You want to start a side hustle or become self-employed. Congratulations!
Do not let the task overwhelm you. Take one step at a time and you will succeed.
As Charlie “Tremendous” Jones is credited with saying, “Five years from today, you will be the same person that you are today, except for the books you read and the people you meet.”
While I don’t know who you will meet in your life, I know that if you read the books mentioned, you will be a different person. This is especially true if you apply the messages each book has to share.
Click below to download the full list.
No More Dreaded Mondays
by Dan Miller
I have been a fan of Dan Miller and his podcast, 48Days.com/podcast since I first hear about him on Dave Ramsey’s podcast more than 14 years ago.
I read this book in December of 2013 after I had started my self-employment journey 17 months earlier.
The book is an easy read and at just 241 pages, you can easily read it over the course of a weekend.
In the book, Dan shows how unreliable the old concept of a corporate pension and how “safe” big company jobs can be.
He doesn’t leave us, the reader, without hope. Through the rest of the book, Dan talks about designing work we look forward to doing. Instead of living a “Thank God It’s Friday” life that dreads going to work on Monday, we can wake up and be thankful we have work that we love to do and that brings in the money that we desire.
I challenge you to look at the 10 work models mentioned in chapter 8 and not find at least one that fits who you are and the talents you have.
You can buy it on Amazon* https://amzn.to/2BqDU66
The $100 Startup:
Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love,
and Create a New Future
by Chris Guillebeau
If you think you need Angel Investors, a Small Business Administration loan, or to remortgage your house to start your business, Chris shows you that you can start with substantially less.
Chris shares the stories of people that followed their passion, had a low startup investment (at least under $1000 but most were free or under $100). They also needed to have $50,000+ in net income, required no special skills, provided Chris with full financial disclosure and had fewer than five employees (most were micro businesses).
The concept of microbusinesses, businesses typically run by only one person, which have been around for centuries. The book is filled with example after example of how people made good in their business.
This book is an easy read and at around 274 pages, you can easily read it over the course of a weekend.
You can buy it on Amazon* https://amzn.to/372YFQZ
Launch:
An Internet Millionaire’s Secret Formula To Sell Almost Anything Online, Build A Business You Love, And Live The Life Of Your Dreams
by Jeff Walker
I had heard of Jeff Walker and his Product Launch Formula (PLF) for years.
I had been an affiliate partner for more than half a dozen launches that all seemed familiar. There were almost exactly the same because they were using the PLF. I did not make the decision to pay $100s to learn the formula.
I wanted years after Jeff wrote and published his book on the process.
While the book is reasonably priced, it does not provide every benefit and tactic that you would get in the $2000 course.
That said, the book provides a substantial amount of great information that is helpful for people with no audience or an audience of 1000s.
This book is an easy read and at around 199 pages, you can easily read it over the course of a weekend.
The book is on Amazon* https://amzn.to/3gSL3wd
Real Artists Don’t Starve:
Timeless Strategies for Thriving in the New Creative Age
by Jeff Goins
Jeff Goins’ latest book shatters the myth that if you are an artist or creative that you need to live a subsistence life.
Michelangelo, one of the most famous artists of all time was a multi-millionaire in today’s dollars.
In exploring Michelangelo’s story, Jeff provides 12 principles that we can implement in order to earn more than a simple living.
The book is an easy read and at around 203 pages, you can easily read it over the course of a weekend.
This is on Amazon* https://amzn.to/2Ua0Bls
The Big Leap:
Conquer Your Hidden Fear and Take Life to the Next Level
by Gay Hendricks
If you don’t think you can make it in business or self-employment, this book is for you.
Hendricks talks about the upper limit challenge we all have. We believe that we are only so good as to make a set amount of money or enjoy a set amount of happiness in our lives. When we reach that level, we begin to sabotage ourselves.
We are thermostats and not thermometers. When your home gets too cold or too hot, the AC/Heat will kick on to bring us back to the set temperature. That is what the upper limit challenge does.
We need to become more of a thermometer. A Thermometer registers the temperature, nothing more.
Hendricks also talks about our “Zone of Genius” and how the work we do should be at that level and to get the work that is in one of the preceding three levels to do.
This book is an easy read and at around 201 pages, you can easily read it over the course of a weekend.
This is on Amazon* https://amzn.to/2MrbgUT
Mindset:
The New Psychology of Success
by Dr. Carol Dweck
Often the biggest obstacle in our lives is the gray matter between our ears.
Our brains are full of thoughts and beliefs that often limit us from living a full life. In this book, Dr. Dweck explains the two extremes in our thinking; growth and fixed mindsets.
As the names suggest, a growth mindset believes we can grow while a fixed mindset believes that we are bound and can only get to a certain level.
This book was a bit of a challenge for me. It is around 264 pages but it was so filled with information that hit me hard, I needed to truly slow down and read each word purposefully.
