“Everything you need for better future and success has already been written. And guess what? All you have to do is go to the library.” – Jim Rohn
Books have the power to change lives. How big is your library? Which is your favorite book?
On my blog, you can find a post with 33 quotes by Jim Rohn and there was a couple that accented meaning of books, knowledge and wisdom. I should admit that I was one of them that used the excuse of lack of time not to read any book for a while. I was waiting for any kind of success that could fall from the sky… no self-development! Lucky for me I found good mentors that changed my thinking, changed my mindset.
Now I’m reading almost daily, I collect quotes and I invest in my own development and have started my own business. Actually thanks to my own business I came to that conclusion that there is something missing in my daily routine. And there it was: If you can’t find time to read, you as an entrepreneur will not grow, which will have an effect on your business, too.
If you study any successful entrepreneur, you’ll see one of the keys to their success is that they educate themselves through books. You can get books these days for as little as .99 cents. Many are even free through Amazon’s KDP Select program. There’s no reason not to have a Kindle full of books that can educate you and teach you strategies to grow your business.
So, I started to look around and found some good libraries by my friends and started to visit bookstores more regularly, searched also internet for good book advice. My aim was to compile a list of books that could be a good start for new entrepreneurs and for the successful business mindset.
“Remember your mind is your greatest asset so be careful what you put into it.”- Robert Kiyosaki
Here is a list what I have compiled – 10 Books Every New Entrepreneur Should Read. If you have any good book that should be listed here, please leave that in comments.
1. Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not! by Robert Kiyosaki
In this step-by-step-style financial literacy classic, multi-millionaire entrepreneur and motivational speaker, Robert Kiyosaki shares how he used lessons from two dads – his own fiscally poor father and his best friend’s rich father – to shape his opinions around money and to build his fortune.
This book is an excellent way to challenge your thinking about work and money, but you should combine it with other books that make tactical recommendations of financial issues.
Rich Dad Poor Dad: What The Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!
2. Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
First appearing in a print way back in 1937, Napoleon Hill’s motivating classic is the result of 20 years worth of research and interviews with more than 40 famous millionaires. Think and Grow Rich is indeed rich with the secrets to success from world-renowned historic magnates like Andrew Carnegie, Henry Ford, Alexander Graham Bell, John D. Rockefeller, and Theodore Roosevelt. The exceptional life lessons packed within are still relevant today.
Think and Grow Rich: The Landmark Bestseller – Now Revised and Updated for the 21st Century
3. 
Your Money or Your Life: 9 Steps to Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence by Vicki Robin, Joe Dominguez, Monique Tilford
In an age of great economic uncertainty when everyone is concerned about money and how they spend what they have, this new edition of the bestselling Your Money or Your Life is an essential read. With updated resources, an easy-to-use index, and anecdotes and examples particularly relevant today-it tell you how to:
- get out of debt and develop savings
- reorder material priorities and live well for less
- resolve inner conflicts between values and lifestyle
- save the planet while saving money
- and much more
In Your Money or Your Life, Vicki Robin shows readers how to gain control of their money and finally begin to make a life, rather than just make a living
4. MONEY Master the Game: 7 Simple Steps to Financial Freedom by Tony Robbins
Tony Robbins is a pioneer in the personal development space, but his book on finances is like a graduate course in college. A novice in finance could read this book and walk away from an expert. Tony takes complicated financial strategies and distills them down to the average reader’s level.
Money is not everything in life, but it is important, especially in the business. There are many entrepreneurs who are great at making income but are clueless as to how to make their money work for them through investing. You started your business to create freedom, Tony’s book can help you take that freedom to a level you didn’t think was possible through the right investment strategies.
MONEY Master the Game: 7 Simple Steps to Financial Freedom
5. 48 Days to the Work You Love by Dan Miller
Dan Miller’s book will speak to you, especially if you’re stuck in a day job. What comes through the most in this book is how unique and genuinely an entrepreneur is Dan Miller. Dan is an entrepreneur who refuses to accept what society and the media have conditioned us to believe about our dreams and entrepreneurship. He lays out an actionable plan to transition out of a day job into a business and life you love. Read the book with caution because you will walk away changed.
According to the author, failing to make that fundamental discovery of calling is why so many people find themselves in jobs they hate. But now, thousands upon thousands are finding the work they love, thanks to practical advice from this leading career counselor. Conversational and creative, Miller helps the reader understand ones Godgiven skills and abilities, personality traits, values, dreams, and passions. Doing so helps us recognize clear patterns that will point toward successful decisions along the career path. Step by step, this updated edition of 48 Days to the Work You Love reveals the process for creating a Life Plan and translating that plan into meaningful and fulfilling daily work.
48 Days to the Work You Love: Preparing for the New Normal
6. 
The One Minute Manager by Kenneth H. Blanchard and Spencer Johnson
In this allegory-filled oldie but goodie, widely revered management experts Kenneth H. Blanchard and Spencer Johnson share how to manage others in ways that can increase their confidence, pride, and productivity. The book maps out three powerful one-minute management “secrets” — employee goal-setting, employee praisings and-and employee reprimands. For a freshly updated version of this executive staple, check out The New One Minute Manager (William Morrow, 2015).
