Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
5/5
Audiobook8 hours
Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life
Written by Luke Burgis
Narrated by Luke Burgis and Sean Patrick Hopkins
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
()
About this audiobook
A groundbreaking exploration of why we want what we want, and a toolkit for freeing ourselves from chasing unfulfilling desires.
Gravity affects every aspect of our physical being, but there’s a psychological force just as powerful—yet almost nobody has heard of it. It’s responsible for bringing groups of people together and pulling them apart, making certain goals attractive to some and not to others, and fueling cycles of anxiety and conflict. In Wanting, Luke Burgis draws on the work of French polymath René Girard to bring this hidden force to light and reveals how it shapes our lives and societies.
According to Girard, humans don’t desire anything independently. Human desire is mimetic—we imitate what other people want. This affects the way we choose partners, friends, careers, clothes, and vacation destinations. Mimetic desire is responsible for the formation of our very identities. It explains the enduring relevancy of Shakespeare’s plays, why Peter Thiel decided to be the first investor in Facebook, and why our world is growing more divided as it becomes more connected.
Wanting also shows that conflict does not arise because of our differences—it comes from our sameness. Because we learn to want what other people want, we often end up competing for the same things. Ignoring our large similarities, we cling to our perceived differences.
Drawing on his experience as an entrepreneur, teacher, and student of classical philosophy and theology, Burgis shares tactics that help turn blind wanting into intentional wanting--not by trying to rid ourselves of desire, but by desiring differently. It’s possible to be more in control of the things we want, to achieve more independence from trends and bubbles, and to find more meaning in our work and lives.
The future will be shaped by our desires. Wanting shows us how to desire a better one.
A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin's Press
"This book makes a startling case that many of our goals are merely reflections of what we think others want. It’s a spellbinding read, and it will leave you rethinking your own motivations for months and maybe even years later.” --Adam Grant, New York Times bestselling author of Think Again and Originals, and host of the TED podcast WorkLife
"Luke Burgis’ Wanting is a brilliant exploration of the hidden and powerful dynamics of desire operating in our age of social media memes, commercial rivalry, and rising partisan scapegoating and violence...It’s a call to discernment and a deeper fulfillment that lights a path beyond the darkness of our current world." --Stephen Hanselman, New York Times bestselling co-author of Lives of the Stoics and The Daily Stoic
Author
Luke Burgis
LUKE BURGIS has founded and led multiple companies. He’s currently entrepreneur-in-residence and director of programs at the Ciocca Center for Principled Entrepreneurship at the Catholic University of America, where he also teaches business and develops new education initiatives. He's also the founder and director of Fourth Wall Ventures, an incubator for people and companies that contribute to the formation of a healthy human ecology. He graduated from NYU Stern School of Business and later from a pontifical university in Rome, where he studied theology. He lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife, Claire.
Related to Wanting
Related audiobooks
The Status Game: On Human Life and How to Play It The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Gut Feelings: The Intelligence of the Unconscious Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Power, for All: How It Really Works and Why It's Everyone's Business Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I’m Just Saying: A Guide to Maintaining Civil Discourse in an Increasingly Divided World Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Sweet Spot: The Pleasures of Suffering and the Search for Meaning Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Expectation Effect: How Your Mindset Can Change Your World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dedicated: The Case for Commitment in an Age of Infinite Browsing Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5You're Not Listening: What You're Missing and Why It Matters Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Mind Is Flat: The Remarkable Shallowness of the Improvising Brain Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Doing Good Better: How Effective Altruism Can Help You Make a Difference Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Subtract: The Untapped Science of Less Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Finite and Infinite Games Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Loonshots: How to Nurture the Crazy Ideas That Win Wars, Cure Diseases, and Transform Industries Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Unfair Advantage: How You Already Have What It Takes to Succeed Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Get It Done: Surprising Lessons from the Science of Motivation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Talent: How to Identify Energizers, Creatives, and Winners Around the World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5What Technology Wants Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Reboot: Leadership and the Art of Growing Up Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rule