Updated Reading List 10/14/2015

My goal to read 50 books has been a daunting one.  But I must say, it has been HUGELY impactful to me as a business owner and a person.  On the other hand, when you read this many, it's hard to keep track!  So here is a list...and what I think of them.  More to come!

Start by Jon Acuff:  Great book to start off the new year!  I like Jon's style and it's a great motivator if you want to get yourself going!  Love the line "Punch Fear in the Face!"  (Side note:  Since I wrote this I saw Jon speak...awesome.  If you get a chance you should see him!  He has a new book called Do Over!)

Switch on Your Brain by Dr. Caroline Leaf:  Not a bad read.  Ties bible lessons to science on happiness and productivity.

The Self Made Billionaire Effect by John Sviokla and Mitch Cohen:  Not bad but probably my least favorite so far this year.

Transform by Jeff Haden:  Really liked this one.  Lots of Jeff's best stuff in one place.  Great book to read one chapter per day.  Jeff was also nice enough to spend some time on my web show! 

Profit First by Mike Michalowicz:  Love this one!  Several times I felt like he was following me around!  :)  Highly recommend this one for anyone who has a business.  This has really changed the way we account in ours.  Mike was also a great guest on Delivering Marketing Joy! 

What To Do When It's Your Turn by Seth Godin:  Really good reminder that it's always our turn to step up and make a difference.  Quick read...great one to share!

Scaling Up by Verne Harnish:  This was a good one but I should not have gotten it on audio.  This would have been better as an actual book.  Great things to make me think...but would have gotten more out of it if I could see the references.

Pumpkin Plan: by Mike Michalowicz.  This is another great book for those trying to figure out how to grow your business.  "The riches are in the niches."  I really like Mike's books.  Recommend for sure!

Mastering Monday:  by John Beckett.  This is a good reminder that Monday does not stink if your work (and your life) have a purpose.

New Rules of Sales and Service:  by David Meerman Scott.  If you are not a believer that you can make a huge difference in your business by "giving first," read this one.  He lays out a great case for being a content leader.

The Automatic Customer:  by John Warrillow.  This is another game changer for me this year.  This one opened my mind that nearly any business can be a "subscription business."  I am getting ready to launch a new business and the idea came from this book!  Love it.

Duct Tape Selling: by John Jantsch.  The beginning of this and New Rules were similar.  But I liked that the 2nd half dug into the "how" a little more.  Good one.

Invisible Selling Machine: by Ryan Deiss.  It's a quick read for sure.  But if you want to become a real pro in email marketing, this has some weight.  I use Infusionsoft and I am going through this book to make sure I am setting sequences better.

Train Your Brain For Success: by Roger Seip.  Love the tips in here on how to read faster and remember more.  Once you get through that, good tips on being more successful in life.

SCRUM:  The Art of Doing Twice The Work in Half the Time:  by Jeff Sutherland.  Scrum is a concept created in software development.  If you are getting ready to create a new company or launch a new project, this is a great read first!

Awesomely Simple: by John Spence.  So many times in business, we over think.  We over analyze.  In reality, business success is simple.  This book highlights the down and dirty truth about success in business.

The Undefeated Mind: by Alex Lickerman.  If you are struggling with any issues in life, this book is a great resource to show you how to be resilient.  Dark at times...but shows real life examples on how to overcome.

The Power of Money: Several Speakers.  I thought this was a book but was actually a compilation of teachers.  There are always nuggets of wisdom in any book (and this one had them) but it was not what I expected.

Mastermind Dinners: Jayson Gaignard.  This one was definitely short and sweet.  Jason takes networking to the next level by curating Mastermind Dinners.  Interesting concept for sure.

Nail It Then Scale It: by Nathan Furr and Paul Ahlstrom.  Real similarities to the Scrum concept.  The book says the way we create businesses is broken.  I enjoyed this one.  It's on my mind as I ready to launch a new project.

It Takes More Than A Big Smile, A Good Idea and a Twitter Account: by Wes Schaeffer.  This has some real nuggets.  It's a compilation of blog posts from Wes.  Great for sales professionals and sales managers.

Procrastinate on Purpose: by Rory Vaden.  I really liked this one.  Good for anyone that is trying to "manage time."  Not easy!  Good insights in this one!  

