50 Books Every Entrepreneur Should Read

Isn't it interesting how just about every successful entrepreneur you hear about takes a few minutes each day to read a book? Reading, therefore, seems to have some sort of correlation to success.

I personally was never much of a reader. I don't think I ever finished a book in my life until I started studying what entrepreneurs did to become successful.

Reading daily seemed to be a pattern between all successful people I studied, so I realized that it would have to at least help me get closer to my goals if I started doing it myself. And it has.

There is a reason why people with famous entrepreneurship interviews, like John Lee Dumas, always ask every guest what their favorite books are.

There is a reason why Jim Rohn, one of the most well-known success coaches ever, has this famous quotes about reading:

“The difference between where you are today and where you'll be five years from now will be found in the quality of books you've read.”

“The only thing worse than not reading a book in the last ninety days is not reading a book in the last ninety days and thinking that it doesn't matter.”

And this quote that Tony Robbins always refers to that Jim Rohn taught him:

“Miss a meal if you have to, but don't miss your reading.”

A lot of the wisdom that contributed to the success of the entrepreneurs you have always looked up to can be achieved if you just learn to take reading seriously and read a lot of the same books as they did.

 

 

Here Are 50 Books Every Entrepreneur Should Read:

 

1. Think and Grow Rich

“Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill is one of the most popular entrepreneurship / success books of all time for a reason. You'll learn all about what makes people succeed from countless studies of the most successful business owners in history.

 

2. The 4-Hour Workweek

“The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich (Expanded and Updated)” by Tim Ferriss will really change your perspective on life as an entrepreneur.

You learn how to create a business that basically runs itself (a muse), so you can live life on your terms and not be tied down by your business.

 

3. Psycho-Cybernetics

“Psycho-Cybernetics, A New Way to Get More Living Out of Life” by Maxwell Maltz teaches you that happiness and success comes from within and how to unlock it.

 

4. The Science of Getting Rich (A Thrifty Book)

“The Science of Getting Rich” by Wallace D. Wattles will teach you the power of positive thinking combined with the Laws of Attraction to create an exact science for getting rich.

 

5. The Power of Your Subconscious Mind

“The Power of Your Subconscious Mind” by Joseph Murphy shows you how to improve your financial situation, health and relationships all with the part of your mind (subconscious) you probably don't realize you're even using.

 

6. Rich Dad Poor Dad

“Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What The Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!” by Robert T. Kiyosaki is pretty self explanatory.

Robert had advice from a middle-class dad and his friend's rich dad and he explains how they differ and how to use them to be successful.

 

7. Good to Great

“Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…And Others Don't” by Jim Collins will teach you how to build a company that will have lasting success over time by engineering success into its DNA through the principles from the book.

 

8. Bringing Out the Best in People

“Bringing Out the Best in People: How to Enjoy Helping Others Excel” by Alan Loy McGinnis will teach you how to help employees and others do their best work.

 

9. Outliers

“Outliers: The Story of Success” by Malcolm Gladwell is a famous book that connects the dot of what makes the more successful and intelligent people in the world different.

 

10. The 50th Law

“The 50th Law” by 50 Cent and Robert Greene is about the life and success of famous rapper / entrepreneur, 50 Cent, and what it takes to excel in life through the principle of fearing nothing.

 

11. Way of the Peaceful Warrior

“Way of the Peaceful Warrior: A Book That Changes Lives” by Dan Millman is perfect for you if you want to get the most out of life and understand the link between the mind, body and spirit.

 

12. Start with Why

“Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action” by Simon Sinek is a book that will show you what the top leaders and companies to differently from the rest.

 

13. The SPEED of Trust

“The SPEED of Trust: The One Thing That Changes Everything” by Stephen M.R. Covey will show you how trust and how fast it is earned with customers and employees is extremely important when trying to build a successful organization.

 

14. Secrets of the Millionaire Mind

“Secrets of the Millionaire Mind: Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth” by T. Harv Eker is a book that will reveal to you why some people are destined for success and others are not because of their personal money blueprint.

 

15. The Brand Within

“The Brand Within: The Power of Branding From Birth to the Boardroom” by Daymond John is all about the branding relationships you develop s an entrepreneur and how important they are to your success.

 

16. The Alchemist

“The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho is a classic bestseller that is a story about self-discovery, following your dreams, listening to your heart and recognizing opportunity along life's journey.

 

17. Think Big

“Think Big: Make it Happen in Business and Life” by Donald J. Trump and Bill Zanker is a book about thinking BIG and never settling for less to reach success.

 

18. Beating the Street

“Beating the Street” by Peter Lynch will teach you the strategies for investing with expert advice from a legendary money manager.

 

19. Insanely Simple

“Insanely Simple: The Obsession That Drives Apple's Success” by Ken Segall will reveal how simplicity has been the driving factor that created profound success at every level of one of the world's top companies.

 

20. Awaken the Giant Within

“Awaken the Giant Within: How to Take Immediate Control of Your Mental, Emotional, Physical and Financial Destiny!” by Tony Robbins teaches you how to master every aspect of your life and create positive, lasting change.

 

21. The Greatest Salesman in the World

“The Greatest Salesman in the World” by Og Mandino is a book that reveals the principles that make up effective salesmanship, so you can succeed in the world's marketplace.

 

22. Priceless

“Priceless: The Myth of Fair Value (and How to Take Advantage of It)” by William Poundstone is all about how prices are a collective hallucination used by marketers leveraging psychological influences to get customers to buy things.

 

23. MONEY Master the Game

“MONEY Master the Game: 7 Simple Steps to Financial Freedom” by Tony Robbins is a book that shows us how to create financial freedom for ourselves as well as our families.

