Please read the disclaimers in the Feed Your Head section first 🙂
So I will try to go through this in the order / importance ranking I think most people should read them at first, then I will have several others that you might want to read, but can be more important depending on your job or life situation.
Note to self, come back and add links and fix your shit spelling… 🙂
Rich Dad, Poor Dad. Robert Kiyosaki
OK, this one is one of the most pimped books out there, and with good reason. It was a serious mindset shifting moment for me. Many people can argue the finer points, or if it was ever real to begin with, but the underlying mindset teachings are some of the most important and EASY to start with. This one I always put first because its EASY for people just starting out down this path, and easy for people who hadn’t read a book in a decade since they finished school. Yes talking about myself here. No judgement zone….
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One thing however. I would suggest NOT readding any other of his books / media / videos. At least not now. I feel his current stuff, especially his YouTube/newsy stuff now is just last grasps of fame and he is going WAY overboard with click-baity titles. “Next week the world ends and everything changes” sort of shit… Just grab another book in this list and maybe come back to his others with a high degree of skepticism.
Set For Life. Scott Trench
This one is especially great if you are just out of school / young, before you have made too many financial mistakes like living beyond your means. If we are too take, just read it anyway and learn something.
Scott Trench is now the CEO of Bigger Pockets and is an all around rockstar! Its a nice easy read and I have given away at least a dozen copies of the book to my younger friends and family.
Never split the difference. Christopher Voss and Tahl Raz
OK, so this book was written by a guy who was the lead hostage negotiator for the FBI. There are GREAT examples in here of how to negotiate and its all worth learning. HOWEVER, one of the biggest things I took away from this is about learning how to figure out other peoples motivation, and use that to my advantage. I use that skill all the time and it helps you think your way though a negotiation with a different set of eyes. Everything in life can be a negotiation, even if the other party doesn’t realize it. You master that and the body language from down below and you can become a wizard in getting what you want.
4 hour work week. Tim Ferris
Like him or hate him, he was absolutely correct on a good portion of this book. Remote work and outsourcing to a virtual assistant in Asia is like magic that everyone should do. In the post COVID world, I think we can all agree that remote work is the best thing to happen to work since the lunch break. I think there is an updated version worth checking out as well.
The definitive book of body language. Barbara and Allan Pease
This book I first read after moving in with a friend once upon a time. He wanted me to read it to learn how to pick up chicks. I learned how to make 20% more money when waiting tables and bartending. Maybe I learned some of the how to read girls as well and that’s how I captured my wonderful wife? IDK…
Reading body language is a lifelong skill that takes a long time. I have read the book about every 2-3 years and still learn a bunch. Its also a great book for learning how to read people in interviews or how to posture yourself to get a raise, be on the right side of a business meeting, ect.. Its an amazing book.
I struggled with which book to do next, so choose your own adventure here. They are all worth reading so please do.
Think and Grow Rich. Napoleon Hill
This one is an easy read, but can get redundant at times toward the ends. You will be forgiven for skipping a few pages here and there. Another book for mindset / positive mental attitude and thinking your way to success. Yes the book is old, and the language is not modern, but just take it for what it is and read past the verbiage.
Millionaire next door. Thomas J. Stanley
This is a great one to prevent you from trying to keep up with the Joneses and pissing away all your hard earned money trying to look rich. Most of the real wealthy people don’t drive Lambo’s and flaunt super trendy fashion. They just live normal lives and save / invest / own businesses to keep as much money as they can and get it working for them.
Richest man in Babylon. George S Clason
Good book about the importance of saving even in the old days (thousands of years ago). Again, mindset….
Now we start to get into some of the more fun books. Some are a bit more specific, but all are worth reading. If I list a book that is only useful for a small subset, I will call that out.
Deep Work. Cal Newport.
As an IT contractor and occasional code writer, I love how well this book talks about the importance of staying in flow and not allowing distractions. Great for anyone who has a boss that wants email replies in 4 min or less.
The ONE thing. Gerry Keller and Jay Papasan
If you need to train your brain on how to get the correct things done, then read this one. Is also important for when you are doing your end goals and working back into them from a day to day situation.