📚 Build the Life You Want (Oprah Winfrey) 🗓️, The Little Prince 👑 & Getting Things Done (David Allen) 💪🏼 (+ how to waste less time in 2024)

"The key to progress isn't perfection, it's to begin again, and again, and again." — Oprah Winfrey  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

​ ​ The 4 Minute Read Just Do It January ​Jan 20, 2024 || Read in browser​ We know you do, Oprah. That's what this book is for, right?​ Hello there! It's Nik. Welcome to this week's The 4 Minute Read. Thank you for joining me. I brought none other than Oprah along to teach you something new today. Today, we have... ​Build the Life You Want by Oprah Winfrey & Arthur Brooks (reveals the 4 pillars of happiness) ​The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (a beautiful kids story full of life lessons for adults) ​Getting Things Done by David Allen (the #1 productivity system used by 2+ million people) ​Shortform AI* (one-click remove internet fluff to generate instant summaries of everything) Ready for new inspiration and great ideas? Here we go! Hot Off The Press Build the Life You Want ​by Oprah Winfrey When her legendary show ended in 2011 after 25 years and over 4,500 episodes, Oprah Winfrey fell into a big void. "What will I do next?" she wondered. Theater, perhaps? She had always wanted to perform on Broadway. Then, the chance of a lifetime: The legendary Tony Kushner had written a screenplay specifically for her to perform! But the more she dug into the idea, the more she realized: The idea was what she was in love with. She'd never be happy doing theater (or living in New York, for that matter). Making hard but good decisions like this, decisions that truly shape our happiness, is what Oprah talks about in her new book, Build the Life You Want. It's a manual for managing your emotions in good times and in bad, and a field guide to the 4 big pillars of happiness: family, friendships, work, and faith. If you want to live happier in 2024, read this summary. Read the Summary » ​ ​ Quote of the Week "The key to progress isn't perfection, it's to begin again, and again, and again. Every day is a new day, and another opportunity to pick up the hammer and go back to work." ​ — Oprah Winfrey & Arthur C. Brooks ​ The Big 3 From the Book 1. No matter how many stones life has thrown in your way, it's never too late to become a happier person. 2. You can discover your natural mix of happiness and unhappiness with the PANAS test. 3. The 4 biggest pillars of happiness you should work on are family, friendship, work, and faith. Master the Book in 4 Minutes » ​ A Book Brought to Life If you had to explain the big and complicated world of us adults to a little child, how would you do it? The French pilot and poet Antoine de Saint-Exupéry arguably gave one of the best ever answers to this question. ​The Little Prince is one of the bestselling books of all time. It has been translated into more than 500 languages and sold some 200 million copies. Following the tale of an aviator stranded in the desert, who meets a little prince, the book is a beautiful metaphor for life and its many lessons, taught through the eyes of a young boy. In today's video summary, we'll learn several of them while following the plot of the less-than-100-page novella: Finding the meaning of life takes imagination. Adults fall into 6 common traps, but we can avoid them. What's truly important in life we can only see with our hearts. If you want to learn some inspiring and valuable lessons from one of the greatest books ever written, watch this video. ​ ​ The Freebie ​ Here's one resolution definitely worth aspiring to in 2024: Waste. Less. Time. And where do we waste a ton, if not most of it? On the internet. Thankfully, Shortform AI* will put an end to that. With this powerful tool, you can screen nearly every piece of content before you dive in. This one-click browser extension is like the Thanos-snap of web browsing: it instantly eliminates all the fluff. ​Shortform AI* will save you tons of time, add valuable context where you need it, and even make you less biased. You'll learn a lot faster and understand everything much quicker. What if you could get an executive summary of the New York Times deep dive on the latest financial crisis? What if you find a health expert's claims suspicious and need some counterpoints for a more nuanced view? What if you could quickly skim the main points of a 1-hour-Youtube interview instead of just listening and hoping you strike gold? Well, with Shortform AI*, you can do all of those things, and you can do them in seconds. Open any article, Youtube video, or email in your browser, click "Get Summary," and voilà — a summary in a few bullets, some context, additional resources, and even a few counterarguments will appear. This brilliant tool is part of Shortform's* larger offering: A library of over 1,000 incredibly detailed book guides, complete with audio features, a mobile app, and custom book recommendations. Best of all, you can try the whole experience completely free for 5 days and get 20% off through our exclusive Four Minute Books link. If you want to waste less time on the internet, learn faster, and be able to summarize everything at the click of a button, try this tool. ​​Try Shortform AI* for Free​ » ​ Dusty But Brilliant Getting Things Done ​by David Allen Need I introduce this? Getting Things Done is the productivity manual. The system, first introduced by David Allen in 2001, will help you do your work stress-free yet efficiently. Allen's setup is simple, but it works. Through a combination of lists, reminders, and weekly reviews, he manages to cut through the noise so you can use your brain for having ideas and executing them instead of being overwhelmed or weighed down by artificial complexity. If you want to get things done this year, read this summary. Read the Summary » ​ The Big 3 From the Book 1. Use a "collection bucket" to store things outside your mind and stay focused. 2. Create a "next actions" list for all your projects to avoid thinking in the moment. 3. Do a weekly review of everything, or else! Master the Lessons in 4 Minutes » ​ The Meme Shelf Even the most avid reader feels you sometimes, Fry. Impostor syndrome happens to the best of us. 😅 ​ That's all for this week. Enjoy your weekend, and may the sun shine on your book pages wherever you are! Happy reading, -Nik PS: Did you know you can summarize almost every piece of content on the internet with a simple browser extension?* Try it for free here* »​ What can we do to improve the next edition? Tell us here. Did someone forward you this email? If so, you can sign up here. ​​​​​​ Copyright © 2024 Four Minute Books Preferences | Josef-Obenhin-Str. 4, Munich, 80634 | *Affiliate link ​Privacy Policy | Advertise With Us​ ​Opt-out of preference-based advertising​ ​Unsubscribe​ ​