In today’s ever increasing technological world, there is pretty much an app for everything on your phone. So much so that tech junkies coined the term “there’s an app for that.” If you don’t believe me, google the app “Pocket Heat”, it’s an app that looks like a heat radiator that does absolutely nothing at all. It makes noises and gives visuals of heat but produces absolutely no heat at all (it used to make your phone hot by turning on your GPS, accelerometer, and other things, but Apple pulled the app to no surprise).
Throughout my journey of personal development over the last 4 1/2 years, I’ve realized that there’s a book for everything. Whether you are looking for advice on relationships, people skills, parenting, leadership, financial development, spiritual growth, general success, and many more topics, there are plenty of books out there! The hardest thing however is to sort through what is good and what isn’t as beneficial and credible. I wouldn’t suggest taking marriage advice from someone who has been through 4 divorces, that is unless he is writing on surely what not to do. The key here is to have great mentor’s that can point you in the right direction. Christina and I have been extremely blessed in these past few years to have some amazing mentor’s in our life and through our LIFE Leadership business. Here’s a quick disclaimer for you though, getting the book and having it sit on your bookshelf and collect dust is about as useful as the Pocket Heat app. You must read it and apply the information into your life for it to truly be beneficial.
Here’s a couple alarming statistics: according to Statisticbrain.com 80% of families didn’t even purchase a book last year, and 42% of college students don’t read another full book after graduation. Here’s the good news though, by reading just 15 minutes a day you can read over a million words over the next year. I often get asked for different book recommendations across a variety of topics so I thought I would compile a brief list here of books that I have read and have seen drastic results in my own life after reading them.
Leadership
Launching a Leadership Revolution by Chris Brady and Orrin Woodward
21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John Maxwell
Leadership and Self-Deception by The Arbinger Institute
Entrepreneur Roller Coaster by Darren Hardy
Start With Why by Simon Sinek
E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber
General Success
Magic of Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz
The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy
The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson (One of the most influential books for me)
Resolved, 13 Resolutions for Life by Orrin Woodward
How I Raised Myself From Failure to Success in Selling by Frank Bettger (A great sales book, and face it we’re all in sales in some way)
Think and Grow Rich by Napolean Hill
Financial Development
Financial Fitness by Orrin Woodward and Chris Brady
The Financial Matrix by Orrin Woodward
Profit First by Mike Michalowicz
Cashflow Quadrant by Robert Kiyosaki
Relationships (Marriage)
For Men Only by Jeff and Shaunti Feldhahn
For Women Only by Jeff and Shaunti Feldhahn
5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman
DNA of Relationships by Gary Smalley
People Skills
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
How to Have Confidence and Power in Dealing with People by Les Giblin
Personality Plus by Florence Littauer
I was hoping to put a brief description of each book on here, but I quickly realized this article was going to turn into a book itself, so if you have any specific questions or want to know more about them feel free to email me at Chris@elitebusinessadvising.com.
I don’t write this article because I have everything figured out, and quite frankly I probably never will, mostly because I refuse to stop growing myself. Even the most successful and smartest people I know read daily to ensure they never plateau. My goal this year is to read 3 books a month and I just finished #9 this morning. Find a great place to start, reading 15 minutes a day will equate to a book a month. I would venture to guess that would put you in the top 5% of the population, if not closer to 1%. I wanted to write this as a quick go-to guide for any area you are looking to grow in. I hope it helps.
Enjoy the journey.