March 7, 2024 • 25 mins
In this episode of Success in Mind, I'm sharing a handpicked selection of influential business books that have reshaped my professional life and my insights for other entrepreneurs.
Discover life-altering philosophies from Chin-Ning Chu's "Thick Face, Black Heart" to boost strategic thinking and mental resilience.
Shed light on the art of influencing others' decisions and actions as discussed in Robert B. Cialdini's "Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion." Learn about the book's powerful tools to bolster your persuasion prowess and protect yourself from manipulation.
Discuss Michael Michalowicz's "Profit First," a game-changer for those struggling with cash flow issues or monetary management. Absorb its revolutionary views on ensuring instant profitability and apply them to your business practices.
Also, hear about Napoleon Hill's lesser-known work, 'Outwitting the Devil,' which explores personal barriers holding us back.
And 'The Go-Giver' by Bob Burg and John David Mann. This book highlights the secrets of success in having a "go-giver" mindset and shares the 5 Laws of Stratespheric Success.
Join our newly launched book club aimed at fostering a community of entrepreneurs dedicated to personal growth through shared learning. Our first book of discussion is Dr. Danny Brassell's 'Read, Lead, and Succeed'. Pour yourself a cup of tea and enjoy a thought-provoking book discussion designed to enrich your entrepreneurial mindset.
Join the Success in Mind Book Club!
https://www.teriholland.ca/offers/Wn7BY8YD
Listen to the Dr. Danny Brassell interview here:
My book recommendations are all available here:
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Welcome to another episode of Success in Mind. In today's episode,
I'm going to share with you some of the books that I routinely recommend to my clients.
Now, this is harder than I thought, because at first I thought I was going to
piggyback on the episode that I did with Dr.
Danny Brassell talking about literacy and leadership.
(00:21):
And I thought, you know what, I want to do an episode where I talk about some
of my favorite books in business.
And it was so hard to narrow it down.
I could literally list 100 books that have changed my life, changed my thinking,
changed how I do business.
But I've narrowed it down to a handful of books that I routinely recommend my clients to read.
(00:43):
And those are the ones I'm going to share with you today. So this is going to be a shorter episode.
I'm going to give you a little summary of these books and talk about how I've
applied them into my business.
So let's go. Oh, you're listening to Success in Mind, the show for high performing
leaders, changemakers and entrepreneurs ready to take your life and business to the next level.
(01:04):
If you're ready for whole life success, keep listening.
The first book that I'm going to talk about is Thick Face Black Heart by Chin-Ning Chu.
It's the warrior philosophy for conquering the challenges of business and life.
This book was really mind opening for me.
Because it went against a lot of the things that I was doing.
(01:29):
It made me think in very different strategic ways that I think was very beneficial for me.
So if you feel like maybe you need a tougher mind when it comes to doing business,
a thicker skin, this is the book. I'll read the back to you.
There's a powerful secret in all forms of success. us.
The ancient feudal warlords knew it. The American pioneers had it.
(01:54):
Asian businessmen use it. Now the world's foremost expert on the Asian business
mind, Chinning Chu, explains the natural law that unites spiritual behavior
with absolute achievement.
Incorporating both Western and Asian philosophies, Thick-Faced Blackheart shows
how to utilize the incredible positive force hidden within us all and unleash awesome power.
(02:15):
In this comprehensive guide that goes beyond Sun Tzu's Art of War,
learn how to fight back when you've been wronged, find your inner warrior and
conquer all in your path,
claim your natural right to dazzling wealth, unchain your primitive killer instinct
for life-affirming cause,
apply deception without sin to win the deal you want, dare to succeed by cultivating
(02:37):
the courage to fail, transform your negative qualities into an advantage.
Advantage so this book challenged me in a lot of ways because it went against,
some of my thinking in business and some of what I've been taught but I needed
that and I'm going to read one quick little passage I promise I'm not going to.
