Do you want to be successful in life, see your mistakes and get ideas to grow? Then read. Through reading, you get ideas that can make you a better person in life. As we start in 2019 we give you 10 books that you would want to read to help you in your endeavors in 2019. Some of the books motivate you and others give you new and modern ideas that can help you grow as an entrepreneur or even a leader.
1. The Power of Broke
Are you not starting a business because you are broke? Then you should read the power of Broke by Daymond John. This book, released on 19 January 2016, argues that broke can actually be your greatest competitive advantage as an entrepreneur. John’s explanation for such an argument is that starting a business from broke forces you to think more creatively, to use your resources more efficiently and to connect with your customers more authentically, marketing your ideas more imaginatively.
“Life is a cruel teacher. She loves to give you the test first and the lesson later,” writes Daymond.
Daymond John is an entrepreneur who owns FUBU, a US$6 billion fashion industry, which he started with only a $40 budget. The entrepreneur is also a presenter on ABC’s Shack Tank, a New York Times best-selling author and a motivational speaker.
2. The Execution Factor
Why do you think you are unsuccessful in your life? Is it because you don’t have great ideas, no advanced degree or a high IQ? People have achieved their dreams without the so-called great ideas, advanced degrees, and high IQ according to The Execution Factor by Kim Perell. The ability to execute determines whether you are making success or you are a failure of the dreams you have. Published on 7 September 2018, Perell’s book can transform you from a dreamer to a doer of your dreams. As you read through the book, you will learn about 5 traits of execution which include vision, passion, action, resilience, and relationships.
“Passion comes from the Latin word for pain. What is something you’re so passionate about that you would gladly suffer for?” Perell says.
Perell is the founder of Frontline Direct, a digital marketing firm, which she started at her kitchen table in Hawaii in 2003 and transformed to bring in $100 million in annual revenue. The female entrepreneur was appointed the Adconion Media Group, a global digital media, CEO in 2010. Perell has in the past been named the entrepreneur of the year by Ernst & Young and also by the National Association for Female Executives.
3. Purple Cow
How are you marketing your products to the customers? Are you still using traditional ways of marketing that are being used by everyone, maybe with your competitors too? Purple Cow by Sent Godin takes you further than traditional marketing to help your product stand out among competitors. The book published in May 2003 can be used by entrepreneurial marketers to be innovative in marketing brands.
“In your career, even more than for a brand, being safe is risky. The path to lifetime job security is to be remarkable,” Godin says.
Sent Godin is an author for nineteen international books to change people’s ways of thinking in marketing. The entrepreneur and blogger gives some marketing ideas in the digital age.
4. Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…and Others Don’t
If you don’t want to be ordinary but extraordinary, then the book Good to Great is the book to read. The book, that was published in 2001, analyses 28 companies over a 30 years period to help you understand what it takes for you and your company to be “great”. Jim Collins in the book argues that “good is the enemy of great”.
“Few people attain great lives, in large part because it is just so easy to settle for a good life,” Collins says.
Jim Collins is an author, business consultant, and inspirational management speaker. Collin is also a lecturer on company sustainability and growth. Besides Good to Great, the lecturer also authored Built to Last, How the Mighty Fall and also Great by Choice among others.
5. Principles: Life and Work
Do you have the rules that govern your life to success? In Principles: Life and Work, Ray Dalio believes that life, management, economics and investing can all be systematized into rules and understood like machines. The author describes the ways in which individuals and companies can make decisions, approach challenges and build strong teams.
“Principles are fundamental truths that serve as the foundations for behavior that get you what you want in your life. They can be applied again and again in similar situations to help you achieve your goals,” Dalio says.
Ray Dalio is the founder of Bridgewater Associates, a global macro investment firm and one of the world’s largest hedge fund. Dalio has appeared on the Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world and Bloomberg Markets list of the 50 most influential people.
