16 Life-Changing Books Every Entrepreneur Must Own

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]It is hard to explain the joy of reading books in words. I have always been a voracious reader, and it is not something I do to kill time – it has made me a better person in every sense of the word. It helps me think clearly about situations and about myself too. Even when I read a book that I have already read once, it leaves me with some new insights and lessons.

Books have always been my best friends – without any demands and expectations. I believe you can find a solution to every problem in books – I open them and things start falling into place. Whether you are already an established businessperson or someone with the entrepreneurial itch, you can always glean wisdom from the words of those who have already walked the same path before.

Here is an interesting list of 16 books I would recommend every entrepreneur to own – and to read again and again.

1. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

Communication is the key to healthy and long lasting relationships, be it personal or professional. Every time you read this best seller by Dale Carnegie, you would become a better communicator, leader, and

Communication is the key to healthy and long lasting relationships, be it personal or professional. Every time you read this best seller by Dale Carnegie, you would become a better communicator, leader, and influencer in conversations. No wonder, why it’s one of the most recommended read for last 80 years.

2. Never Eat Alone

Keith Ferrazzi lays out the specific steps and inner mindset he uses to connect with the thousands of people in his network and effectively manage to be able to help anyone, anytime. One of the easiest and most resourceful books I have ever read to learn the art of networking by stories and guidance of Keith, a leader by example.

3. All Marketers Are Liars by Seth Godin

You want to know the other side of thoughts when marketing anything. Seth Godin tells several stories, case studies and brilliant advice for making marketing more natural, effective and transparent with this book.

4. The Artists Way

You’re naturally creative. You’re born creative. Julia Cameron brilliantly explains the basic principle of creative expression. She leads you through with the help of Mark Bryan, a comprehensive twelve-week program to recover your creativity from a variety of blocks, including limiting beliefs, fear, self-sabotage, jealousy, guilt, addictions, and other inhibiting forces, replacing them with artistic confidence and productivity.

5. Getting Things Done

Life is happier and sorted when you get everything done, effortlessly. This is a bedside book for every doer, and no businessperson should miss this. Your would wonder at your personal and business productivity after every read (and reminder read) from David Allen’s bestseller.

6. Let Go by Pat Flynn

I am a blogger. Disciple and crazy bloggers inspire me, all the way more when they are making tons of money every day from Blogging. Pat Flynn has shared how he came out of uncertainties of future and a clueless phase of his life before he rose to fame as a successful entrepreneur and blogger.

7. The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss

Who doesn’t want to work less and make more? This book is the bible of delegation. You would see easy yet amazing advice and step by step help on how to get organized, efficient and on time. Tim helps you get ahead of time and make it your pet working only 4 hours a week. Exciting? Buy the book.

8. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini

The best moment is when you make someone say Yes, a Happy & Confident Yes. This book walks you through the human psychology of persuasion and influence. A book every marketer and business owner must read. And everyone who wants to know the key to power even in a personal relationship.

9. The Obstacle Is the Way by Ryan Holiday

Everybody has their share of hurdles and tough times. How to not just get out of those obstacles but also turn them into opportunities – this book by Ryan Holiday tells beautifully with several stories. You’re sure to transform your thinking, mindset and even your life after this read.

Thanks to a dear friend, Nilesh Gandhi, who gifted me this book.

10. The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau

This is the book for those who can turn anything and everything they’re great at, into cash. This is the fine art of making money with absolutely limited looking skills. Chris shares a step by step guide to using your expertise into creating a success blueprint along with stories of 50 entrepreneurs who made billions start with $100.

11. Switch by Chip and Dan Heath

After Obstacles is the way, Switch is an equally compelling read to challenge our mindset and how we can turn the situations upside down with sensible, situational and rational thinking. A must read for everyone, leave business aside; the book is about a change at ease.

12. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey

There is no end to personal effectiveness and how one can achieve the highest levels of success by adopting excellent habits. Habits that support you every moment. With over 25 million copy sold worldwide, Stephen Covey shares the techniques of adopting seven habits of highly effective people in this book.

13. Don’t make me think

There is hardly any business without an online presence. And this should be one of the first books for every entrepreneur to understand the online mindset first. What makes people leave, what makes them stay, what are their expectations and how to meet them, this book will help you understand usability and get a website that your audience will love. Even you’re a tech-phobic; there’re enough valuable ideas to read leaving the tech stuff in this book.

14. What I didn’t learn in business school

This is a well-written business novel that exposes the limitation of strategy tools and demonstrates tactics for navigating the messy, human dynamics that can make or break a company’s strategy efforts.

A compelling read for any business owner to use grassroots level human psychology to excel at the business along with strategies revealing what’s taught vs., what you face in the real world.

15. The millionaire messenger

This is a game changer book for me that showed me the way ahead and took me to the next level of coaching and expert industry. A must have for every coach and independent consultant who wants to transform people’s life, and of course one’s life. With a 10 step powerful step by step plan, Brenden Burchard shows how to make an impact and millionaire empire with your life’s lessons.

16. The Little Prince

This is my recent read which I absolutely loved and fell for. It will call your inner child, make you think of life with a different perspective – the easier and simpler one. The book seems to be a kid’s book but I am not surprised why it’s world’s 3rd best seller and best read for grown-ups in true sense. I am thankful to Rajeev and Gagandeep for gifting this amazing read. Read my detailed review for The Little Prince.

My next read – The Meditations; It is divided into 12 books that chronicle different periods of Marcus’s life. Each book is not in chronological order and it was written for no one but himself. A central theme to Meditations is to analyze your judgement of self and others and developing a cosmic perspective. As he said “You have the power to strip away many superfluous troubles located wholly in your judgement, and to possess a large room for yourself embracing in thought the whole cosmos, to consider everlasting time, to think of the rapid change in the parts of each thing, of how short it is from birth until dissolution, and how the void before birth and that after dissolution are equally infinite”. He advocates finding one’s place in the universe and sees that everything came from nature, and so everything shall return to it in due time.

You may definitely have some other great books in mind, but the aforementioned list has some of the very best that have provided me with endless opportunities to explore the world I live in, and I am sure it will do the same for you. So, go to your bookshelf or order some of these in the list, and… happy reading![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]