Go on and on about each book, but let me read this little passage to you because
(02:59):
this one I found challenging and eye-opening.
So this is from, this is quite early on in the book, and she says,
many of us were taught that when someone slaps you, you should turn the other cheek.
This is not always the best course of action. There is a time to submit to being
slapped, and there is a time to hit back twice so you will not be slapped again.
(03:21):
If someone slaps your face, you might turn the other cheek for one of several reasons.
Perhaps you have chosen the path of submission with a full understanding of what that means.
It might be that even though you feel the impulse to strike back,
you suppress your anger because you have been taught that violence is wrong.
Or it might be that you are afraid to further provoke your antagonist.
(03:43):
If you turn the other cheek out of an inner conviction, if you have to suppress
an impulse to strike back,
it means that you have not truly accepted the truth
of turning the other cheek but have allowed your actions
to be constrained by the standards of others in turn
this in turn perpetuates the role of the victim for yourself if you turn the
(04:05):
other cheek because you are afraid to hit back it does not mean that you are
morally superior it simply means that you are a coward oh that one dumb when I read it.
And then she goes on to say, the thick-faced black heart practitioner understands
that hitting back does not necessarily make you a bad person.
It might well be that in punishing violent behavior, you are acting as a peacemaker.
(04:30):
The truth is that most of the commonly accepted standards of behavior are arbitrary,
and the arbitrators themselves are often flawed individuals who under the guise
of virtue have perpetuated their own weakness and fear.
And this was a tough one for me. And I read, I remember reading it and closing
the book to think about it.
(04:50):
And then I read that passage to my husband and he was like, yeah, absolutely.
And he understood this instinctively. And I don't, or maybe not instinctively,
but through life, like he had this understanding, whereas I did not.
And I don't know if that's a male-female thing that he knew these principles
but for me it was just it was shocking to read and very eye-opening.
(05:16):
And then she also quotes Mahatma Gandhi in this passage and says when his duty
is to face danger and he flees it is cowardice so yeah there's the book is full
of all kinds of amazing insights like that and I highly recommend it I have
gifted it to many clients I recommend it to many of my clients Thanks for watching!
Okay, the next book on this list today is Influence, A Psychology,
(05:40):
A Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini.
I just realized I don't know if I'm pronouncing his name correctly.
So if you know, if I'm wrong, feel free to message me and correct me on how
to pronounce it, because I don't know if I've ever said the name out loud. loud.
It's one of those, you know, when you read a lot of books, sometimes you don't
always say things out loud.
And you're used to reading the word or the name, but you don't actually know
(06:02):
how to say it. So if I'm saying it incorrectly, I apologize.
I'm saying it the way it looks in my brain and why it sounds in my brain.
So this book is all about influence and persuasion.
And if you want to improve your sales, this is a must have book.
This is, there's a quote on the front of it for marketers, it is among the most
(06:23):
important books written in the last 10 years. That's from the Journal of Marketing Research.
And I highly agree. Let me read you the back synopsis so you know what we're talking about.
Influence, the classic book on persuasion, explains the psychology of why people
say yes and how to apply these understandings.
Dr. Robert B. Cialdini is the seminal expert in the rapidly expanding field
(06:44):
of influence and persuasion.
His 35 years of rigorous evidence-based research, along with a three-year program
of study on what moves people to change behavior has resulted in this highly acclaimed book.
You'll learn the six universal principles, how to use them to become a skilled
persuader, how to defend yourself against them.
Perfect for people in all walks of life, the principles of influence will move
(07:05):
you towards profound personal change and act as a driving force for your success.
I highly recommend this to all of of my clients when they are struggling with
marketing, with influence, with persuasion, with closing sales.
I think that should be on every entrepreneur's reading list for sure.
So this book is going to teach you about why people say yes to things and how
(07:28):
you can use that knowledge in an ethical way.
He lays out six principles of influence, so including reciprocity,
social and social proof, which are really important in today's business culture.
