Medium/David Hamrick: These 10 Useful Books Will Change Your Life

May 18
These 10 Useful Books Will Change Your Life
Notice the bookmarks?

It’s a wild, new world out there. And you need to learn more. You need to read more. A lot more. Reading not only improves your knowledge, but also helps reduce stress and opens up a world beyond the one you’re engaging day-to-day.

It’s rare that a successful person achieves and maintains success without reading constantly. Buffett reads 4–6 hours per day. Bill Gates sets aside at least one week out of the year to do nothing but read. Oprah Winfrey has her famous book club. The list goes on and on.

I read a lot. And the key to reading a lot is not just reading a lot quickly, but knowing what to read.

I wrote previously that there are 10 skills you need to survive. I’ve since updated the list somewhat, removing autodidacticism (I refer to that as the Golden Skill now) and replacing it with business.

These are 10 powerful skills you must know to not only be successful, but to survive in this wild, new world. They are: self-control, psychology, communication, leadership, sales, marketing, design, computer science, business and money.

First, you must know yourself and those around you — self-control and psychology. Then you must know how to communicate well, so you can effectively lead, sell and market to others. Finally, you must understand the changing world and how to interact with it via design, computers, business and money.

I’ve compiled a list of the 10 most useful books covering each of these skills. While these may not be the definitive books on their respective subjects, these are the books I return to most often; they are useful.

So if you haven’t read these yet, stop what you’re doing, head to a library or bookstore, find them and read them.

These books will change your life.
1 — Self-control
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

Marcus Aurelius (AD 121–180) was a Roman emperor. You might remember him as played by Richard Harris in the film Gladiator; he’s the guy Joaquim Phoenix smothers to death near the start of the film. Of course, Marcus Aurelius was more than just an emperor. He was a Stoic philosopher as well.

Aurelius is seen by many as a (if not the) figurehead of Stoicism. From Wikipedia:

    The school (of Stoicism) taught that virtue, the highest good, is based on knowledge, and that the wise live in harmony with the divine Reason (also identified with Fate and Providence) that governs nature, and are indifferent to the vicissitudes of fortune and to pleasure and pain.

Meditations is a series of spiritual reflections by Aurelius, covering doubt and despair, conviction and exaltation. He writes on the nature of moral virtue, human rationality and divine providence, as well as his own feelings on the subjects.

A few popular books are derivative of this book. Mark Manson’s The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck comes to mind, as does Ryan Holiday’s The Obstacle is the Way. Both authors are admitted fans of the philosopher and their books are fantastic entry-level material for those who wish to learn more about the practice of Stoicism.

I have the Penguin classics edition as well as a Dover thrift edition. I’ve purchased copies and handed it out to others. There is no better book for reflecting on pain (physical, mental, spiritual) and how one can deal with it without feeling or complaint.

Also read: The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg, The One Thing by Gary Keller and Managing Oneself by Peter F. Drucker
2 — Psychology
Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

Daniel Kahneman is a Nobel-prize winning psychologist whose work in behavioral economics, a field of science that covers how humans make decisions in economic-related matters, changed the world. Much of this book emphasizes the work that he and his partner Amos Tversky pioneered from the 70’s through the 90's.

A lot of his work is well known, even if he and Tversky are not. Ideas like the availability bias, irrational deal making, anchoring, regression to the mean (or the hot-hands fallacy) and a lot more have become modern buzzwords.

God, this book is fucking mindblowing. Even at a thick ~500 pages, Dr Kahneman’s book will change the way you view the human race and the (mostly bad) decisions they make.

I not only own a copy for myself, but I’ve purchased copies for my brother and three of my business partners.

Also read: Civilization and Its Discontents by Sigmund Freud, Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely and The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins
3 — Communication
On Writing by Stephen King

We bloggers worship at the temple of the written word. For to write well requires you to study the art of writing almost as much as actually writin; therefore, it’s always best to study one of the masters. While Strunk’s The Elements of Style often appears on writer’s best-of lists, for a more contemporary voice I choose King’s memoir On Writing.

On Writing is a two part book. The first follows King’s path to becoming a writer. The second half actually digs into the actual skills and tips King offers up would-be writers.

King doesn’t pull any punches, either. He sneers at adverbs and poo-poos on speaking verbs outside of “says” and “said.” King preaches “showing” over “telling”, of course, and points out the cliches that many of us are prone to use — whether we realize it or not.

