I read 100 books in 2013 and it changed my life – My Top 50 List

“Remember, young man, experience is not the best teacher. Other people’s experience is the best teacher. By reading about the lives of great people, you can unlock the secrets to what made them great.”

 

If there is one habit that all successful people have, it is that they all read, and read very often. They are often the busiest people you’ve heard of, but they always take the time to read and learn, because they know how valuable and important that habit is to success. I know you are a busy person, and say you can’t find time to read, but so Jeff Bezos, and he is a fairly aggressive reader. If it’s important enough to you, then you will do it, and if isn’t, you’ll find poor excuses to avoid it.

I will say that I didn’t “read” all these books on paperback. Nowadays, the term reading is simply consumption of knowledge. I love audio books; in fact, I am far more receptive of a learner through audio than visual. I would say 60-70% of all the books I “read” were done through audio books. If you are one of those people that claim you are too busy to read, pop in an audio book and use the time you’re listening to lady gaga to listen to an informative book.

Below is a list I’ve created of the top 50 books I’ve read in the last two years. The numbering is in no way in any specific order, just there for organization.

 

Starter Books –

These are great books to get you on your path. Many of them are fairly basic, but do a tremendous job

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill – An instant classic and a absolute must read for anybody attempting to achieve great things

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie – Negotiation 101, people management, the very basics are in this book.

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell –Gladwell is one of my favorite authors and this book in particular helped me understand success a little bit better. Gladwell does highlight the importance of individual advantages, but also how people were able to identify and use those advantages to achieve great things.

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell – Why do idea spread? They are not a simple matter of chance but can be orchestrated with the right science

Think Big and Kick Ass in Business and Life by Donald J. Trump – I am not the biggest fan of Donald Trump, but admire his business skills and thought process. This book is fantastic in getting people to expand their dreams.

Midas Touch: Why Some Entrepreneurs Get Rich-And Why Most Don’t by Donald J. Trump, Robert T. Kiyosaki – A basic but important book that does a great job in separating the true entrepreneurs from the wantchapreneurs.

Good to Great by James C. Collins – An excellent book that identifies the reasons of company success and really hones in on the importance of management and leadership.

Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers by Alexander Osterwalder, Yves Pigneur – This is an absolute must read for anybody looking to go into business. As I advise many companies, this also helps me identify areas and important points I should be looking for

The 5 Levels of Leadership: Proven Steps to Maximize Your Potentialby John C. Maxwell – I tend to think John Maxwell books are rather dry, but I enjoyed this book a great deal and if you are in a management capacity, I believe this is a must read.

Purplecow by Seth Godin – Thinking outside the box, pushing the limits, a great book that I still use as background music for when I want to be creative.

 

Business story or biography books –

A true story is always something that will engage a reader and what better than to listen to the stories of people that have accomplished a great deal.

Money Talks, Bullsh*t Walks: Inside the Contrarian Mind of Billionaire Mogul Sam Zell by Ben Johnson – I’ll read anything that talks about the no bullshit business titan Sam Zell. What I really enjoyed about this book was learning about the diversification and long negotiations that Zell went through.

Business Stripped Bare: Adventures of a Global Entrepreneur by Richard Branson – Branson has always been a huge icon for me, and for a dyslexic high school dropout, he hasn’t done all that bad.

Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life Without Losing Its Soul by Howard Schultz – A descriptive recount of Howard and Starbucks during their most difficult of times. A great read and fascinating story. Almost makes me appreciate paying the ridiculous high price for Starbucks… almost

Steve Jobs: The Exclusive Biography by Walter Isaacson – I think it goes without saying that this is a fascinating book about one of the world’s greatest innovators

Winning by Jack Welch – A excellent book that really goes into so many areas of leadership and management, and included some great stories of how Jack managed the massive conglomerate.

 

Specific business concept books –

Learning about specific areas of business or new areas of business is always important, especially if it can be directly applied.

The Thank You Economy by Gary Vaynerchuk – If you haven’t had a chance to hear Gary speak, check out one of his YouTube videos and listen to one of his speeches. This was a great book and changes a lot of thought regarding the position and true role of social media in the marketplace.

Rework by Jason Fried, David Heinemeier Hansson – A book that focuses on breaking the traditional paradigms of how business is done as many new companies seek to challenge the status quo.

How Great Companies Get Their Mojo from Maslow by Chip Conley – This book really opened up my interest in human psychology and Abraham Maslow being one of the great psychology minds of our time; Chip does a great job in relating that information into story format for his own business making it a great read.

Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne – An absolute must read, that’s all I’ll say

What Every Angel Investor Wants You to Know: An Insider Reveals How to Get Smart Funding for Your Billion-Dollar Idea by Brian Cohen, John Kador – Money is often the fuel that must drive the engine of business, and while we all wish our businesses ran on sweat equity, it grows with dollars.

The Start-Up of You: Adapt to the Future, Invest in Yourself, and Transform Your Career by Reid Hoffman, Ben Casnocha – You are your brand, Reid Hoffman and Ben Casnocha do a great job in discussing strategies in developing your own personal reputation. and how to go forth in the new business and work place world.

