10 Best Books Every Aspiring Entrepreneur Must Read by Entrepreneur

Title: The Achievement Habit: Stop Wishing, Start Doing, and Take Command of Your Life

The co-founder of the Stanford d.School introduces the power of design thinking to help you achieve goals you never thought possible. Achievement can be learned. It´s a muscle, and once you learn how to flex it, you´ll be able to meet life´s challenges and fulfill your goals, Bernard Roth, Academic Director at the Stanford d.school contends. In The Achievement Habit, Roth applies the remarkable insights that stem from design thinking previously used to solve large scale projects to help us realize the power for positive change we all have within us. Roth leads us through a series of discussions, stories, recommendations, and exercises designed to help us create a different experience in our lives. He shares invaluable insights we can use to gain confidence to do what we´ve always wanted and overcome obstacles that hamper us from reaching our potential, including: Don´t try DO; Excuses are self-defeating; Believe you are a doer and achiever and you´ll become one; Build resiliency by reinforcing what you do rather than what you accomplish; Learn to ignore distractions that prevent you from achieving your goals; Become open to learning from your own experience and from those around you; And more. The brain is complex and is always working with our egos to sabotage our best intentions. But we can be mindful; we can create habits that make our lives better. Thoughtful and powerful The Achievement Habit shows you how.

Author(s): Bernard Roth

ISBN 13: 9780062356109

This book is in (2) other book lists, learn more.

Title: The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph

The Obstacle is the Way has become a cult classic, beloved by men and women around the world who apply its wisdom to become more successful at whatever they do. Its many fans include a former governor and movie star (Arnold Schwarzenegger), a hip hop icon (LL Cool J), an Irish tennis pro (James McGee), an NBC sportscaster (Michele Tafoya), and the coaches and players of winning teams like the New England Patriots, Seattle Seahawks, Chicago Cubs, and University of Texas men´s basketball team. The book draws its inspiration from stoicism, the ancient Greek philosophy of enduring pain or adversity with perseverance and resilience. Stoics focus on the things they can control, let go of everything else, and turn every new obstacle into an opportunity to get better, stronger, tougher. As Marcus Aurelius put it nearly 2000 years ago: The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way. Ryan Holiday shows us how some of the most successful people in history from John D. Rockefeller to Amelia Earhart to Ulysses S. Grant to Steve Jobs have applied stoicism to overcome difficult or even impossible situations. Their embrace of these principles ultimately mattered more than their natural intelligence, talents, or luck. If you´re feeling frustrated, demoralized, or stuck in a rut, this book can help you turn your problems into your biggest advantages. And along the way it will inspire you with dozens of true stories of the greats from every age and era.

Author(s): Ryan Holiday

ISBN 13: 9781591846352
Pages: 201

This book is in (8) other book lists, learn more.

Title: Summary: Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss

Disclaimer: This is a summary and not the original book.

Author(s): Millionaire Mindset Publishing

ISBN 13: 9781979876643
Pages: 84

Title: The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future

In The $100 Startup, Chris Guillebeau shows you how to lead of life of adventure, meaning and purpose and earn a good living.
 
Still in his early thirties, Chris is on the verge of completing a tour of every country on earth he´s already visited more than 175 nations and yet he´s never held a real job or earned a regular paycheck.  Rather, he has a special genius for turning ideas into income, and he uses what he earns both to support his life of adventure and to give back. 
 
There are many others like Chris those who´ve found ways to opt out of traditional employment and create the time and income to pursue what they find meaningful.  Sometimes, achieving that perfect blend of passion and income doesn´t depend on shelving what you currently do.  You can start small with your venture, committing little time or money, and wait to take the real plunge when you're sure it's successful.
 
In preparing to write this book, Chris identified 1,500 individuals who have built businesses earning $50,000 or more from a modest investment (in many cases, $100 or less), and from that group he´s chosen to focus on the 50 most intriguing case studies.  In nearly all cases, people with no special skills discovered aspects of their personal passions that could be monetized, and were able to restructure their lives in ways that gave them greater freedom and fulfillment.
 
Here, finally, distilled into one easy-to-use guide, are the most valuable lessons from those who´ve learned how to turn what they do into a gateway to self-fulfillment.  It´s all about finding the intersection between your expertise even if you don´t consider it such -- and what other people will pay for.  You don´t need an MBA, a business plan or even employees.  All you need is a product or service that springs from what you love to do anyway, people willing to pay, and a way to get paid.
 
Not content to talk in generalities, Chris tells you exactly how many dollars his group of unexpected entrepreneurs required to get their projects up and running; what these individuals did in the first weeks and months to generate significant cash; some of the key mistakes they made along the way, and the crucial insights that made the business stick.  Among Chris´s key principles: if you´re good at one thing, you´re probably good at something else; never teach a man to fish sell him the fish instead; and in the battle between planning and action, action wins.
 
In ancient times, people who were dissatisfied with their lives dreamed of finding magic lamps, buried treasure, or streets paved with gold.  Today, we know that it´s up to us to change our lives.  And the best part is, if we change our own life, we can help others change theirs.  This remarkable book will start you on your way.

Author(s): Chris Guillebeau

ISBN 13: 9780307951526
Pages: 304

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Title: Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World

One of the most valuable skills in our economy is becoming increasingly rare. If you master this skill, you'll achieve extraordinary results. Deep work is the ability to focus without distraction on a cognitively demanding task. It's a skill that allows you to quickly master complicated information and produce better results in less time. Deep work will make you better at what you do and provide the sense of true fulfillment that comes from craftsmanship. In short, deep work is like a super power in our increasingly competitive twenty-first century economy. And yet, most people have lost the ability to go deep-spending their days instead in a frantic blur of e-mail and social media, not even realizing there's a better way. In DEEP WORK, author and professor Cal Newport flips the narrative on impact in a connected age. Instead of arguing distraction is bad, he instead celebrates the power of its opposite. Dividing this book into two parts, he first makes the case that in almost any profession, cultivating a deep work ethic will produce massive benefits. He then presents a rigorous training regimen, presented as a series of four "rules," for transforming your mind and habits to support this skill. A mix of cultural criticism and actionable advice, DEEP WORK takes the reader on a journey through memorable stories -- from Carl Jung building a stone tower in the woods to focus his mind, to a social media pioneer buying a round-trip business class ticket to Tokyo to write a book free from distraction in the air -- and no-nonsense advice, such as the claim that most serious professionals should quit social media and that you should practice being bored. DEEP WORK is an indispensable guide to anyone seeking focused success in a distracted world.

Author(s): Cal Newport

ISBN 13: 9781455586691

This book is in (4) other book lists, learn more.

Title: The 10 X Rule: The Only Difference Between Success and Failure

Praise for 10x Rule

"Love this book. The 10X Rule is dead on right! It boldly takes on the biggest issue most people skip and then wonder why they didn't reach their goals: WORK!" Larry Winget, New York Times bestselling author of Your Kids Are Your Own Fault and The Idiot Factor

"Grant Cardone is the master at showing people exactly what they MUST do to create the success they desire! This book is like a nuclear weapon for the reader!" Barry Poznick, Executive Producer of How'd You Get So Rich? and Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?

"If you don't think goal setting is important in life, don't waste your time reading The 10X Rule. If you do . . . Grant has set a new benchmark on the subject with his new book. Give it to a friend or colleague and it will make a huge difference in their life." Bill Jenkins, National Sales Director, Kawasaki Motors Corp., USA

"In The 10X Rule, entrepreneur Grant Cardone shows how to achieve success no matter your background, genetic make-up, or personal connections. In his view, success stems from working ten times harder than anyone else and displaying a 'domination mentality.' It's a how-to book on how to gain the moxie, chutzpah, and relentless drive necessary to succeed." Gary Stern, coauthor of Minority Rules: Turn Your Ethnicity into a Competitive Edge; journalist for The Wall Street Journal and Investor's Business Daily

"Grant Cardone has hit the nail on the head with The 10X Rule telling you the real reason people succeed greatly in any area of life!" Brian tracy, Chairman and CEO, Brian Tracy International; bestselling author of over 45 Books

Author(s): Grant Cardone

ISBN 13: 9780470627600
Pages: 256

This book is in (5) other book lists, learn more.

Title: Meditations

Stirring reflections on the human condition from a warrior and emperor provide a fascinating glimpse into the mind and personality of a highly principled Roman of the 2nd century.

Author(s): Marcus Aurelius;George Long

ISBN 13: 9780486298238
Pages: 99

This book is in (4) other book lists, learn more.

Title: Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion

Influence, the classic book on persuasion, explains the psychology of why people say "yes" and how to apply these understandings. Dr. Robert Cialdini is the seminal expert in the rapidly expanding field of influence and persuasion. His thirty-five years of rigorous, evidence-based research along with a three-year program of study on what moves people to change behavior has resulted in this highly acclaimed book.

You'll learn the six universal principles, how to use them to become a skilled persuader and how to defend yourself against them. Perfect for people in all walks of life, the principles of Influence will move you toward profound personal change and act as a driving force for your success.

Author(s): Robert B. Cialdini

ISBN 13: 9780061241895
Pages: 336

This book is in (14) other book lists, learn more.

Title: The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers

Ben Horowitz, cofounder of Andreessen Horowitz and one of Silicon Valley's most respected and experienced entrepreneurs, offers essential advice on building and running a startup practical wisdom for managing the toughest problems business school doesn´t cover, based on his popular ben´s blog. While many people talk about how great it is to start a business, very few are honest about how difficult it is to run one. Ben Horowitz analyzes the problems that confront leaders every day, sharing the insights he´s gained developing, managing, selling, buying, investing in, and supervising technology companies. A lifelong rap fanatic, he amplifies business lessons with lyrics from his favorite songs, telling it straight about everything from firing friends to poaching competitors, cultivating and sustaining a CEO mentality to knowing the right time to cash in. Filled with his trademark humor and straight talk, The Hard Thing About Hard Things is invaluable for veteran entrepreneurs as well as those aspiring to their own new ventures, drawing from Horowitz's personal and often humbling experiences.

Author(s): Ben Horowitz

ISBN 13: 9780062273208
Pages: 304

This book is in (6) other book lists, learn more.

Title: The Lean Startup

Most startups fail. But many of those failures are preventable. The Lean Startup is a new approach being adopted across the globe, changing the way companies are built and new products are launched. Eric Ries defines a startup as an organization dedicated to creating something new under conditions of extreme uncertainty. This is just as true for one person in a garage or a group of seasoned professionals in a Fortune 500 boardroom. What they have in common is a mission to penetrate that fog of uncertainty to discover a successful path to a sustainable business. The Lean Startup approach fosters companies that are both more capital efficient and that leverage human creativity more effectively. Inspired by lessons from lean manufacturing, it relies on validated learning, rapid scientific experimentation, as well as a number of counter-intuitive practices that shorten product development cycles, measure actual progress without resorting to vanity metrics, and learn what customers really want. It enables a company to shift directions with agility, altering plans inch by inch, minute by minute. Rather than wasting time creating elaborate business plans, The Lean Startup offers entrepreneurs - in companies of all sizes - a way to test their vision continuously, to adapt and adjust before it´s too late. Ries provides a scientific approach to creating and managing successful startups in a age when companies need to innovate more than ever.

Author(s): Eric Ries

ISBN 13: 9780307887894
Pages: 320

This book is in (8) other book lists, learn more.