Functional Path Training

2024 Reading

2024 was the first time in years that I have not read at least 100 books. I never have tried to read a certain number of books each year. I log each book I read and then count them up at the end of the year.

At the start of 2024 I consciously did something different with my reading. First, I read the book once through without underlining or annotation. Then I read the book the second time and underline and annotate. Sometimes I went back a third time and revied the underlining and annotations.

It was a different year with the move to San Francisco occupying a huge amount of time and energy. I was not until October that was able to get back to a semblance of my normal reading routine. I also try read two or three articles from scientific journal a week. In addition, I read the NY Times daily and subscribe to the New Yorker and The Atlantic.

I have been described by friends and family as a voracious reader. Reading for me is a source of learning, relaxation and pleasure. Below is a list of the books that stood out for me in 2024. ( ** My favorites) Happy reading in 2025.

How to Know a Person by David Brooks

How the South Won the Civil War by Heather Cox Richardson

Stillness is the Key by Ryan Holiday

The Happiness Hypothesis – Ten Ways to Find Happiness and Meaning in Life by Jonathan Haidt

Age of Revolutions by Fareed Zaharia

Judgement at Tokyo by Gary J. Bass

The Art of Power – My Story as Americas First Speaker of the House by Nancy Pelosi

Squeeze Me by Carl Hiassen

Opus – The Cult of Dark Money, Human Trafficking, and Right-Wing Conspiracy inside the Catholic Church by Gareth Gore

What I ate in One Year – By Stanley Tucci

**Intangibles – Unlocking the Science and Soul of Team Chemistry by Joan Ryan

**The Racket by Connor Niland

The Why is Everything – A Story of Football, Rivalry and Revolution by Michael Silver

2024 Reading

2024 was the first time in years that I have not read at least 100 books. I never have tried to read a certain number of books each year. I log each book I read and then count them up at the end of the year.

At the start of 2024 I consciously did something different with my reading. First, I read the book once through without underlining or annotation. Then I read the book the second time and underline and annotate. Sometimes I went back a third time and revied the underlining and annotations.

It was a different year with the move to San Francisco occupying a huge amount of time and energy. I was not until October that was able to get back to a semblance of my normal reading routine. I also try read two or three articles from scientific journal a week. In addition, I read the NY Times daily and subscribe to the New Yorker and The Atlantic.

I have been described by friends and family as a voracious reader. Reading for me is a source of learning, relaxation and pleasure. Below is a list of the books that stood out for me in 2024. ( ** My favorites) Happy reading in 2025.

How to Know a Person by David Brooks

How the South Won the Civil War by Heather Cox Richardson

Stillness is the Key by Ryan Holiday

The Happiness Hypothesis – Ten Ways to Find Happiness and Meaning in Life by Jonathan Haidt

Age of Revolutions by Fareed Zaharia

Judgement at Tokyo by Gary J. Bass

The Art of Power – My Story as Americas First Speaker of the House by Nancy Pelosi

Squeeze Me by Carl Hiassen

Opus – The Cult of Dark Money, Human Trafficking, and Right-Wing Conspiracy inside the Catholic Church by Gareth Gore

What I ate in One Year – By Stanley Tucci

**Intangibles – Unlocking the Science and Soul of Team Chemistry by Joan Ryan

**The Racket by Connor Niland

The Why is Everything – A Story of Football, Rivalry and Revolution by Michael Silver

Current Reading - November 2024

What I'm reading now. My reading tastes are eclectic. Some for professional development others for general knowledge & entertainment. This does not count the 3 detective novels I am reading. Usually read 140 to 160 books a year. I love reading and have since I was kid. Thanks mom for taking me to the library when I was five years old. I learned then that books can take you to other worlds.

My Parents

One of my cousins sent me this picture of my parents. They were special people. There is not a day a day that goes by that I do not think of them. My dad passed away 22 years this past week and my mom passed away 23 years ago. They made me who I am and for that I am so grateful. They were immigrants from the Italian Canton of Switzerland, Ticino. They came to this country not speaking a word of English and learned both English and Spanish. Neither had any significant education. My mom went to four years of elementary school and one year of high school in the US before my grandfather took her out of school to work. My dad went through the eighth grade in Switzerland. They were married at the height of the great depression. I remember my dad telling me stories of getting up at four in the morning to milk cows for ten dollars a week and a house. My mom was an amazing cook, not just Italian food but Mexican food that she had learned to cook work on the dairy farm the Mexican lady who was the cook. My dad was a gardener. As head grounds keeper at Santa Barbara High School the lawns were a work of art. My dad had a beautiful signing voice; some of my earliest memories were of him signing Italian and Spanish ballads. They sacrificed to put my brother and I through Parochial schools and helped me with my college education. I get my love of learning and reading from my mom and stubbornness and determination from my dad. Thanks mom and dad I love you and think about you all the time, your were very special.

 

Back in the Saddle

It good to be back posting, I think that is the longest period I have gone without posting since I started writing the blog in August of 2005. I had hoped to use the time the time to recharge my mental physical and batteries but that was not meant to be. There was an unexpected trip thrown in and the usual fires that needed to be put out when you run your own business. I did find time to more reading, write a bit and listen to some good music. I am looking forward to sharing my thoughts and ideas again. It seems that the daily routine of getting up in the morning and writing a blog is a great way to organize my thoughts for the day and get me going.

In my travels I picked up two CD’s at Starbucks I highly recommend. I am a big fan of these compilations CD’s that Starbucks music puts out. In fact as someone who travels a lot I am a big fan of Starbucks, mind you it is not about the coffee (not a big coffee drinker – take ice tea myself) but as the owner of Starbucks, Howard Schultz, so eloquently  states it is about the experience. No mater where in the world when you go into Starbucks the service and experience are exemplary and above all consistent. If you want to read an inspiring book about leadership under adverse conditions I recommend Howard Schultz’s new book “Onward – How Starbucks Fought for its life without Losing Its Soul.” Schultz is on my list of people I would love to meet and talk to.