We live in anxious times. Whenever we turn on the news or open Twitter, there seems to be some new crisis to worry or stress about. And then there are the daily, more personal challenges of navigating a post-pandemic world.
So how can we calm our minds, stay present, and reclaim our focus? We suggest checking out a few new books, each of which points the way toward greater well-being, productivity, and connection.
Attention Span: A Groundbreaking Way to Restore Balance, Happiness and Productivity
By Gloria Mark
A psychologist offers a new framework to help explain how our brains function in the digital world: kinetic attention. This book reveals how we can take control—not only to find more success in our careers, but also to find health and wellness in our everyday lives. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Gloria Mark, in the Next Big Idea App
How to Calm Your Mind: Finding Presence and Productivity in Anxious Times
By Chris Bailey
The pursuit of calm ultimately leads us to become more engaged, focused, and deliberate—while making us more productive and satisfied with our lives. In an anxious world, investing in calm can be considered the best productivity strategy around. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Chris Bailey, in the Next Big Idea App
Modern Wisdom, Ancient Roots: The Movers and Shakers’ Guide to Unstoppable Success
By Srikumar S. Rao
An unconventional success coach distills and condenses valuable life lessons from ancient masters, sacred writings, and his own experience into quick-to-read, easily digestible chapters. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Srikumar S. Rao, in the Next Big Idea App
The Wandering Mind: What Medieval Monks Tell Us About Distraction
By Jamie Kreiner
A revelatory account of how Christian monks identified distraction as a fundamental challenge―and how their efforts to defeat it can inform ours, more than a millennium later. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Jamie Kreiner, in the Next Big Idea App
Lighter: Let Go of the Past, Connect with the Present, and Expand the Future
By Yung Pueblo
A radically compassionate plan for turning inward and lifting the heaviness that prevents us from healing ourselves and the world, from the New York Times bestselling author of Clarity & Connection. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Yung Pueblo, in the Next Big Idea App
The Key Ideas in 15 Minutes
“If you are going to get anywhere in life, you have to read a lot of books,” Roald Dahl once famously said. The only trouble is, reading even one book from cover to cover takes hours—and you may not have many hours to spare.
But imagine for a moment: What if you could read a groundbreaking new book every day? Or even better, what if you could invite a world-renowned thinker into your earbuds, where they personally describe the 5 key takeaways from their work in just 15 minutes?
With the Next Big Idea App, we’ve turned this fantasy into a reality. We partnered with hundreds of acclaimed authors to create “Book Bites,” short audio summaries of the latest nonfiction that are prepared and read aloud by the authors themselves. Discover cutting-edge leadership skills, productivity hacks, the science of happiness and well-being, and much more—all in the time it takes to drive to work or walk the dog.
Go Deeper with a Next Big Idea Club Membership
The Next Big Idea App is free for anyone to try—and if you love it, we invite you to become an official member of the Next Big Idea Club. Membership grants you unlimited access to Book Bites and unlocks early-release, ad-free episodes of our LinkedIn-partnered podcast. You also gain entry to our private online discussion group, where you can talk big ideas with fellow club members and join exclusive live Q&A sessions with featured authors.
For a more focused learning experience, we recommend a Hardcover or eBook Membership. Every few months, legendary authors and club curators Malcolm Gladwell, Susan Cain, Adam Grant, and Daniel Pink select two new nonfiction books as the must-reads of the season. We then send hardcover copies straight to your doorstep, or eBook versions to your favorite digital device. We also collaborate with the authors of selected books to produce original reading guides and premium video e-courses, 50-minute master classes that take you step by step through their most life-changing ideas. And yes, it’s all available through the Next Big Idea App.
Learn Faster, from the World’s Leading Thinkers
Whether you prefer to read, listen, or watch, the Next Big Idea is here to help you work smarter and live better. Wake up with an always-fresh Idea of the Day, the perfect shot of inspiration to go with your morning coffee. Then dive into one of our Challenges, hand-picked collections of Book Bites that form crash courses in subjects like communication, motivation, and career acceleration. Later, watch the playback of an interview with U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, Stanford psychologist Jennifer Eberhardt, or philosopher John Kaag. And be sure to check the “Events” tab in the app, so that you can join an upcoming live Q&A and personally chat with the next featured thought leader.
If you’re hoping to grow as a person or as a professional, we hope you’ll join us and tens of thousands of others who enjoy the Next Big Idea. Get started by downloading the app today!
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