Recommended Books

Topics: Psychology / Work / Lifestyle

Why should we spend 40 hours doing what can be done in 4 hours – and from anywhere in the world? I really like the concept of having mini-retirements instead of one big retirement. Tim has done so many different things in his life and he encourages us to do the same! In the 4-Hour Work Week Tim lays out a plan for anybody to join the New Rich.

Topics: Psychology / Starting

I was not expecting this book to have the impact that it did! The simplicity of 5-4-3-2-1-Go does not seem like it would do much, but it is enough to distract our mind long enough to get us going. Once we are in motion it is much easier to stay in motion. This book is highly recommended for anyone who wants to change something in their life.

Topics: Mindset / Success / Business

This short, easy to read book is the compiled list of 21 concepts that millionaires used to achieve success in their lives. These rules worked for Brian Tracy, and they can work for you, too. As he says, success is predictable. Learn the habits of successful people, and you can become successful.

Topics: Psychology / Money

This short book is an easy read. The starting point for the book is the story about a farmer who goes exploring for diamonds. This farmer was a wealthy man until he learned about diamonds. Russell Conwell’s message is that instead of searching for riches in far off places, we should look around us and we may just discover that we are already surrounded by acres of diamonds! There are also several stories from Russell Conwell’s life from his time in the army during the Civil War to his building up his church and Temple University.

Topics: Dreams / Psychology

The book tells the story of Santiago on his journey to find his Personal Legend. While some people wish to learn alchemy so they can transform materials into gold, Santiago learns that finding his Personal Legend is more valuable than gold.

Topics: Money / Business / Work

PT Barnum, the showman and founder of the Barnum & Bailey Circus, wrote a book about building wealth in 1880. The principles he wrote about are just as applicable today as they were when the book was written.

Topics: Relationships / Psychology

This is an excellent book! While this is not a book that directly talks about money, it helps us learn how and when to say yes, and when to say no. It really made sense to me the way they explain that boundaries in our life are like property boundaries. There are things in our life that we are responsible for, and things that others are responsible for. When we establish strong boundaries in our life we can take control of our life.

Topics: Changing Beliefs / Psychology

I like the analogy Tom of crossing a bridge to describe change. Sometimes the bridge can be small and sturdy, other times it can be a scary, rickety bridge. We like to be encouraged to change, not pushed. That is why we prefer to shop instead of being sold. This is a good book about changing our beliefs in order to change our lives.

Topics – Habits / Mentality / Persistence

David Goggins claims that he should not have been able to accomplish the things he has. As a retired Navy SEAL, ultimate marathon runner, and pull-up record holder, he achieved them more through persistence and mental toughness than natural talent. This is an inspirational book about toughening up, overcoming failure, and pushing through. If you want to become uncommon amongst the uncommon, this book is one for you to read.

Topics: Money / Psychology

Cash Flow Quadrant is the follow-up book to Rich Dad, Poor Dad. Kiyosaki goes into further detail talking about the four different quadrants people earn money from. The quadrants have different advantages and disadvantages, and people tend to look at the world and finances differently depending on which quadrant they are in.

Topic: Sales

Sales skills are not just for those with a sales job. Grant writes about how the ability to close directly affects our success in life. A direct quote from Grant Cardone is, “Learn to close, and you will never be without work, and will never be without money.”

Topics: Self-Esteem

This book consists of 99 hacks you can use to increase your self-esteem. She covers areas such as social, emotional, and financial confidence. When we increase our level of confidence (or show more confidence), others will take us seriously and give us the respect we deserve.

Topics: Abundance / Manifestation

Creating Money is a great book on abundance and manifestation. This book deals with more than just money. When we want to bring something into our lives, we benefit from leaving ourselves open to accepting the essence of the item. Highly recommended!

Topics: Work, Psychology, Productivity

Cal Newport teaches us about how we can use deep work (as opposed to shallow work) to accomplish more as an information worker. Deep work is work that requires a great deal of thinking in order to create. Shallow work on the other hand is work that does not require concentration. I recommend this book for those who create things in their life.

Topics: Referrals / Giving & Receiving

The theme of the book is that when we give referrals to others without keeping score or expecting an immediate return, we set the law of sowing and reaping in motion. We will receive – often many times more than we gave – and the exciting part is that we don’t know where these blessings will come from! This is a great book on how to expand your network and assemble a team of personal ambassadors!

