Business / Motivational Books ?

[Todd W]

What are some of your favorite Business related books, and or authors?

Some business related topics I consider are procrastination, wealth, motivational, guideness, etc...

I personally like Brian Tracy, Jay Abraham and books that are more of a guide than a story (Anthony Robbins). Storys are nice and inspiring but after a while you forget the story or it becomes less affective while a plan you can continue to use daily/often to get results!

Many will probaly ask why do you read those type of books? My answer is simply if all it takes is money to learn something new that will benefit me over my lifetime then it's worth it! I enjoy learning new techniques and gaining different views of life and events!

After you read 5+ books (related) from different authors you will start to realize that a lot share the same ideas and fundemantles but not all go about the same way of presenting it. This is why I to this day contiue to buy new books! A topic I previously covered may be covered in a new way and I may learn something NEW about an already known topic! This is growth and I don't see myself ever wanting to stop learning and growing.

If you start reading any of these type of books with a closed mind you will hate them; you have to go in WANTING to better yourself and or learn something! Tell yourself if you find one useful tool or learn something NEW you will be glad you purchased the book and I guarantee most people will be glad they made the purchase!

My Books:

Bryan Tracy Books:
-Eat That Frog!
-Goals!
-Million Dollar Habbits
-Create Your Own Future
-The 21 Secrets of Selft-Made Millionares

Jay Abraham
-Unknown/Lost

Anthony Robbins
-Get The Edge

Cody Lundin
-98.6 Degrees (The Art of keeping your *** alive!)

Laurence Gonzales
-Deep Survival

I also have a couple older NLP books I got for enjoyment and to learn about the topic simply because of interest.


Those are the only ones I have in the office so I will update it once I write down some books that are in the bedroom.

Who do you like?
What books do you like?
What TYPE of books do you like?

[r2d2]

Good to hear someone talking good words about this type of book. Its easy to dismiss them as garbage, but I have an open mind and have read a few. And yes, when you see them essentially telling the same themes but in a different way, it does make you think there is something to it.

I have read (or listened to the audio version in the car - so I dont feel like Im wasting time driving):

Richest Man in Babylon - George Clason
Rich Dad, Poor Dad - Robert Kiyosaki (probably my favourite)
Think and grow rich - Napoleon Hill
How to win friends and influence people - Dale Carnegie
Greatest Salesman in the World - Og Mandino
Negotiating stuff - Roger Dawson

All useful stuff in these books. Also good when you see successful people and you see numerous traits in their personality that have been talked about in the books. Almost as if they have been reading them as well.

[chromate]

I'm not a huge reader of offline stuff. I never really seem to get time unless it's some kind of "how to" type book.

I found this book motivating as well as interesting.

Losing my Virginity - Richard Branson.

[Todd W]

Good to hear someone talking good words about this type of book. Its easy to dismiss them as garbage, but I have an open mind and have read a few. And yes, when you see them essentially telling the same themes but in a different way, it does make you think there is something to it.

I have read (or listened to the audio version in the car - so I dont feel like Im wasting time driving):

Richest Man in Babylon - George Clason
Rich Dad, Poor Dad - Robert Kiyosaki (probably my favourite)
Think and grow rich - Napoleon Hill
How to win friends and influence people - Dale Carnegie
Greatest Salesman in the World - Og Mandino
Negotiating stuff - Roger Dawson

All useful stuff in these books. Also good when you see successful people and you see numerous traits in their personality that have been talked about in the books. Almost as if they have been reading them as well.


