I read a lot of books. I have easily spent over $1,000 on books, and the only reason it’s that low is because I know where to get them cheap ($4 per book if it’s not on Audible or Kindle Unlimited).
Contrary to what people may think, I prefer a paperback over an electronic version. The paper versions feel like they have a better impact. Reading through an electronic version just feels too quick and easy in my opinion.
Lately, I’ve been re-reading the same books over and over again. It’s not that there’s a lack of great content available. In fact, there are plenty of choices.
To create this epic list of five books, I had to say no to some books written by people I’ve come to admire. It was really hard, and I never thought I’d even have a list of five books I’d read every day.
It literally meant rejecting hundreds of other choices. But these five are hear to stay. I’ll read each book for two minutes in the morning. That’s a total of 10 minutes and still gives me plenty of time to do other things and read other books.
I don’t read them from Page 1 to the last page. I’ll skip around and head over to the chapter or story I need to hear in that moment. Without any further adieu, I will share the five books I chose and why I chose them.
Rise And Grind by Daymond John
I was an Ambassador for Daymond John’s earlier book Power Of Broke. I was a VIP Ambassador for this book, and when I read the advanced copy, I was blown away.
Daymond went deep when he discussed his work ethic and schedule. He also went deep into many experts’ schedules and mindsets (i.e. Gary Vaynerchuk and Grant Cardone).
For my limited number of books I read, it’s great to jump into the mindsets of people like Gary and Grant. But even beyond the self-imposed limitation, the stories and insights from Rise And Grind are amazing!
This isn’t a book filled with tactics. It’s filled with stories, mindsets, and work ethics. Every time I read this book when I was reading for the first time, my work ethic got a little better each time. That’s why Rise And Grind made it on my list of books I read every day.
The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy
Darren Hardy’s book shares a simple idea. Taking the small actions now will have exponential effects over the long-term. This is a book that leaves you fired up when you finish it.
When I took the time to re-read what I underlined, I knew I couldn’t let that fire dimmer. That’s why I decided to add this book to my list. It’s a constant reminder that all of the effort you put in adds up in a big way.
However, The Compound Effect also discusses the other side of the coin. The bad habits you adopt now will have an exponentially negative impact on your life later on.
This book doesn’t just teach you that it’s very rewarding to take the right actions, but it’s also very punishing to not take action or take actions that lead you in the wrong direction.
Sports Leaders & Success by Investor’s Business Daily
This is the greatest book you’ve never heard of. While doing research, it took me 10 minutes just to find this book on Amazon (no, I didn’t forget the title). The book has only eight reviews on Amazon and was written over a decade ago.
I promise this book is good, but I’m very lucky I found it. In fact, I stumbled on it by accident. I bought a bulk order of books and this book happened to be one of those books. I put it off for a while, but when I started reading this book, I was amazed.
Think of it this way. During the Olympics, you’ll hear about inspirational backstories and see the world’s greatest athletes compete for their countries. However, you only get that Olympics feeling once every two years assuming you watch the Winter and Summer Classics (personally, I like the Summer Olympics better and spend much more time watching that one).
Sports Leaders & Success is like watching your preferred version of the Olympics in every page you read. You’ll learn the work ethics of the greatest athletes ever, how they responded to pressure situations, and the effort they put in.
The best part is that, no exaggeration in my case, all of the athlete stories were phenomenal. Even though I don’t follow hockey or tennis, I read about some of the top athletes in those sports and enjoyed learning how they made it to the top.
Secrets Of The Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Eker
You can’t go wrong with a book about developing a millionaire mind…especially when that book is written by T. Harv Eker. This book really gets deep at what it means to have that mindset and how you can acquire it.
While books are powerful in the moment, I normally don’t feel the same mindset shifts a month later. That’s why I’m making this book a constant in my life. I don’t want the millionaire mindset to be a one-off that only impacts my life for a month. I want it to be constant.
Quantum Success by Sandra Anne Taylor
I’ll be honest. When I read books about success and faith, they usually have too much of the success part or too much on the faith. Both are important to have in excess, but I prefer a blend in these types of books. No book I read has the perfect blend in the same way Quantum Success has.
It’s packed with valuable nuggets of wisdom that you won’t find in most books. This book talks about entirely different topics and insights as a whole. This book helps you grow what’s important and not get too attached to a specific outcome or path.
In Conclusion
My daily routine is reading these books a little after 4 am every day. That way, my mindset is wired. I can also give my physical body a nice rest while I read the pages. Lying in bed gives my body a chance to catch up to my mind.
Each of these books are special in their own way. I rejected books written by some of my favorite authors to come up with this list. Note: I had to reject some books because my mind is a little fuzzy at 4 am and can’t grasp incredibly deep topics, but that doesn’t undermine these books in any way.
It’s literally just two minutes on each book. Sometimes a little more, but not much more. I’ll read one story, one section, or even an entire chapter (granted, a small chapter under 10 pages) if I so choose.
After I read part of a book, I close it and force myself to remember what I just recalled (Note: not learned since I’ve already read all of these books). These books keep me in the right frame of mind.
I think we can all understand that watching too much TV is bad for your mindset as it puts you in a passive state. To flip that, reading a few books that had a strong, positive affect on your mindset will give you the mindset you need to make great things happen.
That’s the mindset I have every day by 4:20 am.
What were your thoughts on these five books? Do you have any favorite books? Do you have any questions for me? Sound off in the comments section below.
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