Recommended Reads
Here is my list of suggested reading and they are broken down by Categories.
I've selected these specifically because I found them the most helpful in changing my mindset around business and finance.
This is a long list, but do not get discourage, read through the page and pick one and start. Starting usually is the hardest part, but once you start and build momentum, it gets easier.
Yes, I've read them, I've actually read more than these. Reading is a great past time for me, especially if I can learn from it. I do not read fiction books (mostly because I do not have time anymore).
I read at least 1-2 books a week, mostly about money (I really love that subject). So most books you will find here are related to that subject.
How to Build, Buy, and Evaluate Businesses (Covers Valuations/Acquisitions/Negotiations)
The Little Book of Valuation - Aswath Damodaran - great short read
Investment Valuation: Determine the Value of Any Asset - Aswath Damodaran - this is a textbook, but very valuable
HBR Guide to Buying a Small Business - Richard Ruback
Buy Then Build - Walker Deibel - a great book on how to buy businesses
6 Essentials to Start & Succeed in Your Own Business - Brian Tracy
The Outsiders: 8 Unconventional CEOs - William N. Thorndike
Good to Great - Jim Collins
The Billion Dollar Secret - Rafael Badziag - how to build a business that can scale
The Complete Guide to Buying a Business - Atty Fred S. Steingold - this one is valuable. It has instructions on how to achieve buying businesses.
Merger Masters: Tales of Arbitrage - Kate Welling
The Four - Scott Galloway - how these Four biggest companies own the world. Amazing and very entertaining read.
Learn how to Invest
The Intelligent Investor - Benjamin Graham - a classic must read. easy to absorb. Beginner book.
Security Analysis - Benjamin Graham and David Dodd - a classic must read. a little more in depth than the one above. If you are a beginner in finance this might be a tougher read.
Understanding Stocks 3rd edition - Michael Sincere - beginner book
A Beginner's Guide to Dividend Stock Investing - James Pattersen Jr.
Finance/Investing/Valuations/Markets - this section really help me do a deep dive into investing and learning how the market works
Warren Buffett: Ground Rules - Jeremy Miller
Charlie Munger: The Complete Investor - Tren Griffin
Poor Charlie's Almanack - Charlie Munger
The Little Book of Common Sense Investing - John C. Bogle
Enough: True Measures of Money, Business, and Life - John Bogle
One up on Wall Street - Peter Lynch
A Random Walk Down Wall Street - Burton G. Malkiel
Stocks for the Long Run - Jeremy J Siegel
Irrational Exuberance - Robert J. Shiller
If You Can - William J Bernstein
The Investor's Manifesto - William J Bernstein
The Warren Buffett Way - Robert Hagstrom
The Delusion of Crowds - William J. Berstein
The Secret Manual To Dividend Investing - David William
The Case for Dividend Growth - David L. Bahnsen - for dividend investors
Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits and Other Writings - Philip A. Fisher
Warren Buffet and the interpretations of financial statements - Mary Buffet, David Clark
Mastering the Market Cycle - Howard Marks - This is worth a read
The most important thing - Howard Marks
Chaos Kings - Scott Patterson - about wall street traders
A Man for All Markets - Edward O. Thorp - a story about a legendary investor
Invested - Charles Schwab
Options Trading
Options Trading Simplified - Mark Lowe - Start here because this is very easy and fast to read and serves as a great into into options trading without taking too much of your time.
Options Trading for the Conservative Investor - Michael Thomsett - easy to understand and if you're confused about options, this can be a second book you can read. I like the fundamental idea of the book.
Options as a Strategic Investment - Lawrence McMillan - if you have no clue about the fundamentals of investing and the use of options in relation to that, then do not start with this one. This book is the bible of options.
Options as a Strategic Investment STUDY GUIDE - I find this helpful, but not necessary.
Trading Option Greeks - Dan Passarelli - Great reference for option greeks.
Make Money Trading Options: Short-Term Strategies for Beginner - Michael Sincere - This talks mostly about short term/day trading. I only read it because I want to. I personally do not day trade. I usually read his books because they are easy to understand.
How to Build, Buy, and Evaluate Businesses (Covers Valuations/Acquisitions/Negotiations)
The Little Book of Valuation - Aswath Damodaran - great short read
Investment Valuation: Determine the Value of Any Asset - Aswath Damodaran - this is a textbook, but very valuable
HBR Guide to Buying a Small Business - Richard Ruback
Buy Then Build - Walker Deibel - a great book on how to buy businesses
6 Essentials to Start & Succeed in Your Own Business - Brian Tracy
The Outsiders: 8 Unconventional CEOs - William N. Thorndike
Good to Great - Jim Collins
The Billion Dollar Secret - Rafael Badziag - how to build a business that can scale
The Complete Guide to Buying a Business - Atty Fred S. Steingold - this one is valuable. It has instructions on how to achieve buying businesses.