Topics: Psychology / Lifestyle / Work

The concept of Essentialism is similar to minimalism, although it has the added element of focus. Greg writes about “Less but better”. Learn how to say no to the good opportunities in life so we can pursue the great opportunities. When we get rid of the nonessential things in our life, we also eliminate a lot of the noise that goes with them. This book is an excellent read for those who want to get their life back on track.

Topics: Psychology / Hope

Mark writes about hope and the opposite – hopelessness. There is an uncomfortable truth that we must face. In the grand scheme of things, we are inconsequential. We only have a short time to live. He also discusses pleasure and pain. Pain is a constant in our life, and it is also a great teacher. I recommend this book to anyone who would like to get a different view on life.

Topics: Development of Ideas, Things, & Society

I found this to be an interesting book. Matt Ridley does a good job of explaining how things evolve from the bottom up, not the top down. Ideas and inventions don’t magically happen – it is more like two ideas get together and the new idea is their offspring. He makes the argument that evolution can be seen in various aspects of life including the economy, language, money, government, technology, education, and culture.

Topics: Psychology / Work / Leadership

In this short book, Mary Jane Ramirez learns life lessons that turn her work life around. Little things can make a big difference – like the attitude we bring to work can set the mood of others in the workplace and making the workplace a fun place to be. The attitude of the fishmongers can make any workplace much better!

Topics: Optimal Experience / Psychology

This is a great book that covers how we can have optimal experiences. Some people in their studies were able to turn jobs that most people found boring into jobs that were done exceptionally well. When we enter a state of flow, time can be transformed in a way that hours can pass in what seems like minutes, and minutes can stretch out much longer. Read this book if you want to increase the experiences in your life that just flow.

Topics: Attitude / Service / Relationships

Mark got the idea for the book from his experience with his postman. Fred did the ordinary job of delivering mail in an extraordinary way. We can become Freds and be extraordinary. The best part is that often this doesn’t even cost anything. One of the best books on becoming extraordinary.

Topics: Money / Psychology / Lifestyle

Yes, the title of the book is short for Fuck You Money! Dan Lok discusses what it takes to make enough money that you can tell your boss to give your job to someone else so that you can have the freedom to do what you want, where you want, and with who you want. His book is thought-provoking.

Topics: Accomplishment / Psychology

The subtitle of this book is, “The Story that Tells You How to Be One.” A short, little book that teaches the reader how to be a go-getter. Obstacles don’t have to be something that stops us. Even though the book was written over a hundred years ago, the lesson that it teaches is just as valuable today.

Topics: Business / Success / Giving

The laws that are taught in this book are all about shifting our focus from looking for what we can get to what we can give. Yes, income is good. The emphasis, though, is that we need to learn to give more and to focus on others.

Topics: Psychology / Law of Attraction

The secret to receiving is giving, but not in a calculated way. When we develop a giving attitude and give without thought of the return, we will be blessed. This is a good book on the law of attraction.

Topics: Sales / Success

Hafid works as a camel boy for Pathros trade caravan. Pathros is called by many “The Greatest Salesman in the World”. Hafid asks to become a salesman so he can get a girl. Mandino does a great job presenting the ten scrolls of becoming a great salesman in this book. The principles work just as well today as they did 2,000 years ago.

Topics: Children’s / Sales / Resistance to New

Sam-I-Am is a great promoter! In this children’s book we see him trying to get the main character to try his green eggs and ham. He is adamant that he does not like green eggs and ham! He finally tries them and WOW! He likes them! While this book is written for children, we can learn about persistence and we can also learn that if we are open to trying new things, we might like them.

Topics: Habits / Psychology

Thibaut does a great job in this book about habits! Habits are something that are developed over time. It can be more beneficial to start small. He recommends focusing on one habit until it becomes automatic. Also, it can be advantageous to start with an easy version of the habit that you can accomplish regularly, then build it up. There’s a bonus by Derek Doepker at the end of the book. In this, Derek writes about “3 Magic Words to Overcome Overwhelm”. If you have struggled with changing your habits, this book can help you!

