You know the saying “Rich people have big libraries, poor people have big TV’s”? Well, if not… you do now 🙂
Well, I’ve been in quite a few houses of what most people would call rich people and most of them have big TV’s. So that quotes not always right. But, one thing that every single one of them did ALSO have… was a ton of books.
So, what books do successful entrepreneurs read?
I was in Orlando a couple weeks back (before we did the Jump For Opportunity) with about 24 other really fun, successful, and inspired young entrepreneurs in a mastermind and one of the things we talked about was some of our favorite books. The books that made big differences in our marketing, life, business knowledge, fun, or whatever. And just so you know the level of young entrepreneurs in the mastermind retreat…
- 26 year old founder of the 2nd largest email service provider (does about $40mm a year)
- 23 year old who sold his company to Google for $80mm+ last October
- 28 year old founder of one of the largest entrepreneur education organizations for college students in the US
- 28 year old outdoor media (billboards) and real estate mogul from Ohio
- 29 year old stock trader and former hedge fund manager rated one of the best in the US in his category
- 25 year old who created multiple million dollar businesses before he was 22, best selling author, has been on Oprah, Big Idea…
- About 3 or 4 Inc. Magazine 30 under 30 guys
- … I could go on and on… but every single person in the group is top notch, doing huge things, and all of us under 30.
So, here’s some of the “favorite books” from our little crew. Enjoy 🙂
25 Books 25 Influential Young Entrepreneurs Say You Need To Read
- Ultimate Sales Letter by Dan Kennedy
- Unmarketing by Scott Stratten
- Nemises of A Stock Trader
- Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
- Influence: Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini
- The Discipline of Market Leaders by Micheal Treacy
- Orbitting the Giant Hairball by Gordon Mackenzie
- Good to Great by Jim Collins
- Power of Unreasonable People by John Elkington
- Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
- The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Tim Ferriss
- The Purple Cow by Seth Godin
- Mastering the Rockefeller Habits by Verne Harnish
- Thinking Like Leonardo DiVinci by Micheal Gelb
- Leadership and Self Deception by Arbinger Institute
- Ready, Aim, Fire by Michael Masterson and Mary Ellen Tribby
- Duct Tape Marketing by John Jantz
- A Compass to Fulfillment
- Monk and the Riddle by Randy Komisar
- Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh
- Ty Cobb
- Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clayson
- Go Giver by Bob Burg
- The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It by Michael Gerber
- Six Thinking Hats by Edward De Bono
So there you have it. 25 books that have helped 25 entrepreneurs kick some serious ass in life and biz.
Make it a goal to read a book a month. Grab a few from this list, shut the TV off… and start doing what all successful entrepreneurs I know do… they read 🙂
(now, one thing… if you don’t like reading books no biggie. Heck, get the audio book… get a few magazine subscriptions like Inc. Mag, Entrepreneur Mag, Fast Company, or whatever).
I know my blog audience right now is all of 17 people (including my wife and a few friends 😉 since I haven’t posted on here consistently in the past year while I’ve been focused on growing my companies… but, lets keep this conversation going… all 17 of you 🙂
What’s your favorite book? Put it in the comments below. Could be a business book. Fun book. Whatever. The main way I find great books to read is by other peoples recommendations.
Nice list, Trev! : ) I’m currently re-reading “The Tipping Point” by Malcolm Gladwell. It explores the factors that influence an idea, trend, or social behavior to cross that threshold, tip, and spread like wildfire. Awesome stuff! Thanks for the list!
Ya man, I’ve heard “The Tipping Point” is awesome… haven’t bought that one yet. Once I move into the office downtown I’ll get some big book shelves and migrate the book collection on over there… so you’re free to “check out” any of them you want 🙂 See ya at the workout today!
Great List T!
It’s pretty cool… I’ve been reading avidly for 8 years now… and have read 11 of the 25.
You’ve got a few on here I’ve never heard of. Thanks for putting this together!
A couple of my favorite books…
Unlimited Power by Tony Robbins, Maximum Achievement by Brian Tracy, No BS Time Management for Entrepreneurs by Dan Kennedy, Hypnotic Writing was a good one by Joe Vitale, among many others 🙂
– P
Nice. Ya, I’ve still got a ways to go to get the 25 read 🙂 I’ve got Hypnotic Writing… haven’t read it yet… and haven’t read the other ones you mentioned either Pat. Got out of the routine of reading a couple years back but glad we’re back into it! Have a great weekend man!
Thank you trevr’ great promo and bring in some more please ,and i’ll say i will add once i’ve complete ,cheerss ya’ll
Trevor. It sounds like you had a great time. I hope you made some great connections in Orlando. It sounds like you did! Anyway, not to “SPAM” your post, but I actually recently had my assistant go through my library and list some of my favorite books that I have read. Now to be clear, I did set these up on Amazon links, but at least you can see all of them here. And you can listen to Seth Godin interview… which was “interesting”. lol Go to: http://www.coryboatright.com to see all the books.
Ha, no worries Cory. Its not spam 🙂 Great book list over there!
Ha, no worries Cory. Its not spam 🙂 Great book list over there!
I’ll add these to me “to read” list, thanks Trevor and keep up the great blog 🙂
excellent suggestions, Trevor! thanks for this sharing! I think that young people should also follow the example of successful entrepreneurs like Donald Trump, Steve jobs or Yuri Mintskovsky in order to have success in their business. They are great role models! I have a lot of admiration for these smart people!
Key to Yourself by Venice Bloodworth
Haven’t read that one yet. I’m picking it up this week though!
– Trevor
Great list! One that recently turned myself as we’ll as my company around was a new one a friend gave me. It’s called ” Don’t Follow Me I’m The Leader”. You all should check it out. Thanks for the list
Great list though I would love to add Peter Church’s book Added Value-the life stories of Indian business leaders. Amazing insight on some truly inspirational people. The book is an excellent primer for anyone seeking to do business.
http://www.amazon.com/Added-Value-stories-Business-ebook/dp/B009PMPKZ4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1355983142&sr=8-1&keywords=authorzilla