Merger Masters: Tales of Arbitrage - Kate Welling
The Four - Scott Galloway - how these Four biggest companies own the world. Amazing and very entertaining read.
Learn how to Invest
The Intelligent Investor - Benjamin Graham - a classic must read. easy to absorb. Beginner book.
Security Analysis - Benjamin Graham and David Dodd - a classic must read. a little more in depth than the one above. If you are a beginner in finance this might be a tougher read.
Understanding Stocks 3rd edition - Michael Sincere - beginner book
A Beginner's Guide to Dividend Stock Investing - James Pattersen Jr.
Finance/Investing/Valuations/Markets - this section really help me do a deep dive into investing and learning how the market works
Warren Buffett: Ground Rules - Jeremy Miller
Charlie Munger: The Complete Investor - Tren Griffin
Poor Charlie's Almanack - Charlie Munger
The Little Book of Common Sense Investing - John C. Bogle
Enough: True Measures of Money, Business, and Life - John Bogle
One up on Wall Street - Peter Lynch
A Random Walk Down Wall Street - Burton G. Malkiel
Stocks for the Long Run - Jeremy J Siegel
Irrational Exuberance - Robert J. Shiller
If You Can - William J Bernstein
The Investor's Manifesto - William J Bernstein
The Warren Buffett Way - Robert Hagstrom
The Delusion of Crowds - William J. Berstein
The Secret Manual To Dividend Investing - David William
The Case for Dividend Growth - David L. Bahnsen - for dividend investors
Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits and Other Writings - Philip A. Fisher
Warren Buffet and the interpretations of financial statements - Mary Buffet, David Clark
Mastering the Market Cycle - Howard Marks - This is worth a read
The most important thing - Howard Marks
Chaos Kings - Scott Patterson - about wall street traders
A Man for All Markets - Edward O. Thorp - a story about a legendary investor
Invested - Charles Schwab
Options Trading
Options Trading Simplified - Mark Lowe - Start here because this is very easy and fast to read and serves as a great into into options trading without taking too much of your time.
Options Trading for the Conservative Investor - Michael Thomsett - easy to understand and if you're confused about options, this can be a second book you can read. I like the fundamental idea of the book.
Options as a Strategic Investment - Lawrence McMillan - if you have no clue about the fundamentals of investing and the use of options in relation to that, then do not start with this one. This book is the bible of options.
Options as a Strategic Investment STUDY GUIDE - I find this helpful, but not necessary.
Trading Option Greeks - Dan Passarelli - Great reference for option greeks.
Make Money Trading Options: Short-Term Strategies for Beginner - Michael Sincere - This talks mostly about short term/day trading. I only read it because I want to. I personally do not day trade. I usually read his books because they are easy to understand.
The Option Trader's Hedge Fund - Dennis Chen and Mark Sebastian - teaches you how to build a TOMIC (one man insurance company) using options
Entrepreneurship
Eat People - Andy Kessler - very entertaining but eye-opening. makes you rethink the path you choose in your life and career.
The $100 Startup - Reinvent the way you make a Living - Chris Guillebeau
The Family First Entrepreneur - Steve Chou - how to balance life, family and business.
The Diary of a CEO: The 33 Laws of Business and Life - Steven Bartlett - another great book to have on hand to refer to now and again.
Hooked - Nir Eyal - read this!
Zero to One - Peter Thiel - how to create value and make money doing it.
Side Hustle - Chris Guillebeau - if you need ideas for side hustles that could work for you.
Building a Story Brand - Donald Miller - content creators you need to read this
The Million Dollar one person Business - Elaine Pofeldt - if you are lost in how to start a business, start small, scale as needed, read this
Success/Motivation/Self-Help
Goals - Brian Tracy - He is my favorite influencer of all time. I've read almost all the books he's published. It's really good and have a lot of actionable steps to help you succeed in whatever you do.
Million Dollar Habits - Brian Tracy
10 Qualities of Influential People - Brian Tracy
The Power of Self Confidence - Brian Tracy
Flight Plan - Brian Tracy
The Laws of Luck - Brian Tracy
The Phoenix Transformation - Brian Tracy
Warren Buffett: The Life, Lessons & Rules for Success - He got wealthy solely by investing in businesses. The best investor in my opinion. His business is literally a collection of investments on businesses.
The Checklist Manifesto - Atul Gawande
Start With Why - Simon Sinek - this will make you understand why some companies have incredible goodwill compared to others.
The Infinite Game - Simon Sinek
Failing Forward - John Maxwell - he teaches you to not fear mistakes, because they become your stepping stones for success.
The 100 Simple Secrets of Successful People - David Niven PhD - this is a great collection of quotes from successful people and it's nice to have with you to refer to from time to time.
Mastery - Robert Greene
The 48 Laws of Power - Robert Greene - He is a great author and this book teaches you how power is used throughout history until today.