The Talent Code: by Daniel Coyle.  Coyle studies the "talent hotbeds" of the world and discovers that the secret is not in their DNA, it's in a chemical inside our brains called Myelin.  Really interesting stuff about how to get better at ANYTHING.  Really.

The 10X Rule:  by Grant Cardone.  I had actually read this before.  But this is a no nonsense kick in the pants kind of book.  Need a reminder to work harder?  Here it is.  You are not thinking big enough or working hard enough.  Grant reminds you!

The Art of Social Media: by Guy Kawasaki and Peg Fitzpatrick.  Want to know some real no b.s. tips and tactics for doing social better?  This is a good one and a quick read.  Recommended.

Bold:  by Peter Diamandis and Steven Kotler.  I will say that this one started slow.  But I was really glad I stuck with this one because that last 2/3 of the book really got me thinking!  I love that!

Creativity, Inc.  by Ed Catmull.  From the very beginnings of his career to running Pixar and Disney Animation.  Some great lessons here, especially on managing creative companies.

 Relentless (From Good to Great to Unstoppable) by Tim Grover.  Not bad.  Good if you need a kick in the pants and motivation.  Got a bit repetitive after a while.  But some interesting stories from the trainer of Kobe and Michael!

Difference by Bernadette Jiwa.  Short and sweet.  I liked this one.  Reminds you that if you want to be a succesful business today...you need to strive to make a difference!

The Innovators by Walter Isaacson.  This one was a struggle for me.  I bought it thinking it was a business book...but it was history.  Great if you are into that...but not what I was expecting or looking for.

The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz.  I liked this one (though sometimes it was a little dark).  But it talked about the many challenges a CEO faces...with no sugar coating.  Good insights into growing a company.

Brandscaping by Andrew Davis:  This was an interesting take on how to grow your business by creating great brand partnerships.  Interesting for sure.

 Everybody Writes by Ann Handley.  If you want to write better, but want a book that is read-able, I think this might be a good solution for you.  We are all creating content.  Ann just gives us ways to do it better.

I WILL by Thomas Rainer:  Very simple concept for Christians that remind us if we want a better church, we need to be a part of the solution.


The Virgin Way by Richard Branson.  Branson is such a cool cat.  He spins a great yarn about his experiences, and I think, gives great insights along the way if you are paying attention.  What a great entrepreneur to look up too!

The Real Life MBA by Jack and Suzy Welch.  This one was very tactical.  I liked it because it dug right in.  I changed my company's goal structure based on this book.


The Purple Goldfish by Stan Phelps.  If you want your company to stand out, you can do it with that Little Something Extra.  Stan does a great job with examples that everyone in your company can relate too.

If You're Not First, You're Last by Grant Cardone.  Grant Cardone is the perfect antidote for apathy.  I think this is a great kind of book to listen to each morning to give you a kick in the pants.  You have to go get it!  Grant reminds you!

Learn Spanish with Paul Noble:  This audio book was a total departure...but really interesting.  Great way to learn.  I am hardly fluent...but better!

I am in the middle of reading 3 more right now...so more will be added to the list soon!  Please let me know if you have questions!

Be Intentional Toward Goals

Where are you going?  What are you doing to get there?  These are very simple questions for sure.  But most people that struggle at reaching toward their goals, struggle with these questions.  If you ask them, "what are your goals?" they have a hard time telling you.  That is why I am such a big proponent of writing your goals down.

They tell you (and your mind) where you are going.

But that is only the first step of course.  After you have the goals on paper, do you have them in a place you can see them?  You should.  This, quite simply, reminds you where you are going each day. 

Now...what are you DOING to get there?

So many of us say that we "want to start a business," or maybe we "want to save money."  And we do.  But without some sort of intentional, consistent action toward it, will anything happen. 

So be intentional each day about your goals.  Do something (even if it is tiny) in moving your toward your goal.

Start today.

3 Ways to Think For Yourself

One of the things I value most in people is…original thinking.  This feels very rare these days.  I even respect people who I disagree with, when I know for sure that they have created that opinion on their own.  I don’t value those that parrot opinions of others.  As I said to a friend once (who happened to be regurgitating a Fox News opinion) “If I want Glenn Becks’ opinion, I will watch his show.  What do YOU think?”

