Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results by Shane Parrish

Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results Reviews

• 
  Sebastian Gebski

  I'd never pick this book based on the title. It sounds like Yet Another Generic Self-Help Book for Bored Housewives (with all respect to housewives...).
  Shane Parrish? Doesn't ring a bell, sorry.
  What about Farnam Street? OK, I'm fully sold - shut up and take my money.
  
  If you don't know FS, it's a newsletter, podcast & series of books dedicated to ... thinking. Not thinking in biological or behavioral psychology sense, but thinking with abstractions: mental models, mechanisms for effective learning, decision making, classifying information, etc. It's a GOLD MINE for people with high intellectual self-awareness who obsessively want to improve the efficiency of their brains. Seriously. And it works. Seriously (again).
  
  It's their 4th book (AFAIK). The previous three were dedicated to various mental models, this one more about general mechanisms of "clear" thinking.
  
  OK, let's try to set some expectations here. What you'll read in this book will not be 100% new, nor it will switch your brain gears into some completely different shift. It's all about providing you named MECHANISMS that you can follow & enforce, which will help you long term. Structuring. Thought governance. Control. This does not feel like inventing an entirely new continent, but you know what? Just after I finished "Clear Thinking" ... I wanted to read it again. Why so? I felt I hadn't noted down everything I should. That doesn't happen frequently.
  
  Full 5 stars, but I'm totally biased. I strongly believe in mental models (as fundamental thinking tools) & Farnam Street is like a bible for me. Yeah, fanboy alert. But read it with an open mind and you'll thank me later.
• 
  Robert Sutherland

  The author has a very good podcast, but this book adds nothing to the decision making literature. It is a summary of existing works with a few personal stories dropped in.
  
  Ironically , he wrote mid book " A lot of the information we consume is in the form of highlights, summaries, and distillations. It is the illusion of knowledge. "
  
  Maybe he didn't notice this applied to himself. I guess he wasn't thinking clearly.
• 
  Michal

  “Anyone looks like a genius when they’re in a good position, and even the smartest person looks like an idiot when they’re in a bad one.” - Shane Parrish
  
  Farnam Street's mission is to provide “timeless lessons and insights that help you think better, learn faster, and make smart decisions”. I’m a huge fan and supporter of them, as they have shaped my thinking like no other source of knowledge.
  
  Their previous three books were an attempt to categorise and describe mental models. This one is different as it focuses on clear thinking and decision making approached holistically.
  
  Going through the chapters we start with ourselves and get to know what influences our perception, then we learn how to increase our awareness of our strengths and weaknesses. Next, we explore the process of decision making itself. The last part gets philosophical and tries to define what really matters to us. That’s the gist of it.
  
  It is written using clear language (how couldn’t it be if it is about clear thinking?) and provides stories to keep us interested. It is a well deserved 5 out of 5, but remember, I am a huge fan of Farnam Street’s work.
  
  To keep this review helpful, without providing too many spoilers, here is my favourite tool from the book:
  
  Assign your own personal board of advisors inside your head. Choose a few people you value whose approach to problems you are familiar with and trust. You can refer to them as “The Jedi Council”, or any other name, as they work only in your head. 
  
  These people can be living, dead or even fictional, it doesn't matter as long as you can consider their perspective. Then, each time you need to make a decision ask your personal board of advisors: what do you think? What would you do? This exercise gives you different perspectives, and sometimes that’s all you need.
  
  The book delivers its promise of sharing the recipe for turning ordinary moments into extraordinary results. Of course, it does not guarantee our success as the implementation is up to us. Good luck!
  
  
  this-review@Perspectiveship
• 
  Gijs Limonard

  1,5 stars; Awfully derivative; this is a major let down. The author's self praise veiled as humility by quoting Montaigne's: "I have gathered a posy of other men's flowers, and nothing but the thread that binds them is mine own." is giving himself undue credit; not even an original thread is to be found in this volume.
• 
  Andrew Padilla

  It wasn't as engaging as I would've liked but the content is critical to those with a thirst for self-improvement.
  
  I think as other readers mentioned, another read may be required to fully absorb the info (unless you're a good note taker.. or Mike Ross) - specifically regarding defaults and how to combat them.
  
  I think the examples were too short and made for some dry passages that could've been more engaging had the stories been longer (fleshed out, more compelling), but totally my opinion.
  
