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9 Books That Inspire Me

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I assembled this list of nine books to provide a sense of the sources of inspiration that have led me to write about real, authentic and sustainable living. One book is queued up and ready to be read. Two are in various states of being read at the same time which has led to several interesting blog posts. The rest I have finished. Well, let me qualify that three of them have become reference books I go back to more than once a month.

Just Finished – I am entering a new phase of my professional life and one of the key operatives in the new project kept referring to this book. Only makes sense to know where a key business associate is coming from.

1. Who Moved My Cheese? – Spencer Johnson, M.D. : A quick read that will make you look at change in all phases of you life very differently. I read the entire book in one short airline flight. Handed the book to my wife upon arriving home and said “You have to read this.” I predict I will read it 10 more times in the next 10 years.

Still Reading – My friend Joe Sorge recommended these two books to me within days of each other. It’s almost impossible to read more than a few pages of either without needing to do something. Separately these books are game changes, together they led me to a place I now call radical thinking.

2. Crush It! – Gary Vaynerchuk : If you are doing business on the internet this book is an essential read. If you want to understand the importance of turning the TV off and working you face off this is the book for you.

3. The 4-Hour Workweek – Timothy Ferriss : Teaches Lifestyle engineering so you can “retire” now and keep working later. Yes, complicated until you read it.

Up Next – I was fortunate enough to meet and share an hour of conversation with one of the co-authors of this book. It arrived on my door step late last week and I can’t wait to dig in!

4. Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust – Chris Brogan & Julien Smith

Refer to frequently – These books just keep coming back to me. They are becoming worn, dust jackets have been lost. The messages are timeless.

5. Think and Grow Rich – Napoleon Hill : I’ve read this book over 10 times in the 20 years I have owned it. My belief is this book started the modern “success” industry. I see seeds of this book in almost every success manual I read.

6. Little Red Book of Selling: 12.5 Principles of Sales Greatness – Jeffrey Gitomer : After reading this book I started my blog.

7. Easier Than You Think – Richard Carlson, Ph.D. : Ever need a reminder how simple little changes in your life can make it easier and more fun? I do and this book is where I go.

Worth the read – I picked both of these up in the last year. I could not get either one out of the pile for this post so I added this category.

8. The Last Lecture – Randy Pausch : In the last months of his life and suffering from pancreatic cancer Randy Pausch delivered his last lecture at Carnegie Mellon. View the lecture here for free (11 million viewers can’t be wrong), then buy the book there is so much additional material.

9. Outliers: The Story of Success – Malcom Gladwell : Just realized this is the book that lead me to my blogging niche.

What a great book to end on. These last two stayed in the pile for a reason and will both be re-read soon.

I hope you enjoy the list as much as I enjoyed creating it. Please leave some comments and let me know what you think of these books as you read them or if you have already read them.

Comments

  1. Nice book list Jim!

    I also enjoyed a lot of these same books (Think and Grow Rich is still in my to-be-read pile). You might also enjoy the other Malcom Gladwell books, in particularly Blink.

    Also worth a read is Free, written by Chris Anderson, which was my favorite business/technology book from last year. The book talks about implementing various “free” models to grow followers and increase sales.

  2. Nice book list Jim!

    I also enjoyed a lot of these same books (Think and Grow Rich is still in my to-be-read pile). You might also enjoy the other Malcom Gladwell books, in particularly Blink.

    Also worth a read is Free, written by Chris Anderson, which was my favorite business/technology book from last year. The book talks about implementing various “free” models to grow followers and increase sales.

  3. I just finished Crush It and figured I might see it on your list. I will have to read a few of the others. Thanks for sharing.

    • Sherman – I’m pretty sure you are one of the longest continuous readers of this blog, all the way back to the days when it was called “Golden Nuggets” Thanks for sticking around for the best, because it’s going nowhere but up from here!

      Wish I could say I have finished Crush it! but I’m still reading that, The 4-Hour Work Week, and now “Fish Tales” – sounds very ADD to me 😉

      Hope all is well in your neck of the woods these have not been kind times for our industry.

  4. I just finished Crush It and figured I might see it on your list. I will have to read a few of the others. Thanks for sharing.

    • Sherman – I’m pretty sure you are one of the longest continuous readers of this blog, all the way back to the days when it was called “Golden Nuggets” Thanks for sticking around for the best, because it’s going nowhere but up from here!

      Wish I could say I have finished Crush it! but I’m still reading that, The 4-Hour Work Week, and now “Fish Tales” – sounds very ADD to me 😉

      Hope all is well in your neck of the woods these have not been kind times for our industry.

  5. Jim: You are a true thinker and doer. I have read some not all of your list so thank you. I have been meaning to pick up the N. Hill classic. Sincerely, Greg Imhoff

    • Hello Greg,

      Thanks for taking the time to stop by. If you have never read Think and Grow Rich make it your next book. It’s really more than a classic, it’s a cornerstone to successful thinking. Thanks much for the think and doer compliment. “Writing is the doing part of thinking.”

  6. Jim: You are a true thinker and doer. I have read some not all of your list so thank you. I have been meaning to pick up the N. Hill classic. Sincerely, Greg Imhoff

    • Hello Greg,

      Thanks for taking the time to stop by. If you have never read Think and Grow Rich make it your next book. It’s really more than a classic, it’s a cornerstone to successful thinking. Thanks much for the think and doer compliment. “Writing is the doing part of thinking.”

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