One of the most important elements of becoming a entrepreneur is reading the right books. What you put into your mind will have a direct reflection to the results you have within your business. Forget the fictional works, and don’t look for a textbook either; books written by other entrepreneur’s are ideal in your development. Heres my recommended list of 10 essential books for being a modern day business owner.
If you taking the time to read just 10 pages a day, that’s 300 pages a month, you can read a book a month.
Heres my list of 10 Books that are essential reads for anyone wishing to be a full time entrepreneur:
1: 
Think and Grow Rich 
First published in 1937 during the Great Depression, Think and Grow Rich is a handbook and guide on how to become a successful business owner. Napoleon Hill spent more then 25 years researching, studying, and interviewing more than 500 wealthy men to find out what commonalities they possessed. The first time I read Think and Grow Rich it became very clear to me what I had done correctly (and incorrectly) on previous business ventures. This is a MUST READ.
(As an added bonus I recommend The Think and Grow Rich Action Pack
2. 
The Slight Edge: Secret to a Successful Life
The Slight Edge builds upon the context of Think and Grow Rich by comparing the differences found in successful people and failures. A great point in Olson’s book is that your actions have a compounding affect in your life. Simple disciplines repeated over time is the Slight Edge that successful people possess.
3. 
The Go-Giver: A Little Story About a Powerful Business Idea
Rrecently published in 2008 and is a modern short story, or fable for the modern day Entrepreneur. The main character is introduced to 5 different business owners who are “Go-Givers,” with a lesson to be learned by each meeting. These 5 lessons are summed up as “The Five Laws of Stratospheric Success.” The Go Giver is an easy read, and quite compelling, I actually was so drawn to it that I read the entire book over the course of a weekend.
4. 
The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich
“Whether you are an overworked employee or an entrepreneur trapped in your own business, this book is the compass for a new and revolutionary world.” Tim explains and teaches in this book how to cut out wasted time, money, energy and knowledge from your life in order to enjoy life and create luxury. One of my favorite points in Tim’s book is to outsource and utilize overseas virtual assistants in order to regain time in your life. I have seen other Entrepreneur’s implement this idea into their business with great success.
5. 
Psychologically Unemployable: Life on Your Terms!
Psychologically Unemployable is a term that fits me to a ‘T’. The concept of having a JOB, making someone else rich just isn’t for me. Personally I’d rather have my freedom, no cap to my income and the ability to work on my hours then be working in an office making someone else rich off of my efforts. Jeff’s book is about exactly this, being an Entrepreneur and moving into free enterprise. Having been personally coached and mentored by Jeff on my business, I seriously recommend all of his work.
6. 
The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment
The message of “The Power of Now” is that living in the present moment, is the most ideal way to find happiness and enjoy every waking moment of your day. I’ve found that many people (including myself) will let their past experiences affect their decisions in the present moment, without even being aware of it. Additionally, they may speak about what they want in the future while their present actions arn’t in tune with their goals. The purpose of the Power of Now, is to put the reader in the present moment so that they can stay happy and reach their goals.
7. 
Crush It!: Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion by Gary Vaynerchuk
From working in his father’s wine store in NJ to doing his own wine review video blog / online tv show to having one of the best books for business owners in 2009 Gary V. has used social media to build his business. This is an excellent book on how to define your passion and then utilize social media in order market your passion. Gary V.’s relentless attitude and “realness” will keep you hooked on on this book from start to finish.
8. 
Cracking The Producers Code by Chad Wade
I’ve actually have worked closely with Chad for last 18+ month on a couple of business ventures and know that he created this book as a manual for any Entrepreneur venturing into direct sales. This book breaks down the steps necessary for creating a successful and thriving business. Chad is one who preaches the basics and believes that anyone who follows his steps can be successful in this industry. I personally use this book as a handbook, to ensure that I’m following the right methods in my own business.
9. 
The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell
Gladwell take a sociological look at what causes ideas and products to become mainstream. Why do some TV shows last for 5 or more seasons and others do not even make it to 5 episodes? Gladwell seeks these type of answers in The Tipping Point. One of my favorite parts of this book is when he separates out the 3 most important people in creating a social epidemic, Connectors, Mavens, and Salesmen. By reading this book, and having the types of people you will interact with identified you’ll be able to quickly learn what it takes to cause your business to “Stick.”
10. 
Evolve Your Brain: The Science of Changing Your Mind by Joe Dispenza
This was actually one of the first personal development books that I’ve read and I found it intriguing. Joe Dispenza literally used his brain to heal himself from a spinal injury rather then getting surgery. In this book, he gets very deep in breaking down why we repeat the same patterns over and over again, and how how to stop them. Its actually quite possible that you can be just as addicted to failure, success, bad relationships, etc as you are to anything else. Dispenza was featured in the documentary What the Bleep Do We Know!?
This is no way a complete list, and I can name even more books that you may want to read, but consider this a starting point.
