Books We Highly Recommend

Did you ever stop to consider that people that bring in the most income are the folks that not only have a business of their own but that they also have a large library rather than a large TV? What we read expands us in order that we can expand our business to more and more help others.

Reading doesn’t take up a huge part of the day and in fact may save much time when understanding the principles of people and business. We each engage in reading helpful books each morning and then discuss what we have learned. Studying shouldn’t stop just because you are no longer in the school of formal education. This is never been truer then now. So with that, here is a great list of starters:

• How to Win Friends and Influence People -Dale Carnegie

The title makes it sound like arm-twisting and manipulations, but this book is actually all about making genuine human connections and having a positive impact in the lives of others. It’s about taking the focus off of yourself, and in the process finding that elusive confidence we all aspire to discover in ourselves.

• How to Win Friends and Influence People in the Digital Age - Dale Carnegie

I thought this book would be a weak and contrived reflection of the original classic. It isn’t. In fact, in some ways it’s even better and more powerfully documented. How do we project our authentic selves via ZOOM and social media platforms? How do we reach out and touch someone’s heart without the benefit of actual touch? It’s a great read!

• The Top 10 Distinctions between Millionaires and the Middle Class -Keith Cameron Smith

This book was a report card for me – a means of measuring how well I’m learning to think like the affluent rather than the debt-challenged. It’s simple. It’s short. It was truly an eye-opener for me.

• Slight Edge - Jeff Olson

Many of the actions that move me incrementally closer to my desired future are easy to do – like reading books that expand my thinking and associating with people who encourage me, for example. These kinds of activities are also easy NOT to do. Slight Edge helped me understand where each choice consistently executed will lead. This is a book I read at least once a year to make sure I stay on track to my best life.

• The Entrepreneurial Roller Coaster - Darren Hardy

Most jobs are predictable. You have assigned tasks and usually a graduated pay scale that sometimes adjusts with seniority. When you become an entrepreneur, you decide how fast you’re going to climb the learning curve, and how conscientiously you seek out and follow through on the advice of a mentor. Thence the rollercoaster. This book helped me to anticipate and minimize the ups and downs of doing business as my own boss.

• Think and Grow Rich - Napoleon Hill

A friend once said to me, “You notice Napoleon Hill called it Think and Grow Rich, not Work-Really-Hard and Grow Rich…”  I’ve long since lost count of how many thought leaders I’ve read who have written that this book changed their lives. Hill called it his philosophy of building wealth, based on a decades long study of the most successful people of his era. In reality it’s a very thorough training manual on how to get your head right in order to get traction on the road to your definite purpose.

• The Magic of Thinking Big -David J. Schwartz

As a very wise mentor once told me, “Just read Chapter 2, and you’ll be on the fast track to your dreams.”  The truth, as he well knew, is that once you read that chapter, you’ll feel compelled to read them all. Chapter 2 is entitled “Excutitis, the Failure Disease”.

• The Go-Giver - Bob Burg

The book is an allegory, a fictional lesson in getting ahead, not by being the proverbial go-getter, but by giving to others. It’s a beautiful and engaging book, that corrects the usual misunderstanding about what really contributes to success in all areas of life.

Lee: scs@sonic.net

Susan:timetodowhatyoulove@gmail.com