“If I read a book that cost me $20 and I get one good idea, I’ve gotten one of the greatest bargains of all time.” – Tom Peters
Tom, I couldn’t agree more, buddy.
Every time I scan the bookstore shelves or the Amazon pages, I actually get giddy with excitement about the potential for Return On Investment that lie inside the pages of so many great books. (I’m talking specifically about non-fiction books here, in the Business and Self-Improvement genres.)
Extract just one good idea and – this is the key – implement it in your business, and a book can pay for itself hundreds, even thousands, of times over!
Over the years I’ve read some absolute knock-out books that offer terrific advice on business, freelancing, mental conditioning, time management, goal-setting… the list goes on and on.
Today I’d like to share with you my Recommended Reading List of books that can help you take your business to the next level – either by directly benefiting the way you run your freelance business, or by delivering benefits in other areas of your life that spill over into your work.
(By the way, I’d also like to hear YOUR recommendations. What books have you read that changed the way you looked at life – or your freelance business – for the better?)
Here are three books at the top of my recommended reading list. (I have no affiliation with these books, authors or publishers.)
Think and Grow Rich by Napolean Hill
This book is revered by many as the ultimate “success” book and it’s worthy of that reputation. Although published in 1937, the content is timeless. It’s a culmination of the lessons Hill learned from a 20-year study of the world’s wealthiest people, including an intense “apprenticeship in success” of sorts at the hand of Andrew Carnegie, U.S. billionaire. It’s not all about money though. The lessons Hill shares can literally change the way you look at the world.
The Success Principles by Jack Canfield
Jack Canfield is the co-creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series and is featured in the movie The Secret. The book features Canfield’s 64 principles for living a life of ultimate success. Sounds overwhelming, and it is a thick book, but because it’s chunked into so many pieces, it’s very easy to simply pick some of the principles that are most relevant to your life right now and apply Canfield’s advice.
The Four-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferris
By age 28, Tim Ferris had experienced more of what life has to offer than most people do in their entire life! He’s travelled the world, launched and run successful businesses, written a book (obviously) and figured out a way to streamline his life and business so efficiently that he now funds his perpetual world travels by working just a few hours a week. His adventures and advice are definitely outrageous, but they work. I’ve implemented a handful of his ideas and I have honestly never been more productive.
I have many more books to recommend, which I’ll tackle in a future post. But what about you? If you could recommend one book for your fellow freelancers to devour, what would it be? Do tell!
(Personal request… Hey, maybe it’s because my wife and I are expecting a baby girl any day now, but I personally would especially love to hear recommendations about books written from the female perspective… seems everything I’ve gravitated toward up to now has been written by a male.)
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Pete Savage is co-editor of The Wealthy Freelancer. Direct Mail Secrets for Freelancers is a FREE 45-minute teleseminar for subscribers to Pete’s SAVAGE Marketing newsletter. Sign up for free at http://www.savagemarketing.com/.
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
Well, Pete, you’ve already mentioned two of the books in my top-5 list, so let me list some others. I’ll answer the question by telling you that if I could only keep 2 books in my library to pass down to my son (who’s now 6), these would be it:
“The Strangest Secret in the World Today” by Earl Nightingale. OK, so it’s not a book, but I’d want to keep the original recording from back in the 1950s. Nightingale’s recordings have had a huge impact on my life — starting in college when my roommate let me borrow “Lead the Field” to take with me on a long bus trip. Here’s the original “Stranges Secret” recording, by the way: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dtWoE5lk0I
“7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen Covey. I don’t think I’d be where I am today had I not read this book in the early 1990’s. It truly shaped my beliefs and attitude back then; the teachings are simply timeless. As a young adult, I would want my son to read and re-read Covey’s wisdom and allow it to shape his life.
I can give you three GREAT books by women for women — I’ve read all three and recommend them to ALL women.
1. Secrets of Six Figure Women: Surprising strategies to up your earnings and change your life by Barbara Stanny
2. Overcoming Underearning: A Five-Step Plan to a Richer Life by Barbara Stanny
3. Why Women Earn Less: How to Make What You’re Really Worth by Mikelann Valtera.
I recommend that your women readers read these books *before* any of the books written by males, all of which I have also read.
Ed, two gems. Especially “The Strangest Secret”. Great interpretation on my request too… what better reason to recommend a book than to help shape or impact the life of a loved one. So many of these titles have benefits beyond just “business” success. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Dianna! Hey… why that closing recommendation?!!
Great list Pete! I’ve read and would agree with Think and Grow Rich as a pick. I’ll have to check out the other two.
One of the books that jumps to mind that I’d recommend is “The Magic of Thinking Big” by David Schwartz. I’ve read it at least a few times. It’s one of those books I’ve made the mistake of reading before bed, and had all these positive ideas zipping around my cranium. No sleeping happens when you’re ready to take on the world. Thinking of it now, I recall how Schwartz talks about how there are oodles (not a direct quote) more applications for the jobs that pay $10,000 a year, but very little for the jobs that pay 50 or 100 grand. It comes down to belief. The book was written in 1982, but easily still very applicable just like most parts of Think and Grow Rich.