Yeah, I have Rich Dad, Poor Dad as well :)
Think and Grow Rich (new version) is on the way, from what I`ve read it's AWESOME and others seem to use a lot of what he talks about. Now i`m not sure if that's because of how long it is people think he is the originator or what, either way I`m sure I`ll learn something in the thousand pages. :D

Chromoate I had the same problem previously however if you set aside 30minutes to an hour a day to read you may find it's a NICE enjoyable break that actually motivates you to work harder when you DO work. Not to mention you may learn some cool techniques! ;)

[chromate]

Yeah, I really should read more. I try and dedicate some time each day to learning RenderMan cause I find it interesting. But don't really manage to get into a good pattern. I just need to stop being so lazy! Probably something these books could help me with :) haha

[Todd W]

Yeah, I really should read more. I try and dedicate some time each day to learning RenderMan cause I find it interesting. But don't really manage to get into a good pattern. I just need to stop being so lazy! Probably something these books could help me with :) haha

Ha, true :)

[James]

You know, I've heard a lot about these rich dad/poor dad books. I think I might pick it up some time.

While I only read his newsletter, a few good tips I learned back in the day came from Cory Rudle's Marketing Tips newsletter.

[AndyH]

I walked into a book store the other day, for the first time in probably 4 years and looked at that "Rich Dad/Poor Dad" book. From the page or two I read it seemed pretty interesting.

[Todd W]

You know, I've heard a lot about these rich dad/poor dad books. I think I might pick it up some time.

While I only read his newsletter, a few good tips I learned back in the day came from Cory Rudle's Marketing Tips newsletter.

Ive read Corey's newsletters and his "binder" (book)... good information but very basic and most is outdated now. (Relating to internet marketing.) I think most people on WSP would find Coreys' book a little to vague and outdated but then again it's been a couple years since I`ve read it so I may learn something I didn't even realize was important back then!

[Cutter]

Check out "Automatic Wealth" by Michael Masterson. Its a new book . I haven't been able to read the whole thing, but from what I have read it is a very good book.

Most money books either focus on:

1) Get rich from stocks fast
2) Save & invest and get rich over 30 years

In "Automatic Wealth" Michael shows how to become wealthy over a period of 7-14 years by cranking up your income & investing.

The definition of wealthy in nearly all these books is about a million dollars, which is a lot better than nothing, but doesn't go very far today (people living in debt doesn't help this situation.)

[Mike]

I'm not a huge reader of offline stuff. I never really seem to get time unless it's some kind of "how to" type book.

I found this book motivating as well as interesting.

Losing my Virginity - Richard Branson.

Superb book, probably my favourite as well :)

I think the best part of that is how he talks about his days at school. He had his own office (at school) where he organised his own magazine. I think that alone says why he has become so successful. That magazine was something to do with how Virgin Records was formed as well, I believe.

[chromate]

Yep. I *think* I heard that he was gonna release a new book too picking up where that one left off. Hope so.


The definition of wealthy in nearly all these books is about a million dollars, which is a lot better than nothing, but doesn't go very far today (people living in debt doesn't help this situation.)

Depends if it's a million in assets or a million bank balance. Point is, with a million your investment options are huge. Would I consider that rich? Yes. No doubt about it. How greedy do we need to be?! :)

[Westech]

"The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" by Stephen Covey is a classic.

[Cutter]

Depends if it's a million in assets or a million bank balance. Point is, with a million your investment options are huge. Would I consider that rich? Yes. No doubt about it. How greedy do we need to be?! :)

It depends on what lifestyle you want to live; some people just assume with a million dollars they can buy a nice house, ferrari, boat, pay all your friend's rent, etc. but if you do that the money dissappears very fast (the same can happen if you have a few hundred million too -- ask Mike Tyson :D )

[Todd W]

It depends on what lifestyle you want to live; some people just assume with a million dollars they can buy a nice house, ferrari, boat, pay all your friend's rent, etc. but if you do that the money dissappears very fast (the same can happen if you have a few hundred million too -- ask Mike Tyson :D )

It depends how you use your 1 million to buy your house/boat etc.

1 millions dollars will get you a NICE home around where I live but nothing to write home about.... Hell the house I rent right now is a 750k home.

The way I look at it is 1 million is NOT rich but I can take that 1 million and make myself RICH. Investing in property/rentals, and stock market and mutual funds..

