Nishant J > Recent Status Updates

I had been reading this book throughout the semester, but in the past day I read 143 pages. I read about how the different empires across Indian history shaped the culture and traditions of the region. From the Gupta Empire to the Mughal Empire, there were a lot of successful reigns that thrived through trade with surrounding empires. I was really interested because these are the empires that shaped my culture.

At the end of the book, the author celebrates the successes of the American education system and one specific individual who thrived in the learning environment. I really enjoyed the book and how much I was able to learn from it. I learned about what it takes to be successful, but also how some parts of success are out of my own control. I thought the book was really interesting and I hope to read more!

Today I read about how cultural background can influence one's ability to succeed and work hard. For example, the Chinese were trained to be harder working than many other people because of their work on the rice paddies. Additionally, many Chinese are generally smarter because of the natural implementation of math into their culture. I think this is really interesting as it explains a lot that is relevant today.

This last chapter was centered around the career of a really successful lawyer named Joe Flom from New York. The author went over the different opportunities and circumstances that Flom encountered that allowed him to foster a lot of success in his endeavors. I thought it was really interesting to see how pure talent can only get you so far. Flom was both very smart but also had a lot of chances that helped him.

In the past roughly 30 pages, Gladwell went over a lot of things that contribute to one's success. The most interesting thing he talked about was what colleges Nobel Prize winners attended and how those top-tier schools contributed to their successes as prominent figures in our society. I think his writing is very influential and provides a wholistic view of what it takes to be successful. Looking forward to more.

Currently, I just read about how the richest people in the world got to be as rich as they are. From Bill Gates to Steve Jobs, the author outlined the lucky circumstances they were put in being born at the right time for anyone to capitalize on the start of the tech industry. I found this really interesting and it's fascinating how lucky the tech giants were. I am really liking this book.

So far I just read chapters about the 10,000 rule, where Gladwell explains the commonalities between extremely successful individuals. Specifically, he outlines the requirements of excellence: extensive practice or exposure. Individuals such as Bill Gates experienced leaps in industries due to thousands of hours of practice from his early years.

Today I read a few more pages about Jackson's experience with certain players as a coach. He talks about the value of teamwork and understanding situations from multiple perspectives. I enjoyed this part of the book and hope to read more about him.

Today on December 17th after school I took this new book that I received for my birthday and read over 100 pages. I was originally just doing it to get some more pages in for my SSR, but it turned out to be really interesting. I learned about the history of India and how it came to be as a country through all of the empires that it went through. I'm going to India over break so it is a good read for me.

Over the weekend, I completely grinded and tried to read as much as I could. I read for roughly 5 hours on Sunday and almost finished this incredible book. It is filled with information and is enlightening and I feel as if I have never read such an interesting book before. It talked about the importance of humans on the environment and the development of society. I am in awe.

Today I read more about the evolution of humans over time and a comparison to humans of the past to humans today.

Today I read a lot more about the development of humans. The author in these pages went on to discuss the qualities of foraging societies and how ancient hunter-gatherers may have actually been smarter than humans today. In the past, humans were required to learn how to navigate their environment, what foods/plants were appropriate, and how to survive on the bare planet earth.

This book is getting more interesting with every page. Today I read about the connection between hunter-gatherer societies to our society today and I am agape because of the profound depth the author has on the topic.

This book is so interesting and I am very invested in the author's writing. The book is so elaborate and goes very in depth in human history and I feel enlightened.

This book is already really interesting as Phil Jackson talks about his experience as a coach for the Chicago Bulls and LA Lakers. He uses great diction and the book is really interesting.

This book is already extremely interesting and today I read about how fiction holds us together as a society. The author also talked about how we come together as humans through the use of myths and storytelling.

Today (and this week) I read about the accomplishments and success of Lorenzo Medici as a leader and ruler of Florence. He led the Florentines into battle on numerous occasions and won. He also faced much political and social opposition in the city. One interesting thing about the book is all of the beautiful artwork the author decided to include as a supplement.

Today I read about Lorenzo Medici's rise to power in Florence. I also learned many things about the city itself and how the Medici family had struggles with other powerful families throughout Italy.

Last week it wouldn't allow me to update so this is for both last week and this week. Last week I finished on page 17 and I read about the origins of the Medici family in Florence. Specifically the book talked about Lorenzo Medici who was very accomplished. Today, I read more in depth about Lorenzo and how he changed Florence's history. The author also went through his early life and how he was raised as a child.