Jay-Z Revealed the 2 Books That Have ‘Absolutely’ Changed the Way He Lives
Jay-Z said he has read two books in his life that have altered the way he conducts himself. While one book is a novel and the other is a self-help book, both have changed his approach to the world around him. The rapper shared why he likes the books so much.
Jay-Z said two books have changed his life
Jay-Z gave a list of book recommendations. Of those he recommended, he said two stood out as particularly helpful to him.
“There are two books that I absolutely live my life by,” he told Oprah. “[The Seat of the Soul by Gary Zukav] is one of them.”
He said this altered his views on religion and spirituality.
“Growing up, I was always curious about religion,” he said. “This book made the most sense to me; it’s about the way you live your life. I believe in karma and doing the right thing even if it may not advance you as far as you want. If every single person felt the same way about karma and intention, then the world gets fixed tomorrow. But temptation gets in the way. Zukav is right: It may take lifetimes to learn.”
He said the other book he lives by is The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield.
“It’s fiction — a guy travels to find a secret book that has a series of principles,” he said. “The story is a metaphor for life: I could go left or right, I could be stuck, or I could keep advancing. Some people are happy where they are. I tried to hire a guy once, and I said, ‘Don’t you have ambition to be bigger?’ And he said, ‘No, I’m good.’ I had to respect that, but for me that was the wrong relationship.”
He said one of his favorite works was a challenge to get through
Another one of his favorite pieces of writing is Homer’s The Odyssey. While he said it was a challenge to work through, he liked reading it.
“This epic poem was kind of difficult for me to get through, but it has a beautiful rhythm,” he said. “I got lost in reading about Odysseus’ struggle to get home and his longing for someone so strong, as his wife was, waiting for him. That’s like a dream — that kind of strength, love, loyalty.”
He didn’t want to read his own book
Jay-Z worked with writer and filmmaker dream hampton on a memoir in the early 2000s. After receiving the completed manuscript, he decided he didn’t want people to read it.
“I know that people really want to know about me, and I thought I was OK with it, but as it got closer and closer, I said, ‘What am I doing?’ And then when I really got [the manuscript], I was like [pantomimes fainting],” he told Rolling Stone in 2005. “Just someone having your life in their hands made me like, ‘I ain’t doin’ this s***.’”
He wouldn’t even look through it himself.
“I can’t read it, by the way,” he said. “She was sending me chapters, but I haven’t read it all together like one thing. I can’t.”
