Reading List
Books I have read and why you might want to read them.
Business Reading
by Tim Ferriss
An alternative way of looking at what wealth is and the path ways to achieve it. The most important thing we have in life is time and we shouldn’t waste it chasing consumer goods to impress people. Our focus should be on experiences and relationships. This book gives a step-by-step process on how to become part of the New Rich. There are numerous takeaways from this book - one big idea is the 80/20 rule: where 80% of the result comes from 20% effort (Pareto Principle). If you identify and focus your attention on the 20% you greatly reduce the time it takes to achieve success.
by Robert T. Kiyosaki
Reading this book shifts your understanding of income generation. Robert, when he is young gets advice from his “Rich Dad” and “Poor Dad”. His “Poor Dad” focuses on the traditional path: to do well in school, then get a degree and then find a corporate job to work at until retirement. While working he should save a little on the side until the big freedom day of retirement. His “Rich Dad” explains that being an employee is the slow path to wealth. You must become a business owner or an investor to be wealthy. It’s better to own or invest in a factory than be a factory worker.
by Kristy Shen
This book is about FIRE: Financial Independence, Retire Early. The goal of FIRE is to save aggressively, invest in a balanced portfolio in order to retire early. The book lays out the author’s journey from being in poverty, graduating as an engineer, and then getting sucked into a consumer-led life-styled (buying expensive hand-bags was her poison). When she and her husband went housing hunting they quickly realized that they would be in heavily in debt and their dreams of traveling would be impossible with a house. There was an alternative and they explain how they achieved their financial goals. The author also has an excellent blog called “Millennial Revolution” which has a wealth of information.
by MJ DeMarco
This book by MJ DeMarco will change your beliefs on money and entrepreneurship. The book is broken into five parts. Part one and part two is about how we have been conditioned into working 9-to-5 and buying overpriced consumer goods. In part three he talks about freedom, freedom from 9-to-5, scarcity, media influence and ordinary life. Part four is about entrepreneurship, focusing on giving value to get value. And finally, part five covers using your profits to build a passive income stream. Life is not about working 9-to-5 for 40 years, for a pay cheque and two-week vacations. It’s about living your dreams and having freedom.
by Robert Cialdini
This is a must-read book for anyone who wants to understand how to influence and persuade people. Robert lays out 7 principles of persuasion: reciprocation, commitment & consistency, social proof, liking, authority, scarcity, unity. After reading this book you will be more aware of how marketers have used these principles to influence us to purchase their product or service. When these psychological tactics are used by salesmen, waiters, car dealers, etc., influences us into saying yes to which we would have normally said no.
Personal Development
by Scott Adams
by Tony Robbins
by Stephen Covey
by Adam Khoo
Software Development
by Robert Martin
by Dino Esposito
by Eric Freeman, Elisabeth Robson, Bert Bates, Kathy Sierra
by Steve McConnell