Books

Here is my book recommendations. In 2015 I set a goal of reading a book a week by 2016. By 2016 I was reading two or three books a week. Realize some books are really short requiring only an hour or two to read. My reading habits to read each morning and night at the very least.

I must admit reading is addictive! I also thank James Altucher and Tai Lopez for talking abut how much they read. I heard them talking about reading on their podcasts and was intrigued by how much they leaned from reading. As a person who likes to share and help others reading is fuel for my fire. I challenge you to also read a book or more a week. It is a very cheap way to have very experienced mentors!

Update 4/30/2016 – Should you read lots of Books like Tai Lopez and James Altucher? Or maybe none like Gary Vaynerchuck?
Maybe you don’t like to read but you feel like you should because other successful people do? Here is something to ponder. James Altucher and Tai Lopez read a lot and are both considered successful by many people. Contrast this with the habits of Gary Vaynerchuck who has read less books in his life than Tai and James read in a week or two. And then if you compare Chalene Johnson to Gary Vee you will notice she doesn’t want people to be all about the hustle but rather to have a great work and life balance that aligns with their priorities and she likes to take off for a month or two at a time. If you really like someone but emulating them is challenging check out some of the many many other successful people who are giving out their steps for success.

What do many people attribute Gary’s success to might ask. Well he hustles aka works a lot. But how does he learn and keep a pulse on what works in the advertising world and what startups he should invest in? He says he watches people to see what they are doing, he watches which mobile apps are in the top 150, he reads websites that collate stories. Compare this to James Altucher who tries not to know what is going on by avoiding the news and media and suggests to only read things that have pasted the test of time. And James used to be a regular on the cable networks as a guest. Yet James also invests in startups. So if you are trying to replicate success by taking the action of successful people the action you copy will be very different depending on who you emulate.

So what do you do? Should you emulate all their actions to cover all the bases? Reading lots of newspapers and a book a day like Tai? Maybe avoid books like Gary Vee? Oh wait you can’t do both of those. How are they both so successful with such different approaches? They find success is doing what they enjoy. I’d like you to consider that each of them just like each of us should do things we enjoy. We are much more likely to be consistent when we are doing what we enjoy. Duh, that makes sense. I think Gary really enjoys watching people in person and online to learn so much so he said he thought a dad got the wrong impression when he was watching the guys daughter to see what she was doing on her cell phone. He really wants to know which apps and sites people are using.

When emulating someone keep doing what you enjoy and do your best to avoid thing that feel like a chore. Said another way work through your strengths, as Gary advocates. I believe we all can create our own mix of things we do that lead us to success. Try many things and see which ones feel the best and resonate with you. Lots of people like to learn from podcasts or audio books, yet I’ve never heard James, Tai or Gary say they listen to a podcast a day. Yet they all produce a podcast a week and Tai put out 4 podcasts on April 13th and probably more snap chats and live broadcasts than that. I know I average listening to more than a podcast a day because enjoy learning while doing other things. Now what kind of fame can I get by saying I listen to 3 podcasts a day? I’d be willing to bet Gary and Tai produce more podcast and audio content than they consume. I reckon they enjoy spending their time creating content more than taking in others content. And I believe their success which many people want to emulate comes from their creating content which is what they enjoy doing in their daily life. I heard Tai say “Social Media should enhance your life”. I hear that and apply it with a much broader brush saying what you do each day should enhance your life. And I suggest what you do the most each day should surely enhance your life!

A little side note for those of you who listen to podcasts. I agree with Chalene Johnson’s suggestion to focus your listening to podcasts on the subject you are currently learning about or implementing. An example is to focus in on podcasts that relate to online advertising if you are looking to use Facebook to market your offering. This has really helped me get momentum to take action on varying tasks from permaculture farming to Facebook advertising. I’ve found it irresistible to take action after learning about all the benefits as well as how to implement a Facebook video ad for example. Sometimes I limit my listening to podcasts until I produce another on of my own. I highly recommend taking some action on something you just learned. I’ve heard that tip over and over as a success principal of the successful.