If you got a million in the bank or market within 3 years you are making enough to buy a million dollar home where your 1 million in the bank wont need to be touched. 1 Million Dollar Home, 30 Year Loan @ 5% is ~ $2800 a month. A couple making a decent living could make a purcahse like this...
Use your milion to buy 2 or 3 rentals and that will pay for your million dollar home (monthly) and you will have maybe 100k left to invest. Now you have 2 or 3 homes with equity and can re-invest in more homes if you want.. A lot of money can make a lot more ;)

If I had my million I`d buy a couple rentals and invest the rest.

[moonshield]

where do you live? CA?

I figure the best investments right now are starting companies and designing them to be sold for a profit. A few years ago, and maybe today, you could start up a telecom for a mear $50,000 and turn around and sell it within 4 years for $12,000,000. Its all about first movers and making your money work for you.

Bill Gates didn't become super rich from investing in real estate, the stock market and mutual funds. The guys from Google did not do anything of the sort either. They are valued based on their shares of their company. They could pull out and make a hell of a lot of money.

I have a friend whose parents owned a very large welding supplies company which brought over $200,000,000 a year, while his father inherited it from his father, he still focused all his energies and drive into this company and then sold his share at a pretty nice point. He (my friend) and future generations of the family are set for life. They have connections and the whole nine yards.

It takes work. There is no silver bullet. A know people who have gone to the grave looking for that bullet. Regretful indeed. When you work for your money you will not throw it all away like Tyson did. (as mentioned in a previous post).

[Todd W]

where do you live? CA?

I figure the best investments right now are starting companies and designing them to be sold for a profit. A few years ago, and maybe today, you could start up a telecom for a mear $50,000 and turn around and sell it within 4 years for $12,000,000. Its all about first movers and making your money work for you.

Bill Gates didn't become super rich from investing in real estate, the stock market and mutual funds. The guys from Google did not do anything of the sort either. They are valued based on their shares of their company. They could pull out and make a hell of a lot of money.

I have a friend whose parents owned a very large welding supplies company which brought over $200,000,000 a year, while his father inherited it from his father, he still focused all his energies and drive into this company and then sold his share at a pretty nice point. He (my friend) and future generations of the family are set for life. They have connections and the whole nine yards.

It takes work. There is no silver bullet. A know people who have gone to the grave looking for that bullet. Regretful indeed. When you work for your money you will not throw it all away like Tyson did. (as mentioned in a previous post).


Theres a lot of different ways to make money but to think you can spend 50k and in 4 years sell it for over 10million easily you are kidding no one but yourself. It MAY be possible but will take hard work, and risks, and also 4 years.. I want to build up steady and highly profitable sites/ecom. stores and invest the money to make more while living off the income of the sites. There's a lot of ways to make money with money and as long as you are careful and know what you are doing you can make more money, how much? Well that depends on what risks you are willing to take!

I live in Folsom California rigt on the edge of Granite Bay/Roseville.

[moonshield]

ITS NOT EASY. Thats what I was trying to stress. It takes a hell of a lot of work.

Right now I work 75+ a hours a week right now (self employeed) and make enough to pay my server bill plus pay off college. (college is really cheap here). I am working on BIG things though that will hopefully work out.

[Todd W]

ITS NOT EASY. Thats what I was trying to stress. It takes a hell of a lot of work.

Right now I work 75+ a hours a week right now (self employeed) and make enough to pay my server bill plus pay off college. (college is really cheap here). I am working on BIG things though that will hopefully work out.

Ah ok :)

Best of luck to you, and your business!

[Chris]

A million dollars in investment capital is excellent. You could, without much a stretch, turn it into 5-10 million in 10 years. Which then is a significant chunk of change. With 10m you can buy a 4m house, spend 1m on cars/boats/whatever, and still have 5m left over for reinvesting.