I bring this up because of the recent trend of people posting the Facebook charging message.  It seemed like thousands of people copy and pasted some ridiculous non-sense about Facebook.  In order to help, here are 3 Ways to Think for Yourself.

Listen to Multiple Sources:  If you are a person that wants to be well-versed on politics, make sure you spend at least some time listening to both sides of the argument.  Very few people agree with EVERYTHING a politician or broadcaster says, so it really helps to hear any discussion from lots of sides.  Then you can REALLY consider and decide for your self.

Read:  I find that reading multiple books from lots of different authors and perspectives really gives you a healthy base to form an opinion. 

Think: Spend some time on it.  Meditate.  Let your opinions roll around in your head while you work out.  Turn the music off.  Really consider.  I find this is the best way to really find out what I think…or come up with a solution to a problem I am facing.  Maybe this sounds simple.  It is.  But I am not sure everyone is doing it.

If you think that a list of tips on how to “think for yourself” is ironic, great!  You are right!  Feel free to employ the secret, hidden tip number 4…ignore this and think how you want.  

Take the Next Step

When you are beginning a new project, you need to learn a  lot.  There is likely new terminology, procedures, new relationships, and more.  You will also need to plan.  What are the next steps?  What might they look like?  How many steps will there be?  Are there books I should read or videos I should watch?  It can be overwhelming.

The problem with many projects in life is they get "stuck" in the learning phase.  We don't know what we don't know.  And as we learn more about the project we can become paralyzed with the fear that we don't know enough.

At some point you need to take action.

In my experience, most endeavors don't fail because the participants don't know enough.  They fail because those involved don't take enough action.  Most of your goals will take more activity than you anticipate...so the sooner you start the better.  The fact is, if you take the wrong action, you will learn quickly.  Then, with that new knowledge, you can take new action to move the project in the right direction.

That's right.  You will actually learn more (in many cases) by taking action.

So if you are stuck on a new project because you feel you are not ready, get over yourself.

Take the next right step.  Then navigate the next step from there.

Let It Go

Tell me if this has ever happened to you.  You are on social media (pick your favorite channel) scrolling through your feed and you see "something."  That something might be a direct dig or it might be a perceived insult.  It's that negative comment that sticks with you.

You want to retort.  You want to respond.  You want to lash out and "give them a piece of your mind."  I get it. 

But here is my short and sweet advice.

Let it go.

No one has ever changed their mind based on an argument had on Facebook.  You will feel better for a moment, until they respond again.  This time, of course, it will be worse.  It will escalate.  It will get meaner and more awful.

So take the high road.  Turn the other cheek.  Walk away.

Let it go.

Smile. Breathe Deeply. Repeat.

It was exciting in the beginning!  It was an opportunity of a lifetime.  You were asked to speak at a company event in front of your team.  Or you were selected as a panelist.  You were asked to sing the national anthem.  Or you were selected to the homecoming court.  It is an honor!  It's awesome. 

But now...

No you are overwhelmed with nervousness.  It's the day of the event and you are not sure how it will go.  You might even start thinking of how it will go wrong. 

Stop it.

In these moments, do these simple things...

Smile.

Breath Deeply.

Repeat.

And really take it in.  Enjoy it as best you can.

There are not THAT many of these moments in life.  Do your best.  Forget the rest.

 Smile.

Breath Deeply.

Repeat.

Do your best to have fun with it.  This moment WILL go fast like a roller coaster.  Whether you enjoy the actual moment or not...you want to remember it well.

Point Out The Positive

I was scrolling through my Facebook feed recently and I came across something curious.  A mother had taken her child to a local hospital...and had something positive to say!  She pointed out that though she hears negative comments and complaints all the time, she had a positive experience.  She complimented the staff for their professionalism and attentiveness.

Her experience was refreshing.  But so was her attitude.

As Zig Ziglar once said, "Some people find fault like there is a reward for it!"  We all know that those are the people that seem most excited to go to social media.  They want to complain.  I get it.  We all want to be heard sometimes. 

But for this day (and this week, and this month) make it a point to point out the positive.  Acknowledge and be grateful when things go really well.  Thank people when the service is good.

This will not eliminate bad experiences (of course).  But in my experience, by simply looking for the positive things in your life, you will find more of it.