20 Books That Shaped My Life

An Ecology of Wisdom on Systems, Life, Communication, Collaboration and Spirit.

Over the last few years, I’ve read and synthesised over 285+ books.

While I’m now reading at a much slower pace, there’s a select tapestry of books that, through their combining, deeply shaped my life.

These books didn't just inform me — they transformed me. They created new neural pathways, morphed worldviews, shifted inner ecologies, and opened doorways to realities I didn’t know were possible.

I felt like sharing the ones that have meant most to me. Books that carry parts of my transformation — books on Systems, Life, Communication, Collaboration and Spirit.

Welcome to my “Ecology of Books” — a mycelial web of interconnected ideas that nourish and amplify each other, weaving together a wisdom far richer than any single text could offer alone.

PS. This post was originally published in my newsletter on Substack. Read it here 👇

On Systems

• Thinking in Systems — A Primer, by Donella H. Meadows. The book that started and continues to deeply shape my systems journey.

• Unflattening, by Nick Sousanis . A PhD in comic form — a visual, non-linear journey rebelling against the fixed, rigid and narrow “flatness” of our thinking.

• The Essentials of Theory U — Core Principles and Applications, by Otto Scharmer . A practical guide to awareness-based systems change.

• Atomic Habits — An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones, by James Clear . My favourite book on crafting personal systems.

On Life

• Coming Back to Life — The Updated Guide to The Work That Reconnects, by Joanna Macy and Molly Brown. On reconnecting the feedback loops of life.

• Combining, by Nora Bateson . A beautiful invitation to an Ecology of Communication where nothing stands alone.

• Designing Regenerative Cultures, by Daniel Christian Wahl . A comprehensive introduction to life-affirming design and cultures.

• The Spell of the Sensuous — Perception and Language in a More-Than-Human World, by David Abram . Completely shifted how I relate to the sensuous world.

• Regeneration — Ending the Climate Crisis in One Generation, by Paul Hawken . A beautiful and actionable reframing on our relationship to life.

• The Web of Meaning — Integrating Science and Traditional Wisdom to Find Our Place in the Universe, by Jeremy Lent . An integral bible of meaning.

• Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet by Thich Nhat Hanh . A beautiful homecoming to the earth.

On Communication

• Nonviolent Communication — A Language of Life, by Marshall B. Rosenberg. Completely changed how I listen to others (and myself).

• Made to Stick — Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, by Chip Heath & Dan Heath . By far the best book I've read on communicating ideas.

• Perennial Seller — The Art of Making and Marketing Work that Lasts, by Ryan Holiday . Helped me tremendously with creating this newsletter.

On Collaboration

• Prosocial — Using Evolutionary Science to Build Productive, Equitable, and Collaborative Groups, by David Sloan Wilson , Paul Atkins & Steven Hayes. For commons-based collaboration within and across groups.

• Facilitating Breakthrough — How to Remove Obstacles, Bridge Differences, and Move Forward Together, by Adam Kahane . On the power of Transformative Facilitation within complexity, across divides.

On Spirit

• Tao Te Ching — The Essential Translation of the Ancient Chinese Book of the Tao. No words can express what this profound book has meant to me.

• Walden, or, Life in the Woods, by Henry David Thoreau. Left a deep imprint on me to live simply and deeply.

• One Blade of Grass — Finding the Old Road of the Heart, a Zen Memoir, by Henry Shukman . Beautiful, raw, and deeply poetic.

• Evolutionary Relationships — Unleashing the Power of Mutual Awakening, by Patricia Albere . Thank you dear Hajar Tazi for sharing this gem.

What Ecology of Books Shaped You?

This is a warm invitation to share your ecology of books — those texts that fundamentally shaped and shifted how you see yourself, others, and the world.

What books have been your teachers? What authors have been your guides? What ideas have taken root in you and grown into new ways of being?

Whether you share on Substack or in the comments below, I'm deeply curious about the constellation of wisdom that shaped you.

Let’s shape each other.

Let’s weave together our ecologies of wisdom.

Let’s leave beautiful imprints.

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