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How I’d spend $1000 at age 23 (pt 2)

Posted on 27. Aug, 2009 by Brett in God, Leadership, Wrk

Yesterday I wrote about how I’d spend $1000 at age 23 if I had to spend it on personal development. If you missed it, you can read it HERE. I told you about the first $800. Here’s how I’d spend that last $200.

I’d spend it on books. Really good books. Life-changing books. Napalm-your-igorance books. Dynamite-in-your-face books.

Hear me clearly, I am not a speed-reader. I am not a bookworm. In fact, reading usually feels like hard work for me. I blame it on technology. Digital media overdose has taken a virtual lawnmower and mangled my attention span. But reading is good attention-span therapy, so I’m on the interstate to recovery. Thankfully, God has put people in my life who have sparked a reading resurgence in me. It’s awesome.

I’ve read lots of books in the last five years. Here are my top ten. They are ranked in order of awesomeness. This is a must-read list if you are a capitalist/grace-junkie like me. Here’s how I’d spend that last $200:

10. Mavericks at Work / $15 (Taylor/Labarr) – Heard about this book through a Catalyst podcast. Great read on originality and creativity in business. Tons of rich case study examples like Southwest Airlines and ING.

9. Wild at Heart / $15 (Eldredge) – This book blew the lid off my Christian thinking. Eldredge points out that God did not intend for Christian men to be soft-spoken, paisley-wearing creampuffs. God created the masculine heart as adventurous, warring, and romantic. There has been some controversy about Eldredge’s theology in recent years. Still a fan of his though.

8. Raving Fans / $20 (Blanchard) – Tiny book. But packs a huge punch. Every business owner in America should read this. The concept is simple: In business, creating satisfied customers is not enough, you must create raving fans. At our company, we run every decision through this grid. You can read this book in an hour.

7. Zag / $25 (Neuimeier) – One of my friends who owns his own branding house recommended this book and says it’s the best book on branding. I agree. It’s awesome. Author Marty Neuimeier says that in a world of countless “zigging” businesses, lasting success comes to those who “zag.”

6. Blue Like Jazz / $15 (Miller) – I know, everyone’s read this book already, but you should go read it again. The fresh spiritual perspective was and is revolutionary to me. Besides that, Donald Miller is the best true writer in the Christian book world. I marvel at his writing.

5. Never Eat Alone / $25 (Ferrazzi) – Ferrazzi has been described by people as being the most connected man in the world. NEA is by far the best book on networking/building social capital I have ever read. Ferrazzi makes the case that the core of networking isn’t throwing business cards at people, but serving them and adding value to their lives.

4. Tribes / $20 (Godin) – If you’ve hung out with me for more than an hour, you will hear me mention the name, Seth Godin. He is the Tiger Woods of the marketing world. Tribes is a different book for him in that it is more about leadership than marketing. If you aspire to lead, go buy this book right now. Short read too.

3. Rich Dad, Poor Dad / $15 (Kiyosaki) – Richard Kiyosaki is the anti-Dave Ramsey. He even says that “Savers are losers.” I love Dave Ramsey, but I love this guy too. RDPD came out a while back but it still flies off the bookstore shelves. This book will change the way you view work and money. Highly recommended.

2. Discipline of Grace / $15 (Bridges) – One of the most impacting Christian books I’ve ever read. I read this in college and it shifted how I view my walk with God. Bridges helped me understand that the Christian life is not about my performance but about God’s grace, a truth that almost every Christian screws up.

1. Good to Great / $30 (Collins) – If you haven’t read this book, let me jump in my time machine and rescue you from whatever inter-galactic vortex you’ve been living in. This is the Bible of the business world. What amazes me about this book is that it can be applied to every sector – business, non-profits, churches, even your personal life. If you step into the business world without having read this book, you are like a baseball player stepping up to the plate without a bat. Get in your car right now and go buy it. Seriously.