My Top Books to Read List
Over the years I have read and consumed some very transformational and informative books that I highly recommend reading. This is why I decided to publish a books to read list and I suggest reading everyone of these impactful books. If you are interested in personal and professional development, then here are some of the best tools to reach the next level of improvement. Below you will find my full books to read list and some details about the book. There is no specific order and I highly suggest purchasing all of the books listed below. If you are more interested in Audible, you can start a 30-day free trial by clicking here.
Best All Around Business Book
Ray Dalio, one of the world’s most successful investors and entrepreneurs, shares the unconventional principles that he’s developed, refined, and used over the past forty years to create unique results in both life and business—and which any person or organization can adopt to help achieve their goals.
In 1975, Ray Dalio founded an investment firm, Bridgewater Associates, out of his two-bedroom apartment in New York City. Forty years later, Bridgewater has made more money for its clients than any other hedge fund in history and grown into the fifth most important private company in the United States, according to Fortune magazine.
Dalio himself has been named to Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world. Along the way, Dalio discovered a set of unique principles that have led to Bridgewater’s exceptionally effective culture, which he describes as “an idea meritocracy that strives to achieve meaningful work and meaningful relationships through radical transparency.”
Most Impactful Mindset Book
Life is a series of negotiations you should be prepared for: buying a car, negotiating a salary, buying a home, renegotiating rent, deliberating with your partner.
After a stint policing the rough streets of Kansas City, Missouri, Chris Voss joined the FBI, where his career as a hostage negotiator brought him face-to-face with a range of criminals, including bank robbers and terrorists. Reaching the pinnacle of his profession, he became the FBI’s lead international kidnapping negotiator. Never Split the Difference takes you inside the world of high-stakes negotiations and into Voss’s head, revealing the skills that helped him and his colleagues succeed where it mattered most: saving lives.
Never Split the Difference takes you inside the world of high-stakes negotiations and into Voss’ head, revealing the skills that helped him and his colleagues succeed where it mattered most: in saving lives. In this practical guide, he shares the nine effective principles – counterintuitive tactics and strategies – you, too, can use to become more persuasive in both your professional and personal lives.
Best Book for Improving Workflows & Habits
Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results
No matter your goals, Atomic Habits offers a proven framework for improving–every day. James Clear, one of the world’s leading experts on habit formation, reveals practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviors that lead to remarkable results.
If you’re having trouble changing your habits, the problem isn’t you. The problem is your system. Bad habits repeat themselves again and again not because you don’t want to change, but because you have the wrong system for change. You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems. Here, you’ll get a proven system that can take you to new heights.
Clear is known for his ability to distill complex topics into simple behaviors that can be easily applied to daily life and work. Here, he draws on the most proven ideas from biology, psychology, and neuroscience to create an easy-to-understand guide for making good habits inevitable and bad habits impossible.
Best Marketing & Advertising Book
New York’s biggest ad agencies use dozens of these little-known secrets every day to influence people to buy. And now—thanks to Cashvertising—you can, too. And it won’t matter one bit whether you’re a corporate giant or a mom-and-pop pizza shop.
These techniques are based on human psychology. They work no matter where you’re located, no matter what kind of product or service you sell, and no matter where you advertise. In fact, most don’t cost a penny to use.
Like a wild roller-coaster ride through the streets of Madison Avenue, Cashvertising teaches you the tips, tricks, and strategies that New York’s top gun copywriters and designers use to persuade people to buy like crazy. No matter what you sell—or how you sell it, this practical, fast-paced book will teach you how to sell anything to anyone!
Best Remote Work & Travel Book
College. Graduation. Work a 9 to 5 job, save up and retire on a pension. This isn’t the correct path for everyone. Nor should it be.
Global Career: How to Work Anywhere and Travel Forever is a paperback for your backpack, a step-by-step blueprint to travel the world, build a successful career others wish they had, and build a life that most people only dream of.
- This comprehensive guide is filled with genuine stories and actionable advice including:
- Specific shortcuts and tips you need to build a world-class career on the move
- Skills for negotiating and obtaining further education, internships and high-paying work overseas
- Building a life you love in any city in the world, and how to make lifelong friends quickly
Global Career will challenge you to venture into the exciting unknown. If you have ever fantasized about a more fulfilling international career, this book will empower you to buy a one-way ticket to your dream destination, and further your career in ways you never thought possible!
Okay…I might be a tad biased with my own book, but it’s still my favorite! (FREE on Audible)
Best Transformational Book to Escape the 9-5
Has the “settle-for-less” financial plan become your plan for wealth? That sounds something like this:
Graduate from college, get a good job, save 10% of your paycheck, buy a used car, cancel the movie channels, quit drinking expensive Starbucks mocha lattes, save and penny-pinch your life away, trust your life-savings to Wall Street, and one day, when you are oh, say, 65 years old, you can retire rich.