The One Minute Manager is concise, easily read the story that reveals three very practical secrets: One Minute Goals, One Minute Praisings, and One Minute Reprimands.
The book also presents several studies in medicine and the behavioral sciences that clearly explain why these apparently simple methods work so well with so many people. By the book’s end, you will know how to apply them to your own situation and enjoy the benefits.
That’s why The One Minute Manager has continued to appear on business bestseller lists for more than two decades and has become an international sensation.
7. The Dip by Seth Godin.
The Dip is a book about knowing when to quit or move on. The book deals with mindset struggles and offers a plan to overcome them. It’s a short read that should be on every entrepreneur’s book list.
Winners quit fast, quit often, and quit without guilt—until they commit to beating the right Dip for the right reasons. In fact, winners seek out the Dip. They realize that the bigger the barrier, the bigger the reward for getting past it. If you can become number one in your niche, you’ll get more than your fair share of profits, glory, and long-term security.
Losers, on the other hand, fall into two basic traps. Either they fail to stick out the Dip—they get to the moment of truth and then give up—or they never even find the right Dip to conquer.
Whether you’re a graphic designer, a sales rep, an athlete, or an aspiring CEO, this fun little book will help you figure out if you’re in a Dip that’s worthy of your time, effort, and talents. If you are, The Dip will inspire you to hang tough. If not, it will help you find the courage to quit—so you can be number one at something else.
Seth Godin doesn’t claim to have all the answers. But he will teach you how to ask the right questions.
The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick)
8. Life is a Series of Presentations: Eight Ways to Inspire, Inform, and Influence Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime by Tony Jeary
Veteran executive coach and presentation strategist Tony Jeary has taught countless executives at big-name global companies how to deliver a knockout, persuasive public speeches. In Life Is a Series of Presentations, he reveals his expert strategies in a series of practical, easy-to-digest tips and techniques, including how to boost your confidence and credibility when facing one of the life’s most terrifying things for many — a live audience staring back at you, hanging on your every word.
Every time you speak — whether it’s on the phone, face-to-face, or from behind a podium — you’re making a presentation. Your ability to connect with other people and effectively communicate your message is the most important factor in your lifelong success.
Known as the business world’s premier presentation coach, Tony Jeary has trained executives at more than 500 world-class organizations in the art of effective, winning presentations. Now he brings those same techniques and strategies to you. Jeary’s easy-to-follow tips will help you gain confidence, improve self-esteem, enhance credibility, and maximize respect. Imagine having a greater ability to INFORM, INSPIRE, and INFLUENCE anyone, anytime and anywhere
9. Who Moved My Cheese? An Amazing Way to Deal With Change in Your Work and in Your Life by Spencer Johnson
Management consultant Spencer Johnson’s 96-page literary attitude adjustment winds readers through a simple yet potent parable that unfolds in a maze. The maze is occupied by four characters — Sniff and Scurry, mice that will stop at nothing to get cheese, and Hem and Haw, mouse-sized humans for whom cheese represents much more than mere sustenance. The characters learn to adapt to changes in the cheese, a symbol for our jobs, career paths, relationships, etc., and they set out in search of new sources of cheese when their cheese runs out. The key takeaway: Adaptability, perseverance, and a positive mental attitude are critical to success in any endeavor, especially in the cutthroat world of business.
Who Moved My Cheese? allows for common themes to become topics for discussion and individual interpretation.
Who Moved My Cheese? takes the fear and anxiety out of managing the future and shows people a simple way to successfully deal with the changing times, providing them with a method for moving ahead with their work and lives safely and effectively.
Who Moved My Cheese?: An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life
10. The Startup Playbook: Secrets of the Fastest-Growing Startups From Their Founding Entrepreneurs by David Kidder
The title says it all. If you’re looking for a wide array of lessons learned and entrepreneurial experiences, this book is for you. Sharing insights from 41 different founders, The Startup Playbook covers everything from leadership lessons to finding one’s niche.
Face-to-face interviews with 40 founders give readers key insights into what it took to build PayPal, LinkedIn, AOL, TED, Flickr, and many others into household names. Special sections include topics ranging from how to select the right idea to pursue finding funding and overcoming inevitable obstacles. In an economy demanding change, The Startup Playbook is the go-to for entrepreneurs big and small.
The Startup Playbook: Secrets of the Fastest-Growing Startups from Their Founding Entrepreneurs
“The greatest gift you can give somebody is your own personal development.”- Jim Rohn
Now I’m making time every day and week to read an excellent book, how about you? Many of the most successful entrepreneurs read a book a week. Knowledge is power and the key to growth. Add these books to your list; they can help you create a business and life you love.
If you have any good book to share with me, please leave that in comments, I’ll add it to my list and library.
Thanks in advance!
Oh dear, I haven’t actually read one single book from this list. Seems like I’ve got a lot to catch up on. Thanks a lot for sharing this list!