Entrepreneurial DNA: The Breakthrough Discovery That Aligns Your Business to Your Unique Strengths by Joe Abraham – I’ve known Joe for several years now and I really enjoyed this book. It’s an easy read and a very easy concept to grasp.

The Art of War by Sun Tzu – I find myself using this book over and over again in my approach to negotiation as well as my thought process toward my competitors.

Negotiating with Giants: Get What You Want Against the Odds by Peter Johnston – At some time in your business career, you will be forced to make deals with people much larger and so much more powerful than you. You will need a book like this.

 

Persuasion Books –

I have been obsessed with trying to understand the human mind, what drives our emotions and what moves us. These are some of the books I really enjoyed in this field

Influence: Science and Practice.by Robert B. Cialdini – An absolute must read as Robert Cialdini is one the most influential psychologists of recent time

The Art of Woo: Using Strategic Persuasion to Sell Your Ideas by G. Richard Shell, Mario Moussa – In some ways, first impressions are everything, this was a great book and an easy read

Persuasion: The Art of Getting What You Want by Dave Lakhani – Another fantastic book

Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath – Chip and Dan Health have done a great job in their books regarding why some ideas work and other don’t. They take fairly boring psychological studies and present it in a very understandable perspective

Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hardby Chip and Dan Heath – Another one of Chip and Dan’s great books

Influencer: The Power to Change Anything by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny – Yet another persuasion book, but very enjoyable

Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely – A great starter book in social economics

Drive by Daniel Pink – What motivates us; this was a great book that touches on the new paradigms of motivating the newer generation

Pitch Anything: An Innovative Method for Presenting, Persuading, and Winning the Deal by Oren Klaff – Your ability to present and move people to take action in the short allotted time you are given is often the skill that will separate you from a winner and a loser

Blink by Malcolm Gladwell – I’ve been big on pattern recognition lately and this is a great starter book on the idea of identifying gut feelings

Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman – Daniel Kaheman, a nobel prize winner talks about the idea of your first and secondary thought processes; again touching on my interests in pattern recognition

48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene – Perception is everything and this is an important book to read

 

Efficiency Books –

The most successful people know that there is never a second to waste. Hopefully these books will help you in that process

80/20 Sales and Marketing: Work Less. Sell More. by Perry Marshall – How do we increase our efficiency in our businesses. Too often we spin our wheels just of the sake of spinning our wheels when we have specific verticals that will drastically improve our numbers. A great book that highlights strategies to do so

7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey – This is an instant classic and an absolute must read

The Power of Full Engagement: Managing Energy, Not Time, Is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal by Jim Loehr, Tony Schwartz – This book did a lot for me and it also changed the way I think and treat relationships as well as my work life.

Getting Things Done by David Allen – Another excellent book that highlights strategies and the small changes that you can make to drastically improve everyday efficiency

The 80/20 Principle by Richard Koch – Another absolute must read, similar to the 80/20 Sales book by Perry Marshall but its broader and backed with a tremendous amount of information

4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferris – I’m not the biggest fan of Tim Ferris and his idea of the 4-hour workweek, but what is in this book is a mountain of resources that you can utilize in improving efficiency

 

Personal Self-Affirmation Books –

Who you are and what you believe will ultimately determine the path you take. Success is just as much about what is inside of you as is how you blaze your trail

The Rhythm of Life: Living Every Day with Passion and Purpose by Matthew Kelly – This book helped me a great deal when I questioned what I was working for. It was a great book that helped me refocus and rediscover passion in my everyday life.

The Ultimate Happiness Prescription: 7 Keys to Joy and Enlightenment by Deepak Chopra – I’ve always been a huge fan of Deepak and this was great in finding happiness in my everyday life.

The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale – A simple but fantastic book. Donald Trump credits this book as one that helped him during his years of near bankruptcy.

Unlimited Power by Anthony Robbins – Tony Robbins is the man, while he has somewhat of a cult following which can push some people away, but this book was tremendous.

Awaken the Giant Within: How to Take Immediate Control of Your Mental, Emotional, Physical & Financial Destiny! by Anthony Robbins – Same thoughts, I enjoy all of Tony’s work.

SuperBrain by Deepak Chopra, Rudolph Tanzi – One of the reasons why I love Deepak so much is he finds the way to bring eastern thought with western medicine, and while this book was a little dry and hard to read at times, it was a fascinating book that really touches on why the brain works as it does and how we can harass it from a scientific perspective.

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho – Paulo Coelho is a great author and this book is classic.

David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell – Malcolm Gladwell again inspires business minds through interesting stories, in this case, regarding the premises of underdogs and who really holds the true advantages.

 

The beauty of learning is that the more you learn, the more you realize how little you actually know. Reading books is one way I gain knowledge, but it is important to note that it should not be your only way. Business blogs, articles, as well as having a great group of advisors and mentors are all critical to your development. Be sure that you are gaining knowledge and expertise from all fields.