Nic Stubbs • • 4 min read
Matt Karamazov – Uncommon Insights From 1000+ Books (#53)
“Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.”
— Frederick Douglass
Matt Karamazov has already accomplished multiple lifetime’s worths of achievements.
You’d think the topic of this conversation would be about his experience as a world heavyweight boxer, a natural bodybuilder, nightclub bouncer, professional writer, or successful music label owner…
But no… On top of all that, Matt decided that he would take on the mammoth task of reading 1000+ books!
And he doesn’t just read them. He makes detailed notes on them too.
Since this episode was recorded, he has accomplished the goal of reading 1,000 books and has now extended it to 10,000.
With an average of 7 hours a day spent reading, Matt has mastered the art of focusing for long periods of time in pursuit of an aim, and he has joined us on the High Existence Podcast to share key insights and tips for turning our own lofty ambitions into fully realized goals.
This conversation expands way beyond reading into the depths of a mind that has downloaded 1000 of the greatest pieces of content of all time.
In this Episode:
- Matt’s history with High Existence
- Why he decided to read 1,000 books
- How to stay focused for 7 hours a day
- Can you be mindful while reading?
- The secret to retaining what you read
- Is optimism the privilege of someone who hasn’t experienced true difficulty?
- The futility and utility of envy
- Why you should read more fiction
- How reading can improve your creative writing and communication skills
- The importance of enjoying the moment to moment process of working towards the goal
- How to read 5 books a month
- Why you should have a 100 year plan if you’re under 50
- MUCH MORE…
💌LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR NEW PREMIUM NEWSLETTER “THE STAIRWAY TO WISDOM”
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LISTEN TO HEx PODCAST (#54)
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Links mentioned:
Books:
- Never Split the Difference by Christopher Voss and Tahl Raz
- The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
- 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene
- Narnia by C.S. Lewis
- Paradise Lost by John Milton
- Walden by Henry David Thoreux
- Das Kapital by Karl Marx
- The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx
- The Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
- History of Reading by Alberto Manguel
- Madam Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
- A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge
- Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
- Fahrenheit 51 by Ray Bradbury
- The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
- The Bhagavad Gita
- The Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu
- Reading in the Brain: The New Science of How We Read by Stanislas Dehaene
- The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
- Make it Stick by Henry L. Roediger III
- Ultralearning by Scott H. Young
- The 4 Hour Workweek by Tim Ferris
- Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis
- An Imperfect Offering by James Orbinsky
- 12 Rules for Life by Jordan Peterson
- Beyond Order by Jordan Peterson
- Maps of Meaning by Jordan Peterson
- Ordinary Men by Christopher Browning
- Yes to Life by Viktor Frankl
- Happy: Why More or Less Everything is Absolutely Fine by Derren Brown
- Creative Evolution by Henri Bergson
- The Happiness of Pursuit: Finding the Quest That Will Bring Purpose to Your Life by Chris Guillebeau
- On Writing by Stephen King
- Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
- The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen
- Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
- Think Like a Monk by Jay Shetty
- Stillness Speaks by Eckhart Tolle
- Time for the stars by Robert A. Heinlein
- Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass
- Atomic Habits by James Clear
- Die With Zero by Bill Perkins
- The Almanack of Naval Ravikant: A Guide to Wealth and Happiness by Eric Jorgenson
Matt’s Work:
Reading Apps:
People:
- Alain De Botton
- Simone Weil
- Martha Newsbaum
- Epictetus
- Arthur Schopenhauer
- Martin Seligman
- Jordan Peterson
- Eric Weinstein
- John Vervaeke
- Jordan Hall
- Ben Shapiro
- Jiddu Krishnamurti
- Howard Berg
- Kim Peek
- Woody Allen
- Mark Twain
- Quentin Tarantino
- Nassim Nicholas Taleb
- Elon Musk
Other Links:
- Jordan Peterson’s List of Influential Books Everyone Should Read
- Good Will Hunting
- Neuralink
- Apotheosis – The Ultimate Spiritual-Psychedelic Retreat
✨ The Stairway to Wisdom
You’ve gone Down The Rabbit Hole. Now it’s time to walk up The Stairway to Wisdom.
Introducing a brand new weekly newsletter from the minds at HighExistence.
Over the past year, we’ve been publishing the wonder-inducing weekly email known as “Down The Rabbit Hole,” and now we’re taking it a step further.
We want our readers not only to feel a deep sense of enchantment towards the world around them but also to apply deep teachings to their daily life so they can experience the life-transforming benefits of wisdom-in-action.
The Stairway to Wisdom is a premium weekly newsletter for those who are ready to dive deeper. We’ve partnered with independent researcher and knowledge connoisseur, Matt Karamazov, who has taken sharp, meticulous notes on over 1000 books so that he could share the most inspiring pearls of wisdom with the world.