Topics: Money / The Economy

Harry Browne discusses money and how it relates to the economy. The book is an excellent starting place to start learning about the role of money and how it works. He also writes about inflation and how government is involved with money.

Topics: Sales / Communication

Frank Bettger did an excellent job with this book! It is written in a very candid manner based on talks that he gave on selling. Even though he was selling life insurance in the early 1900’s, a lot of what he covers is still valid today. This book should be required reading for high school.

Topics: Money / Work / Business / Psychology

An excellent book written by the Billionaire, himself! Getty talks about so many different topics in this book. He reveals how he was able to successfully bids against those with deep pockets when he was still a small operator. The “Imp of Impossible” and when he made changes to his businesses to ensure they were running profitably. This book is not only great for those running a business, his ideas can be applied in our personal finances.

Topics: Communication / Relationships / Leadership

Why do I recommend a book that doesn’t talk about money? Because we interact with people on a regular basis. True wealth is not just money. Being able to get along better with friends, family members, coworkers, or whoever, will bring value to your life that cannot be measured in dollars.

Topics: Children’s / God / Oneness

This is a great children’s book that teaches about how God is everywhere and in us in our hearts and our minds. Wishes do come true, and they come from the part of God that is within us. When we want to see God, we only need to look right at ourselves.

Topics: Wealth Building / Conscious Spending / Money

This is a great book geared towards those in their twenties. Ramit approaches personal finance in a candid, straightforward manner. I wish I had read this book when I was in my twenties! Something that I particularly enjoyed was that he calls a budget “Conscious Spending”. He discusses that it is possible for young people to still enjoy life while being responsible with their finances and building wealth. The book is a must read for young people.

Topics: Self-Esteem / Psychology

Devon tackles the notion that our worth is tied to our productivity. This is the “Laziness Lie” that our society perpetuates. We should be able to take time off to take care of ourselves without being called lazy. This book really gets you thinking!

Topics: Attitude / Leadership

The theme of the book is that enthusiasm makes a tremendous difference in your life. He also covers concepts like give in order to receive and the benefits of flexible planning.

Topics: Psychology / Leadership / Success

The Magic of Thinking Big is a classic book on success thinking. David Schwartz writes about Excusitis (the failure disease) and what it does to us. He also covers positive thinking vs. negative thinking. This is a great book to read to learn more about leadership and success.

Topics: Economics / Psychology

Richard Thaler was awarded a Nobel Prize in Economics in 2017 for his work in Behavioral Economics. When he started his carrier, the prevailing thought was that people were logical, or as he calls them, Econs. The book covers what he found about how illogical people really are when it comes to finances. I found the book quite interesting and learning about things like “sunk costs” and “Mental Accounting”. This is a great book to learn about human behavior in relation to money.

Topics: Business / Self-Development / Public Speaking / Book Publishing

David does a great job with this book. He teaches people how to develop themselves and build their own brand. The book was published in 2010, so some of what he has to say about the Internet and social media is a bit dated. Still, he discusses how to build a business, become a world-class speaker, and publish your own book. David even gives an outline for reading the book – depending on what you are looking to get out of the book.

Topics: Management / Family

The New One Minute Manager teach about management by telling a story. An easy and enjoyable book that is not just for managers. The principles that the New One Minute Manager uses can be used for families or any group of people. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to improve their management skills.

Topics: Adventure of Life / Children’s

Dr. Seuss does a great job of describing the adventure we call life. We choose the roads we want to travel, sometimes we will want to leave the town. There will be times when we are caught off course and we’ll end up in the slumps. The Waiting Place, oh, I think we’ve all been there! Even though this is a children’s book, adults can benefit from it as well.

Topics: Success / Hierarchies

It is an interesting concept that explains why there is so much in-efficiency in the world – People tend to rise to their level of incompetence. A person can excel in one position, then founder after getting a promotion. Since the book was written in 1969 there are some dated views on housewives, which I don’t agree with. This book can get you looking at bureaucracy in a different way!

Topics: Attraction / Manifestation

This book is considered to be one of the cornerstones of the law of attraction movement. He covers the aspect of how powerful assumption is in manifesting things. It is a deep book with many thought-provoking concepts in it. If you want to improve your ability to manifest things in your life, this book is a great one to read.

