94 Amazing Business & Marketing Books

Investing & Personal Finance:

1.      The Intelligent Investor by Graham

2.     Angel Investing by David S. Rose

3.     Money Master the Game by Robbins

4.     Rental Property Investing by Turner

5.     Rich Dad Poor Dad by Kiyosaki

6.     Richest Man in Babylon by Clason

7.     Unshakeable by Robbins

8.    The Bitcoin Standard by Ammous

9.    Venture Deals by Feld

10.   Principles by Ray Dalio

11.   A Template For Understanding Big Debt Crises by Ray Dalio (Get the Free PDF Book here https://www.principles.com/ )

12.   Where are the Customers’ Yachts? Or, A Good Hard Look at Wall Street by Fred Schwed

13.   Barefoot Investor by Scott Pape

14.   Your Money or Your Life by Robin & Dominguez

15.   Why Didn’t They Teach Me This in School by Siegel

16.   The Total Money Makeover by Ramsey

17.   How to Retire Happy, Wild and Free by Zelinski

18.   You Are a Badass at Making Money by Jen Sincero

19.   The Automatic Millionaire by David Bach

20.  Age-Proof by Chatzky & Roizen

Entrepreneurship:

1.      The 7 Day Startup by Dan Norris

2.     Side Hustle by Guillebeau

3.     Innovation and Entrepreneurship by Peter Drucker

4.    The Two Income Trap by Eickhoff

5.    The 4 Hour Workweek by Ferris

6.    The Hard Things About Hard Things by Horowitz

7.    The $100 Startup by Guillebeau

8.    The Art of the Start 2.0 by Kawasaki

9.    The Founders Dilemma by Wasserman

10.   The Innovators Dilemma by Clayton

11.   Traction: How Any Startup Can Achieve Explosive Customer Growth by Weinberg & Mares

12.   Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth

13.   The E Myth Revisited by Gerber

14.   Profit First by Michalowicz

Marketing:

1.       Ask GaryVee by Gary Vaynerchuk

2.       Content Machine by Dan Norris

3.       Brandwashed by Lindstrom

4.       Buyology by Lindstrom

5.       Small Data by Lindstrom

6.       Contagious by Jonah Berger

7.       Influencer: Building Your Personal Brand in the Age of Social Media by Brittany Hennessy

8.       The Tipping Point by Gladwell

9.       Building a Story Brand by Miller

10.   Content Inc. by Pulizzi

Habits:

1.       The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America’s Wealthy by Stanley and Danko

2.       Tools of the Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers by Ferriss (Author) and Arnold Schwarzenegger (Foreword)

3.       Think and Grow Rich by Hill

4.       The Way to Wealth by Benjamin Franklin

5.       As a Man Thinketh by Allen

6.       The Power of Habit by Duhigg

7.       7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey

8.       Hooked by Nir Eyal

Psychology:

1.       Influence the Psychology of Persuasion by Cialdini

2.       Pre-Suasion by Cialdini

Motivational:

1.       Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz

2.       Giant Steps by Robbins

3.       Awaken the Giant Within by Robbins

4.       Unlimited Power by Robbins

5.       Extreme Ownership by Willink and Babin

Time Management:

1.       Eat that Frog by Tracy

2.       Time Management by Tracy

Philosophy:

1.       On the Shortness of Life by Seneca

2.       Mediations by Marcus Aurelius

3.       The Art of War by Sun Tzu

4.       How to Run a Country by Cicero

5.       The Prince by Machiavelli

Sales:

1.       Be a Sales Superstar by Tracy

2.       The Closer’s Survival Guide by Grant Cardone

3.       How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

4.       The Greatest Salesman in the World by Mandino

5.       The Secrets of Closing the Sale by Zig Ziglar and Tom Ziglar

Management:

1.       Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh

Negotiation:

1.       Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss

Economy:

1.       Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith

Autobiographies & Biographies:

1.    Benjamin Franklin by Walter Isaacson

2.    Titan by Ron Chernow

3.    Carnegie by Peter Krass

4.    Morgan, American Financier by Jean Strouse

5.    The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and The Age of Amazon by Brad Stone

6.    Elon Musk by Ashlee Vance

7.    Wild Ride by Adam Lashinsky

8.    A Triumph of Genius: Edwin Land, Polaroid, and the Kodak Patent War by Ronald K. Fierstein

9.   Business Stripped Bare by Richard Branson

10. Shoe Dog by Knight

11.   Bloomberg by Bloomberg by Michael Bloomberg

12.   Jack, Straight From the Gut by Jack Welch

13.   Sam Walton, Made in America by Sam Walton & John Huey

14.   The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life by Alice Schroeder

15.   Direct from Dell: Strategies that Revolutionized an Industry by Dell

16.   Miracles Happen by Mary Kay Ash

17.   The HP Way: How Bill Hewlett and I Built Our Company by Hewlett & Packard

18.   Pour Your Heart into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time by Schultz

19.   Losing My Virginity: How I Survived, Had Fun, and Made a Fortune Doing Business My Way by Branson

20.  Built from Scratch: How a Couple of Regular Guys Grew the Home Depot from Nothing to $30 Billion by Marcus & Blank

Suggestions

The best stock investing book all time is the Intelligent Investor by Graham. This book is highly recommended by Warren Buffet and will teach crucial investing tactics and stock market history. If you are looking at Real Estate Investing the best books are Rich Dad Poor Dad by Kiyosaki and Rental Property Investing by Turner. One of the best investments one can make is in rental property according to the authors.

The Richest Man in Babylon by Clason is based on a series of parables set in ancient Babylon. The reader has an opportunity to learn simple financial wisdom. Lastly, A Template for Understanding Big Debt Crises by Ray Dalio is critical in understanding the next market catastrophe. Ray Dalio is the founder of Bridgewater Associates which is the most successful hedge fund in history. It might be wise to listen to his extensive financial knowledge. Check out the link in the list for your free PDF.

Next, some entrepreneurship books that you might find attractive are: The 7 Day Startup by Dan Norris, The 4 Hour Workweek by Ferris, and The Hard Things About Hard Things by Horowitz. The 7 Day Startup is a guide to get your business started in a short period of time. He provides encouragement to in order to stop procrastinating. A lot of people just dream of a business, but the people that start are a step closer in achieving success. The 4 Hour Workweek is for anyone who doesn’t want the typical nine to five job.

Tim Ferris a graduate of Princeton University talks about his adventures and how it is possible for anyone to live anywhere while making passive income. A unique perspective in writing would be The Hard Things About Hard Things. Song lyrics are used throughout the book to bring the reader into the author’s emotions of startup life. The book was written by popular Silicon Valley entrepreneur Ben Horowitz the co-founder of Andreesen Horowitz; which is one of the most successful venture capital firms in the world.  

On marketing Ask GaryVee by Gary Vaynerchuk is the way to go. Gary Vaynerchuk is an entrepreneur who was raised in New Jersey and started making money young selling baseball cards. He was an early user of YouTube. With his daily video documentation he helped his father’s business grow from a few million to sixty million.

Gary is an investor and founder of a marketing agency called Vayner Media. In his book he answers a variety of questions which include starting a business and how to be effective in digital marketing. Another marketing book that is useful is Brandwashed by Lindstrom. Lindstrom talks in detail what tactics brands use to lure customers. So long story short don’t be fooled by the same T-shirt with a branded logo than without.

Habits have defined the most successful people and the book The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America’s Wealthy by Stanley and Danko is a fine example of understanding this. Have you ever noticed the way Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and Warren Buffet dress? The goal is not to look rich. This book dives into wealthy people’s financial habits. Also, the book is a comparison of poor people’s finances and the wealthy. This book has an ability to change your life.

Subsequently, psychology is important in determining how a person thinks and acts. Pre-Suasion by Cialdini is probably the most informative psychology book in recent memory. For instance, Cialdini once mentioned a situation where a young man tries to pursue women from a variety of locations. One location had the most success rate which was a flower shop. Flowers throughout history are associated with romance. Once the man approached woman from a flower shop they were more likely to give their phone numbers. So how we place ourselves prior to a situation can determine the future outcome.

Tony Robbins is the face of motivational speaking this century. Robbins didn’t have much going for him early on in life. He worked as a janitor, but he was determined to improve his circumstances. What did he do? He started reading hundreds of books to self educate himself. Based on his life experiences he published his book called: Awaken the Giant Within. Everyone has an ability to be great and Tony nails it with his uplifting message.   