  Overall, the content was good and worth re-reading/reviewing.
• 
  Hampus Jakobsson

  Clear Thinking is a good book - don't get me wrong. But in the sea of "focused thinking" and stoicism books, it isn't special. I expected more from Shane Parrish, as I have been a Farnham St fan for a long time.
• 
  Mook Woramon

  โดยภาพรวมชอบนะยังมีมุมมองใหม่ ๆ ที่เปิดโลกทัศน์อยู่
  เล่มนี้นี่อยู่นอกสายตามาก คือปกก็เฉย ๆ ชื่อเรื่องก็งั้น ๆ หนังสือแนวพัฒนาความคิดก็มีเยอะแยะมากมายไปหมด 🧐🧐
  
  ความน่าสนใจของเล่มนี้คือเหมือนได้อ่านหนังสือหลายเล่มรวม ๆ กันอย่างละนิดละหน่อย และรู้สึกว่าผู้เขียนค่อนข้างจะให้ความสำคัญกับความสัมพันธ์และความหมายของชีวิต ถึงกับแยกออกมาหนึ่งบท
  ซึ่งส่วนใหญ่เวลาอ่านหนังสือแนวพัฒนาความคิดมักจะไม่ค่อยแตะเรื่องความหมายชีวิตซักเท่าไหร่
  
  👉👉 สองบทแรกของเล่มจะเน้นไปที่ศัตรูของการใช้ความคิดและวิธีแก้ไข
  ศัตรูหลักของการใช้ความคิดคือสันดาน/อารมณ์ดั้งเดิมของมนุษย์ การทำตามอารมณ์ ยึดอัตตา ทำตามสังคม ความเคยชิน
  ถ้าเราต้องการปรับเปลี่ยนวิธีคิดจริง ๆ เราต้องควบคุมค่าตั้งต้นเหล่านี้ให้ได้ก่อน
  สองบทนี้เลยเหมือนอ่านพฤติกรรมศาสตร์ คล้าย ๆ thinking, fast and slow แบบกะทัดรัด
  
  👉👉บทที่สามสี่เป็นการลงมือทำ กำจัดจุดอ่อน จัดการความผิดพลาด ระบุปัญหา รวบรวมทางเลือก
  สองบทนี้คล้าย ๆ อ่าน atomic habits อยู่เหมือนกัน
  เป็นสองบทที่ชอบน้อยลงเพราะคล้าย ๆ หนังสือพัฒนาความคิดเล่มอื่น บางหัวข้อก็เข้าใจ บางหัวข้อก็ตื้นไป บางหัวข้อก็คิดตามไม่ออก
  อ่านไปอ่านมาก็เริ่มมึน ถ้าต้องทุ่มเทกำลังตัดสินใจทุกเรื่องในชีวิตขนาดนี้ ขอตายแป๊บบบบบ 😵‍💫😵‍💫
  
  👉👉เหมือนผู้เขียนจะรู้ว่าผู้อ่านต้องปวดกบาลแน่ ๆ เลยให้บทที่ห้ามาผ่อนคลายเป็นข้อคิดในการจัดลำดับสิ่งสำคัญในชีวิต คือถ้าต้องคิดหนักกับทุกเรื่องก็เหนื่อยเกิ๊นนน ผู้เขียนจึงยกมุมมองของคนสูงอายุที่ผ่านชีวิตมายาวนานและคนที่กำลังจะตายว่าสิ่งไหนคือสิ่งที่เราควรให้ความสำคัญจริง ๆ อย่าไปเสียเวลากับความกังวลใจมากเกินไป
  บทนี้เหมือนได้อ่าน ‘อะไรทำให้ชีวิตคนเรามีความหมาย‘ ผสม ’ปรัชญา stoic’
  เป็นบทที่ปิดจบได้ดี ทำให้หนังสือไม่หนักหน่วงจนเกินไป
• 
  Milan

  Let's not suffer bad books.
• 
  Dave C

  Really good book, this.
  
  Some very engaging content and whilst the ideas contained aren't original (not that the author claims them to be) it's all very easy to digest and very well structured.
  
  Definitely one I'll revisit and certainly worth a read for those interested in how we navigate decision making and prioritise the things that matter in life.
• 
  Boy Blue

  Once a week I dive into the crisp, clear mountain pool, that is Shane Parrish's Farnam Street blog.
  
  I was on the fence about the book given I thought it might just be the blog enspined.
  
  That's very much the case. Much of it felt familiar, because I've been reading the interviews, thoughts, and processes of Parrish for quite a few years now.
  
  Clear Thinking will make a good gift for any person in your life who gets really frustrated when other people don't know what they fancy for dinner, or if they think agonising over taking the last cookie from the plate is foolish. It's perfect for anyone interested in efficiency, logic, and thinking rationally; for the finance bro in your life. It also has lessons for the more indecisive people in your life too and it's a pretty easy read.
  
  Parrish has come up with his own taxonomy around decision making, which all makes great sense but I'm not sure it's going to be come the de rigeur way to refer to the various stages of decision making.
  
