When Jim Rohn said, “All the information you need to succeed already exists, the problem is you haven’t exposed yourself to it,” it was one of the most challenging and eye-opening statements I had ever heard. I immediately made a lifelong goal to read a thousand books.
I have not reached that goal yet, but I’m eating away at it. I love the hardbound vintage book, but I’m finding that reading on my iPad’s Kindle app provides the perfect strategy to increase my desire to read in spare moments.
Here’s my list of must-read books:
1. “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill is at the top of everyone’s list. Written 70 years ago, it’s still the benchmark book for attitude, goal setting and achievement. Get an original copy (pre 1960), not one of the altered, newly minted, “after the copyright expired” versions. NOTE: Not on this list, but equally important, is the best sales book of all time: “How to Sell Your Way Through Life.” Written just two years later, this book is an unknown gem. It’s hard to find and a little pricey, but look for it on abebooks.com, bookfinder.com, or eBay.
2. “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie. The all-time, gem of gems for engaging with self-confidence and connecting with sincerity that contains timeless rules of success. Your Carnegie library is only one-third complete until you own and read “How to Stop Worrying and Start Living” and “Effective Public Speaking,” two books with timeless information on stress relief, positive attitude, speaking skills and success strategies.
3. “He Can Who Thinks He Can” by Orison Swett Marden. One of the original “self-thought” and self-help books containing thought gems such as, “Every child should be taught to expect success” and “The world makes way for the man with an idea.” If you want a list of great Marden quotes from this book, underlined by John Patterson, the founder of NCR and the father of American salesmanship, go to www.gitomer.com and enter MARDEN in the GitBit box.
4. “Small is the New BIG” by Seth Godin. One of many Godin books that should be in your library. Not just for the information – he’s much more than that. I don’t just marvel at what Seth writes, I marvel at how he thinks.
6. “What Would Google Do?” by Jeff Jarvis. A compelling work that centers around Google as it relates to other businesses. Jarvis compares what Google would do to diverse industries such as hotels, restaurants, schools, and the media. Amazingly insightful and thought-provoking – especially if you relate it to your business (as I did).
7. “Outliers” by Malcolm Gladwell. “Outliers” tells stories of how, why, and when people became successful entrepreneurs, and how standards were set in the 19th century that are still in place today. But it’s his concept of “10,000 hours” that makes this book an absolute insightful treasure.
8. “Steve Jobs” by Walter Issacson. Jobs had vision, foresight, character, uncompromising ideals and shrewdness. He was inspirational to all who came within his domain. This is a great story and important to read in order to understand where we are today. I have written about Steve Jobs’ impact on my life. If you’d like to read it, go to www.gitomer.com and enter JOBS in the GitBit box.
9. “The Pursuit of Prime” by Ichak Adizes. This book addresses the stages every growing business goes through, and what to expect and do in each stage. Compelling because it’s both a game plan for what to do and a pie in the face for what you haven’t done.
10. “Social Boom” by Jeffrey Gitomer (hey, that’s me!) and several other social media experts. Business Social Media is not an option, and this book is the ultimate “how to” and “why.” Yes, I have 10 other books I hope you buy, read, and implement the lessons from, but Social Boom is my best book for this moment.
Invest your time reading. It will pay lifelong dividends. •
Jeffrey Gitomer is president of Charlotte-based Buy Gitomer. He can be reached at (704) 333-1112 or email to salesman@gitomer.com