Topics: Psychology / Money

This is a straightforward book about how people actually behave towards money, not just how they think they behave! He covers some great topics such as “No One’s Crazy”, “Luck & Risk”, and “Man in the Car Paradox”. The Psychology of Money can change the way you look at money.

Topics: Retirement / Psychology / Life

Getting old and retiring can be seen as a time for stepping back. Why not improve ourselves? Refire! Encourages us to not view ourselves as getting old and not being useful any longer. Instead we can learn something new, get in shape, and live the life we want!

Topics: Money / Psychology

Robert Kiyosaki writes about growing up in Hawaii with “two dads”. His father is Poor Dad and his best friend’s dad is Rich Dad. In this book he discusses how rich people and poor people look at money very differently. This book is a great first book to read about money.

Topics: Personal Finance / Money

This is one of the classic personal finance books. Even though it was written in 1926, the principles in the book are just as applicable today. The stories in the book are set in ancient Babylon – the richest city in the world at the time! In the book you will learn the “Seven Cures for a Lean Purse” and the “Five Laws of Gold” among other things.

Topics: Attracting Wealth / Giving / Laws of Success

Even though this book was originally published in 1910, the principles and laws covered in the book are just as applicable today as they were then. There are laws (like gravity) that work all the time and whether you agree with them or not. Wattles talks a lot about giving more in value than we receive in money. This is a great book about accumulating wealth!

Topics: Wealth / Mindset

Harv covers the fact that the game of wealth is mostly played in our heads. Yes, there is money management that is needed as well. The big take away from the book is that rich people look at the world very differently than poor people or even those in the middle class. Your outer world is merely a reflection of your inner world. If you don’t like your results, you need to make some changes.

Topics: Career / Skill Set / Psychology

Cal Newport makes a strong argument against the prevalent mantra of “find your passion and pursue it.” We can get further by developing what he calls career capital, which is rare and valuable skills. This requires us to adopt a craftsman approach to build skill through deliberate practice. I highly recommend this book for those looking to build a remarkable career or business.

Topics: Focus / Purpose

An amazing book about how powerful it is to focus on WHY we are in business or doing what we are doing! There is a lot of focus on the what and how things are done. Those areas do not inspire people. Even when there is a clear why, over time it can be lost if we forget to focus on it. Apply the “Golden Circle” in your life or business and see how things change!

Topics: Life / Psychology

Mark has a very candid way of sharing how to live a better life. We need to focus on the few important values in our life and learn to not worry about all the other things. I give this book 2 thumbs up!

Topics: War / Business / Strategy

While the book is written about how to conduct an army in war or battle, the strategies can be used in business. For example, surprising the enemy by doing something unexpected. Also, don’t interrupt your enemy while he is busy making a mistake. Don’t let the title of this book fool you.

Topics: Empowerment / Attraction / Happiness

What an amazing book! Jen has a way of writing that is enjoyable to read while at the same time encouraging us to become our best self. We can get off our butts and become our best and love ourselves more. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to take their life to the next level.

Topics: Mindset / Change

As Pritchett says in his book You², “More of the same” usually just gets you more of the same. We need to do something different. If we are like the fly trying to pass through the window, we need to stop doing what doesn’t work and go in a different direction. The best way to do this is to seek out the elegant solution. Then, we need to get out of our own way and give ourselves permission to soar. A quantum leap can be yours for the taking!

Topics: Money / work / Psychology

Who Moved My Cheese is a story that shows us how differently change is viewed and dealt with. Change is something that’s inevitable. We don’t know when, or how big the changes will be. They will come along and they must be dealt with. This book shows us how different characters react to change in their lives.

Topics: Society / Relationships / Well being

Helen’s husband (Lego Man) got a job working at Lego, and they decided to move to Denmark for a year. She was surprised to find that Denmark was rated the happiest country in the world. That was the thing that really intrigued her about the country. The book is about what she learned about why Danes are such happy people. There are aspects of Danish life that we can implement in our lives – even if we are not living in Denmark!

Topics: Business / Vision / Future

Peter starts off with a question he asks when interviewing people. “What important truth do very few people agree with you on?” How do we look at the world around us? This is an excellent book written by one of the co-founders of PayPal. While he directs his book to founders and entrepreneurs, the concepts he wrote about can be applied to our lives.