The cover of The Art of Taking Action

The Art of Taking Action

Lessons from Japanese Psychology

by Gregg Krech

This is a solid, well-organized, somewhat survey-ish collection of essays on what Zen & Buddhism & Eastern philosophy have to say about taking action, being productive in a meaningful and rewarding way. It’s easy to read in chunks (I read it over 6 months).

One of my favorite parts of the book is about using your time wisely. Specifically, when you decide to do (nor not do) something, there’s more than just your own time at stake. Key passage: “Which is longer—15 minutes of waiting for someone who is late, or 15 minutes of keeping others waiting?” That is to say, when you keep someone waiting for 15 minutes, you steal 15 minutes of their time. Apologies if I’m stealing too much of your time with this review.