Here are my top 15 book recommendations from 2017 and what I have learned from each one of them. (Not in any particular order). They are all great and have made a huge difference in my life in their own unique way.
- Homo Deus: Harari, Yuval Noah– The perfect balance of philosophy, spirituality, technology, and just how mankind operates. A glimpse of what to expect in upcoming years.
- Winning The Cloud– Trong Nguyen- It really made me respect and fall back in love with sales. The value that we are providing to our customers and all of the little intricacies of being in an Enterprise sales environment working with Fortune 1000 clients every day.
- Lewis Howes- The Mask of Masculinity: How Men Can Embrace Vulnerability, Create Strong Relationships, and Live Their Fullest Lives–This book taught me to be more authentic in life. The way society has it we as men cannot express our emotions openly without fear of judgment which causes a lot of anger, resentment, and it is just not healthy to live a life without truly expressing how you truly feel. Many of us put on a stoic mask to hide how we truly feel at any moment. Joker mask to mask the pain of childhood or trauma. The athletic mask to take out our aggressions in sometimes not a healthy manner that causes injuries. This book is highly recommended for anyone who wants to learn more about relationships and just how to live a much more authentic life.
- Ray Dalio- Principles: Life and Work. It is so important to create your own principles in life so you have the foundation and you have more awareness around what you care about. What your commitments are and your priorities. Everyone should make their own principles in life. It will help others understand you and more importantly help you understand yourself even better.
- Rejection Proof– Jia Jiang- How I Beat Fear and Became Invincible Through 100 Days of Rejection- I really learned how vulnerability and authenticity can lead you to a ton of success. His story is amazing in just putting yourself out there. He was able to meet Tony Hsieh and has accomplished so much from his blog and youtube videos. It will put a smile on your face guaranteed.
- Get a Financial Life: Personal Finance in Your Twenties and Thirties– Kobliner, Beth – Really great for personal finance and it really jumpstarted my need and practical use of budgeting tools. She puts it in really easy to understand concepts. This would be a good stocking stuffer for your children or anyone is struggling with budgeting and personal finance.
- The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success: A Practical Guide to the Fulfillment of Your Dreams–Deepak Chopra- It is a super simple and easy read but effective and potentially life-changing if you read it every 6 months or so.
- American Kingpin– The Epic Hunt for the Criminal Mastermind Behind the Silk Road by Nick Bilton- It is such an amazing tale of hustle, grit, and just believing in your passions. The storytelling is amazing here and it quite a page-turner.
- How Google Works -Eric Schmidt- Anyone running a company should read this. This should be required reading for anyone in management or is in business. It really teaches you that hiring is the most important aspect of any business and how autonomy can promote creative intelligence. This really talks about how Google scaled to become one of the most important companies in the history of the world.
- The Everything Store– Brad Stone- It talks about the rise of Amazon. His vision and all about providing value to the consumers. How to utilize big data and the importance of timing and never giving up on your dreams.
- Delivering Happiness- Tony Hsieh– What I got from this book is how to foster culture. What happens when you have a vision, how to build and scale a business. What great leadership looks like. Tony is a god amongst how to develop the culture within an organization and leading by example.
- The Start-Up of You– Reid Hoffman- In this new freelance economy. It is so important to develop your own personal brand because of social media. You have to adapt and be able to think of your career proactively.
- Idea Man- Paul Allen– A Memoir by the Cofounder of Microsoft -I learned that at the end of the day we all just care about leaving a legacy and making a difference and making the world a better place than when we entered it.
- Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike–Phil Knight- This is my favorite book of all time. Phil is so authentic and talks about grit. Just being able to believe in yourself and the Hero’s journey. He is just a great guy and loves to help everyone out. It’s all about the positive intentions.
- The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life by Mark Manson– I really enjoyed this book because it really talks about life what to make of it and how to not take life so seriously. It’s not as hard as you make it out to be.