And he also talks about the subtle ways that our brains work and how marketers,
salespeople, and even just in your day-to-day life, you can use these principles
(07:52):
to sway people's opinions and behavior ethically and with with responsibility.
So if you ever wonder why you get enticed to buy certain things or why you suddenly
want to buy a certain brand of sneakers, this book will explain it and give
you some really eye-opening answers to it.
It's like a little peek behind the curtain of human behavior.
(08:14):
So highly recommend that one.
That's another one I have recommended and gifted to many a client.
The next book I'm going to talk about is Profit First by Michael Michalowicz.
If you are having any cash flow issues, if you struggle to manage your money,
if you never seem to have enough money at the end of the month,
(08:34):
and you're wondering, where is my money going?
This is the book for you. You can read this one in a day.
Profit First, very simple read, very actionable book too.
So my recommendation, this is how I I recommend it to my clients.
And if you hear me flipping pages, by the way, it's because I'm literally holding
each one of these books while I'm talking about it.
When I recommend this book to my clients, I say, read it and apply it as you read it.
(09:00):
So I read it in one afternoon and then I went back and applied it.
But the way I actually recommend reading this is you read it to a point where
there's an action step, take the action, do the thing, come back and complete it.
So there's going to be a point where you need to go talk to your bank and change
how your bank accounts are organized.
So stop reading, take the action, come back to the book. That's how I suggest doing it.
(09:25):
So let me read you the synopsis of what this book is about.
What if rather than you serving your business served you? What if you could
turn a profit from your very next deposit?
What if you had the power to guarantee that profitability?
It's possible and the solution is simpler than you think. Mike Michalowicz,
author of perennial bestsellers, The Pumpkin Plan,
(09:46):
The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur, and Surge, has developed a counterintuitive cash
management system that has helped tens of thousands of small businesses break
out of the doom spiral and achieve instant profitability.
Now with this revised and expanded edition of Profit First, you can do it too.
So he goes on to explain why the traditional accounting formula of sales minus
(10:09):
minus expenses equals profit is contrary to human behavior.
And it's a myth that locks you into a never ending cycle of selling more yet profiting less.
So instead, he flips the formula to be sales minus profit equals expenses.
It's based on this principle, and he explains this beautifully in the book,
(10:29):
that if you had, you know, when you have less, you make different decisions.
If you have less money to work with, you decide things differently. me.
So if you treat all the money that's coming into your business,
and I'm, you know, especially solopreneurs, because if you are a sole proprietor,
everything that comes in is, oh, that's income.
(10:53):
And incorporated businesses often have this philosophy too.
It's not all for your spending. So he teaches you how to divide your money into
different bank accounts and
split it up in a way that will help you to save money in your business,
to set aside money that you need to pay yourself and to always have profit so
(11:17):
that you're not waiting till the end of the year.
If you've ever had your bookkeeper say to you, this is how much profit you made this year.
And you're like, where is it?
Where's the profit? And they're like, it's on the spreadsheet.
And you're like, but why isn't it in my bank account?
Where is the money? money because you spent the money already.
(11:38):
So he will teach you how to always have profit.
And then it builds in a reward system too, so that you get the gratification
of doing the work and then you get to treat yourself.
And I personally love that part of it.
But what's really great about this plan is when you execute it,
it will calm your nervous system down when when it comes to money and don't cheat the system.
(12:03):
I've given this to clients before and they've, they've done it.
They're like, I did it, but I
don't have all my bank accounts separated because I don't want to do that.
Or like they try to cut, don't cut corners on it.
Do it exactly the way he lays it out in the book and you will be far more successful.
You will have more money in the account.
You will have less money to spend on your business. So it's going to make you
(12:25):
make different decisions because your expenses are going to be dramatically
different when you do this process, but it means you'll make different decisions.
I think this is an example he gives in the book where,
If you have $1,000 in your business expense account, you will make different
decisions than if you only have $100 to spend, right?
