Dom Lupo's Blog

Change of Heart: What Psychology Can Teach Us About Spreading Social Change

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This book appeals to individuals who want to become more effective activists by utilizing techniques analyzed by human psychology research.

Summary

Introduction

This book is about how to create change, particularly in individuals.
What is really at the heart of social change is human psychology.

Chapter 1: Looking Inward

There are several psychological obstacles someone must overcome to be an effective activist.
Obstacles include conflicts with self-identity, self reflection, self interest, biases, etc.
Effective Activists quantify the results of their work and compare with alternative methods.

Chapter 2: The Uphill Battle

So Good They Can't Ignore You

Sat, 21 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This book appeals to individuals who want to learn a framework for career happiness which is different than “follow your passion”. The framework is to invest in skills and then leverage them to acquire a career that you personally enjoy.

Summary

Introduction

“Follow your passion” is not a sufficient answer for how to love your career.
The common thread of this book is you need a valuable skill before you can expect a good job.
A valuable skill won’t guarantee happiness. You must invest career capital to earn happiness.

Rule #1: Don’t Follow Your Passion

Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience

Thu, 12 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This book appeals to individuals who want to learn about different actions to pursue in order to have a more enjoyable life.

Summary

Preface

This book summarizes, for a general audience, decades of research on the positive aspects of human experience, joy, creativity, the process of total involvement with life I call flow.
This book does not have insider tips. A joyful life is an individual creation, not a copy.
This book presents general principles and concrete examples of how these principles are used.

Chapter 1: Happiness Revisited

Books I read in 2024 & 2025

Sun, 08 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

I read 2 books in 2024 and 12 books in 2025. I already read 3 books in 2026. In 2025, I realized I enjoy the process of reading books and taking notes. In 2026 I decided to read 365 total hours. I will post short notes and reviews for books in the future.

Format is <date completed> : <title> : <authors>

2024

07/04/24 : Deep Work : Cal Newport
08/06/24 : Crafting Interpreters : Robert Nystrom

2025

05/01/25 : Man’s Search for Meaning : Victor Frankl
07/15/25 : The Mom Test : Rob Fitzpatrick
08/22/25 : Zero to One : Peter Thiel
08/28/25 : Spelunky : Derek Yu
09/14/25 : Think Like A Game Designer : Justin Gary
10/12/25 : Learning Go : Jon Bodner
11/04/25 : The Effective Engineer : Edmond Lau
11/24/25 : The Pragmatic Programmer : David Thomas & Andrew Hunt
12/08/25 : Don’t Believe Everything You Think : Joseph Nguyen
12/21:25 : The Art of Game Design : Jesse Schell
12/25/25 : A Philosophy of Software Design : John Ousterhout
12/31/25 : Talent is Overrated : Geoff Colvin