Looking at someone’s favorite books or bookshelf can tell you a lot. It shows what a person values and the areas they connect with. Below are my favorite books and books I recommend.
- Unscripted
“If you take mediocre advice from people living a mediocre life, how can you expect your life to be anything other than mediocre.” – MJ Demarco. Unscripted is my favorite book of all time, and it’s not because of all the entrepreneurship ideas it has (though the starting foundations are excellent from this book). It first addresses the mindset of not living within the script. What is the script? Go to school, get a job, wake up 9-5, come home, watch tv, rinse and repeat. There is nothing wrong with a job; I internalize the message more as living life on your terms. Don’t be owned by your job, possession, or anything! - Rich Dad Poor Dad
Rich Dad Poor Dad, helped me define asset vs. liability. It is something I intuitively knew before I read. You want to buy assets that put cash in your pocket. A liability takes money out of your pocket. By this definition, a house is not an asset. This book heavily influenced a principal for me “cashflow is king.” When buying an asset that doesn’t have cash flow, you are speculating. My advice, read the book, and skip the seminars. Before you buy a 10k seminar, purchase a rental property. You will learn a lot more there. - No more Mr. Nice Guy
I had some struggles with being a pleaser to everyone around me, especially with women. This book helped me figure out that it isn’t what people want. When you are continually trying to please people, you come off as fake. I have been working the last year to be myself and comfortable in my own skin wherever and whoever I am talking too. It doesn’t have to be binary, pleasing people, or becoming an asshole. This book helped me see that. - The Subtle Art of not giving an F
This book had a different flavor than a lot of self-help books, which impacted me. It exposed a lot of the junk science of “think positive.” It was very blunt advice. We will have suffering in our lives, no matter how perfect our world is. People we love will die, and we will die. It helps put into perspective all the small things we worry about. “Am I acting naturally on the subway?” “What will this person think if I haven’t seen this movie?”. No one cares, and our time is short. We should try to live it and care about the things that truly matter. - The Compound Affect
Change isn’t overnight. It isn’t one big event. It is a process of daily compounded action. People aren’t healthy by skipping a pop one day. They are healthy and lose weight by skipping pop one month in a row. People don’t make a change in their life by one overnight change. Change in your life comes from small actions daily/weekly that compound over the future. We set our sights too high with goals. Instead of saying, “I need to start a business.” Do an action that moves you in that direction. Instead of saying, “I need to be at the gym for 5 hours,” Set the sights to walk around the block on your lunch break. Small actions compounded over time changes us. This book amplified with habit building is influential.