(12:47):
And if you have $10,000 in your expenses account, if you have $100,000,
you're going to make choices differently.
You're going to take bigger risks if you have more money there.
But if you have less to play with, you're going to think very strategically
about where that money should go and what's going to get the best return for you and your business.
So highly recommend that. Even if you're not having cash flow issues,
(13:08):
it is a great system to follow.
I suggest doing it and learning it. And he tells some great stories about where this came from.
Okay, the next book I'm going to recommend is Napoleon Hill's Outwitting the Devil.
You probably thought I was going to say Think and Grow Rich, but I wasn't.
Although that is an excellent book too. But I think Outwitting the Devil is even better. better.
(13:32):
Outwitting the devil is going to really get into some of the things that we
do that stop us from staying on our path of purpose.
So things we do, like he talks about drifting in the book, how people drift.
They don't stay on course with what they really should be doing.
Now, I will warn you, this book is controversial, and it wasn't published until
(13:57):
quite a while after after Napoleon Hill's death.
His wife begged him not to publish it because she thought people would come
after them. So it was locked away in their vault or in a safe.
And then after his death, she still didn't publish it. I think it was actually,
and I could be wrong on this, so don't come at me if I'm wrong,
but I think the story goes that she didn't publish it in her lifetime.
(14:19):
And it was later her, like their, their family later on decided that this is
a work of of art that really should be out in the public, that this is an important book for people.
And the reason it's so controversial is that he writes the book as though he's
having a conversation with the devil.
And that the devil is on trial in this book, and he's questioning him.
(14:44):
So it's a metaphor. It's a metaphor, guys. It's a parable.
It's not scary. It's not meant to be dark or demonic in any way.
It's meant to be a metaphor for what goes on in our minds and how to manage our own devils within.
So here's the synopsis of this book. Using his legendary ability to get to the
(15:07):
root of human human potential, Napoleon Hill digs deep to reveal how fear,
procrastination, anger, and jealousy prevent us from realizing our personal goals.
This long-suppressed parable, once considered too controversial to publish,
was written by Hill in 1938, following the publication of his classic bestseller, Think and Grow Rich.
(15:28):
So this is, it's just a fantastic read.
I actually, I have read the But I also listened to the audible version of it.
And I really liked it because there's different voices. It's like listening
to a play. It's a really well done audio book.
So if you like audio books, you might like to do the audio version of this one.
(15:53):
It's fantastic. I did this with my mastermind. We did a book club study of this
book together, and everyone found it really eye-opening.
And it forced each of us to challenge our own beliefs about ourselves and look
at things that we were doing.
So if you want to change your mindset, and if you struggle with things like
procrastination, fear, anger, jealousy,
(16:15):
if you feel like you have these unconscious barriers that hold you back in some
way in your business, Outwitting the Devil, Napoleon Hill. Great read.
Okay, and the final one that I'm going to talk about today, and by the way,
this is not, I'm going to reiterate, this is not an exhaustive list.
Because I could do a whole other list for books just on mindset,
(16:36):
books on marketing, books on sales, books on whatever, books for fun,
like books when you just want something fun and delightful to read.
So don't think that these are the only books I could recommend for you or that,
you know, that this is it.
These are just the books that I most commonly recommend to my clients.
(16:59):
And they've had a big impact on my life and business too. So the last one I'm
going to talk about today is The Go-Giver by Bob Burg and John David Mann.
And this is a lovely book.
It's a, as it says right on the cover, a little story about a powerful business idea.
It's phenomenal. I first read this book in, I think it was 2018.
(17:23):
A friend recommended it. And I have been racking my brain trying to remember
who recommended it to me.
I think it might have been someone in my Toastmaster club at the time, but I'm not sure.
So this book was recommended to me and I picked it up and I read it and I fell in love with it.
And then I started referring it to everyone.
I told every friend of mine in business, you've got to read this book.
(17:45):
And I have gifted this to many people.
