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Over the last few years I’ve become an avid consumer of books on every subject from business to personal development and metaphysics. I don’t say “reader” because I often listen to books during my daily 1.5 to 2.5 hour walks.
These books changed my life.
Yes, I changed my life, I take responsibility for that.
More clearly, these books changed the way I look at my life and gave me tools to live my life differently.
A business is part of a vibrant and full life.
These books cover every kind of subject rather than focused on rote business books because life is more than business.
A daily reading practice
Every morning I take a very long walk, typically through the neighborhoods of Redondo Beach or barefoot in the sand along RAT beach to the Redondo Beach Pier. Yes, if you’re in the area, look for me and I’ll totally walk with you!
This practice gives me massive mental clarity that helps me focus on work and produce my best results. It’s also a big chunk of time out of my day.
I wanted to start learning more and the idea of sitting down on the couch with a book sounds comfy but not all that productive. I like to maximize my time and that doesn’t mean multi-tasking in the way that we think it means.
In “The ONE Thing”, Gary Keller says:
“Multitasking is a lie … It’s an effective way to get less done.”
Gary Keller in “The ONE Thing”
You can totally do two tasks that use different parts of the brain at one time. Physical activity is pretty automatic and you don’t have to think much about it, especially if it is something you do all the time like breathing or walking.
At the end of 2020 I committed to dedicating at least 50% of my walking time to “Learning”. That’s listening to:
- Audiobooks, mostly from Audible
- Podcasts
- YouTube videos (alot of Abraham Hicks and Dr. Jason Fung) and Facebook Lives (I love Mike Dooley’s weekday morning shows)
- Courses – I’ll listen and then take notes in Evernote of anything I want to dig deeper on. And then I’ll go through the course again on my computer if needed to take action on the learning. This is why I structured my course SMART Pin Pro to be mostly informational slides and talking so that you can read it or listen to it without having to do BOTH at the same time if you don’t want to.
Through this practice I finish 3-5 books a month via audiobook and another 1-2 books a month via reading.
I read in bed. I have stacks of books and my Kindle on my nightstand and my bed and I cherry-pick through them, highlighting things I find notable as I go.
How I buy books today
I consume books in multiple ways which means I buy books in multiple formats:
- Kindle for digital books
- Audible app for audio books
- Physical paper books via bookstores and Amazon online
Kindle for digital books
I choose Kindle when:
- I plan to read in bed – it’s lightweight and bright enough to read with the lights out but not as bright as my phone
- Traveling – it can slip into my bag and I have access to 100s of books without all the weight
- Reading for fun – fiction and books I read for fun or books I don’t think I’ll reference again after reading them once.
Audible app for audio books
Reading a book on Kindle or from the paper copy requires 100% of our attention so I tend to use audiobooks over books I have to read with my eyes.
Audiobooks are my top choice because:
- I can easily listen while I do other tasks like walk, clean the house, or drive
- They’re affordable – with an Audible membership you can use credits to buy books or listen to some titles for free
- The authors read the books and offer bonuses and extra commentary. I like hearing their voice and hearing the book read in the way they intended it to be understood and received.
Physical paper books
The only books I buy as paper copies are books:
- I think I’ll refer to later. Sometimes I buy the physical book after I listen to it on Audible and know I’ll want to reference it again.
- I want to make notes in the book – Kindle allows notes but it’s not easy to access later
How to Use This List of “Business” Book Recommendations
I’m not going to separate the books by genre.
Rather, I’ll follow each book recommendation with bullet points as to why I think it is important to read and what transformations and lessons I took from them in an effort to help you discern which books will give you the learning and lessons you want now.
The books are not listed in any order other than the order I recommend them in my course SMART Pin Pro … and then I am just adding new ones to the end of the list.
Without further ado, let’s read like a mofo:
Recommended Books for a Rock Star Life and Business
“You Are a Badass” bundle by Jen Sincero
- How I “read” it: Physical book and Desk calendar for daily reminders
- Check the price here: “You Are a Badass” bundle by Jen Sincero
- Notable Lessons: This list is not exhaustive and I am adding to it all the time.
- You can have success or you can have excuses but you can have both
“A Beginner’s Guide to the Universe” by Mike Dooley
- How I “read” it: Audio via Audible and Physical book for reference
- Check the price here: “A Beginner’s Guide to the Universe” by Mike Dooley
“The ONE Thing” by Gary Keller
- How I “read” it: Audio via Audible and Physical Book for reference
- Check the price here: “The ONE Thing” by Gary Keller
“The Big Leap” by Gay Hendricks
- How I “read” it: Audio via Audible and Physical Book for reference
- Check the price here: “The Big Leap” by Gay Hendricks
“The 4 Hour Work Week” by Tim Ferriss
- How I “read” it: Audio via Audible, Physical Book for reference, Kindle
- Check the price here: “The 4 Hour Work Week” by Tim Ferriss
- Notable Lessons: This list is not exhaustive and I am adding to it all the time.
- I re-read this every other year or so
- One of my multi-millionaire friends reads this quarterly and says it changed their entire life!
- If you email me, you will get an auto-response modeled on the one Tim shares in the book
“Purple Cow” by Seth Godin
- How I “read” it: Kindle
- Check the price here: “Purple Cow” by Seth Godin
“The Road Less Stupid” by Keith J. Cunningham
- How I “read” it: Kindle
- Check the price here: “The Road Less Stupid” by Keith J. Cunningham
“Find Your Purpose Master Your Path” by Dr. Matthew James
- How I “read” it: Kindle
- Check the price here: “Find Your Purpose Master Your Path” by Dr. Matthew James
“This Is Marketing” by Seth Godin
- How I “read” it: Kindle
- Check the price here: “This Is Marketing” by Seth Godin
“The Pumpkin Plan” by Mike Michalowicz
- How I “read” it: Paperback
- Check the price here: “The Pumpkin Plan” by Mike Michalowicz
- Notable Lessons: This list is not exhaustive and I am adding to it all the time.
- Identify and uniquely solve your customers unsolved problems that the market is missing
“Management & Marketing” Bundle – 29 Book Series
- How I “read” it: Kindle
- Check the price here: Management & Marketing 29 Book Bundle by 50Minutes.com and SMART Criteria
“Fix This Next” by Mike Michalowicz
- How I “read” it: Audible audio book
- Check the price here: “Fix This Next by Mike Michalowicz
- Notable Lessons: This list is not exhaustive and I am adding to it all the time.
- Do the right things, not everything
- Under pressure, weak links get amplified
I’m adding more books all the time so bookmark this page (ba-daum-pow) to come back to the next time you’re bored.
Before you go, please leave me a comment with your favorite books.
