The Books and Media Behind Troubleshooting Life
1. BUSINESS & LEADERSHIP BOOKS
Bob Iger – The Ride of a Lifetime
Colin Bryar & Bill Carr – Working Backwards (Amazon)
Erin Meyer & Reed Hastings – No Rules Rules (Netflix)
Patty McCord – Powerful (Netflix culture)
James Andrew Miller – Powerhouse + Tinderbox
Brad Stone – The Everything Store
Clay Christensen – Innovator’s Dilemma, Competing Against Luck, How Will You Measure Your Life
Note: These books sharpened the “system-thinking lens” that runs throughout the book — especially the internal and external troubleshooting sections.
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2. PERSONAL TRANSFORMATION & DAILY PRACTICES
The one-page structure of Troubleshooting Life draws heavy inspiration from bite-sized daily wisdom formats:
James Clear – Atomic Habits
Ryan Holiday – The Daily Stoic
Peter Drucker – The Daily Drucker
Steven Pressfield – The War of Art
Norman Cousins – Anatomy of an Illness
Note: Change doesn’t come from one big push — it comes from small, consistent, repeated reflection.
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3. PHILOSOPHY, HISTORY & WORLDVIEW
• Marcus Aurelius – Meditations
• Chanakya - Chanakya Neeti, Arthashastra
• Jared Diamond – Guns, Germs, and Steel
• Erika Lee – The Making of Asian America
• James Loewen – Lies My Teacher Told Me
Note: These works shaped the sociology of Troubleshooting Life — the day-to-day awareness of how systems of thought, identity, and culture shape our personal choices.
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4. FILMMAKING, STORYTELLING & HOLLYWOOD CULTURE
The Hollywood sections of the book weren’t made up.
They were grounded in real books I first discovered at Temple University Film School and after graduation, such as:
Conversations with Wilder – Cameron Crowe
The Philosophy of Spike Lee – Mark Conard
The Mailroom – David Rensin
The Last Mogul - directed by Barry Avrich
The Brothers Warner - directed by Cass Warner
Bamboozled – directed by Spike Lee
The Maltese Falcon – book by Dashiell Hammett
A Star is Born (1937) - directed by William Wellman
Note: I am also a fan of HBO’s Entourage as well. I cited “Let’s Hug It Out, Bitch!” from Nancy Lee in my book as well. These texts informed how I talk about storytelling, power structures, representation, and the entertainment industry’s influence on society.
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5. HUMAN BEHAVIOR, PSYCHOLOGY & RELATIONSHIPS
• Eric Berne – Games People Play
• Robert Moore & Doug Gilette – King, Warrior, Magician, Lover
• David Deida – The Way of the Superior Man
• Catherine Salmon – The Secret Power of Middle Children
These books shaped entries of Troubleshooting Life that deal with Jungian archetypes, communication, conflict, and emotional troubleshooting.
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6. TECHNOLOGY, UX, & HUMAN BEHAVIOR DESIGN
As philosopher and media theorist Marshall McLuhan said, “We become what we behold. We shape our tools, and thereafter our tools shape us.”
A huge part of “modern troubleshooting” is understanding how digital technology shapes us, and how humans can better use digital media tech.
• Chris Nodder – Evil by Design
• Google Coursera courses (IT Support, UX Design, AI Essentials)
• LinkedIn Learning UX Design path
• Professor Messer – CompTIA A+, Network+, Security+
• AWS Solutions Architect course - Neal Davis, Stephane Maarek
This material shaped the “systems troubleshooting” metaphors — comparing life to hardware, software, networks, and cloud computing.
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7. MASTERCLASS: Modern Mentors in Your Pocket
Some of the most influential “teachers” for this book came from MasterClass:
• Aaron Sorkin (writing)
• Spike Lee (filmmaking)
• Martin Scorsese (filmmaking)
• Shonda Rhimes (television writing)
• Anna Wintour (leadership & creativity)
• Chris Voss (negotiation)
• James Cameron (filmmaking)
• Issa Rae (creating outside the lines)
• Paul Krugman (economics)
• Timbaland (creativity)
Note: These classes influenced the storytelling, communication, and creative process sections of the book.
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WHY SHARE THIS LIST OF MEDIA?
To me, Troubleshooting Life isn’t just a book.
It’s more like a mixtape. A curated blend of:
• Stoic philosophy
• Modern leadership
• Hollywood storytelling
• UX design
• System thinking
• Personal journaling
• Tech culture
• Emotional intelligence
• Career navigation
• Life strategy
Plus, unlike some big AI companies we hear about, I want to be transparent about my “training data.”
This book was curated by my interests in categories such as:
Hollywood
Corporate leadership
Stoic philosophy
UX design
Hip-hop
Startup culture
Politics
Literature
Education
Information technology