  There's a few important ideas in here but probably nothing you haven't seen before. With books like these, it's basically about choosing a style you like, to make absorbing the message as easy as possible.
  
  If you thought Atomic Habits was awesome, you'll love this.
• 
  Ben Ullman

  Little bit of a disappointment. Wanted more financial advice and investment insights yet it was like an atomic habits rip off.
  
  I think reading 1 great book is better than reading 10 okay books. For that same reason, when a book is not grabbing your attention or you find it’s not good writing - move on.
  
  The majority of books aren’t worth reading cover to cover I’d say skim at best and jump to chapters you actually enjoy.
  
  
• 
  Chris Boutté

  This is definitely one of my favorite books of the year. Shane’s book The Great Mental Models was the first book I read on how to be a better critical thinker, and ever since, I’ve been obsessed with the topic. When I found out he had a new book, I got it immediately and binged it. Although this book sounds like it’s similar to the previous book, it’s definitely not. There are a ton of tips and tools in here to help you manage your emotions and make better decisions.
• 
  Bharat

  A book that discusses on what are the most visible defaults and how to overcome them.
  
  Carrying on from the success of his Farnam Street blogs, Shane condenses his writings into a book that is structured very well in a coherent manner from start to end.
  
  Highly recommended with a lot of insights.
• 
  Larp

  พูดถึงวิธีจัดการกับค่าตั้งต้น 4 อย่างคือ
  1. ค่าตั้งต้นทางอารมณ์
  2. ค่าตั้งต้นทางอัตตา
  3. ค่าตั้งต้นทางสังคม
  4. ความเฉื่อยตั้งต้น
  ซึ่งค่าตั้งต้นเหล่านี้เป็นผลจากสัญชาตญาณ​ธรรมชาติของเราซึ่งฝืนได้ยาก และมีผลต่อการตัดสินใจที่แย่และไม่มีประสิทธิภาพ​ของเราอย่างคาดไม่ถึง
  
  ในหนังสือจะบอกขั้นตอน และหลักการต่างๆก่อนที่จะตัดสินใจทำอะไร ซึ่งค่อนข้างเยอะและละเอียด สำหรับตัวเองคิดว่าเลือกไปใช้บางอันก็น่าจะทำให้การตัดสินใจใดๆของเราดีขึ้นมากแล้ว ถือว่าเป็นหนังสือที่ช่วยดึงสติที่ดีเล่มนึง
• 
  Ernie Svenson

  Practical wisdom that can be applied to garner great results
  
  Shane Parrish is a fountain of wisdom (most of which he has acquired by studying or conversing with other wise decision-makers and business strategists. To be effective in pursuit of important results requires a certain kind of knowledge about how to evaluate information and make decisions based on the information you have and don’t have. This book is a trove of insight and useful ideas.
• 
  Abhishek Rao

  The author attempts a very difficult task of explaining how to think better. I think some of the tips are quite well known, but there are some bits and pieces that are extremely useful. Given how fundamental clear thinking is to our long term well being it is worth revising all the concepts and making sure we know each and every one of them well. I found the tips on how to act and make decisions, setting appropriate time bounds for decisions, not getting stuck in analysis paralysis pretty useful. Another core concept the author tries to convey is that it is crucial to put ourselves in an environment where we can think clearly, because once we get emotionally unstable it is difficult to think.
• 
  Wendy Li

  I browsed this book and generally liked the premise of it but I think the tips are generally advocated for ie: finding a mentor and having higher standards for yourself and your work. I liked his points about how anyone placed in a well position could look like they are making the best decisions and anyone placed in a disadvantaged position could like they aren’t doing well and he made an analogy to Tetris. Overall I think the principals are intuitive and well founded. He also talked about tips regarding emotional control and not letting that cloud judgements.
  
  Definitely a book I’m planning to come back on especially because I’m always looking for content on better decision making.
• 
  Augi Jesmer

  This book was a big old word salad. Nothing really groundbreaking either. Many sentences were repeated just in different wording. Some of the examples even made things harder to understand. Overall, could have been a blog post.
• 
  R. Kyle

  This book gave me a better understanding and useful tactics for making decisions. The end chapters were very eye opening. I can see myself referring back to this book when future decisions I need to make arise.
• 
  Hayden Carver

  Great read - one I will come back to
• 
  Daniel

  The greatest aid to judgment is starting from a good position.
  
  When you are well positioned, there are many paths to victory. If you are poorly positioned, there may be only one.
  
  What happens in ordinary moments determines your future.
  
  Each moment puts you in a better or worse position to handle the future.
  
  It's that positioning that eventually makes life easier or harder.
  
  Ordinary moments determine your position and your position determines your options.
  
  It doesn't matter what position you find yourself in right now. What matters is whether you improve your position today.
  