Makers, Rule Breakers: How Tight and Loose Cultures Wire Our World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Don't Trust Your Gut: Using Data to Get What You Really Want in Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Disrupt You!: Master Personal Transformation, Seize Opportunity, and Thrive in the Era of Endless Innovation Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Chimp Paradox: The Mind Management Program to Help You Achieve Success, Confidence, and Happiness Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5You're Invited: The Art and Science of Connection, Trust, and Belonging Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Little Bets: How Breakthrough Ideas Emerge from Small Discoveries Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Against Empathy: The Case for Rational Compassion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Marketing For You
Revenge of the Tipping Point: Overstories, Superspreaders, and the Rise of Social Engineering Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Day Trading Attention: How to Actually Build Brand and Sales in the New Social Media World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5$100M Offers: How to Make Offers So Good People Feel Stupid Saying No Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Influence, New and Expanded: The Psychology of Persuasion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The One Week Marketing Plan: The Set It & Forget It Approach for Quickly Growing Your Business Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Catalyst: How to Change Anyone's Mind Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Alchemy: The Dark Art and Curious Science of Creating Magic in Brands, Business, and Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Traction: How Any Startup Can Achieve Explosive Customer Growth Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Predictably Irrational Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Write a Book This Weekend, Even If You Flunked English Like I Did Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pre-Suasion: Channeling Attention for Change Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Contagious: Why Things Catch On Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell - Book Summary: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5$100M Leads: How to Get Strangers to Want to Buy Your Stuff Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Summary: Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business: by Gino Wickman: Key Takeaways, Summary, and Analysis Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Tipping Point Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsExpert Secrets: The Underground Playbook for Creating a Mass Movement of People Who Will Pay for Your Advice Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Marketing Made Simple: A Step-by-Step StoryBrand Guide for Any Business Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Primal Branding: Create Zealots for Your Brand, Your Company, and Your Future Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Related podcast episodes
Luke Burgis on Mimetic Desire and Getting What You Want in Life 100% found this document usefulHumankind: a hopeful history [Audio] 100% found this document usefulTim Wu and Madeleine Brand | The Attention Merchants: The Epic Scramble to Get Inside Our Heads 0% found this document usefulThe Dip: How to Know When to Quit (Ep. 24) 0% found this document useful#159: Jeff Booth 100% found this document usefulThinking in Bets with Annie Duke 100% found this document usefulAxois' Mike Allen on keeping it brief 100% found this document usefulThe Beginning of Infinity, Part 2: Part 2 of my interview with Brett Hall about The Beginning of Infinity 0% found this document usefulAlex Banayan: Author, The Third Door 0% found this document useful#534: Michael Dell, Founder of Dell — How to Play Nice But Win 0% found this document usefulDo I Need to Worry About Mom? 0% found this document usefulAnnie Murphy Paul - How to Overachieve with our Limited Brain 0% found this document useful
Related articles
Nassim Taleb’s Case Against Nate Silver Is Bad Math NautilusUNLIMITED
Nassim Taleb’s Case Against Nate Silver Is Bad Math
Apr 8, 2019
6 min readThe Best Time-Management Advice Is Depressing But Liberating The AtlanticUNLIMITED
The Best Time-Management Advice Is Depressing But Liberating
Aug 11, 2021
5 min readLife’s Too Short New PhilosopherUNLIMITED
Life’s Too Short
Jul 29, 2019
5 min read'Range' Argues That Specialization Should Not Be The Goal For Most NPRUNLIMITED
'Range' Argues That Specialization Should Not Be The Goal For Most
May 28, 2019
4 min readThe Art of Noticing: Cracking the Code to Entrepreneurial Success NewsweekUNLIMITED
The Art of Noticing: Cracking the Code to Entrepreneurial Success
Aug 23, 2019
5 min readAmazon Kindle Oasis (2019) TechLifeUNLIMITED
Amazon Kindle Oasis (2019)
Aug 26, 2019
2 min readTim Ferriss: If You're Not Happy With What You Have, You Might Never Be Happy EntrepreneurUNLIMITED
Tim Ferriss: If You're Not Happy With What You Have, You Might Never Be Happy
Jan 1, 2017
21 min readWhat a Billionaire Thinks Every Kid Should Know The AtlanticUNLIMITED
What a Billionaire Thinks Every Kid Should Know
Jan 21, 2020
6 min readIs Any Conflict Unsolvable? This Author Doesn’t Think So. The Christian Science MonitorUNLIMITED
Is Any Conflict Unsolvable? This Author Doesn’t Think So.
May 19, 2021
In her book “High Conflict,” Amanda Ripley explores how forces that stoke conflict cast our adversaries as less than human. But there is a way out.
