Inspirations – Aruna Kumarasiri

Books

Most of the best conversations I’ve had were through books. Feel free to explore all of my book reviews and ratings here, covering 250+ books I’ve read over the past five years.

අස්වැන්න (Aswenna)

by Jayasena Jayakody

The Catcher in the Rye

by J.D. Salinger

A Story About a Real Man

by Boris Polavoi

සෙංකොට්ටං (Senkottan)

by M. Masimbula

Nudge

by Thaler and Sunstein

Originals

by Adam Grant

Show Your Work

by Austin Kleon

Basic Economics

by Thomas Sowell

Don’t Be Such a Scientist

by Randy Olson

Deep Work

by Cal Newport

Storyworthy

by Matthew Dicks

The Rational Optimist

by Matt Ridley

Public Speakers and Personalities

Effective communication channels all of our skills into a path where they truly matter to other people. I like to think of a personality as an orchestra and communication skills as the conductor—no matter how refined your individual skills are, the music won’t be in harmony until the conductor gets it right! Here are some of my go-to communicators who have helped me discover my inner conductor.

Brian Cox

Theoretical physicist

Amy Cuddy

Social psychologist

Tim Ferriss

Entrepreneur and investor

Robert Sapolsky

Neuroscientist

Stephen Fry

Writer and actor

Steven Pinker

Cognitive psychologist

Brené Brown

Academic and podcaster

Adam Grant

Psychologist

Richard Thaler

Economist

Matt Ridley

Science Writer

W. Eugene Smith

Photographer

Thomas Sowell

Economist

Tools

I strongly believe that, for better or worse, the tools we use, shape who we are. Finding the right tool for a task is difficult. It’s always a dilemma between what’s objectively more suitable for a given job verses what tool are you really good at. For the past decade, my shiny object syndrome has been less of a distraction and more of a compass—helping me bridging the gap of that dilemma and turn it into an opportunity. Here are some of the tools that shaped how I approach and execute specific tasks.