Leaders are Readers

Talk to someone who is living the life you'd like to live, and odds are they are an avid reader of non-fiction business and improvement books. Reading books is important for several reasons; they offer new ideas, inspire action, and teach new ways of doing things.

How Much and When to Read:
Most success experts prescribe 15 minutes of reading every day. That's it. You can read while waiting for the bus or at the doctors office. You can read before you get out of bed or before you go to sleep.

What to Read:
That is really up to you. However, if your goal is to improve your finances and achieve abundance in your life, you should read books that cover everything from managing money, increasing motivation, improving your interpersonal skills, and books that are specific to how you will acheive those things whether its through a home business or real estate investing or something else.

How to Read:
While the act of reading is important, you should read with the intention of having it change you in some way whether its learning a new marketing technique or investment strategy. I suggest keeping a note book so you can jot down important ideas you want to remember. I also use Post-It ™ sticky tabs to mark pages I want to revisit because they have a great idea or a website I want to check out.

While I spend a fortune on books, you can easily find books at your local library that you can check out and read for free. You can often rent them on audio cassette or CD so you can listen during your commute to work.

My book recommendations:

Goals/Success/Motivation

Write It Down Make It Happen: Knowing What You Want And Getting It by Henriette Klauser

The Success Principles by Jack Canfield (this is one of Leslie's favorite books!!)

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Living Your Dreams by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hanson

Attitude is Everything – Keith Harrell (Another must read!)

Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway -- by Susan

No Opportunity Wasted by Phil Keoghan

Marketing/Sales

Starting from "No": 10 Strategies to Overcome Your Fear of Rejection and Succeed in Business by Azriela L. Jaffe, Pam Lontos

Get Clients Now: A 28 Day Program – C.J. Hayden

Permission Marketing by Seth Godin

Guerilla PR Wired – Michael Levine

Elements of Copywriting by Robert Bly

Ultimate Guide To Google AdWords by Perry Marshall and Bryan Todd

Leadership

If You Lead, They will Follow – Patrick Higgins

The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader: Becoming the Person Others Will Want to Follow by John C. Maxwell

Developing the Leader Within You Workbook by John C. Maxwell

Organization/Productivity

Ready for Anything - David Allen (offers 52 short tips for improving productivity and saving time)

Getting Things Done – David Allen

Organize from the Inside Out – Julie Morgenstern

Financial Advice

Start Late, Finish Rich by Davic Bach -

The Finish Rich Workbook – David Bach

All Your Worth by Elizabeth Warren and Amelia Warren Tyagi

Making the Most of Your Money – Jane Bryant Quinn

The Millionaire Maker: Act, Think, and Make Money the Way the Wealthy Do by Loral Langemeier