6 min readImitation Game New Zealand ListenerUNLIMITED
Imitation Game
Jan 23, 2022
When our friends buy a new car, why do we want a new one, too? When the office gossip shares a story, why do we join in with glee? And when we set our heart on a fancy job, how can we be sure it’s going to make us truly happy? These everyday conundru
9 min read'Useful Delusions' Examines How Beliefs Can Be Powerful In Positive And Negative Ways NPRUNLIMITED
'Useful Delusions' Examines How Beliefs Can Be Powerful In Positive And Negative Ways
Mar 12, 2021
4 min readKrista Tippett TIMEUNLIMITED
Krista Tippett
Dec 3, 2016
2 min readJanaya Future Khan GAY TIMESUNLIMITED
Janaya Future Khan
Nov 30, 2020
9 min readMaking the CULT Woman NZUNLIMITED
Making the CULT
Nov 21, 2022
12 min readThe Art Of Persuasion In A Polarized Age Time Magazine International EditionUNLIMITED
The Art Of Persuasion In A Polarized Age
Oct 29, 2022
7 min readThe Art Of Persuasion In A Polarized Age TIMEUNLIMITED
The Art Of Persuasion In A Polarized Age
Oct 28, 2022
7 min readJanaya Future Khan Finds Strength Through Organizing In The Black Lives Matter Movement—and Boxing Time Magazine International EditionUNLIMITED
Janaya Future Khan Finds Strength Through Organizing In The Black Lives Matter Movement—and Boxing
Aug 21, 2020
3 min readBlack Lives Matter Co-Founder On Her New Book, 'The Purpose of Power' NPRUNLIMITED
Black Lives Matter Co-Founder On Her New Book, 'The Purpose of Power'
Oct 24, 2020
6 min readI Have Come to Bury Ayn Rand NautilusUNLIMITED
I Have Come to Bury Ayn Rand
Mar 24, 2021
My father, Sloan Wilson, wrote novels that would help define 1950s America. I loved and admired him, but the prospect of following in the footsteps of The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit and A Summer Place was like being expected to climb Mount Everest.
12 min readJanaya Future Khan Finds Strength Through Organizing In The Black Lives Matter Movement—and Boxing TIMEUNLIMITED
Janaya Future Khan Finds Strength Through Organizing In The Black Lives Matter Movement—and Boxing
Aug 21, 2020
3 min readWonder And Doubt New PhilosopherUNLIMITED
Wonder And Doubt
Aug 10, 2020
6 min readA Couched Opinion NEXTUNLIMITED
A Couched Opinion
Jun 9, 2019
3 min readDarren Walker TIMEUNLIMITED
Darren Walker
Aug 16, 2024
2 min readDarren Walker Time Magazine International EditionUNLIMITED
Darren Walker
Aug 17, 2024
2 min readHappy To Be A Heretic The Critic MagazineUNLIMITED
Happy To Be A Heretic
Nov 30, 2023
5 min readSlavoj ŽiŽek New InternationalistUNLIMITED
Slavoj ŽiŽek
Feb 25, 2019
4 min readInoculate Yourself Against Social Contagion The AtlanticUNLIMITED
Inoculate Yourself Against Social Contagion
Aug 1, 2024
6 min readThe Post-Human World The AtlanticUNLIMITED
The Post-Human World
Feb 20, 2017
7 min readMarket Breaker MaximUNLIMITED
Market Breaker
Jan 11, 2017
Buy this extraordinary book! —Maxim Edward O. Thorp’s life story reads like fiction (or fantasy)—from his time in Las Vegas, where he perfected how to beat the casino, to his tenure leading a financial institution, where he helped develop many of th
6 min readThe Men Who Sell The World Esquire SingaporeUNLIMITED
The Men Who Sell The World
Sep 20, 2022
3 min read
Reviews for Wanting
Rating: 4.696629213483146 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
89 ratings6 reviews
What our readers think
Readers find this title truly interesting and thought-provoking. It offers great examples of mimic in everyday life and uses anthropological concepts to explore one's desires and purpose. The book provides amazing insights not only for marketing and business but also for life in general. Overall, it is a creative and helpful tool for self-inquiry.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I’ve listened to this Book twice in a row and I will be coming back.
A great way to sharpen your awareness about our world and how it is shaped inside and outside of our heads. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5UNREAL great yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This book truly makes you think and is more than interesting. I can only recommend you give it try. I'm so glad I did.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Amazing insight. Not only for a perspective on marketing and business, but for life.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Great book with lots of examples of mimic in normal life. When one start to notice it, one sees it everywhere.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Great work about Girard's ideas. What fascinated me the most about the book is the use the author makes of anthropological concepts to rethink ones own desires and purpose in life. I think its very creative and will be very helpful as a tool to self inquiry. It has make me think about how self inquiry or the study of one´s own self cannot be separated from the science of humankind (Aka. anthropology).