I’ve been asked a couple times about book recommendations. There’s an incredible amount of information available for free on the internet, but I wanted to provide a list of five of the most impactful books I’ve ever read.
Personal Development:
How to Win Friends and Influence People: Dale Carnegie is a legend for a reason, his advice works. This is a must-read for anyone in a role that requires interacting with other people. The book was written before World War 2 and is not always the most politically correct, but learning how to take an interest in someone else and effectively communicate will help you throughout your career and life.
Taking Responsibility: Nathaniel Braden. This is an excellent timeless philosophy book about taking control of your own life and doing so through ethical individualism. Braden holds a PhD in Psychology and is also known for his work around the Psychology of self-esteem.
Wall Street:
Barbarians at the Gate: I’m not sure if its the close connection I have to some of the geography or knowing people who personally know characters in this book, but Barbarians at the Gate details corporate excess, the capitalistic process of activist investing and resolving corporate excess, and the wild investment banking/junk bond days of the 1980s. The book reads like a fiction novel but is one of the great business stores of the 20th century. Personally, I expect to see another round of this in the future. It will not be leveraged/management buyouts as much as it’ll be activist investors trying to sway index funds and their proxy advisors to vote with them.
Den of Thieves: If you want to understand the inner-workings of Wall Street, this is your book. Most of the high level leaders on Wall Street were underlings during the 1980s junk bond craze. The methods of earnings change, but the mindset does not. This is a must read for anyone close to finance.
Money Mindset:
The Millionaire Next Door: In my opinion, this is a must-read book for anyone beginning their financial journey. The term “rich” is often exchanged when someone should be described as “income affluent”. There’s a different between earning/spending a lot of money and having a lot of money. The Millionaire Next Door was outstanding and eye opening research into who the millionaires actually are in the United States vs. who people believe the millionaires are.
Do you have any books you think should be added to this list? Please share below!