Reading this gem improves your writing not only for the sake of learning something new, but out of fear; it is impossible read this book and not imagine the Master of Horror himself hovering over your shoulder, judging your work.

Also read: The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Ted Talks by Chris Anderson and Everybody Writes by Ann Handley
4 — Leadership
Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek

If there was one clear voice of the millenial generation, Simon Sinek is that voice. Sinek is an investor, entrepreneur and management consultant whose TED sermon Start With Why will shake you to your core.

But it’s his book Leaders Eat Last that really got my attention. Offering up a blend of human physiology, psychology and management styles, while taking a look at good and bad management trends through the years — specifically pointing a finger at the Boomers that destroyed tribal management systems in the mid-1980s — and investigating what makes leaders great.

Integrity, humility, bravery are all elements of the Sinekian leader. The Sinekian leader rushes into the fire to save her men. She cuts her paycheck before she lays employees off. She listens.

Even if you are not able to read this book, Sinek’s YouTube videos are just as inspirational — the man is no stranger to communication.

Also read: Good to Great by Jim Collins, The Peter Principle by Laurence J Peter and Start With Why (also) by Simon Sinek
5 — Sales
How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie

Dale Carnegie, a penniless, failed actor, started teaching public speaking courses out of the YMCA he lived at. His claim to fame came from having his audience members speak about “what made them mad” — this forced his listeners to come out of their shells and speak in front of a crowd. Within four years, Carnegie was speaking in front of thousands at Carnegie Hall itself. In 1936 he published this book and it has been a bestseller ever since.

There is really no better book on the subject of sales (and communication) than Dale Carnegie’s masterpiece How to Win Friends and Influence People. Ultimately, every guru, every sales guide, every online course are all derivative of this very book written over 80 years ago. Powerful, powerful stuff.

Much of how we write and create — even we writers here on Medium — comes from this book. The cover itself taunts would-be readers with clickbaity-listicles like:

    What are the six ways of making people like you?

    What are the twelve ways of winning people to your way of thinking?

    What are the nine ways to change people without giving offense or arousing resentment?

That’s on the cover of a book written in 1936, folks. It’s easy to imagine any of those questions as headlines on Medium, Tumblr or Facebook.

The material is strong, well-written and updated versions of the book even replace a lot of the outdated pop-culture references.

I own three copies of this book. An updated version on my Kindle, a 1984 anniversary edition and a 1938 edition (45th printing, pictured above).

Also read: Influence by Robert Cialdini, To Sell is Human by Daniel Pink and Start With Why by Simon Sinek
6 — Marketing
Purple Cow by Seth Godin

Drive down a country road. You might see some cows. Brown cows, white cows, black cows. After a while, you’ll stop turning your head. After you see one cow, two cows, ten cows — it gets boring.

But what if there was a purple cow?

You’ll look.

You’ll pull over.

You’ll stare.

This is the premise of Seth Godin’s awesome little book Purple Cow. Whether you’re a rock musician, writer or even a politician, putting a purple cow — something different and new — into everything you do will make a huge difference. Good or bad. For example: every time Kanye West flies off the handle and goes “viral”, do you notice that it’s tied closely to the release of a new album? Netflix creates risky and interesting series that the networks would never try out. And let’s not forget the Twitter-rant commander-in-chief, El Donaldo.

While Godin is a master of the “big idea” book and has a few great books out there (plus a killer blog), this is by far my favorite of the bunch. The concepts are powerful and I’ve used them in nearly every entrepreneurial undertaking, whether it’s the products I sell online, what I write or even my resume, I always try to be a “purple cow.”

Also read: Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook by Gary Vaynerchuk, All Marketers Are Liars by Seth Godin and Trust Me I’m Lying by Ryan Holiday
7 — Design
The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman

“What would Don Norman say about this shitty design?” I often ask myself. Whether it’s a cat scoop that has holes too big (and shit-clumps falling through them), Verifone’s credit readers’ “RRNT RRNT RRNT!” sound after you’ve made a successful purchase or HBO’s SHITTY Amazon Fire app (the fucking thing doesn’t remember that I just watched a particular episode and I have to find my place every time, UGH)— I think about that big yellow book with the big red teapot and its dangerously-placed handle.

What might seem like common sense to the user is sometimes lost by the designers themselves. Dr. Norman points out that the sometimes the needs and psychology of the people are ignored.

    Alas, bad design is everywhere, but fortunately, it isn’t difficult to design things that are understandable, usable, and enjoyable.

Originally published in 1988 (since updated for the Internet age), The Design of Everyday Things is whimsical, informative and cleverly crafted.

Also read: Don’t Make Me Think by Steve Krug, Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson and About Face by Cooper/Reimann/Cronin/Noessel.
8 — Computer Science
HTML & CSS by Jon Duckett

The web is all around you. The wild, new world we live in is a computer-driven one and the machines aren’t like us. They don’t think like us. And they speak a different language than us. So it’s imperative that we understand them. For the of us who call ourselves web entrepreneurs, we especially need to know at least the basics.

Two chief languages make up website development and design: HTML and CSS. This book does a terrific job of instructing even total newcomers in the commands and structure of these languages.

HTML is the language that structures websites and gives it the raw content while CSS styles those crude elements to give us the attractive pages we’re so used to scanning through.

Duckett’s follow up, JavaScript & JQuery brings us into the world of website functionality. I highly recommend purchasing both at the same time (you can buy the combo on Amazon for ~$50).

Also read: Understanding the Digital World by Brian K. Kernigan, The Innovators by Walter Issaacson and JavaScript and JQuery by Jon Duckett
9 — Business
The Lean Startup by Eric Ries

“So do you have a business plan?” the awkward, non-entrepreneur asks while I’m describing a killer idea I have.

“Business plan?” I say. “I don’t even know if this idea will make money yet!”

The Lean Startup is the Silicon Valley business Bible. Its writer, Eric Ries, a serial entrepreneur and management consultant, defines a start-up as

    “…an organization dedicated to creating something new under conditions of extreme uncertainty.”

Taking cues from Japanese auto manufacturers, the Lean Startup approach is all about rapid validation and shortening production cycles, creating MVPs (minimum viable products), pre-production market testing, and of course, the Build->Measure->Learn->Repeat cycle.

This ideas held in this book are more than just ideas that can be applied to business. I’ve used them for fitness regiments, diets, design work, writing, social engagements and more.

Build, measure, learn, repeat, baby.

Also read: The Four Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss, Zero to One by Peter Thiel and Rework by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hannson
10 — Money
Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki

This book stirred quite the awakening in me when I read it a few years back. There’s no wonder why it is such a classic twenty years after its first printing.

Kiyosaki spins a fable of two paternal relationships. The first is with his biological father, a teacher. This dad believes a person goes to school, gets a job, suffers a mortgage (“the best investment you’ll ever make!”), retires, collects social security, dies. This is the “poor dad.” The second relationship is with his friend’s father who introduces young Robert to the world of shit-jobs by employing he and his friend for the measly rate of $0.25 an hour. After young Robert and his friend grow angry at the experience, this father-figure more or less explains that if he and his buddy don’t start thinking different about how money works, that this is what the bulk of their life will be like. This is the “rich dad.”

It’s dangerous reading this book, especially if you subscribe to what Kiyosaki is pitching. Because you’ll soon realize that it’s a lonely world out there for those who think like the rich dad; 90% of those around you are poor dads (and moms) or working their way to being poor dads/moms and they just don’t get it. Every time someone brags to me about a car payment that’s nearly a third of their gross pay, buys a house with rooms they don’t use (“but it’s an investment!”) or complains about the 1%, I feel alone.

This is another book I’ve handed out a few times. I own two copies and also also have Robert’s Cashflow Quadrant.

Also read: A Random Walk Down Wall Street by Burton Malkiel, Basic Economics by Thomas Sowell and Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist by Roger Lowenstein

You’ve got to be a polymath.

In order to be a polymath, you’ve got to be an autodidact.

And the best path to autodidacticism is to read.

Read, read, read.
Be sure to recommend this post and follow me on Medium. I try to update 2–3 times per week (if not more).
For more of my rants, musings, reviews and ideas, check out my site: What Dave Reads and follow me on Instagram @whatdavereads.

    BooksSelf ImprovementEntrepreneurshipListsReading

Show your support

Clapping shows how much you appreciated Dave Hamrick’s story.
Go to the profile of Dave Hamrick
Dave Hamrick

Sobering up during the zombie apocalypse
More from Dave Hamrick
How to Sell on Amazon for Beginners
Go to the profile of Dave Hamrick
Dave Hamrick
Also tagged Books
Think: Calm Determination
Go to the profile of Brad Stulberg
Brad Stulberg
Also tagged Self Improvement
3 Things You Can Learn From Jeff Bezos About Making Smart Decisions
Go to the profile of Zat Rana
Zat Rana