17 Books To Read If You Want To Become A Billionaire
Success
is magnetic. As a species, we’re constantly studying how it happens,
why it happens, who has achieved it for themselves, and how we can
obtain it.
One thing is for sure: money is an echo of value. Those who bring great products, services, businesses, and ideas into the world are rewarded (at least somewhere along the way) with financial gain. Some of these people even become billionaires. Now, it’s not to say money is everything (it’s not), but having financial freedom certainly makes life more flexible and filled with opportunity.
For all the hubbub surrounding success, most of the attention is often swallowed up with the aesthetics of materialism. Getting a nice house, car, plenty of money to go around, and buying anything you want are still considered goals by thousands in developed countries.
In spite of this, in order to break through the typical barriers that withhold people from achieving success, there’s a ton of hard work involved. Experience, skill, grit, and emotional intelligence all contribute to success; one can be sure of this. But what’s the piece most people overlook or underestimate? Having certain knowledge others neglect.
Here, I’ve compiled a list of 17 books to read if you want to become a billionaire. Take these one at a time and enjoy!
One thing is for sure: money is an echo of value. Those who bring great products, services, businesses, and ideas into the world are rewarded (at least somewhere along the way) with financial gain. Some of these people even become billionaires. Now, it’s not to say money is everything (it’s not), but having financial freedom certainly makes life more flexible and filled with opportunity.
For all the hubbub surrounding success, most of the attention is often swallowed up with the aesthetics of materialism. Getting a nice house, car, plenty of money to go around, and buying anything you want are still considered goals by thousands in developed countries.
In spite of this, in order to break through the typical barriers that withhold people from achieving success, there’s a ton of hard work involved. Experience, skill, grit, and emotional intelligence all contribute to success; one can be sure of this. But what’s the piece most people overlook or underestimate? Having certain knowledge others neglect.
Here, I’ve compiled a list of 17 books to read if you want to become a billionaire. Take these one at a time and enjoy!
1. How The Scots Invented The Modern World
Billionaires point to this book because, in many ways, essential understandings of economics, free markets, and product innovation can be gleaned from it. Written by Arthur Herman, it’s a vital book for anyone seeking to understand the core of how modern economics functions.2. Guns, Germs, And Steel: The Fates Of Human Societies
Authored by Jared Diamond, this particular book is similar to Scots, but different in the sense that it covers more details regarding societies. Guns, Germs, and Steel breaks down why certain civilizations lasted longer than others and how this was accomplished. It’s a collection of keen insights into how and why some people outsmart their environments (whether they be war-ravaged or not).3. Influence: The Psychology Of Persuasion
An absolute classic on the power of how to get things done your way, Robert Cialdini takes persuasion to a new level here. Breaking down the six pillars of how to get people to like you and legitimately want to help you, Influence is a must-have guidebook on how to uphold the best in people while achieving your own goals.4. Titan: The Life Of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.
