Reading books as part of my daily routine has opened my mind to a world that I never thought possible. Is reading a part of your routine? About a year ago, I read the book, The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson, and it made a point that if you read 10 pages of a good book every day, by the end of the year you would have read around 10 good books.
Imagine that! Most people read at a rate 250-300 words per minute and the average book has around 300 words per page. That means in 10-15 minutes, you can read 10 pages of a good book. Do you have 10 minutes a day to change your life? Below is a list of books I highly recommend you reading and the order which I recommend picking them up.
Happy reading!
How to Win Friends and Influence People: Dale Carnegie
If you followed the link in the subtitle already, you may be wondering how a book written over 75 years ago can be relevant in today’s modern society. While the author does use examples from a 1930’s world, the principles outlined in his book are timeless.
Another deterrent to reading this book may be its title. I will be honest, I didn’t read this book right away because I didn’t feel like I needed to win any friends. Fast forward 6 months after I read it and I am teaching it to my team at work. I think I would’ve titled the book: How to get people to do what you want them to do.
That basically sums up the book. The principles teach you how to speak and treat people in your everyday life to win them over. I have used these tactics on people that don’t desire to even be in my presence and I still get what I need accomplished.
The book is structured with 4 parts and a total of 30 principles. If you stop reading this blog here and read this one book, your life will be changed.
The Artist’s Way: Julia Cameron
This book is second on my list, but can easily go side by side for the number one spot on my list of must-read books. I strongly caution you on picking this book up. If you read this book and follow the tasks you will never be the same again. I know that is a bold statement, but whether you think you are an artist or not, The Artist’s Way will open up something in your life that you never knew was there.
This book requires both a daily routine and a commitment to adhere to the activities of each week. This is not a book that you will read and be entertained by, but it will certainly change your life. It is also one of those books that after you read the last chapter, the next day you will want to pick it back up and start over with chapter one.
The Slight Edge: Jeff Olson
Finally some light reading!
I say that, but in reality, The Slight Edge is just as powerful by its predecessors of my list. The biggest difference with this book is that it is more modern than the other two. Jeff Olson mentions in this book several times that he is not a writer. He is a motivational speaker and teaches leadership all over the world.
His purpose in his book is to put his fundamental principles into print so we can all improve without attending one of his seminars. His writing style is very easy to read and not hard to get through. I recommend with this book, make sure you have highlighter ready because each chapter has nuggets that you can apply in real time.
The Love Dare: Stephen & Alex Kendrick
I read this book last month and blogged about it, so if you want some day to day insight, then feel free to check them out. It is my third time reading this book in 3 years and I have plans to read it again in 2021. I will probably not blog about it again, but who knows.
The allure to this book is to people trying to improve their relationship with their spouse. If you are not married I still recommend the read. There are daily challenges and sometimes they involve your spouse. If you are not married, just ignore that part of the book, or pick someone special in your life to enjoy the dares with.
The purpose, however, is to correct how we love people. The book deals with multiple facets of our life that our current society has twisted causing us to love selfishly. I cannot promise that it will change your relationship, but it will change how you view relationships.
Think & Grow Rich: Napoleon Hill
I will be honest, this one is a tough read. Napoleon Hill wrote this book around the same time as Dale Carnegie wrote How to Win Friends and Influence People. He as a respected business consultant to multi-million dollar businesses as well as politicians. His principles have made more millionaires thank any other program to date.
The book is further down my list because it is a challenging read. The principles, however, are just as life altering as the previous reads. The book is only 167 pages long, depending on the version you pick up, and 15 chapters long. I recommend reading the book in smaller chunks. This is the next book I plan on reading after The War of Art.
The War of Art: Steven Pressfield
Don’t read the reviews on this book. Normally I read reviews before making purchases on Amazon, but the reviews I read online completely missed the point of this book. This is the type of book you read in one of two ways. Either you sit down and read it in about an hour, or you read it for 5 minutes a day.
The length of each chapters range from 1 paragraph to a couple of pages. Regardless of length, however, every chapter is huge. Steven does not offer brand new insights if you read the list above, but he puts them in easy to read and relatable sections. I often read this book and I am reminded of principles I may have forgotten.
This book can easily be at the top of the list and if you find some of the other books too dry, then I recommend picking this one up.
Foreplay 101: Jonathan Biles
Yes, this is a completely shameless plug, but I wanted to offer this one to you for free. The link in this subhead will send you to a page to get the ebook version emailed to you right away.
I wrote this book because my wife, a Pure Romance consultant, has encountered countless women who their love life suffers at the hand of their mate. The world we live in has molded so many men to be selfish lovers, and then wonder why their mate is sexually frustrated or stray from their relationship.
This book focuses on how men can love their mate from a real place and in turn, improve their love life. I wrote the book for men, but my best reviews have come from women. Happy reading and let me know if you enjoyed the book. I would love it if you could review the book on Amazon after your read.
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