how humans prefer positive instructions over lists of what not to do. Instructions directly communicate the desired outcome, whereas constraints might leave the model guessing about what is allowed."
Hand-picked book of the week
How to Start
Where do you begin when you want to do meaningful work? In How to Start, Jash Dholani rethinks the usual takes on success, ambition, and creativity. This sharp, compact read—short enough to finish in an afternoon—guides readers through the minds of moody of Russian novelists, Renaissance painters, and Nobel-winning scientists to map a path forward.
"There are two wolves inside you: the comfy you and the cornered you. The cornered you can do things that the comfy you cannot even dream of. The cornered you can strategize, move, and react in ways that the comfy you cannot. You need to reach that 'cornered you' mindspace. Pressure gets you there."
We’re thrilled that Jash is generously sharing a special three-chapter preview of How to Start with Wisereads readers—including a chapter on rivalries, pressure, and "terrain consciousness." If you enjoy the excerpt, you can purchase a full copy here.
Handpicked RSS feed of the week
Matthias Endler
From Düsseldorf, Germany, engineer Matthias Endler writes on habits, hacking, and simplicity. From The Best Programmers I Know: "If you are afraid to say 'I don’t know', you come from a position of hubris or defensiveness. I don’t like bullshitters on my team. Better to acknowledge that you can’t know everything. Once you accept that, you allow yourself to learn. 'The important thing is that you don’t stop asking questions,' said Albert Einstein."