Life Changing Reads
Last week I referred to the recommended book as "life changing’ and suggested that there were fewer than a dozen books to which I would apply that label. A number of people e-mailed and asked me to share some of the others. Here are five of my favorite life changing books…books that I have read multiple times, shared often, and learned a great deal from. Read more
The 4-Hour Workweek
Every once in a while a book comes along that shakesyour world a bit, and for me this one did exactly that. Though at first the title seemed a tad bizarre to me, once I delved into the message the revelations began to emerge and I realized that this is indeed one of those ‘life changing’ books that comes along only once in a while.
Please understand that I don’t use the term life changing lightly…I can think of less than a dozen books that I have read in my lifetime that merit the label. Read more
the dip
It’s no secret that I am a big fan of Seth Godin’s work. He tells it like it is, gives you ideas you can use, and challenges you do what matters. This brief treatise is no exception
Godin begins with a simple, but powerful, premise…during the growth of any business or the evolution of any career a period will be encountered where progress slows and it requires much more effort to push through to the next level. Next he demonstrates how the reaction to ‘the dip’ either leads to becoming the best in the world Read more
The Jeffrey Gitomer Collection
Few authors have the ability to focus your attention quickly on what matters most…Jeffrey Gitomer is a notable exception. He delivers valuable, actionable advice in a way that gets your attention. while showing you how to apply it to acheive results.
This compelling series of “little books’ offers specific ideas you can use to increase your sales, answer your customers questions, build a powerful network, improve your attitude, and achieve the results that you want. It’s hard to recommend just one of these because each of them has powerful insights that any entrepreneur, business owner/manager, or independent professional can use to improve their results.
My advice is to buy them all, read them through once and take note of the first steps you want to take in each area, then reread them and look for more action steps that fit for you, and so on and so on, until you’ve grasped every morsel of insight that you can and put it to work in your business. You’ll be glad you did!
Pick up your copies here:
- The Little Red Book of Selling: 12.5 Principles of Sales Greatness
- Little Red Book of Sales Answers: 99.5 Real World Answers That Make Sense, Make Sales, and Make Money
- Little Black Book of Connections: 6.5 Assets for Networking Your Way to Rich Relationships
- Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude: How to Find, Build and Keep a YES! Attitude for a Lifetime of SUCCESS
- Little Green Book of Getting Your Way: How to Speak, Write, Present, Persuade, Influence, and Sell Your Point of View to Others
The Irresistible Offer
Readable, practical, and on target. Joyner is a master at taking the complex and making it simple, and in this book he delivers as usual. The core concept of creating an irresistible offer, presenting it to a thirsty crowd, and selling them a second glass is a mantra that every marketer should keep front of mind at all times.
If you are ready to take your business to the next level, this is one book you want to read as soon as you can. You’ll gain new insights that will help you focus your efforts on the right customers, along with actionable advice for communicating your message to capture their interest quickly. Best of all, you’ll learn a step by step process for crafting your offer and implementing your campaign to create results.
Buy it, read it, and apply it…find your hungry crowd and figure out how you can give them what they want, then build your relationship with them so that the next time they are in need they return and buy from you again!
Pick up your copy here:
The Irresistible Offer: How to Sell Your Product or Service in 3 Seconds or Less
A Technique for Producing Ideas
Don’t let the brevity fool you...though this book is only 48 pages long, the message within those pages is powerful. Granted I may be a bit biased because the subject is one of my favorites, but its not often you come across such a useful treatment of such an important skill.
As the title suggests, Young outlines a simple, easy-to-use approach to coming up with ideas, but he doesn’t stop there. He goes an important step further by exploring the importance of making creative thinking and idea production a part of everything you do…a key to breaking through the barriers that get in the way when we seek to think in new ways.
Buy it, read it, and then read it again…you’ll not only become a better problem solver and a more creative thinker, you’ll also gain a valuable perspective that will enable you to unleash the power of ideas within your team!
Pick up your copy here:
A Technique for Producing Ideas
Instant Income
Finally, a book that delivers what its title promises. This book is literally packed with specific action-focused strategies every entrepreneur, CEO, and growing business leader/manager can use to create income from their current or future business.
Swizter brings a wealth of personal experiences and examples to bear on the pressing issues that face anyone seeking to build a business. The strategies she shares can be adapted to virtually any business, and they are all presented in a very accessible format that lends itself well to the kind of piecemeal reading that busy lifestyles demand.
One caution: Do not read this book without a pad of paper and a pen nearby…you’ll want to capture the thoughts that leap into your mind as you read about each of her strategies so that you can immediately define your action plan for creating instant income!
Bottom line…Buy it, read it, and use the strategies it reveals…they will help you to grow your business and increase your income rapidly!
Pick up your copy here:
Don’t Make Me Think
Don’t let the title fool you. True, this is a book about web design, but there is much more here of value…not only in understanding the web, but in reminding us how people really want to do things.
Every entrepreneur, business owner/manager, and leader needs to read this book and get the core message: Stop trying to lead people to be perfect and stop wasting time looking for by the book performance…recognize that a creative, muddling- through, satificing approach is often much more effective in a web-based world where perfection is not the goal, usability is!!
Buy it, read it, and apply it…to your website, to your projects, to your leadership of your team, to your personal life…the clear framework for thinking and making decisions about how you do things will yield powerful rewards!
Pick up your copy here:
Don’t Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability
