- On March 27, 2017
- By Michael
Michael’s Library
It can be a dizzying experience wandering through the bookstore looking for a book that will actually help a business owner and entrepreneur. This week on The Trep Talk host Michael Melfi reveals the books that he lives by – the ones that he would recommend. There are more than 50 of them to choose from and all carried him forward and hold great written insight and wisdom. Studies have been done that show that really successful people read on a consistent daily basis. Use Michael’s recommendations to stimulate your mind.
Below is a peek at his recommendations and is just the tip of the bookshelf! Listen to this week’s podcast with pen and paper in hand to capture books that resonate with you!
The first books are all based on personal development. You must build a strong, personal foundation before you can build a business. These books help you to be a better version of you. They include classics like Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, and Are You Up For The Challenge? by Rod Hairston.
Yet Michael also includes newer, soon to be classics like Super Rich – A Guide To Having It All by Russell Simmons, which really isn’t about money at all but more about what’s in your heart. Another favorite is Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone To Take Action by Simon Sinek – a great book for building a personal foundation.
Michael also reveals the books that outline excellent tactics for a business owner – the books that are the blocking and tackling of business and life in general. These are the books that offer the ‘how’ to take action. Many will be familiar, like How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie – the first and best of it’s kind. Or perhaps you’ve also heard of Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson and Kevin Blanchard that deals with how to handle change, both personally and professionally. These made the list, but other, just as interesting and forward thinking type books made the list too.
Those books include anything written by Jeffrey Gitmer, such as The Little Red Book of Selling. Michael lists 5 of his books that are all bout relationship-based selling and come highly recommended. Another short read is The Fred Factor; How passion in your work and life can turn ordinary into extraordinary by Mark Sandborn. It’s a short book that can be read in one sitting but don’t let it’s small size fool you, it is really insightful on how bringing excellence in all you do can pay off in a big way.
The last type of book Michael has pulled off his library shelf has to do with strategy. Once you know the tactics, how do you build strategies for long-term success and growth? The books Michael is recommending are a huge help to thinking critically and building those success strategies.
Michael has favorite authors in this category too, such as Malcolm Gladwell, author or David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants; or his other popular book, The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference.
He also lists other classics you’ll recognize, but the new ones may be just as helpful. Traction: How Any Startup Can Achieve Explosive Customer Growth by Gabriel Weinberg and Justin Mares is all about explosive growth for any professional.
Michel also reads books about or by iconic people like Damon Johns, Sir Richard Branson, and Mark Cuban, Warren Buffett. These mentors offer great insight based on their own successful journeys, and he encourages listeners to pick up a book about or written by these iconic figures.
So stop going cross-eyed and pull one from each section and read them at the same time – really setting your brain on fire! Listen The Trep Talk for the complete list!
