I love reading books. I read new books, old books, real estate books, business books and even straight-up horror fiction books! I like reading. We looked back over our blog and realized it had been several years since we made some suggestions for our readers on great business/real estate related books to read.
So log onto Amazon and get prepared to order some new books and be sure to let me know what you think of the list! Here are some great books to read!
Most everyone around me knows that I am as big an advocate of self-education on all topics as I am on real estate. In the end, there are only so many 'original' real estate books on the market and many are simply re-treads of old ideas with fancy new packaging. If you want to be successful in life, not simply real estate, you must continue to feed your brain and your soul with new books that often will revive familiar ideas and goals. Here are a few of my favorites from this past year and some of them have been my favorites in other years as well. There is no problem with picking a book from the past and reading it again! Let me know what you think of the list...and after you've read a few.
1. The Entrepreneur Mind: 100 Essential Beliefs, Characteristics, and Habits of Elite Entrepreneurs
"To achieve unimaginable business success and financial wealth—to reach the upper echelons of entrepreneurs, where you’ll find Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, Sara Blakely of Spanx, Mark Pincus of Zynga, Kevin Plank of Under Armour, and many others—you have to change the way you think. In other words, you must develop the Entrepreneur Mind, a way of thinking that comes from learning the vital lessons of the best entrepreneurs." – Amazon.
MINDSET! For me, this was a fantastic read because it re-enforced some of my beliefs and helped me to realize some of my negative thoughts and mindsets that I had let slip into my daily routine. This is an essential book for any current or future entrepreneur!
2. Make It Big
I have recommended this book on every list I have ever published about business and/or real estate. It is an excellent book! This is a book you absolutely must start with and then read again as every new year approaches. It is a great book for balancing life, work, family and any other goals and aspirations you have for yourself. I am a big fan of this book and think you have to start here before moving onto other books.
3. Strengths Finder 2.0
How can any person know where they are going if they are not aware of where they are? This book is fantastic for learning your strengths and focusing on getting even stronger! We have a number of leaders in our company and this book was great at pointing out each of our strengths and helping us work on our individual strengths as a team and letting others strengths make up for our personal weaknesses. Great book!
4. Think & Grow Rich
I first read this book in 1991 for an English class at the University of Memphis. I am not going to say it changed my life, but it set me on the right path. It was a great introduction into learning to watch and emulate others who are successful in business. The anecdotes and story-telling were excellent and the new, updated version is much easier to understand. The language is more up-to-date. I would pick up this book as a great mind-set book for any beginning entrepreneur or real estate investor because it definitely helps you to focus on WHY you want to invest or WHY you want to start on the entrepreneurial path.
5. Building Wealth One House at a Time
This book was shared with me several years ago and it is kind of an off-the-grid book written by a real estate investor and low-key educator. That is why I like this book so much. If you are looking for a good jumping off point, a good book to get you started with some simple concepts and action oriented thinking, then this book is a good one. John W. Schaub is a well respected real estate educator and although I have never attended a seminar of his, I found his book to be easy to understand and a really good resource.
6. Crush It
Gary Vaynerchuk nailed it when he wrote this book and I am a huge fan. He has since written more books, expanded his YouTube and Viddler channels and pretty much tried to take over the world! It is not specific to real estate, but is an entrepreneur's hand book. Great, quick read that will leave you excited to get busy planning how to take over the world!
7. The Go Giver
I left it on the list because I had so many people reach out to me to let me know they loved this book several years ago. It is still a great book and we also have the follow up book on our shelves – The Go Giver Sells More. The book says this is a “little story about a powerful business idea.” I will tell you that it is so much more and can absolutely change the way you approach relationships in your every day life. The title says it all – this book is all about giving before you receive.
8. Becoming A Category Of One
This book is all about business and the way a company conducts themselves. So why do I include it on this list? Joe Calloway wrote this book a few years ago to try and influence businesses and the people that run them to think differently. You should want to be so unique that there are no others like you. It is a great read for business people and for what it is worth, for anyone interested in learning a great deal about our style of customer service...this was one of the guiding books we used to develop our ideas and methods.
9. The Alchemist
I saved this book for last because it is the one that truly has meaning for me beyond simply being a great book. It is not a business book per se, but it has taught me a lot about how to face each day in the business world. I will simply tell you that this book was a life changer for me. I read it in one night and re-read it 3 more times over the next few weeks as I began to focus my mind everyday on my ambitions. This book taught me that sometimes the greatest treasure is the journe
