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Book Suggestions

June 24th, 2009 Leave a comment Go to comments

Sometimes you don’t even realize how much habits you enjoy have helped you become the person you are. As far back as I remember I had a love of books, I remember getting lost within Frank Herbert’s epic “Dune” when I was a young boy. The vividness of the novel enabled my mind to wander to places unseen, and I loved it. To this day I still have a love of books.

I read and listen to approximately fifty to sixty books per year. I really enjoy audio-books, and I find that if I hear a good book, I usually go out and purchase it,  just so that I can highlight and make notes. I keep notes on everything, I cannot remember everything and this is part of my system to use my time efficiently. You should never do anything without learning something from it, and if you do not keep notes, it’s a waste of time.

So, in this post, I would like to share a few books that have changed my life or outlook in someway. I’m not going to list these in any sort of order, just take it as it is.

    • This book gave me the jump start I needed to start this blog.
  • The Dip – Seth Godin
    • This book gave me the inspiration to stick with a project that I otherwise would have quit. I’m glad I didn’t!
  • What Would Google Do? – Jeff Jarvis
    • Jarvis enabled me to come to the realization that I am moving way too slow when starting projects or businesses. It enabled me to stop getting caught up in the “what if” scenarios and just go with it.
    • Gitomer is one of my favorites, I carry this book with me in my car and read a few pages whenever I have a free minute. It enables me to get in the right frame of mind every time!
    • Gitimoer taught me more about selling from this little book than anything else I have ever read.
  • Outliers: The Story of Success – Malcom Gladwell
    • Phenomenal book about why people are successful. No one is given anything in this life. Outliers shows that hard work always pays off in the end.

 

    • Recommended on a Blog post by Timothy Ferriss, this came at the right time in my life and reinforced my belief that if you open yourself up to positive aspects of life, good things will happen.
    • Frankel’s story of living through the Nazi death camps, very moving and thought provoking.
  • The Last Lecture – Randy Pausch, Jeffery Zaslow
    • Pausch amazed me with his outlook on life in the face of death. He was a brilliant man, and I am thankful that he shared his thoughts with the entire world. I believe that he changed more people than he ever knew.
    • This man is a master at marketing, he shows it in this book. However, one suggestion, listen to the audio version his wit is amazing and entertaining.

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    • 1st business book I ever read, I didn’t really understand or believe it until I read it again ten years later.
  • Think and Grow Rich – Napoleon Hill
    • I still read this book at least two times per year. I tell everyone I meet to read this book, it is amazing, especially since it was published so long ago!
    • I don’t know if it was suppose to teach me the values of time management, but it did. Especially when it comes to analyzing a business function and whether I should spend money or do it myself.
  • The E-Myth Revisited – Michael Gerber
    • This made me a believer in procedure lists. I use them continually in everything I do.
  • The 4-Hour work Week – Timothy Ferriss
    • I like to call this book my Bible! One day when I meet Tim, I am going to buy him a glass of red wine to thank him properly. This book got me off my butt and lit the entrepreneurial spirit inside of me. I think everyone should read this and I highly recommend.
  • The Success Principles – Jack Canfield
    • My first encounter with positive thinking and how your thoughts affect the outcome of many things in your life and what you do.
  • Getting Things Done – David Allen
    • Although I don’t care for Allen’s paper based system. This book enabled me to become a better organized individual and in turn helped me become a better manager and business owner. I was able to take the principles in this book and apply them to my own electronic system.
    • Extremely interesting book on personality types. I highly recommend it.
    • And these are a few that I plan on reading next.
    For a List of the best business books recommended by the Personal MBA website, check here: www.personalmba.com/best-business-books/
    Since I am always on the lookout for a great read, please leave me a comment/suggestion if you have one.
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