Matthew A. Cronin: Care About Your Purpose

Officially I am a professor, though I like to think of myself as a knowledge inventor.

That I want to admit publically? I suppose that I have about 20 guitars and basses.

The Great Schools of Dune trilogy by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. I absolutely loved the original Dune series by Frank Herbert, particularly the later books, for its commentary on human control by technology, religion, and government. After I was done with the original series I was sad that there was no more so I, with trepidation, turned to one of the prequels and it hooked me. I had trepidation because you never know if another author can effectively capture the feel of the original. I think Brian and Kevin did.

Frog and Toad Together by Arnold Lobel. I don’t think I knew why as a child. I know why now – they are funny, wise, and kind. I also relate to Toad.

I’m not an entrepreneur, I’m more of an advisor to those types of people. The first significant time I demonstrated this is when I told my real entrepreneur friend, who had just told me of a brilliant business idea, “You suck at execution, you should let me control the operational side of your business.” He did.

Igboekunie by Edmund Okwucukwu and Chinemelum Okeke. Edmund was a student of mine, and he has written a bunch of books. But this one is a really interesting look into life from the perspective of his cultural lineage, the Igbo, of Nigeria.

The Art of The Commonplace by Wendell Berry. It presents a modern philosophy on environmentalism and economic progress that moves us from tiny questions of cost-effectiveness to huge questions of humanity’s moral purpose and responsibility for how we live in this world. It got me to think about asking bigger questions, ones that are supported as much by culture and imagination as by empirical data.

Either Aramis, or the Love of Technology by Bruno Latour or A Pattern Language by Christopher Alexander and Murray Silverstein. Both were given to me by friends.

That is really hard to say. Books are great for different reasons. I suppose the most moving one for me was Did You Ever Have a Family by Bill Clegg. It’s rough and depressing for a while but has an amazing conclusion.

Having an enormous number of high-quality friendships in spite of my surly and curmudgeonly personality.

Warren Buffet followed by John Bogle. They both show the triumph of reasoned, responsible, long-sighted capitalism.

You assume they would notice it amidst the clutter of books my daughter leaves all over the place. I question that assumption.

First, to thine own self be true – ultimately there is no formula for success and people only figure out the path when they really care about their purpose. At the same time, you must listen to others. Experience is a costly teacher, and others have good lessons to teach. The art is in knowing what to take and what to leave.

The best? That tends to not be the side of life I read about. Nonetheless: 1) The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey, 2) Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, and 3) The Prophet by Khalil Gibran.

YES! A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig. Those are my favorites but again, there are so many wonderful books that are each great for their own reasons. The classics are classics for a reason. And I have some authors that I love (Jonathan Kellerman) and am sometimes revolted by at the same time (Philip Roth).

The Information by James Gleick. I started it but then put it down as I got distracted by other things. But it is a timely and monumental piece. And I really respect Gleick for how much interesting stuff he can pack into a page.