Reading List
A collection of books that have influenced my thinking, complete with ratings and key takeaways. Browse by topic or rating to find something that might spark your own curiosity.
10/10
The Startup of You
My favourite book to date, I read this whilst travelling the East Coast of Australia in early 2025 on various buses, trains and boats. Key takeaways revolve around treating your career as a startup – operate in a “permanent beta” of continuous learning, build unique career capital by aligning your assets, aspirations and market realities, employ ABZ planning, leverage network intelligence, take intelligent small bets to accelerate growth, and cultivate a distinctive professional brand to stand out.
Mar 2025
9/10
Thinking, Fast and Slow
The mind operates in two distinct modes: System 1 engages automatically, producing quick impressions and intuitive judgements with minimal effort, whereas System 2 uses deliberate, analytical thought to process complex information and override System 1’s impulses. Understanding these modes helps you recognise when you’re on autopilot versus when you need to slow down and apply conscious reasoning. A simple concept, but extremely useful and easily actioned in practice.
Sept 2024
8/10
Zero to One
An interesting read on the value of building entirely new ideas rather than scaling existing ones. Main points include identifying the contrarian “secret” that few recognise, starting by dominating a small niche before scaling, building proprietary technology with network effects, integrating robust sales and distribution from day one, assembling a mission‑driven team united by a clear mission, and planning boldly with definite optimism for long‑term monopoly growth.
Nov 2024
8/10
The Almanack of Naval Ravikant
Build specific, leverageable knowledge in a niche you’re passionate about, own equity and scale with code or media, take full accountability for outcomes, harness compound interest in skills, relationships and health, optimise for independence over pay, and sharpen your judgment through deep reading and self‑reflection. (Audiobook)
Oct 2024
7/10
Your Life is Manufactured
Recognise and map the hidden systems in your life to reverse‑engineer success, prototype and iterate your goals like a production process, build resilience with local, sustainable networks, simplify dependencies to shorten your personal “supply chain,” and design scalable, sustainable routines that adapt to complexity and fragility in your environment.
Apr 2025
6/10
Greenlights
A series of stories and lessons taken from Matthew’s life experience. Main points are to lean into challenges and discomfort, embrace life’s “greenlights” and live deliberately with authenticity, joy and gratitude.
Aug 2024
5/10
The Art of War
A list of great lessons and points on tactics and success, but the style of the book wasn’t engaging enough for me to recommend it. The format is very list‑like and I struggled to take all of the points on board effectively.
Jul 2024
My Favourite Podcasts
Here’s a hand‑picked selection of podcast episodes that resonated with me, covering everything from personal growth and defence tech to broader topics that offered fresh perspectives or practical wisdom.
Bernard Cripps 