I love to read.  You probably do, too.  But take a look at these statistics that I got from this website: 

http://www.parapublishing.com/sites/para/resources/statistics.cfm

_      One-third of high school graduates never read another book for the rest of their lives. Many do not even graduate from high school.

_      58% of the US adult population never reads another book after high school.

_      42% of college graduates never read another book.

_      80% of US families did not buy or read a book last year.

_      70% of US adults have not been in a bookstore in the last five years.

_      57% of new books are not read to completion.
  --Jerrold Jenkins. http://www.JenkinsGroup.com

Okay, that freaks me out.  Not because I write books, but just because it indicates a total lack of interest on the part of most people to improve their lives. 

Now do you understand what a rare and phenomenal creature you are? 

I have a huge list of books I recommend to people.  Some of the books are hard to get through.  Others are a breeze.  But all the books I recommend provided something of value to me.  I will start you off with a few of my must-reads.

First off, I am a fan of Robert Kiyosaki.  He introduced me to the idea of passive income.  The books are easy reads.  The first two are fairly similar.  The third, Retire Young Retire Rich really opened up my eyes to the fact that I was thinking too small when I was setting my goals. 

        Rich Dad, Poor Dad

        The Cash Flow Quadrant

        Retire Young, Retire Rich

Another great book that opened my eyes to the way I feel about money is T. Harv Eker’s Secrets of the Millionaire Mind.  This book will help you examine your attitudes about money, consciously and subconsciously.

And to me, the absolute best basic book on money management is The Richest Man in Babylon by George Clason.  It was written in 1926 so the language is stilted and old-fashioned, but the principles are as valid today as they were when this book was written.

Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People is a business classic and contains one of the best systems of prioritizing tasks I have ever seen. 

The Power of an Hour by Dave Lakhani helped me to learn to focus on the task at hand.  Before employing his system, I went from project to project, not finishing anything.  Dave got me focused and got my book finished. 

Endless Referrals by Bob Burg is the best book on networking that I have seen.  I actually stole the book (and abetted in the theft of about 20 more copies, but that is a story for another day).  The best part?  I went to school with Bob, from Kindergarten through high school and had lost touch with him.  This book helped us re-connect.  Bob’s latest book was co-authored by John David Mann.  It is a parable called The Go-Giver and employs a business philosophy that will surprise and please you. 

The Four Hour Work Week by Tim Ferris is a great book to get you thinking about the life you want to lead.  Tim is making sure that his life is an adventure and reading this book will wake up the adventurer in you as well as give you a road map towards actually achieving a four hour work week. 

I am a huge fan of Michael Gerber, author of The E-Myth Revisited.  This book tackles the problem that most small business owners have:  they are so busy working in their business that they don’t have time to work on their business.  Gerber shows you how to create systems and efficiencies in your business.  The book is easy to read and understand.  Implementing just a few of his ideas will make your work life so much easier.

From time to time I will add books to the list and see if we have a group of people that would like to go through a book together.

Also, if you have a book that has helped you, let me know by emailing me at Barbara@dontmakemeslapyou.com

Happy Reading!