Before you quit your day job and start your own business you need to read these 5 essential books to becoming an entrepreneur. These are books that will change your life – they changed the way I see the world.
Each of our entrepreneurial pathways will be so different- these books will help you get in the right mindset to blaze your own trail whether you’re launching a blog, sitting down to write a novel or becoming a life coach.
If you’re starting your own enterprise, stock your shelves! These are the books that changed my life.
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Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? by Seth Godin[/highlight]
Seth Godin is legendary among entrepreneurs for a reason. His writing style is accessible, authentic and will likely resonate with with your inner mover-and-shaker within.
If you’re ready to do work that matters & need a rally cry spend some time with the man who championed impassioned entrepreneurialism.
[highlight]Crush It!: Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion by Gary Vaynerchuk[/highlight]
This is like the Fist Pump of development books. Gary Vee is notorious for Wine Library TV and his kick ass so-good-I-didn’t-even-prepare conference speeches. You will feel pumped after reading this book- best of all, you’ll see why doing what you love is more profitable than filling a cubicle.
If you need the gumption to hustle and strike it out on your own- this book is for you. Gary V is seriously like the overzealous coach of entrepreneurs- he’s hyped up on passion, swears a lot and doesn’t take crap from anybody, especially whiny scared people (like we all are from time to time). He can talk the talk and walk the walk because he’s been there and has made a killing online, and the reputation to go with it.
[highlight]Evil Plans: Having Fun on the Road to World Domination by Hugh MacLeod[/highlight]
[highlight]Who doesn’t love cartoons? Especially cartoons packed with meaning, adult humor and an understanding of the iconoclastic entrepreneurial spirit. MacLeod doesn’t just create quippy cartoons- he discovers mantras. Read his work and know that someone out there gets what drives you, keeps you up and night and makes you tick.
It also helps that he practices what he preaches and made a name for himself for drawing on business cards no less– an iconoclastic badass in all he does!
[highlight]The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything by Ken Robinson[/highlight]
It’s not too late for you. No matter what your past, no matter what you were told you were supposed to do, or how limited you feel your talents are, Robinson offers each of us with the longings to find our Element the hope we need.
Creativity, ingenuity and our best work takes multiple forms, and Robinson argues that our inner genius is waiting below the surface and it’s not too late to tap into what makes you feel alive.
[highlight]Uncertainty: Turning Fear and Doubt into Fuel for Brilliance by Jonathan Fields[/highlight]
Breaking free of the grind and flying solo is some scary, scary business. This book is utter brilliance in the fact that it doesn’t just discuss the realities of uncertainty, but Fields gives you useable tools to understand and thus, master the uncertainty you face to totally p’wn the fear and wear it with a badge of honor.
Fields also delves into aspects of mastering uncertainty that I never would have predicted- finding your champion, understanding the power of collaboration and how to train your brain’s creative potential. Honestly, it was one of my best reads of 2011 and I can’t recommend it enough.
I haven’t read anything by Seth Godin but I’ll totally have to look into it, everyone mentions him on all their sites like this!
I think the Education of Millionaires would be a great addition. Maybe not essential, but definitely helpful. I also really liked the Wealthy Freelancer (if you are or are planning to do freelance work) and the Millionaire Fastlane (for getting in a more entrepreneurial mindset).
Quitter, by Jon Acuff. I haven’t read the books in this list, but Quitter stabilizes the way you think about your day job while you work on your dream.
I second that! Quitter was a life changing book for me. It’s something I’ll have to re-read every year or anytime I need extra motivation.
Shannyn, I’ve heard about Linchpin, will have to check it out. I just finished “The Education of Millionaires” in the same genre and I highly recommend it as well.
Love the blog concept by the way and the Mainstream theme too :).
Geoff (aka Car Negotiation Coach)