It’s difficult to narrow the list down to just ten.  There are so many books that have been incredibly influential to my business life and my personal life.  I’m going to do my best to offer up my current top ten, but I may have to add to this list later!

1. The Richest Man in Babylon

Without a doubt, The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason is my favorite business book of all time.  I have read it DOZENS of times, and I carry it with me everywhere I go.

This book uses an ancient setting to describe some incredibly motivational concepts in easy-to-understand terms.   You’ll learn the importance of paying yourself first, working hard, and making wise choices.  I have given out many copies of this book to friends and relatives, because I feel it’s just THAT powerful.

2. The 4-Hour Workweek

The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss has been incredibly influential in my business life.  This book helped me realize the importance of valuing my time by putting a dollar amount on it.  Once I assigned a real dollar amount to my time, it was much easier to start outsourcing some of the menial tasks that eat up so much of my time, so I could concentrate on more important aspects of my business!

3. Pursuit of Happyness

If you’ve ever seen the movie The Pursuit of Happyness, you may be surprised when you read the actual book by Chris Gardner himself.  The real story is quite a bit different from the movie in many ways.  It’s a little hardcore and edgy, and it’s filled with colorful language and adult situations, but there’s a great message behind it.

Chris Gardner is a real person.  He is flawed, and he is a bit raunchy, but he is real.  His story is extremely motivational and inspirational, and his courage continues to inspire me every day.  I heartily recommend this book if you need a boost of motivation from a TRUE rags to riches story!  Just be warned that this book is NOT for anyone who can’t deal with some real in-your-face, adult situations.

4. Hard Drive: Bill Gates and the Making of the Microsoft Empire

Bill Gates has been one of the great motivators of my business life.  I know some people dislike him, but he is tremendously inspiring to me.  He built a massive global empire than no one can dispute as one of the driving forces in global culture, and his drive and ambition is contagious!  Reading about this dynamo in action kicks my butt into action every time.

5. Accidental Empires: How the Boys of Silicon Valley Make Their Millions, Battle Foreign Competition, and Still Can’t Get a Date

Along with Bill Gates, another one of my business heroes is Steve Jobs.  Actually, almost any of the icons of the computer revolution are tremendously motivating to me.  I am a big fan of learning about these business icons.  Accidental Empires by Robert X. Cringely is the story of how Microsoft, Apple, and many of the other revolutionaries in the early computer industry became the legends they are.  I learned a lot about business, marketing, motivation, and more from this one book!

6. You Call the Shots

You Call the Shots was written by Cameron Johnson.  This millionaire whiz got started in business at the tender age of just 9 years old, when he turned his family’s computer into a greeting card business completely on his own.  He went on to become a serial entrepreneur, starting and running around a dozen successful businesses before he was 25, including many of them while he was still a teen!  His level of ambition makes me ashamed that it took me so long to find success, but it also motivates me to catch up!

I found this book inspirational, enlightening, and chock-full of REAL ideas that actually had tangible merit!  I got some killer marketing ideas, which is something I can’t say for a lot of the business books I read.  This one gave me some practical information I could use in addition to the standard motivational stuff.  It’s also a really fun read!

MORE COMING LATER!

I will add the other five books at some point in the future.  They’re coming soon!