In 2015 I challenged myself to read 50 business and personal development books.  It was certainly a challenge.  But wow!  The growth I felt was incredible.  As I heard Dave Ramsey say once, “Five years from now you will be the same person except for the people you meet and the books you read.”

So in 2016 I have challenged myself to read 25 more.

Here is the list I have read…so far this year!

Brewing Up a Business:  This book is written by Sam Calgione, the founder of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery.  As you may know, I am in the process of starting a microbrewery myself, so this was particularly fascinating because of that!

The School of Greatness:  Lewis Howes wrote this book about the principles of success he has learned on his Podcast with the same name.  He takes on simple principles that can lead to great success.  His success has been impressive…so I felt like he had a lot to teach me!

The Go-Giver:  This is one of my favorites this year!  This is a great little parable about how you can truly get ahead in life by putting others first.  It’s not about making a sale.  It’s about creating a legacy.  Enjoyed this one for sure.

H3 Leadership:  I got this one because the 3 H’s stand for Humble, Hungry and Hustle…love that.  It was actually very much about faith.  Though it was not what I expected, it was good to get to the end.

Gumption (Taking Bubba Gump from Movie to Restaurant):  This was a good story.  But it was not full of business lessons that I felt I could use.  Interesting to hear how the restaurant came to be.

Essentialism:  In this book, Greg McKeown reminds us that we need to stop saying “yes” to everything.  Some great reminders in here to all of us that seem to live exclusively in the land of “busy.”

#AskGaryVee:  I am an unapologetic fan boy for Gary Vaynerchuk, so it should come as no surprise that I enjoyed this book.  This was a more robust business book for Gary and I think it was an absolutely brilliant use of content creation turning into a best selling book.  Good stuff all around.

Extreme Ownership (How U.S. Navy Seals lead and win).  I really got a lot out of this book.  It was a great call out for leaders.  If there is a problem in your organization or your team…you have to own it.  Lots of great lessons here.  I highly recommend for anyone wanting to effectively lead a team.

The Power of Broke:  I love Daymond John on Shark Tank so I was excited to read this one.  Daymond gives some great lessons on how NOT having resources can make you more creative, more hungry and, ultimately, more successful if you leverage it.

The LIKE Switch:  This one was written by a former FBI Agent who needed to “win over” people in interviews.  He goes into strategies you can use to get people to LIKE you.  If you are in business, this translates into people buying from you…so it’s a lesson worth learning.

Hug Your Haters:  I love this because Jay Baer wrote a book that has validated what I have been telling my social media clients for the past several years.  And he has the data to go with it!  If your business is on social media, this should be required reading.

The Happiness Equation:  This was one of my favorites to read this year.  I blew through it in a weekend.  Totally recommend this one (and one later in the list).  If you want to be more successful in life, start by being happy.  Sound backwards?  It’s not.  Neil Pasricha makes the case.

Fan of Happy:  Forgive the humble brag in the middle of the post, but this was the time of the year that my latest book came out!  Fan of Happy is a book that I wrote for my daughters, and then realized it was appropriate for everyone I knew!  It’s filled with life lessons for your teenagers, your team at work…and you.  Enjoy.

The Productivity Project:  One thing that most everyone wants to be, is more productive.  We want to be able to get more done with the time we are given.  Chris Bailey took a year to experiment and become as productive as possible.  This book details his journey and results.

SURGE:  I always enjoy books from Mike Michaelowicz…and this is no different.  This book picked up where the Pumpkin Plan left off.  Here you will learn how to find a Wave (trend) to ride to profitability and greatness.

You Herd Me:  This one was certainly a lighter fare (hey, I was on vacation).  But I like books that make me think and challenge my opinions.  I guess that’s why I miss Colin Cowherd on ESPN radio.  If you are a sports fan, you will like this one.

Quench Your Own Thirst:  The founder and owner of Samuel Adams tells his story in this book.  As I mentioned earlier, I enjoy books about business and brewing…so this was in my wheelhouse for sure.  I enjoyed it more for the beer stories than the business lessons…but that’s okay too!

Take the Stairs:  Last year I read the book Procrastinate on Purpose by Rory Vaden and enjoyed it.  Take the Stairs was another good call to action book.  I think if you combine the two, it would have been a great read back to back.

The Ideal Team Player:  Patrick Lencioni does a great job with a business story.  This was easy to read and I still got a lot out of it.  I read the entire thing on a plane ride.  I love it when I can do that.

The 4 Disciplines of Executiion:  Wow!  This was recommended to me from one of my team members, Eric Dingler.  I am really glad he did.  We have implemented these practices at Hasseman Marketing and we are seeing the difference already.  Highly recommend this one.

Beyond the Pale:  This book is written by Ken Grossman and is the story of Sierra Nevada Brewing.  Though I enjoy this style of book, I would only recommend it to those really interested in Craft Brewing.

The Happiness Advantage:  I love this book written by Shawn Achor because it adds data to prove things I have always believed.  By filling your brain with positivity, you increase brain function, creative thinking and overall cognitive abilities.  He explains why humans are set up, biologically, to function better by being happy.  Check this one out.

Fanatical Prospecting:  Sometimes you just need a reminder and a kick in the pants.  This is that kind of book.  Jeb Blount does a great job cutting through the bull about sales.  He doesn’t sugar coat it.  If you want to have a full pipeline…you need to prospect.  Anyone in sales should pick this one up for sure.

Never Split the Difference:  This was a really interesting book by Chris Voss, a former FBI negotiator, on the tactics we can use to better negotiate.  Chris told stories of real negotiations and how he learned his craft.  Really interesting stuff here.

Money, Master the Game:  Tony Robbins is a master.  This book is like a text book on how to better grow your money.  I need to re-read this one from beginning to end again soon.  It says “7 simple steps to financial freedom,” but simple is not the same as easy.  In addition, be prepared to spend some time on this one…it’s a long one!

The Freak Factor:  David J. Rendall wrote this cool book about embracing your own inner freak.  The concept is, many of us spend a lot of time hiding our weaknesses.  David makes the case that we should embrace them, celebrate them, and sometimes showcase these weaknesses.  Thanks to Danny Rosin for sending me this one!  I enjoyed it.

Pre-Suasion:  Super interesting for students of human behavior and psychology!  The book was written by Robert Cialdini, who wrote the NY Times Best Selling Book “Influence.”  This new book is about how to set the stage for people to make the decision you want, by “Pre-Suading” them…or setting the stage in advance.  This is another book I may re-read to dig in more.

Training Camp:  This is a fun business/sports parable…and I am sucker for these.  Jon Gordon, the author of the Energy Bus, wrote this book about an undrafted rookie in the NFL trying to make a team.  He gets a “playbook” that tells him the things that the best of the best do differently.  Good reminder about things we all need to do better.

So this is the list…so far.  I have passed my goal of 25 for the year…but still have time to get some more in.  What are you reading?

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