Book Surgeon No. 26

Recently, I have been finding myself zooming through books, which is fun and allows me to read about a wide variety of topics. However, this method of reading makes it difficult to fairly consider the nuances of the authors’ works. I came to this realization when reading this week’s book, The Road To Character by David Brooks, which has many thought provoking insights to consider. Since grade school, we have been taught to always focus on efficiency and speed. Reading fast was a flex to your friends. In third grade, we were awarded an additional medal for every million words we read, encouraging speed over careful thought. Corporate work often encourages the same. We are expected to complete our tasks as fast and efficiently as possible. While this method allows a larger quantity of work to be completed, it makes it more difficult for creative thinking to thrive. Why take time to think about what you just finished when you can get started on the next task or project? With this in mind, I hope to begin spending more time with the books I am reading—slowing down to think and take notes along the way. As a result, while I will continue to write about what I am reading every week, I will likely be writing about the same book over multiple weeks, which is still nowhere close to the effort and thought invested into the book by the author. Ultimately, my hope is that I can better understand the nuanced intentions of the author when reading. 

This week, Author Brooks gives us much food for thought in his book The Road To Character, where he discusses the traits that lead to a more fulfilling life. Brooks gives a useful framework for the goal of the book in its intro: “Recently I’ve been thinking about the differences between the resume virtues and the eulogy virtues. The resume virtues are the ones you list on your resume, the skills that you bring to the job market and that contribute to external success. The eulogy virtues are deeper. They’re the virtues that get talked about at your funeral, the ones that exist at the core of your bien—whether you are kind, brave, honest, or faithful; what kind of relationships you formed. Most of us would say that the eulogy virtues are more important than the resume virtues, but I confess that for long stretches of my life I’ve spent more time thinking about the latter than the former. Our education system is certainly oriented around the resume virtues more than the eulogy ones. Public conversation is, too—the self-help tips in magazines, the nonfiction bestsellers. Most of us have clearer strategies for how to achieve career success than we do for how to develop a profound character.” 

Clearly, this book is not about the hard skills needed to be more efficient at work or how to improve your chances for entrance to medical school. Rather, it is about the character traits that define our lives and help us find meaning in the chaos of the world around us. Nobody is arguing that resume skills are irrelevant; they clearly play a critical role in our lives. Yet, with so many of our conversations dictated about the work we do or how we imagine our careers moving forward, it is also helpful to talk about the eulogy virtues that are a better reflection of our impact on the people around us, which is arguably the most important purpose of our lives. 

Several parts of this book reminded me of one of my favorite books, Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, which constantly emphasizes the importance of humility and moving backwards in order to move forward. In The Road To Character, Brooks, in a similar sentiment, writes how “success leads to the greatest failure, which is pride. Failure leads to the greatest success, which is humility and learning. In order to fulfill yourself, you have to forget yourself. In order to find yourself, you have to lose yourself.” Success without a strong character is undesirable. You could make every correct corporate move to become a CEO of a high profile company. Yet, if you are arrogant, do not treat your employees with respect, or do not leave any time for your family, for instance, you are neglecting your eulogy virtues and will not lead a satisfying life. You may find yourself critical of the world around you and always looking for external causes to blame rather than searching within for your lack of satisfaction. The Road To Character helps us to pay more attention to our weaknesses, so we can fill the holes in our character and help us invest the time and effort into the eulogy skills that lead to more fulfilling lives.

Share with others if you enjoy! Thanks for reading and see you next week!