At about 800 pages long, this book is certainly not a speed-read. However, there’s no book more ideal for learning about one of history’s richest men. If you want a detailed discourse on the rising of Rockefeller, look no further than Titan. At the very least, it will reinforce some helpful success principles, and perhaps help you avoid a few mistakes of your own.5. The Warren Buffett Portfolio: Mastering The Power Of The Focus Investment Strategy
Recommended by billionaire Charlie Munger, there’s perhaps no better book on Warren Buffett’s own investment strategy. While you can’t expect to read this book and then have perfect investing knowledge overnight, it’s indisputably an advantage over other forms of traditional education. Why not learn from arguably the most successful investor of all time?6. Getting To Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In
By Roger Fisher, William Ury, and Bruce Patton, this book has long been regarded as a superior business text in thousands of college classrooms and company boardrooms. Similar to How To Win Friends And Influence People by Dale Carnegie, Getting To Yes takes aim at extremely powerful negotiation techniques. Much of the book’s content includes how to talk about an issue rather than belittling a person, aiming for mutual benefit, and remaining politely persistent.7. The Wealth And Poverty Of Nations: Why Some Are So Rich And Some So Poor
In short, this book is about why some economic pursuits succeed while others have not and will not. If you want to understand why people go after what they go after in regards to business, this is a vital read.8. Things Hidden Since The Foundation Of The World
In René Girard’s paradigm-shattering work, he deconstructs many of the traditionally held beliefs and systems many of us have worked through or on for centuries. Girard’s argument is that even though many individuals strive to be distinct in the world, this particular drive can have counterintuitive and occasionally undesired effects.9. How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, And The Hidden Power Of Character
In a wonderfully refreshing read, How Children Succeed takes the reader on a journey through varying cultural and economic backgrounds. Author Paul Tough accurately points out how one’s intellect is not always tied to academic achievement, as well as similar comparisons. A fascinating and insightful read for those interested in helping and developing upcoming generations.10. Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming The Unseen Forces That Stand In The Way Of True Inspiration
Written by creative powerhouse Ed Catmull (co-founder of Pixar), this recent book breaks down how teams of artists and creative engineers can work fluidly and get their best work done. It’s an essential guidebook for anyone who’s interested in filmmaking, music, visual art, or other artistic/creative endeavors.11. Inside The Tornado: Strategies For Developing, Leveraging, And Surviving Hypergrowth Markets
A book adored by Steve Jobs, Inside The Tornado is an unusually helpful read on how the success of tech companies can be applied to up-and-coming startups. Author Geoffrey Moore also goes to the length of providing techniques on how to remain prosperous in spite of rapidly changing markets and consumer demands.12. The Intelligent Investor
One of the most highly acclaimed investing books of all time, this work by Benjamin Graham can’t be missed for those serious about profiting from investments. Read by Warren Buffett at age 19, the investing maven himself has consistently referred to it as one of his best self-education choices.13. Good To Great
This classic business book was written in 2001 by Jim Collins, the famed company and entrepreneurship growth expert. His work examines the leadership traits necessary to take any company from just average to true greatness, reaping larger financial profit, massive employee fulfillment, and deeper cultural impacts in the process.14. The Power Of Now
In Eckhart Tolle’s insanely popular work, the spiritual writer enables entrepreneurs even further by describing how to prevent yourself from defeating yourself. The crux of the book deals with learning how to make the absolute most of any situation you find yourself in.15. Outliers: The Story Of Success
In what many regard as Malcolm Gladwell’s most successful work, the illustrious thinker examines the how, what, and why of various successful achievements across multiple fields. This book is an oft-returned-to discourse on the precise mechanics of how success is accomplished.16. How To Win Friends And Influence People
There’s perhaps no more famous book on evergreen sales techniques and general principles for getting your way in life. Dale Carnegie’s time-tested, monolithic work of non-slimy persuasion hacks is filled with anecdotes and practical tips on how to master any conversation and achieve leverage within business aims.17. Think And Grow Rich
Napoleon Hill first wrote this classic in 1937, and ever since, hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs have pointed to it as the most important read on personal success principles. Hill’s book breaks down the psychological barriers everyone faces on the road to success, and how changing your thought patterns can directly affect your life’s trajectory.
Set a Goal For Yourself
"Making changes requires efforts. But it's worthwhile to do so for growth. I'll get a new job that I really like."
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2. Public speaking
Research shows that people fear public speaking more than death itself. There’s something terrifying about being in front of dozens or hundreds of people, and exposing yourself completely. It’s when you’re most vulnerable, but learning how to public speak is a life-changer.Warren Buffett has given advice to recent graduates that the number one skill you can have to succeed is public speaking skills. Everything from communication, confidence, and sales is developed when you develop your public speaking skills.
Where you can start learning: Luckily, there are great communities out there like Toastmasters that organize local meetups all around the world. You’ll find amazing public speakers that are looking to get to the next level to beginners that are just getting started. Check out Toastmasters’ website here.