 

24. Influence

“Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion” by Robert B. Cialdini explains the psychology of why people say “yes” to buying things or doing tasks, as well as how to apply these principles to business or life.

 

25. The Willpower Instinct

“The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of It” by Kelly McGonigal teaches us self-control can be used to improve our productivity, health and happiness in life.

 

 

26. The Richest Man Who Ever Lived

“The Richest Man Who Ever Lived: King Solomon's Secrets to Success, Wealth, and Happiness” by Steven K. Scott is about King Solomon's interesting strategies he used to achieve financial success and personal fulfillment in his life.

 

27. Bold

“Bold: How to Go Big, Create Wealth and Impact the World” by Peter H. Diamandis and Steven Kotler opens up our minds to the possibilities of not just creating extraordinary wealth, by also making a positive impact on billions of lives.

 

28. Abundance

“Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think” by Peter H. Diamandis and Steven Kotler is about the future being more positive than we think and how although there are many world concerns about overpopulation, food, water, energy, freedom, educations, and care, progress in artificial intelligence, robotics and other technologies will allow us to meet and exceed any basic human needs.

 

29. The Magic of Thinking Big

“The Magic of Thinking Big” by David J. Schwartz teaches us that we can achieve anything we want in life by setting our goals very high and working towards exceeding them instead of selling ourselves short.

 

30. The Innovator's Dilemma

“The Innovator's Dilemma: The Revolutionary Book That Will Change the Way You Do Business” by Clayton M. Christensen is a book that opens up our eyes to how we should actually be doing business, as well as how the biggest companies can fail because they do everything right.

 

31. We Learn Nothing

“We Learn Nothing: Essays” by Tim Kreider is a nice break from your average book that will entertain you and make you think deeply about how human-kind is wired, as well as why we do the things we do.

 

32. Titan

“Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.” by Ron Chernow covers the life and business ventures of history's first billionaire, John D. Rockefeller Sr., and how he built such an incredible empire.

 

33. As I See It

“As I See It: The Autobiography of J. Paul Getty” by J. Getty  is about the life of one of the world's richest men of his time and how he created so much success in his life.

 

34. How to Win at the Sport of Business

“How to Win at the Sport of Business: If I Can Do It, You Can Do It” by Mark Cuban reveals Cuban's rags-to-riches story that eventually led him to become a billionaire entrepreneur, as well as his straight-to-the-point ideas on how to build a successful business the right way.

 

35. Eat That Frog!

“Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways To Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done In Less Time” by Brian Tracy will get you off your butt and being productive with 21 methods for overcoming procrastination for good.

 

36. The Fountainhead

“The Fountainhead” by Ayn Rand, one of Mark Cuban's favorites, takes you on a journey with a struggling architect competing against a successful rival where different themes like: the struggle between good and evil, fascism and individual strength come into play as the world tries to bring him down.

 

37. Business Adventures

“Business Adventures: Twelve Classic Tales from the World of Wall Street” by John Brooks, one of Bill Gates' favorites, goes over Wall Street stories that reveal nature of the world of finance with a hint of adventure and drama mixed in.

 

38. As a Man Thinketh

“As a Man Thinketh” by James Allen will bring inspiration, faith and self-healing to your life, as well as teach you the importance of how yourself to think on a daily basis.

 

39. The Obstacle Is the Way

“The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph” by Ryan Holiday teaches us how to turn obstacles or impossible situations into opportunities.

 

40. Blink

“Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking” by Malcolm Gladwell breaks down the art of decision-making in an instant, how our brains work in different environments and how some people seem to have good instincts, while others don't.

 

41. Reality Check

 

“Reality Check: The Irreverent Guide to Outsmarting, Outmanaging, and Outmarketing Your Competition” by Guy Kawasaki is an all-in-one guide for starting and growing great businesses.

 

42. Switch

“Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard” by Chip and Dan Heath is a book about making positive changes in life by mastering the control of your rational and emotional parts of your mind.

 

43. Lucky Or Smart?

“Lucky Or Smart?: Fifty Pages for the First-Time Entrepreneur” by Bo Peabody, an internet multi-millionaire by age 27, takes us through the lessons Bo learned as an entrepreneur and how to use the combination of luck and smarts to create success.

 

44. The Four Steps to the Epiphany

“The Four Steps to the Epiphany” by Steve Blank revolutionized startups by launching the “Lean Startup” approach to new business ventures, while teaching you the right skills you need to market and organize sales for your business' success.

 

45. The Startup Playbook

“The Startup Playbook: Secrets of the Fastest-Growing Startups from Their Founding Entrepreneurs” by David Kidder shares some of the best, closely-guarded advice from the most influential CEOs and business owners from 40 face-to-face interviews.

 

46. Rework

“Rework” by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson teaches us a better, easier, faster and unconventional way to succeed in business that goes against almost everything you may have been taught before.

 

47. The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need

“The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need” by Andrew Tobias shows us how to save more and invest smarter in today's world.

 

48. The Fire Starter Sessions

“The Fire Starter Sessions: A Soulful + Practical Guide to Creating Success on Your Own Terms” by Danielle LaPorte is an unconventional book that reveals how we can create success in our lives without worrying about principles, life balance, being well-rounded or setting goals.

 

49. The $100 Startup

“The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future” by Chris Guillebeau shows us how to live a life full of adventure, meaning and purpose while earning a good income.

 

50. Enchantment

 

“Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions” by Guy Kawasaki shows us how to be loved and trusted by bringing out positive, voluntary and lasting change in people to benefit your personal and business goals.

 

Conclusion

To be the best version of yourself you can be and ensure your success, make it a goal to read books like these at least 30 minutes per day, so that you go to bed every night a little bit wiser than you were when you woke up earlier that morning.

What is your favorite book on or off this list for entrepreneurs?