So let me tell you what The Go-Giver is about. I'll read the synopsis to you.
The Go-Giver tells the story of an ambitious young man named Joe who yearns for success.
Joe is a true go-getter, though sometimes he feels as if the harder and faster
he works, the further away his goals seem to be.
(18:05):
Desperate to land a key sale at the end of a bad quarter, he seeks advice from
the enigmatic Pindar, a legendary consultant referred to by many devotees simply as the Chairman.
Over the next week, Pindar introduces Joe to a series of Go-Givers,
a restaurateur, a CEO, a financial advisor, a real estate broker,
(18:26):
and the connector who brought them all together.
Pindar's friends teach Joe the five laws of stratospheric success and help him
open himself up to the power of giving.
Joe learns that changing his focus from getting to giving, putting others' interests
first, and continually adding value to their lives ultimately leads to unexpected returns.
(18:46):
Imparted with wit and grace, The Go-Giver is a classic bestseller that brings
to life the old proverb, give and you shall receive.
This book is phenomenal. This is another one that you can read in an afternoon.
It's simple and impactful. And I love that it's in a story format because it
(19:07):
makes it so enjoyable to read. You're not just reading a how-to book about business.
You're reading a story. And as humans, our brains are wired for stories.
So I highly highly recommend this one. And in this book, they go through these laws.
So he goes through the five laws of stratospheric success.
I'm not going to tell you what they are, you need to read the book.
(19:29):
But he goes through these five laws of stratospheric success.
And if you apply these to your life, if you apply them to your business will change.
That's my personal guarantee to you.
Because I have seen it work many times in my business and in other people's
businesses. consciousnesses.
Now, here's something exciting that I get to share with you.
Today, I interviewed Bob Berg, the co-author of The Go-Giver.
(19:54):
So I first read the book in 2018.
Today, I interviewed Bob Berg for the podcast, and that episode will air in just a couple weeks.
So I'm very excited to share it with you.
He was so giving of his time, truly representing the Go-Giver spirit.
He shares incredible insights in this interview, and you're going to love it.
(20:18):
And I felt so honored that he would come on my show, onto this show,
and talk about the Go-Giver and the Go-Giver principles.
So those are the books I wanted to share with you today. These are the books
that But if you read them, if you read these five books and you apply what you
learn, your business will be different.
If you read one of these a week or a month, let's say you give yourself five
(20:41):
months, you read one a month.
And you apply them, in five months, you'll have a very different business and life.
You read them in five days, you're going to have a different business and life.
What I'm telling you is that if you read these books and apply them,
your business and your life are going to change and improve.
The key there is that you apply them.
Often people read these books and then put them on the shelf and don't do anything with them.
(21:03):
That my friends is shelf help, not self-help.
So I don't know, I encourage you to pick them up.
And oh, something else exciting I wanted to share with you is I'm starting a
book club because I have these incredible people who come on the show and they
talk about their books and they talk about books they love.
And then I thought we need to be reading these books.
(21:26):
So I'm starting a book club. It starts this month. The first book club session will be March 28th.
We're doing a happy hour thing. That doesn't mean you have to drink alcohol on it.
I won't be, I don't drink, but I want it to feel feel casual, it'll be online.
So you can come on, get comfy, your favorite cup of tea or whatever beverage
(21:48):
you enjoy. And we'll talk about the book.
So if you are interested in joining the book club, you've got to join my online
community, the Level Up Club, and the book club is contained inside of the Level Up Club.
So I will put the link in the show notes. You join the Level Up Club and then just click on either.
(22:09):
There's different circles, which are different topics. So either click on Success
in Mind book club or just go to the meetup tab and click join the meetup.
You can do it either way. And our first book, drumroll please,
our first book on the calendar for the month of March is Read,
Lead, and Succeed by Dr. Danny Brassell.
(22:32):
So if you listened to the episode that I had a couple weeks ago now with Dr.
Danny Brassell, if you listened to it, you were probably very inspired by him
because he's incredibly inspirational.
