Welcome back to the Mere Mortals Book Reviews. Today I’m reviewing Habits of High Performance by James Laughlin, a practical, activity-driven book built around foundational principles like getting radically clear, strengthening belief systems, leading life on purpose, multiplying motivation, doing the work, focusing priorities, and taking no shortcuts.

(00:00) — Welcome + What We’re Reviewing
(00:23) — Who is James Laughlin? (Author background)
(01:51) — What the Book Covers (Core sections)
(02:50) — The Structure: Short Chapters + Practical Activities
(03:29) — QR Codes + Guided Exercises (How it’s meant to be used)
(05:05) — My Experience: Entertaining, but Surface-Level
(07:02) — Example Principle: Purpose + ‘When your why is clear…’
(10:25) — Comparison: Atomic Habits vs This Book
(11:08) — Final Verdict: Easy Read, Not a Re-read

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Welcome back to another edition of the Mere Mortals Book Reviews — and this time it’s the final instalment of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.

(00:00) Welcome back + final instalment setup
(00:47) I literally ripped the book in half (and why it fits the story)
(02:30) The split storylines: battles vs Frodo & Sam
(03:51) Sam as the real hero (stronger in the book)
(04:32) Book vs movie: the extra Shire material
(06:52) Writing mastery: descriptions that put you there
(07:11) Suffering, sacrifice, and carrying Frodo
(08:11) Appendices: deep lore (and why I skipped them)
(10:29) Why Tolkien is considered one of the greatest

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This is the book learnings companion to my Mastery book review: I pulled 17 personal takeaways (from ~70 notes) and unpack what they mean in real life. We go from vocation and apprenticeship, to why “not even enlightenment is enough”, to the prepared mind, the dimensional mind, and why tech (especially AI) is collapsing the walls between fields.

(00:00) Book learnings (and why you should watch the review first)
(00:19) Pen-in-hand reading + 70 notes → 17 key lessons
(01:23) Lesson 1: “Mind under the lights of the world” (focus beats distraction)
(02:32) Lesson 2: Vocation — the well-employed life
(03:55) Lesson 3: “Seed/uniqueness” — and my pushback (life can change you)
(05:14) Lesson 4: Ask “how did you get there?” (the invisible chrysalis years)
(06:26) Lesson 5: Value over money in apprenticeship (Accenture crucible)
(07:30) Lesson 6: Trust the process (and don’t mentally quit)
(08:12) Lesson 7: Not even enlightenment is enough — pushed to the abyss
(09:52) Lesson 8: The “seven deadly realities” + social intelligence undertow
(10:14) Lesson 9: The mask vs authenticity (effective… until it breaks)
(10:51) Lesson 10: Dimensional mind — creating instead of consuming
(11:35) Lesson 11: Serendipity, but with a prepared mind (Pasteur)
(12:48) Lesson 12: Think away from the obvious (out-of-the-box production)
(13:43) Lesson 13: Manufacture pressure (Edison / Elon-style)
(14:33) Lesson 14: Prolonged immersion → creative abstraction (the real crux)
(14:57) Lesson 15: Fuse intuition + rationality (higher-level intuition)
(15:44) Lesson 16: Mastery equation: time + intense focus + self-awareness
(16:25) Lesson 17: Tech/AI connecting fields — become part of it
(17:36) Wrap: key favourites + what hit hardest

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