Outliers: The Story of Success - Malcolm Gladwell - Outliers aren't really outliers, but more of a product of their total exposure to their environment, community, and circumstances.
The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference - Malcolm Gladwell
Indistractible - Nir Eyal - if you need help focusing, read this
Principles: Life and Work - Ray Dalio - take it with a grain of salt. Some principles are better than others.
The One Thing - Gary Keller - This book teaches you to focus on the most important thing that will change your life.
David and Goliath - Malcolm Gladwell - what appears to be unbelievable or unachievable is quite the opposite.
The 50th Law - Robert Greene - a great sequel to his first book the 48 laws of power.
Networking & Communications - (You need to learn how to communicate and network in order to be successful in business and in life)
The Proximity Principle - Ken Coleman - it's who you know
It's Not the How or the What but the Who - Claudio Fernandez-Araoz
How to Speak Effectively in Any Setting - Molly Bishop Shadel
Never Split The Difference - Chris Voss
How to Win Friends and Influence People - Dale Carnegie - a must read!
Surrounded by Idiots - Thomas Erikson
Leadership
The Coaching Habit - Michael Bungay Stanier
The First 90 Days - Michael Watkins
Tools of Systems Thinkers - Albert Rutherford
Wealth Building
The Millionaire Mind - Thomas J. Stanley - a great starter book on wealth
The Millionaire Next Door - Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko
Networking with Millionaires...and Their Advisors - Thomas J. Stanley Ph.D.
Secrets of the Millionaire Mind - Charles Constant, T. Harv Eker, et al.
Rich dad Poor dad - Robert Kiyosaki - another great starter book on wealth
Think and Grow Rich - Napoleon Hill - a classic on wealth building
The Win-Win Wealth Strategy - Tom Wheelwright
I Will Teach You to Be Rich - Ramit Sethi - a millenials guide to wealth building. He has a lot of unconventional ways of building wealth.
Money Wealth Life Insurance - Jake Thompson
Your Money or Your Life - Vicki Robin
Rich Man Poor Bank - Mark Quann - My favorite out of this stack. This book is absolutely awesome.
Buy This Not That - The Financial Samurai Sam Dogen - He's one of the OG FIRE promoters and he lives in the SF Bay area!
The Richest Man in Babylon - George Clason - history says it all.
Quit like a Millionaire - Kristy Shen - light and easy read, very practical
Wealth Secrets of the one Percent - Sam Wilkin - only if you must know. The ending is good.
The Algebra of Wealth - Scott Galloway - well suited for those starting their careers but also a great wake up call for those who now find themselves in the wrong career or life path.
Psychology/Philosophy
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion - Robert Cialdini - a tale as old as time
Your Money and Your Brain - Jason Zweig
The Power of Your Subconscious Mind - Dr Joseph Murphy
Master Your Emotions -Thibaut Meurisse
Educated: A Memoir - Tara Westover - teaches you how valuable education is.
Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself - Dr. Joe Dispenza
Limitless: Upgrade Your Brain - Jim Kwik - This book taught me how to read better and retain more of the information.
The Art of Contrary Thinking - Humphrey B. Neill
The Black Swan - Taleb - Sometimes it really pays to be contrarian.
Skin in the Game: Hidden Asymmetries in Daily Life - Nassim Nicholas Taleb - Nassim is such a great author. I love his books.
Fooled by Randomness - Nassim Taleb
The Psychology of Money - Morgan Housel - You must read this!
The Basic laws of Human Stupidity - Carlo Cipolla - this book is funny.
The Laws of Human Nature - Robert Greene
The Art of Seduction - Robert Greene
Same As Ever - Morgan Housel - You can't predict the future; but you count on how people react to things same as ever since history has been written.
Economics/ History
Economic Facts and Fallacies - Thomas Sowell
A History of the US in 5 Crashes - Scott Nations - marker meltdowns that defined a nation
Real Estate
The Real Book of Real Estate - Robert Kiyosaki - This author, I know he's a love it or hate it type of person. I read his books not just this one, and they do have great info for beginners. A good habit to form is that even if you read a book, you must still take the information with a grain of salt. Do your own research. Due diligence.
Taxes
Tax the Rich: How lies, loopholes, & lobbyist make the rich even richer - Morris Pearl
The Tax & Legal Playbook - Mark J. Kohler
Understanding Tax Lien & Tax Deed Investing - CR Wesley
Top Ten Ways to Avoid Taxes - Mark Quann
The Power of Zero - David McKnight
Biographies
Benjamin Franklin - Walter Isaacson
The Fund - Rob Copeland - warning: reading this will make you hate Ray Dalio
The Snowball: Warren Buffett - Alice Schroeder - this is the most complete story book about Warren Buffet
Almanacks
Poor Charlie's Almanack - Charlie Munger
The Almanack of Naval Ravikant - Eric Jorgenson
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List updated regularly
