Books Everyone Should Read

Books are a secret weapon hiding in plain sight. These six essential reads changed my life.

10 years ago my life was hectic, stressful, and way out of balance. I certainly was not reading books.

Books were for high school English class. I was reading blog posts, magazines, and newspapers; if it was today I’d have been doom-scrolling on social media.

But then I read The 4-Hour Workweek and it started me on a path of self-discovery that has transformed my life in innumerable ways.

-> I quit my stable job at a prestigious engineering firm to spend almost a year exploring Southeast Asia with my wife and 3-year-old twins. We sold or donated 90%+ of everything we owned before leaving.

-> My wife and I bought, from Indonesia, a rotting shell of a house with a lot of potential back in the States. The first time we saw it in person we already owned it (and almost threw up). We have slowly and unsteadily gut renovated it. It’s now the home of our dreams and worth many times what paid for it.

-> I got interested in physical fitness, completed two marathons, and I’m now far stronger and more capable at 42 than I was even at 22.

-> I started an engineering business that puts people first while solving problems and making buildings work better. In six years the business has grown to a team of about 20 people across multiple states, several countries, and two continents.

-> At the same time I’ve found more balance and harmony in life than I have known since childhood. We’ve continued to travel, including a six-week U.S. National Parks road trip and a summer in France.

A fundamental part of all this is a change in how I saw the world, sparked by reading books.

I now read a lot more—over 30 books so far in 2024—but you can start small, like I did.

A typical book takes 4-6 hours to read. At a leisurely 30-60 minutes per week, it’s easy to read a book every two months.

That means that six books in a year is totally achievable—and six books can make a world of difference.

Commit to studying the following six books and implementing what you learn over the next year. Don’t wait for New Years; start now.

If you’ve already read any of them, I’ve included the next 3 on the “must read” list at the end of the post.

These six books are among the most impactful that I’ve come across. Each has changed my life significantly in one way or another. Everyone should read them.

They are…

• How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
• The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People by Stephen Covey
• Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
• The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss
• Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
• Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker

Here’s why they’re awesome…

How to Win Friends and Influence People

Remember that the people you are talking to are a hundred times more interested in themselves and their wants and problems than they are in you and your problems.

Carnegie’s classic is packed with gems to guide interpersonal interactions toward greater success. You can help make the world a more civil and productive place by reading it and practicing its teachings.

The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People

…the habit of effective interpersonal leadership is Think Win/Win.

Life is a positive sum game. Look for opportunities for everyone to level up and benefit. If it looks like the only way for you to win is for someone else to lose, keep looking.

Meditations

Not to feel exasperated, or defeated, or despondent because your days aren’t packed with wise and moral actions. But to get back up when you fail, to celebrate behaving like a human—however imperfectly—and fully embrace the pursuit that you’ve embarked on.

The wildest thing about Meditations is it was written about 2,000 years ago by the most powerful person in the world at the time and yet it comes across as completely grounded and approachable. The man was facing the same human challenges we all encounter each day and offers sound advice for overcoming them. This Stoic wisdom has stood the test of time.

The 4-Hour Workweek

Reality is negotiable.

The 4-Hour Workweek was the book that cracked the veneer of what I had perceived as my reality. It changed the way I viewed the world, showing me that many of the barriers I saw were only smoke and mirrors. This book opened the door to a parallel universe.

Think and Grow Rich

One of the main weaknesses of mankind is the average man’s familiarity with the word “impossible.”

If The 4-Hour Workweek is the door to a parallel universe, Think and Grow Rich is the guidebook. Don’t take it all literally; read, contemplate, and experiment. The rules of the game in this alternate reality require an open mind to understand.

Why We Sleep

Scientists have discovered a revolutionary new treatment that makes you live longer. It enhances your memory and makes you more creative. It makes you look more attractive. It keeps you slim and lowers food cravings. It protects you from cancer and dementia. It wards off colds and the flu. It lowers your risk of heart attacks and stroke, not to mention diabetes. You’ll even feel happier, less depressed, and less anxious.

The paragraph above describes the proven benefits of a full night of sleep. Sleep is foundational to success and happiness in life. It’s literally the most important thing. Stop what ever else you’re working on and fix your sleep first. Everything else is secondary.

Read some of these already? Here are three more impactful game-changers for your reading list:

-> How to Live (Derek Sivers)
-> Atomic Habits (James Clear)
-> The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership (Jim Dethmer, Diana Chapman, and Kaley Klemp)

That’s it for now! Happy reading!