I definitely need to read this again for it to really sink in, but I will make an attempt at summarising what this book is about. The book is built around a conversation that Eliyahu has with his daughter, Efrat. The discussion revolves around how anyone can live a meaningful life and what the obstacles to it are. So.... I’d say it’s quite a philosophical book.


Freedom of Choice: Easy life vs Meaningful life
- Every action is an experiment, results are merely outcomes
- A scientist doesn’t label them as failures, instead learns from this to do better. One must have the stamina to get up after failing.


Obstacles to thinking clearly:
- Reality is complex, when in actual fact it is inherently simple.
- Conflict is a given, but it isn’t. Is compromise the only solution or can both parties get exactly what they what by focusing on a common objective. Win-Win!
- Tendencies to blame, rather than find out how and why things happen. Blaming will not eradicate the issue even once the person at blame is removed. Additionally, adopting the thinking that people are generally good.
- Don’t ever think that you know, because every situation can be substantially improved.


One thing that was interesting was the idea of the “mystery analysis” or what people should do when confronted by a surprising result. Rather than accepting the result, they should discover why the result was so different from expectations. Was it the thinking about the situation rather than the situation itself?

Overcome the 4 obstacles above = Think Clearly = Many opportunities + Stamina to overcome failures + Collaboration = FULL LIFE!