A random thought for those of you who listen to a lot of podcasts: maybe you can take notes from each of the good ones and put each of the tips in a blog, or video which will save people time and lead them to great resources. Just like books there are so many out there that getting a tip of which ones are the best saves you time. Happy listening, reading, emulating and creating!

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck

It is the first book I highly recommend – it is on James’s top ten list of books and it does not disappoint. It was so good I bought 100 copies to give away. One day I gave it to said she likes it so much that she was reading it a second time and anther friend said it was his favorite book. I’ve read most of the book a second time and was amazed how good it was the second time. This book explains the difference between a fixed and growth mindset and the huge implications this can have on people’s live and the lives of people they teach and influence.
Here is a followup article from the author. Mindset followup article

The Success Principles by Jack Canfield

This is another book that I highly recommend – this is a powerful book which  shows us how to increase confidence, enjoy and take happiness from what we do and find out how to reach our ambitions. Filled with memorable and inspiring stories of CEOs, world-class athletes, celebrities, and everyday people, The Success Principles  will show us the tricks on how to achieve what we have always wanted.

I heard an interview with him on ‘SolopreneurHour.com’ and I was sold. The episode is found here Jack Canfield. Jack is the coauthor of the ‘Chicken Soup’ series of books and has been very successful. If you order the 10th anniversary version you get some bonus content including a video and audio of Jack answering questions. Also the first two chapters of the book as a download. See Let me know if you get it, have it and how the principles are working for you.

Click this linkfor more notes and to listen to the book review.

The Choose Yourself Guide Book to Wealth by James Altucher

James Altucher’s book has the answers. This is the field guide to the “New World” we live in – a quite bold and equally fascinating book that tells how playing by the old rules will get you left behind, or you can use these new ideas and become wealthy. Told through his own experience, this is a great read for those new entrepreneurs just starting their own business, those stepping into new leadership roles in an organization or even for those who just quit their own jobs to begin a new career path. He has a great podcast I recommend as well “The James Altucher Report”.

Click this link for more notes and to hear the complete podcast recording.

The Go-Giver: A Little Story about a Powerful Business Idea by Bob Burg, John David Mann

It is a captivating book that shines new light to the old adage “Give and you shall receive.” I highly recommend this book for those who are just starting their business, planning on starting one or even those who’ve been in the game for a long time.

The Go-Giver is the story of a young man named Joe, very ambitious and determined to reach the greats, who has always been on the lookout for success. Joe is a quintessential go-getter, though he felt like the more he reaches his arms out to achieve something and the harder he plays, the farther he seemed was in getting the results he wanted . Below are some of the key points I absolutely loved in this book.

click this link for more notes and to listen to the book review.

Business Books
Sam’s book is a great one. If you don’t read it realize Sam was all about experimenting and moved on from failures right to the next expirement.

Social Media Book – Gary gives great tips for how to use social media by giving, giving, giving then asking for a sale or as he says Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook. I enjoyed the book but a friend who didn’t relate to boxing very much felt a bit confused by the boxing associations. So know a JAB in boxing is a small punch which Gary relates to you giving some value be it entertainment or knowledge in a social media setting. A Right Hook in boxing is the BIG punch that possess the most power and can win the match. In business the Right Hook is asking for business which is they key to success in business. One of the points Gary makes is that businesses should not always be asking for the sale/business in social media just like boxers don’t win by always throwing the Right Hook punch. The best combination Gary says is to mostly give and occasionally ask for business.

This book is a great and easy read with some tips you can apply to life and business. It is encouraging and uplifting. I saw Adam Braun speak then bought his book. He was CEO of Pencils of Promise and now has moved own to help others start nonprofits via his online classes. This book may encourage I’ve been a supporter of Pencil of Promise.