[moonshield]

indeed, the old tale of the rich getting richer. A 4m dollar house would be quite the house in an average place.

[Cutter]

I think the real key is combining that 1 million of investing with something you are an expert in, hard work, and a little risk.

I've heard successful people (10+ million net worth) say they usually end up losing money on the investments they don't know a lot about.

[Todd W]

A million dollars in investment capital is excellent. You could, without much a stretch, turn it into 5-10 million in 10 years. Which then is a significant chunk of change. With 10m you can buy a 4m house, spend 1m on cars/boats/whatever, and still have 5m left over for reinvesting.

Correct! Hard part for most American's (and majority of humans) is to save a lot and not continue spending when they make more. Our spending rises to our income so it's hard to say STOP when you tell yourself you are making more this year than you did last and want a new toy...

[Chris]

I missed moonshields earlier post...

People may not have made hundreds of millions or billions in real estate (though, Trump did), but hundreds of thousands of people (or millions even) have made millions in it. Its more or less a sure thing. Starting a company for 50k and hoping to sell it for 12m in 5 years, thats a gamble and for every success story you hear there will be many who failed.

[James]

People may not have made hundreds of millions or billions in real estate (though, Trump did)
Yes, but he was also millions in debt at times too; the markets are very unpredictable, and what was once an empire can be crumbled to a single man in a matter of months. This is why it's so rare that someone succeeds (especially for how long he has) in real estate (I mean succeeds on the level of other big-name things, like getting 10 million+).

[moonshield]

and the real estate market will crumbel (in the suburbs) within the next 5 years due to expensive oil.


Starting a company for 50k and hoping to sell it for 12m in 5 years, thats a gamble and for every success story you hear there will be many who failed.

Well of course, but its a possible way to make the money.

[moonshield]

Yes, but he was also millions in debt at times too; the markets are very unpredictable, and what was once an empire can be crumbled to a single man in a matter of months. This is why it's so rare that someone succeeds (especially for how long he has) in real estate (I mean succeeds on the level of other big-name things, like getting 10 million+).

Well there are much richer people in the real estate business then trump. (That sorta contradicts my previous post :) )
Like the family that bought the Sears Tower Building out of pocket to the tune of $980 million. Trump just plays with hype to get his name out. He has gone into the red again.

[Cutter]

Trump's success is partly because he had money to start out with -- something like 20 to 30 million I think. He also has Manhatten real estate which has become some of the most valuable in the world.

Real estate allows you to leverage yourself; you only need to put up a percentage as a down payment and theoreticly the rent pays the mortgage, and the bills (repairs, etc.) And maybe, even money in the pocket. For most, the real return comes on a sale.

The problem comes in when the rent can't be covered and the value of the property goes down (it does happen.) Now, if you have enough assets to cover the rent and expenses you are fine and can wait a few years for the market to swing back.

The problem occurs when you absolutely must have someone paying the rent. If you fall into this catagory then you need to realise real estate is a risky investment (more so for some markets than others.)

The last statistics I heard have 30%+ of mortgages at interest only. When the fed raises the rates (assuming you live in the United States) there are going to be a lot of bankruptcies and forclosures (although I suspect the majority of these interest only mortgages are in the real hot markets; I don't know.) This will be the time to invest in good real estate.

I'm not a real estate expert, and I don't own any. These are just my views. If you are willing to take risk there are potential big short term profits. If you want to invest long term, buy waterfront property, wait 20, 30 years, there is no way you can go wrong ;)

[moonshield]

60% are variable interest mortgages! A scary thought indeed.

[r2d2]

Yes, but he was also millions in debt at times too;

Trump was $300m in debt at one point - he walked past a tramp and thought 'Damn, that man is $300m richer than me'. Guess it must have turned round now though... or not by the sounds of it.

Real estate seems a sure but slow way to riches. Real estate is never going to make you rich like building your own company and selling shares - it seems kind of a good place to hold assets after you gain them.