3. Spanish
As the third most spoken language in the world, the ability to speak Spanish will allow you to reach over 500M people around the world. No matter where you live, knowing how to speak Spanish is becoming increasingly more important, with the Hispanic population and economy spreading quickly worldwide. If you’re living in the US, this is even more important, with over 30% of the population being Hispanic.Spanish is also on this list, because it’s one of the easiest languages to learn. Sure, Mandarin is an important language to learn, but it’s an incredibly difficult one to learn. If we were to measure the level of importance and the time to learn for all the languages available, Spanish would make it to the top of the list.
One of the biggest reasons why people never reach fluency in any foreign language is: using the wrong method, and lack of time. In this free course on how to learn a new language in 90 days, there’s proven research which points out how humans best learn.
It turns out that humans retain only 5% of what we learn from lectures, 20% of what we learn from apps (visual cues), and 90% of what we learn from immediate immersion. Yet, how do 90% of learn a new foreign language? Language schools (lectures), books, Duolingo (apps), etc that don’t provide the real-life immersion required for our brains to learn faster.
Where to get started: If you want the most effective way to learn a language, learning from real-life interactions is the best way to do it. There are great websites like Rype, which offers Spanish coaching for busy people, solving the issue of lack of time and bringing real-life immersion to your screen. With Rype, you can book as many lessons as you want, at any time of the day, any day of the week, allowing you to fit it into your schedule, no matter how busy you are.
4. Accounting
If you’re looking to get into business, accounting is one of the core fundamentals you’ll need to succeed. While you don’t need to be an expert, you definitely should understand the basics.This skill can also be used to manage your personal finances, to meet your financial goals, and having more control over your life.
Where to get started learning: If you didn’t learn accounting in school, no worries. You can either teach yourself using books, or check out free accounting courses online.
5. Microsoft Excel
Most people reading this probably have a basic understanding of Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet. While this is a good start, there are so many powerful functionalities that are hidden, which could make your life a lot easier.Excel is also a great asset to have whenever you’re looking for a job, as many corporations rely on Excel to organize and manage multiple parts of the business.
Where to get started learning: With the popularity of Excel, you can find tons of free resources and videos online to learn. Check out Excel Exposure, Lynda, and Excel with Business.
6. Blogging/Vlogging
Blogging is a powerful tool if you want to spread your ideas, build your brand, or grow your business. Since it was introduced, blogging has taken on a life of its own, and today there are ~2M blog posts being written on a daily basis.Where to get started learning: Anyone can start blogging today. All you need is a content-management system like WordPress, which is completely free. Personally, I think the best way to start learning how to blog is to just start writing. There are techniques you can learn on how to promote your blog, but the best way to grow your blog is to write great content.
7. Weight training
Yes, weight training is a skill. It’s not as advanced as learning how to code, nor will it take as long as learning a new language, if you just want to learn the basics.We’re not promising that you’ll get a body like Arnold Schwarzenegger, but you will see much faster results for whatever goal you have, just by understanding how to workout properly. And of course, when you’re dealing with an activity that involves physical strain, you’ll always want to caution yourself.
Where to get started learning: There are amazing body builders that are sharing all of their secrets for free on Youtube. You can check out Bodybuilding.com’s Youtube channel to get started.
8. Photo and video editing
In the digital world that we live in, from Youtube, Instagram, and Facebook, there is no avoiding photos and videos. In fact, social media has increasingly gone away from text sharing and almost everything to photo and video editing.Where to get started learning: For photo editing, you can use Photoshop. For video editing, you can use iMovie or Final Cut Pro. Keep in mind, there are dozens of editing software tools for video and photo editing, but what’s more important are your editing skills, not the tool itself.
Check out education websites like CreativeLIVE or Skillshare, where you can learn from experts themselves on how to best use design and software tools.
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