Austin Harvey
1 min readJun 22, 2021

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Oh, that's a good question. As far as individual articles, none come to mind immediately, but there are a few books I've read that greatly affected the way I view myself and the world. Matt Haig's Reasons to Stay Alive and Notes on a Nervous Planet. Derren Brown's Happy: Why More or Less Everything is Absolutely Fine. Lulu Miller's Why Fish Don't Exist. Sy Montgomery's The Soul of an Octopus. And Haruki Murakami's What I Talk About When I Talk About Running.

Most of these are more memoir or personal experience-based, but I related strongly to a lot of the feelings they shared and the takeaway, for me, was immense.

I also recommend the documentaries Jiro Dreams of Sushi, My Octopus Teacher, Exit Through the Gift Shop, Dick Johnson is Dead, Free Solo, and John Was Trying to Contact Aliens (for a quick fix).

I think, generally speaking, self-help has done less for me over time than watching/reading/playing inspiring things. Certain video games have opened up new genres and ideas to me (Kentucky: Route Zero and Night in the Woods), books have offered new perspectives, knowledge, and appreciation, and documentaries have inspired and motivated me to make something of myself. You can gain a lot more understanding, empathy, and enlightenment from things that tell a story rather than selling you the idea that waking up at 5 in the morning is the one "hack" you need.

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Austin Harvey
Austin Harvey

Written by Austin Harvey

Writer, editor, and podcast host. Currently a staff writer at All That's Interesting. Host of History Uncovered and Conspiracy Realists.

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