Time Management by Tracy gives you practical ways of managing your schedule. On the other hand, if you want to stop procrastinating then you should read another book he wrote which is Eat that Frog. Brian Tracy is a motivational speaker that has developed insightful seminars to help individuals in many aspects of life. Sales is a necessity for everyone. Everyone is a salesman just look at LinkedIn. The profile description is a reflection of individual life choices. Brian Tracy book, Be a Sales Superstar builds on how we can best enhance ourselves in order to influence consumers.

From Aristotle to Plato Philosophy has been the bedrock in human understanding. We can learn a lot from history especially ancient history. For example, the book On the Shortness of Life by Seneca explains how our life is truly short. This book is a great motivator to chase your dreams right now. He was a popular Roman Empire author born Lucius Annaeus Seneca in Cordoba Spain and raised in Rome. Seneca was a stoic philosopher, statesman, and dramatist. Many business and marketing leaders read his work especially on Shortness of Life.

Zappos has become one of the best known ecommerce websites in the world. The company was founded by Nick Swinmurn and then run by Tony Hsieh. Tony was initially an investor and almost didn’t want to put capital into Swinmurn’s project. When Tony became the CEO his main priority was culture and customers. His management style helped the company raise more money and he eventually sold the venture to Amazon. The best way to get his perspective is to hear audio of him explaining his journey in his own words in Delivering Happiness.

Negotiation has always been an integral part of society. Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss is a guide to negotiate effectively in the 21st century. Chris Voss is experienced in law enforcement first as a police officer and then in the FBI. Voss navigates many hostile hostage situations and teaches others how to effectively deal with people. People still have needs and he dives into detail of these conditions. Currently he is a speaker and advisor to multiple startups and businesses. 

Economy is vital in understanding governments. Adam Smith’s book Wealth of Nations looks into why some countries are poor while others are rich. Adam Smith was born in Scotland on June 16, 1723 and was an economist and pioneer of political economy. He was a key figure of the Scottish Enlightenment era.

Finally, the best biography is Elon Musk by Ashlee Vance. Elon Musk is the founder of SpaceX, Tesla, Solar City, Co-founder of Neuralink, and Co-founder of Paypal. Elon is a business magnet and inventor with unbelievable dreams that are coming true with each passing day. He has ambitious plans to colonize Mars and many other planets. Recently, he was on the popular podcast show Joe Rogan Experience where Elon talked about an abundance of topics. Some of these topics were: artificial intelligence, simulated realities, and solutions to fix traffic, a new electric plane concept, fossil fuels, social media, and multi-verse.

Elon is the 21st century Thomas Edison, but with much grander plans. He was born in South Africa where he taught himself computer science and then moved to Canada then the United States. Eventually he ended up in Silicon Valley founding a fin-tech company that merged with another financial technology company which formed PayPal. EBay eventually bought the revolutionary tech company. He spent every penny from his proceeds on creating SpaceX, Tesla, and Solar City until he was broke. When you think of commitment and risk one can instantly think of Musk. Elon has pushed the human race forward with his endeavors. Many companies now got the competitive push they needed from Musk to start a chain reaction in manufacturing more clean energy and space technologies.

If you are a busy person and don’t have time to sit down and read a few chapters of a book then I would suggest to get a membership on audible. Sometimes they have deals to get free audio books. Best times for busy people to listen would be if they are driving somewhere or working out at a gym or outside. Imagine all the hours you wasted just listening to music while you could have learned a new skill.

A new dawn has emerged on humankind and it is up to parents and teachers to get up to date in educating our next generation in order to continue Elon’s legacy. Smartlytics believes that entrepreneurship is the way of the future. Entrepreneurship can help solve problems and provide solutions to society. Thus, it is imperative for the archaic educational system to adapt to the times. If the system doesn’t change for entrepreneurship and science than we as humans will take a step backward in innovation.

Schools fail to teach creativity and instead teach memorization which is ineffective. Memorization like the SAT’s is exactly what’s wrong with the system. The standard is outdated and does not define success. When students fail in school it is frowned upon by teachers and the administration. A grade doesn’t define who you are as a person. Albert Einstein didn’t do well in school and he is a genius. Some of the wealthiest people dropped out of college to pursue their entrepreneurial passion.   What’s worse is faculties in universities encourage students to stay in school and take on more debt in order to be “safe”.  Companies have no loyalties to employees. The only loyalties companies have are to profits. There are less scholarships and it’s extremely hard to get a full ride. School has become a factory of desolation.  The future educational system will decay and entrepreneurs will rise to provide the necessary instruction for achievement. Please share this article if you found it insightful.