But right now I’m reading “When ALL You have is Hope” by Frank O’Dea. It’s the story of the founder of the Second Cup coffee chain here in Canada. And I also have a little book on my desk called “Success Principles and Strategies for Success”
I picked up a book called “Change the Way You See Yourself Through Asset-Based Thinking” with Kathryn D. Cramer and Hank Wasiak back in May when I was touring Las Vegas. It has a lot of great quotes and methods for re-framing thoughts. It’s all about success.
A book written by a woman (sorry Dianna, not just for women
) you might want to check out is “Happy for No Reason” by Marci Shimoff. She was part of the book and movie, “The Secret” and has written with the Jack Canfield with one or some of the Chicken Soup books.
Oops. Pete you said one, didn’t you?
Oh just like Pete, I don’t benefit in recommending any of these books. Maybe I’ll work on that.
One book that has made pricing strategy and deciding what work to take (or reject) much simpler for me is “What to Charge: Pricing Strategies for Freelancers and Consultants” by Laurie Lewis.
It’s got very straightforward, easy-to-implement advice that’s made a great deal of difference in the way I do business.
Add “How to Win Friends and Influence People” which is a great guide to negotiation and works well with the Ferris negotiation rules in 4HWW. Not sure if I read it in 4HWW, but the point about staying silent after someone makes an offer is great. A lot of times you can get them to make a concession without even asking. This works especially well over the phone.
This is a very timely post and I am happy you published it. I would add the Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz. When I interviewed highly accomplished individuals for my book Tales of People Who Get It, one of the seven questions that I asked was “which book have you read that made a major difference in your life?” not surprisingly, business books didn’t rank very high in having a major influence on people. In fact, most successful people seldom read business books.
I am in the process of writing a white paper on influential books and perhaps I will contact you when I am finished and share what I have found with you. Thanks again for publishing this post through your blog. Avil
Dan Ariely’s, “Predictably Irrational.”
I’ve read most of the titles suggested above. I really enjoyed the 4-Hour Workweek and am in the process of selling off my assets and finding my muse.
Here are some that have greatly influenced my work…
Dr. Robert Cialdini’s, “Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive.”
Roy H. Williams, “The Wizard of Ads” series and Wizard Academy Training.
Jeffrey Gitomer’s, “Little Red Books of Selling and Sales Answers.”
Seth Godin’s, “Small is the New Big” “Meatball Sundae” and “All Marketers Are Liars.”
The Eisenberg brothers, “Call to Action” and “Waiting For Your Cat To Bark.”
I’d like to share with you my Recommended Reading List of books that can help you take your business to the next level – either by directly benefiting the way you run your freelance business, or by delivering benefits in other areas of your life that spill over into your work.
Excellent post! I am a book and reading junkie with over 2,000 books in my personal library and growing. Here are some suggestions I have found very helpful to my self-employment life…
1. Goals By Brian Tracy
2. Million Dollar Consultant By Alan Weiss
3. Value Based Fees by Alan Weiss
4. Lower Your Taxes Big Time By Sandy Botkin
5. Spin Selling by Neil Rackham
6. Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi
7. The Brand Called You by Peter Montoya
I think reading is one of the absolute best activities that will earn you the highest rate of return on your time. I am never without a book. I take one everywhere I go so if I have a few minutes to kill before an appointment or something I can read a little. This has increased my total books read per year more than anything else, we have a lot of wasted small blocks of time each day that can be put to better use with this strategy.
First, congrats on your(soon-to-arrive) new baby!
Now, here’s a book I found inspiring and informative: Free Agent Nation by Daniel Pink. It’s a must-read for any entrepreneur!
And I will be making notes on the suggested books here. I’m always looking for more stuff like this. Thanks!
My reading list is growing – thanks for the suggestions, everybody. Ok, my turn –
My So-Called Freelance Life: How to Survive and Thrive as a Creative Professional for Hire by Michelle Goodman is a not-to-be-missed, hard-to-put-down, thank-god-I-read-this treasure for seasoned and rookie freelancers. Goodman’s advice is clearly field-tested and her tips are realistic (coming from someone who tried some recently). I also really related to the freelance highs and lows shared by a diverse cadre of creative professionals profiled and interviewed in the book. Overall, it’s a well-organized resource that imparts practical freelance savvy in a way that makes you think, “Yeah, I can do this.”
Really liked reading all these posts and favorite books. KEVIN, a big “thank you” for picking our book, “Change The Way You See Everything- Through Asset-Based Thinking” as one of your favorites. Welcome to the positive ABT conspiracy!.
I’m always impressed at the positive energy that oozes out of great blogs and discussions like this one on The Wealthy Freelancer. Will be back again. You may want to check out our website and blog for some good discussion.
Keep up the great discussion
Hank