  ... (text from the book)
  
  The best decision-makers are the ones who think clearly.
  
  To think clearly, you need a framework, a good mental model.
  
  I never came across a simple yet effective decision-making model till I read this book.
  
  - What are the human defaults that make us try to win the moment at the expense of the decade?
  - How much information is enough before we make a decision?
  - Which decisions we should make ASAP and which ones ALAP?
  - Which one is more important: knowing how to get what we want? or knowing what's worth wanting?
  
  Shane Parrish is one of my favorite authors who previously published "The Great Mental Models" book series which I found immensely valuable and insightful to read and reread.
  
  See my notes in the booksense app:
  
  https://apps.apple.com/de/app/booksen...
  
  Happy reading!
• 
  Benyamin

  یک سبد پر از گل‌های زیباست این کتاب.
  آب دست دارید زمین بگذارید و کتاب رو شروع کنید.
• 
  Shreya

  i would reread this once a year. it’s short and sweet and overall just a friendly reminder of things you probably know already.
• 
  Flavia P.

  Read this if you’re a CEO or make 6 figures a year - leave this if you’re a peasant like me and Jeff Bezos’ financial advice won’t get you out of the bottom of the food chain anyways
• 
  Héctor Iván Patricio Moreno

  Una muy buena lectura que se centra en cómo hacer espacio para pensar claramente mediante vencer nuestro comportamiento automático, más que en técnicas o frameworks para pensar de manera racional. Me parece un muy buen acercamiento, además de razonable, porque es cierto que por más desarrollado que tengamos el pensamiento racional, si no tenemos espacio para él, no sirve de nada.
  
  Lo sentí un poco desestructurado o más bien, no tan profundo como me hubiera gustado. Está escrito muy al estilo de James Clear, con poca rigurosidad, pero siento que aún así tiene muuuucha información útil y aplicable.
  
  Lo recomiendo porque es agradable de leer, pero siento que está cargado un poco con los preceptos morales del autor.
• 
  Jonathan Crabb

  I have been reading Parrish's newsletter for some time and I have found it often useful. When his book came out, I picked it up to show appreciation for all of the free work that he has provided through his newsletter.
  
  The book starts off slow and can be hard to get into, but I think that the author is intentional about it to some extent. While this book stands along other self-help / leadership books, it feels like the author is willing to make the reader work for insights to some extent. This isn't to say that the book is hard to read, but rather the author often builds the necessary foundation for a principle before presenting it. This requires the reader to have patience in parts of the book.
  
  However, with that patience comes quite a payoff. While many of the principles in the book are well worn (definition of confidence, having a personal board of directors, protocols for decision making), Parrish does a fantastic job of explaining them and then making practical, grounded steps to implement them into your life. I would compare this book to Atomic Habits in that AH helped you think of how to build better habits whereas this book helps you improve how you think on any topic. I am really glad that I read this one, and I have picked up more of Parrish's content because of it.
• 
  Ted Alling

  I love Shane's stuff. This was a powerful, quick read that should be reviewed regularly.
• 
  ANISHIA GOPI

  My review of this book may be somewhat biased due to my prior exposure to FS Blog by Shane Parish three months ago. His blog significantly expanded my thinking and unexpectedly improved my communication skills. I made a conscious effort to immediately implement these approaches in my job interviews, leading me to communicate in a more structured manner during technical interviews. I'm forever grateful for the time I spent learning and applying Shane's insights from FS Blog.
  
  Now, turning to this book:
  
  The author presents numerous mental frameworks and models that he himself applied while working for the Intelligence Agency in Canada. It becomes evident why such models are essential in a competitive environment. In that regard, this is an exceptional book. However, my recommendation to anyone reading it would be to consider it a guiding principle or a bible for clear thinking, and then start experimenting with and applying these models in real-life situations. It's the real-time application that breathes life into these models. It may take a year, a decade, or even a lifetime to fully grasp and utilize them, so patience is key.
  
  In my professional experience within the Finance, Startups, and Technology industries, I've encountered individuals who are true experts, applying these models to their day-to-day decision-making. I observed their methods but was hesitant to inquire about their thought processes. When I attempted to discuss this with friends in my personal life, some were unwilling to share, while others had no established decision-making framework. Consequently, I increasingly relied on my intuition for decision-making, assuming that's what my friends were doing.
  
  However, I've come to realize that long-term, high-quality decisions require a logical approach to clear thinking. Striking a balance between clear thinking and intuition is crucial. That's the lesson I've learned up to this point, and this book undoubtedly contributes to fostering clear thinking and providing practical models to apply in the real world.
  
  Good luck to all who embark on this journey of enhanced decision-making and clearer thinking.