And he talks all about literacy, leading and reading.
So I thought, what a great book to start with, because that episode really,
(22:52):
it inspired this episode, and it inspired the idea for the book club.
So if you want to join that and
jump in on this, I also suggest that you listen to that episode with Dr.
Danny Bursell, because, and I'll take that in the show notes as well,
I'll make it easy for you to find.
Because in that episode, he gifts the audience with a free copy,
(23:17):
a free digital copy of his book, Read, Lead, and Succeed.
So we're going to be starting with that book and you can get it for free from Dr. Danny.
And you'll also get on his newsletter, which he sends out amazing content,
great book recommendations.
So if you want to up your reading this year, if you have goals to read more.
(23:37):
If you want to improve your mindset, if you want like just to improve your thinking,
if you want to improve your thinking, you got to read more.
You'll want to be on his newsletter list for sure. So join the book club and
then you get to connect with other like valued entrepreneurs who are also interested
in improvement and growth, personal development.
(23:58):
And we'll all do this together and it'll be casual, fun. We'll talk about the
book and have some tea or whatever beverage you want. There's no judgment.
And we'll have a great time together. So if you would like to do that,
go to the link in the show notes, join the Level Up Club, and get on the book club. Just get on it.
All right. Thank you so much for joining today. I hope you enjoyed this episode.
(24:22):
If you did, leave that five-star review, share it with a friend,
invite someone else to come join the book club with you.
And I will be back again next week. By the way, I don't know if you've noticed,
but I'm now doing two episodes a week.
So what I'm doing right now is one interview a week, you'll get an interview
from an expert talking about something really cool. And then I'm doing two episodes a week.
(24:44):
And then one solo show, this being the solo show, which I thought this would
be a lot shorter of an episode, to be honest, but we're coming up to I think
the half hour mark, I think, if I'm correct.
So it's not as short as I thought it was going to be. But anyway,
so one interview, one solo show, they come out Tuesdays and Thursdays.
And next week, I have another great guest coming on, Vanshal Sandeep.
(25:10):
And she's going to be talking about writing, how to write her books.
And we get into the craft of writing, and she's a fantastic writing coach.
So she's going to talk about why you might want a writing coach and what the
role of a writing coach is and the writing process, the creative process.
And she's just a really cool woman to talk to.
So you'll enjoy that episode too, especially if you want to write a book this year.
(25:34):
And even if you don't want to write a book, she has, she's just cool. She's a cool chick.
So you're going to want to check out next week's episode next Tuesdays.
And then I will be back for another solo episode on the Thursday.
So make sure that you are coming back twice a week.
All right, thanks for joining me today. I hope you have a fantastic rest of
your day, a great weekend, and we'll see you again next week. Bye for now.
Welcome to another episode of Success in Mind. In today's episode,
I'm going to share with you some of the books that I routinely recommend to my clients.
Now, this is harder than I thought, because at first I thought I was going to
piggyback on the episode that I did with Dr.
Danny Brassell talking about literacy and leadership.
(00:21):
And I thought, you know what, I want to do an episode where I talk about some
of my favorite books in business.
And it was so hard to narrow it down.
I could literally list 100 books that have changed my life, changed my thinking,
changed how I do business.
But I've narrowed it down to a handful of books that I routinely recommend my clients to read.
(00:43):
And those are the ones I'm going to share with you today. So this is going to be a shorter episode.
I'm going to give you a little summary of these books and talk about how I've
applied them into my business.
So let's go. Oh, you're listening to Success in Mind, the show for high performing
leaders, changemakers and entrepreneurs ready to take your life and business to the next level.
(01:04):
If you're ready for whole life success, keep listening.
The first book that I'm going to talk about is Thick Face Black Heart by Chin-Ning Chu.
It's the warrior philosophy for conquering the challenges of business and life.
This book was really mind opening for me.
Because it went against a lot of the things that I was doing.
