Book club in our engineering team – Stealing Fire
Tags: books, career, productivity, team
Published: 2020-01-09 15:42:18

---
title: Book club in our engineering team – Stealing Fire
published: true
description: Book club in our engineering team – Stealing Fire
tags: books, career, productivity, team
cover_image: https://thepracticaldev.s3.amazonaws.com/i/ku0cgrwhs25f3jgsi5yv.jpg
---

_Originally published on [my blog](http://www.nikola-breznjak.com/blog/books/book-club-engineering-team-stealing-fire/)_

## TL;DR

In this short post I’ll tell you:

- how we implemented our fourth book club idea in our engineering team
- what book we read
- how we liked it,
- and share a few key takeaways

You can read all about our other book clubs here:

- [1st - The Phoenix Project](https://dev.to/nikola/how-we-implemented-the-book-club-idea-in-our-engineering-team-2pn1) (has way more info on how we're doing it)
- [2nd - It doesn't have to be crazy at work](https://dev.to/nikola/book-club-in-our-engineering-team-it-doesn-t-have-to-be-crazy-at-work-5f71)
- [3rd - Pragmatic Programmer](https://dev.to/nikola/book-club-in-our-engineering-team-pragmatic-programmer-3a53)

> ⚠️ If you're thinking that there's no time to read the books, check this post on the [math behind reading 30 books per year](http://www.nikola-breznjak.com/blog/books/math-behind-reading-30-books-per-year/). If you think that this **book club thing is cool**, and you'd want to be a part of the group that's 'allowed' to read 'on the job', shoot me an email 👍

## THE BOOK

This time we read the [Stealing Fire: How Silicon Valley, the Navy SEALs, and Maverick Scientists Are Revolutionizing the Way We Live and Work](https://amzn.to/37JijRg).

Here are the Amazon and Goodreads ratings:

![](https://thepracticaldev.s3.amazonaws.com/i/ai5d1u1yag750zaol71v.jpg)

## DATA POINTS

- avg(time to read) = **10** hours
- avg(liked the book) = **6.1** / 10
- avg(liked the book club) = **8.7** / 10

![](https://thepracticaldev.s3.amazonaws.com/i/v5sddynyqbbnrh1oxssi.jpg)

In general, we didn't quite like the book, and there was even a vote to stop and switch to another one. In the end, we persevered and thus such a high score for the book club itself.

## KEY TAKEAWAYS

- **We find the book interesting, but also really scary as it left us wondering what the 1% of 1% are doing to achieve the flow state**
- A good part of what we’re habitually doing online is more to forget ourselves for a moment than inform ourselves for the long haul
- **Time (and how to make the most of it) appears to be about five times more important to us than making love or money**
- These days, we’re drowning in information, but starving for motivation.
- When a Harvard Medical School study confronted patients with lifestyle-related diseases that would kill them if they didn’t alter their behavior (type 2 diabetes, smoking, atherosclerosis, etc.), 87 percent couldn’t avoid this sentence. **Turns out, we’d rather die than change.**
- Eric Schmidt became Google’s CEO because he attended Burning Man
- **We process more information when unconscious**
- Surfing can get you in the flow state
- **This book is like a commercial for drugs**
- Eight weeks of meditation training measurably sharpened focus and cognition
- **If coffee isn’t considered cheating, what makes smart drugs any different?**
- Animals seek out drugs
- **Slack prevents us from reaching (and staying in) the flow state**
- It costs $25,000 to turn an average Joe into a combat-ready U.S. Marine.
- In 2014, EDM represented almost half of all concert sales, attracting a quarter of a million concertgoers at a time and drawing the attention of Wall Street investors and major private equity firms.
- **Eight weeks of meditation training measurably sharpened focus and cognition**
- Absolutely terrified knowing the final outcome of the Pied Piper story
- **Stimulating the front part of the lobe causes visions of God**