Since you were old enough to hold a job, you’ve been hoodwinked to believe that wealth can be created by blindly trusting in the uncontrollable and unpredictable markets: the housing market, the stock market, and the job market. This soul-sucking, dream-stealing dogma is “The Slowlane” – an impotent FINANCIAL GAMBLE that dubiously promises wealth in a wheelchair.
Accept the Slowlane as your financial roadmap and your financial future will blow carelessly asunder on a sailboat of HOPE: HOPE you can get a job and keep it, HOPE the stock market doesn’t tank, HOPE for a robust economy, HOPE, HOPE, and HOPE. Is HOPE really the centerpiece of your family’s financial plan?
Best Financial Mindset Book
Rich Dad Poor Dad is Robert’s story of growing up with two dads — his real father and the father of his best friend, his rich dad — and the ways in which both men shaped his thoughts about money and investing. The book explodes the myth that you need to earn a high income to be rich and explains the difference between working for money and having your money work for you.
20 Years… 20/20 Hindsight
In the 20th Anniversary Edition of this classic, Robert offers an update on what we’ve seen over the past 20 years related to money, investing, and the global economy. Sidebars throughout the book will take readers “fast forward” — from 1997 to today — as Robert assesses how the principles taught by his rich dad have stood the test of time.
In many ways, the messages of Rich Dad Poor Dad, messages that were criticized and challenged two decades ago, are more meaningful, relevant and important today than they were 20 years ago.
As always, readers can expect that Robert will be candid, insightful… and continue to rock more than a few boats in his retrospective.
Best Macro Business Book
In this instant and tenacious New York Times bestseller, Nike founder and board chairman Phil Knight “offers a rare and revealing look at the notoriously media-shy man behind the swoosh” (Booklist, starred review), illuminating his company’s early days as an intrepid start-up and its evolution into one of the world’s most iconic, game-changing, and profitable brands.
Bill Gates named Shoe Dog one of his five favorite books of 2016 and called it “an amazing tale, a refreshingly honest reminder of what the path to business success really looks like. It’s a messy, perilous, and chaotic journey, riddled with mistakes, endless struggles, and sacrifice. Phil Knight opens up in ways few CEOs are willing to do.”
Fresh out of business school, Phil Knight borrowed fifty dollars from his father and launched a company with one simple mission: import high-quality, low-cost running shoes from Japan. Selling the shoes from the trunk of his car in 1963, Knight grossed eight thousand dollars that first year. Today, Nike’s annual sales top $30 billion. In this age of start-ups, Knight’s Nike is the gold standard, and its swoosh is one of the few icons instantly recognized in every corner of the world.
Best Business Structure Book
If you own a business or want to start one, then I highly suggest grabbing a copy of Built to Sell. It details how you should structure your business no matter if you plan to sell it in the future or not.
Run your company. Don’t let it run you.
Most business owners started their company because they wanted more freedom—to work on their own schedules, make the kind of money they deserve, and eventually retire on the fruits of their labor.
Unfortunately, according to John Warrillow, most owners find that stepping out of the picture is extremely difficult because their business relies too heavily on their personal involvement. Without them, their company—no matter how big or profitable—is essentially worthless.
But the good news is that entrepreneurs can take specific steps—no matter what stage a business is in—to create a valuable, sellable company. Warrillow shows exactly what it takes to create a solid business that can thrive long into the future.
My Favorite Fiction Book
Like every other hobbit, Bilbo Baggins likes nothing better than a quiet evening in his snug hole in the ground, dining on a sumptuous dinner in front of a fire. But when a wandering wizard captivates him with tales of the unknown, Bilbo becomes restless. Soon he joins the wizard’s band of homeless dwarves in search of giant spiders, savage wolves, and other dangers. Bilbo quickly tires of the quest for adventure and longs for the security of his familiar home. But before he can return to his life of comfort, he must face the greatest threat of all – a treasure-troving dragon named Smaug.
In this fantasy classic, master storyteller J.R.R. Tolkein creates a bewitching world filled with delightful creatures and thrilling dangers. Narrator Rob Inglis will hold listeners of all ages spellbound with his skillful portrayal of hobbits, dwarves, and enchanted beasts.
Overall I hope you enjoyed my top books to read list and that you will find as much value out of reading these books as I did. If you are interested in learning more on how you can apply the theory from these books, make sure to get in touch with me and I’ll be more than happy to answer any questions or hop on a quick call to chat more. If you are interested in landing a high-paying remote job, consider applying for my remote life program here.