Fuel for the Curious Mind
From timeless wisdom to fresh voices reshaping how we think about life, work, and reinvention—these are the titles that have lit a fire in us because sometimes it’s not just the book, but the conversation it starts within you.
Raad Reads
Zero Hour for Generation
by Matthew Hennessey
This book lit a fire under my Gen X soul. It’s a bold, unfiltered mirror held up to our forgotten middle-child generation too young to be Boomers, too analog to be Millennials. It challenged me to reclaim the narrative of what it means to age forward with relevance, urgency, and power.
Reboot
by Jerry Colonna
Reading Reboot felt like soul surgery—in the best way. Jerry Colonna doesn’t just talk about leadership; he invites you to lead from the inside out. It’s a masterclass in growing up emotionally, not just aging physically, and it shaped how I show up in every space—business and personal.
Loving Bravely
by Dr. Alexandra H. Solomon
myself.
Wealthspan
by Scott B. Fulton
We talk a lot about lifespan—but Wealthspan reframed it all for me. It’s about maximizing how you live, not just how long. This book connects the dots between financial health, personal vitality, and legacy-building in a way that’s deeply aligned with The Raad Life mission.
Trust and Inspire
by Stephen M. R. Covey
Stage (Not Age)
by Susan Golden
This book belongs on every reinvention warrior’s shelf. Golden reframes aging as a stage—not a decline. It gave me the data, the optimism, and the call to action to embrace longevity as a creative force, not a countdown.
The Longevity Economy
by Joseph F. Coughlin
The Language of Emotions
by Karla McLaren
This one helped me finally listen to my emotions like trusted advisors—not problems to fix. McLaren’s work deepened my emotional literacy, which in turn made me a better leader, partner, and human. A powerful guide to becoming whole.
The Second Mountain
by David Brooks
This book cracked something open. It’s about the quiet hero’s journey of leaving behind ego-driven ambition to climb a second mountain—one built on meaning, service, and soul. It helped me understand the real
terrain of midlife
transformation.
Flow
by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Flow reminded me that the most alive moments don’t come from chasing happiness—but from full presence. Whether I’m designing, podcasting, or just walking on the beach, this book helped me recognize and recreate that magic state where time disappears and purpose takes over.
House as a Mirror of Self
by Clare Cooper Marcus
This book made me look at “home” as more than walls and furniture—it’s a living reflection of who we are, where we’ve been, and what we long for. It reminded me that the spaces we create either nourish our becoming or hold us back, and that redesigning our environment is often the first step to redesigning our life.
The Power of Discipline
by Daniel Walter
In a world that sells shortcuts, this book is a reset button. It’s about the quiet power of showing up for yourself—daily, deliberately, and with grit. It reminded me that freedom in life and reinvention in midlife are built on the backbone of self-control and the art of doing the hard things first.
Mastery
by Robert Greene
Mastery is a love letter to the long game. It showed me that true brilliance isn’t luck or talent—it’s devotion, patience, and the willingness to fail forward. Reading it was a reminder that in the second half of life, mastery isn’t about chasing everything—it’s about choosing the one thing that lights you up and going all in.
The Creative Cure
by Jacob Nordby
This book woke up my inner artist. Nordby makes the case that creativity isn’t a luxury—it’s medicine for the soul. It gave me permission to reclaim play, curiosity, and wonder, reminding me that reinvention often begins the moment we pick up a pen, a brush, or a bold idea we’ve been afraid to try.
Roar: Into the Second Half of Your Life (Before It’s Too Late)
by Michael Clinton
Roar is a rallying cry for those of us who refuse to fade quietly into the background. Clinton challenges you to reinvent, reimagine, and reclaim life on your terms. It’s not about aging gracefully—it’s about living audaciously, with both gratitude for the past and courage for what’s next.
The Comfort Crisis
by Michael Easter
This book pushed me to get uncomfortable—literally and metaphorically. Easter shows how our modern comfort zone is a trap, and how real vitality lives just beyond the edges of ease. It’s a call to seek challenge, adventure, and wildness, reminding me that the best stories of life are never written from the couch.
The Way Of The Traveler
by Joseph Dispenza
This gem reframes travel as more than an escape—it’s an awakening. Dispenza reminded me that every journey, whether to distant continents or the next town over, is a mirror reflecting who we’re becoming. It’s a soulful companion for anyone who feels that movement through the world is also movement toward the self.
Let Your Life SPEAK
by Parker J. Palmer
Palmer doesn’t shout—he whispers truths that land deep. This book invited me to slow down and actually listen to my inner life. It’s a call to peel back performance and live from essence. For anyone at a crossroad (or midlife reinvention), it’s a gentle, powerful nudge to live the life that’s been waiting for you all along.
The Untethered Soul
by Michael A. Singer
Reading this felt like unclenching a fist I didn’t know I’d been making. The Untethered Soul is a powerful reminder that freedom isn’t something you chase—it’s something you uncover by letting go. If The Raad Life has a spiritual compass, this book sits at true north.
Braving The Wilderness
by Brene Brown
This one shook me in the best way. Brené reminds us that belonging isn’t about fitting in—it’s about standing alone, rooted in truth, and still choosing connection. Braving the Wilderness made me think deeply about courage, solitude, and the kind of leadership the world—and our own hearts—need now.
The Art of Abundance – Dennis Merritt Jones
A beautiful reminder that prosperity begins within, in the mind and the heart, not the wallet. This book reframed my understanding of prosperity and wealth as an energy, not an inventory, not as accumulation, but as flow. Jones blends spirituality with practicality, reminding us that abundance is a state of awareness, an invitation to live from gratitude rather than grasping. Jones’s wisdom reinforced what I’ve come to believe through experience: when you align your inner world, the outer one expands naturally.
Certain Uncertainty – Des Dearlove
A powerful guide to navigating the unpredictable with grace. This book is that it doesn’t promise false stability — it celebrates uncertainty as the birthplace of growth and wisdom. It’s an essential mindset manual for anyone in midlife or beyond.
Des Dearlove captures the paradox of our times: that the only real constant is change. What I love about this book is how it turns unpredictability into an advantage, especially for leaders, creators, and anyone reinventing themselves. It reminds us that clarity doesn’t come from controlling the unknown, but from learning to dance with it. It’s a sharp, insightful exploration of how embracing uncertainty can actually make us more grounded, creative, and human.
Design Your Age – Tuck Kamin
Tuck Kamin’s philosophy resonates deeply with my Design for Life approach. Design Your Age flips the script on getting older — it’s not about decline, it’s about design. Kamin invites us to architect our next chapters with the same intentionality we bring to our work and our spaces. It’s empowering, liberating, and entirely modern in its view of what it means to age well.
How to Surf and the Art of Style – Uncle Tim
Part surf manual, part soulful reflection, How to Surf and the Art of Style isn’t really about surfing — it’s about learning how to move through life with grace. Uncle Tim captures the poetry of balance, patience, and humility in motion. Reading it echoed my own experience in Baja: finding rhythm in the waves and realizing that style, in surfing and in life, comes from surrender, not force.
Make Your Own Waves – Louis Patler
This one spoke to my entrepreneurial soul. Patler uses surfing as a metaphor for leadership and innovation, reminding us that timing, adaptability, and presence matter more than control. It’s not about commanding the ocean; it’s about learning to ride it. How to read the tides, catch the moment, and stay balanced when the next wave comes.Every creative, anyone building a business, a brand, or a life, any founder, or reinvention-minded reader will feel seen here and be reminded that success isn’t about control — it’s about rhythm, courage, and flow.