Motivation fades. Hacks break. Boring work compounds.
Self-improvement that survives contact with real life — systems instead of sprints, sources instead of vibes, honest testing instead of promises. A library, not a feed.
Start hereChoose your struggle
Can’t stick to habits?
Systems that don’t depend on motivation — and what to do after you break the streak.
EnterCan’t focus?
Attention management for people whose day is a feed: deep work, information diet, time systems compared.
EnterAlways tired?
Sleep, movement, and the boundary leaks nobody audits. Evidence first, mysticism zero.
EnterThinking in circles?
Mental models, cognitive traps, and popular claims checked against sources — not vibes.
EnterMoney stress?
Money behavior without get-rich promises: habits, negotiation, and the finance classics read skeptically.
EnterToo many books, no time?
Critical summaries of self-improvement classics: what holds up, what doesn’t, what to do instead.
EnterStart with these
Protect Your Energy: 12 Boundary Rules, Minus the Mysticism
An old esoteric list rebuilt on evidence — one system guarding a single resource: your attention.
The Willpower Instinct: What Holds Up in 2026
The willpower classic re-read after the replication crisis. The toolbox survives; the muscle metaphor doesn’t.
Platinum Rules of Doing Business from the Jewish Tradition
Old trading ethics read as practical rules for reputation, honesty, and long games in modern work.
Happiness Myths: What the Research Actually Shows
Five popular happiness formulas checked against the research — including the $75K plateau that didn’t survive re-analysis.
Latest entries
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Soaring with Eagles by Bill Newman: Book Notes
Bill Newman’s warm, evidence-free motivational classic gets a source-first verdict: two instincts hold up, two overclaim, and you can use the tools without the book.
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Making the Brain Body Connection (Promislow): Book Notes
Sharon Promislow’s stress manual bundles real habits with a debunked theory. We keep the movement and breathing, and explain why the kinesiology fails.
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Losing My Virginity by Richard Branson: Book Notes
Richard Branson’s full autobiography is a superb adventure story and a weak business manual. We separate the one durable idea from the survivor’s tale.
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Personal Development for Smart People by Steve Pavlina — Book Notes
Steve Pavlina’s Truth-Love-Power triad is a useful compass, but the «principles of the universe» framing has no evidence and his blog drifts into law of attraction…
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Matsushita’s Principles of Success: Book Notes
Panasonic’s founder built a creed around business as service to society. We test his principles against modern research: what holds up, what is survivorship bias, and…
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The Power of Focus — Book Notes
«The Power of Focus» is right that habits decide your life and wrong that any method delivers certainty. We grade its ten strategies against the research.