Based on the notes that I took, it might take you two weeks or more to read this, assuming you two days per chapter.
This is on Amazon* https://amzn.to/2Azi8wF
Rise of the Youpreneur:
The Definitive Guide to Becoming the Go-To Leader in Your Industry and Building a Future-Proof Business
by Chris Ducker
In this book, Chris will show you how to develop the” Business of You.”
Part of how he does this is showing how to build based on a “future-proof” business model.
If you are looking for a book that will take you step-by-step from building your brand to marketing it to monetizing it, this is the book for you.
This book is an easy read and at around 256 pages, you can easily read it over the course of a weekend.
The book is on Amazon* https://amzn.to/2XZpkdE
The Traveler’s Gift:
Seven Decisions that Determine Personal Success
by Andy Andrews
Of the books on this list, this is the one I have read cover-to-cover the most times.
Andy’s storytelling ability is beyond comparison. The story teaches seven important decisions that the main character, David Ponder, must learn and apply if he is to get his life back together.
This book is a fictional account of a man on his last leg who is granted the ability to travel through time and meet historical figures we are all aware with.
Each of the six humans he meets provides him with a message written in their voice. Andy does his homework and studied each of these historical figures in order to have the dialogue and message ring true.
For those that typically don’t like “business books,” this is a great story that teaches lessons through a compelling story.
This book is an easy read and at around 206 pages, you can easily read it a sitting or two.
This book is on Amazon* https://amzn.to/3cuJWjb
The Final Summit:
A Quest to Find the One Principle That Will Save Humanity
by Andy Andrews
The sequel to “The Traveler’s Gift”, “The Final Summit” is a gathering of all the travelers from history.
The group is lead by the last traveler, David Ponder.
We are meet some of the same historical figures from the first book and are introduced to many more.
The group must answer one question correctly or all of humanity will perish. After each incorrect answer, another traveler is allowed to join those at the table to add their perspective.
Andy Andrews again tells a remarkable story based upon reading 100s of biographies and autobiographies.
Just like “The Traveler’s Gift”, this book is an easy read.
It is a tad longer at around 248 pages, you can easily read it over the course of a weekend.
This is on Amazon* https://amzn.to/3dzkMkI
Building a StoryBrand:
Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen
by Donald Miller
Donald Miller is an expert in storytelling.
People today are not interested in you and your company but are interested in what you can do for them.
“If you confuse [the prospect], you will lose [the sale].” With that, he teaches us how to better tell stories so that prospects and clients will know, like, and trust us more and therefore will give us their hard-earned money.
There are many practical exercises and tactics in this book that can help you generate more revenue than you have in the past.
This book is an easy read and at around 210 pages, you can easily read it over the course of a weekend.
This is on Amazon* https://amzn.to/30ktbVx
The Top Five Regrets of the Dying:
A Life Transformed by the Dearly Departing
by Bronnie Ware
This book can be thrilling or chilling, depending on how you are doing in life.
All 5 of the regrets were things that I was regretting in my life when I picked up the book. So I had a lot to work on.
The first regret is “I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.”
As Ware discussed this regret, I was encouraged me to do work that was true to my calling and “made me come alive.”
The book is around 244 pages but is not one to sit down and read in a week or so. This book deserves to be read purposely and with you expecting to make changes in your life, or at least to examine your life.
This is on Amazon* https://amzn.to/3781mRC
How to Write Copy That Sells:
The Step-By-Step System for More Sales, to More Customers, More Often
by Ray Edwards
While reading this content of the book can be done in a weekend, the implementation is something that will take time.
Learning how to write copy that sells made it easier for me to draw prospects/client to me.
This book is an easy read and at around 159 pages, you can easily read it over the course of a weekend.
There is a wealth of knowledge in this book. My biggest take away is the formula that Ray created based on the acronym P.A.S.T.O.R.
“P” is for PROBLEM
“A” is for AMPLIFY
“S” is for STORY and SOLUTION
“T” is for TRANSFORMATION and TESTIMONY
“O” is for OFFER
“R” is for RESPONSE
This is on Amazon* https://amzn.to/3eQL0zn
Escape from Cubicle Nation:
From Corporate Prisoner to Thriving Entrepreneur
by Pamela Slim
I read it during lunch at my last corporate job. I hid the book in my lunch bag and sat in the back of the lunchroom away from everyone. I didn’t want them to see what I was reading. I feared my boss might see or someone would tell him.
When I read this book, the headlines in the news were all about how bad the economy was.
Pamela showed me I DIDN’T have to stay in a job I disliked.
Section 1 covered “Opening Up To The Opportunities,” Section 2, “The Reality Of Entrepreneurship,” Section 3, “Make The Money Work,” and Section 4, “Making The Leap.”
This book is an easy read and at around 340 pages, you can easily read it over the course of a week or two.
This is on Amazon* https://amzn.to/2AHliyh
