With so many "start-up" and "self-help" books on the market, how do you pick one that will assist you in your start up or on-going small business? The best and easiest way is to find someone that has some recommendations. That is exactly what we will be discussing here today. Let's call them the Xpleo Media recommended reading list. As always, I like books on CD. Nothing better than listening to your favorite success and business CD in between meetings. Okay, let's dig in:
1. Author: Napoleon Hill
Book: Think and Grow Rich
Why?: Napoleon Hill is one of the all time greats when it comes to authoring books on success and business. Born in 1883 and having passed in 1970, Napoleon Hill has written many of the most tried and true (and successful) success and business books to date. His success techniques and ideas are timeless and are not quick fixes, but structured means to bettering yourself as an entrepreneur and as an individual. We recommend picking up the 8 Disc CD version narrated by Joe Slattery.
2. Author: Jeff Sloan & Rich Sloan (The Sloan Brothers)
Book: Startup Nation
Why? After creating a successful product called the Battery Buddy and having licensed the product to Masco Corp, the Sloan brothers tell their passionate tale of business success in a practical and easy to read book. The Sloan brothers establish realistic expectations for the budding entrepreneur and a vision for the future. The Sloan brothers will walk you through the steps to create your "Life Plan." You will learn about your small business as a means to greater freedom, more family time and more personal fulfillment. The Sloan brother offer fantastic advice on establishing your business, selecting a market to pursue and how to market your business. There is plenty to garner from this book and the great part is that it is an easy read. We will be using the Sloan brothers and their network of business tools throughout many of our future discussions. This is a book you will want to purchase in paperback form, as you will surely highlight many sections of the book for quick and easy reference.
3.Author: Og Mandino
Book: The Greatest Salesman In The World (TGSITW)
Why? Like Napoleon Hill, Og Mandino deals in absolute truths. The absolute truths about business, passion, success, caring and love transcend time. Again like Napoleon Hill, Mandino was born into a different generation than many of us can relate to. Having been born in 1923 and having passed in 1996, Mandino's life is a harrowing tale. At 17 years old Mandino's mother died of a massive heart attack in front of him while she was making his lunch for high school. Mandino joined the US Army Air Corps when he was in his early 20's and flew 30 bombing missions over Germany in a B-24 Liberator during World War II with the famous movie star Jimmy Stewart. Mandino kept a personalized picture of Jimmy Stewart in his office where he wrote many of his later books. After his military service, Mandino came home to find few jobs. To make money Mandino became a travelling insurance salesman. Travelling and sitting at bars at night, with little success in his field, Mandino became an alcoholic. Now married and unable to keep his job, Mandino's wife and child left. On a snowy Novemeber after losing his job, being homeless, having lost his faith and his family, Mandino decided to commit suicide. But as he sat in the library that night, were he regularly slept, contemplating his final demise, he started sorting through several books about self-help, success and motivation. Instead of taking the task of suicide, Mandino started reading. As a homeless man, Mandino travelled to many libraries across the US reading 100's of books on success and life to alleviate his alcoholism. It was W. Clement Stone's, Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude, that pushed Mandino to change his life forever. While Mandino was homeless, he wrote The Greatest Salesman In The World, a book that has to date sold more than 50 million copies and has been translated into 25 different languages. Mandino's work is greatly inspired by the Bible and is reflective of those authors for which Mandino so greatly admired such as; Napoleon Hill, W. Clement Stone and Emmet Fox. When you read the TGSITW, you will be transported into another time and world, where absolute truths are brought to you in the form of various scrolls. Each scroll will better your life and your success. The book is a “progressive” read which will interact with your mind and soul. You will be asked to accomplish tasks, you will be asked to reflect on your life and you will be asked to better yourself as Mandino did so miraculously. This is an easy and quick read, but it is important to reflect on the important lessons contained in this book. Again, like Startup Nation, please buy this book in paperback form as you will highlight many on the pages.
More books to come. I hope you enjoy these books and receive as much personal and spiritual growth as we have from them! We would love to hear from you once you finished these books or if you have already read them. Let us know what business books you recommend, as we are always trying to add to our library and others will need this helpful information to fulfill their business success.