(01:29):
It made me think in very different strategic ways that I think was very beneficial for me.
So if you feel like maybe you need a tougher mind when it comes to doing business,
a thicker skin, this is the book. I'll read the back to you.
There's a powerful secret in all forms of success. us.
The ancient feudal warlords knew it. The American pioneers had it.
(01:54):
Asian businessmen use it. Now the world's foremost expert on the Asian business
mind, Chinning Chu, explains the natural law that unites spiritual behavior
with absolute achievement.
Incorporating both Western and Asian philosophies, Thick-Faced Blackheart shows
how to utilize the incredible positive force hidden within us all and unleash awesome power.
(02:15):
In this comprehensive guide that goes beyond Sun Tzu's Art of War,
learn how to fight back when you've been wronged, find your inner warrior and
conquer all in your path,
claim your natural right to dazzling wealth, unchain your primitive killer instinct
for life-affirming cause,
apply deception without sin to win the deal you want, dare to succeed by cultivating
(02:37):
the courage to fail, transform your negative qualities into an advantage.
Advantage so this book challenged me in a lot of ways because it went against,
some of my thinking in business and some of what I've been taught but I needed
that and I'm going to read one quick little passage I promise I'm not going to.
Go on and on about each book, but let me read this little passage to you because
(02:59):
this one I found challenging and eye-opening.
So this is from, this is quite early on in the book, and she says,
many of us were taught that when someone slaps you, you should turn the other cheek.
This is not always the best course of action. There is a time to submit to being
slapped, and there is a time to hit back twice so you will not be slapped again.
(03:21):
If someone slaps your face, you might turn the other cheek for one of several reasons.
Perhaps you have chosen the path of submission with a full understanding of what that means.
It might be that even though you feel the impulse to strike back,
you suppress your anger because you have been taught that violence is wrong.
Or it might be that you are afraid to further provoke your antagonist.
(03:43):
If you turn the other cheek out of an inner conviction, if you have to suppress
an impulse to strike back,
it means that you have not truly accepted the truth
of turning the other cheek but have allowed your actions
to be constrained by the standards of others in turn
this in turn perpetuates the role of the victim for yourself if you turn the
(04:05):
other cheek because you are afraid to hit back it does not mean that you are
morally superior it simply means that you are a coward oh that one dumb when I read it.
And then she goes on to say, the thick-faced black heart practitioner understands
that hitting back does not necessarily make you a bad person.
It might well be that in punishing violent behavior, you are acting as a peacemaker.
(04:30):
The truth is that most of the commonly accepted standards of behavior are arbitrary,
and the arbitrators themselves are often flawed individuals who under the guise
of virtue have perpetuated their own weakness and fear.
And this was a tough one for me. And I read, I remember reading it and closing
the book to think about it.
(04:50):
And then I read that passage to my husband and he was like, yeah, absolutely.
And he understood this instinctively. And I don't, or maybe not instinctively,
but through life, like he had this understanding, whereas I did not.
And I don't know if that's a male-female thing that he knew these principles
but for me it was just it was shocking to read and very eye-opening.
(05:16):
And then she also quotes Mahatma Gandhi in this passage and says when his duty
is to face danger and he flees it is cowardice so yeah there's the book is full
of all kinds of amazing insights like that and I highly recommend it I have
gifted it to many clients I recommend it to many of my clients Thanks for watching!
Okay, the next book on this list today is Influence, A Psychology,
(05:40):
A Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini.
I just realized I don't know if I'm pronouncing his name correctly.
So if you know, if I'm wrong, feel free to message me and correct me on how
to pronounce it, because I don't know if I've ever said the name out loud. loud.
It's one of those, you know, when you read a lot of books, sometimes you don't
always say things out loud.
And you're used to reading the word or the name, but you don't actually know
(06:02):
how to say it. So if I'm saying it incorrectly, I apologize.
I'm saying it the way it looks in my brain and why it sounds in my brain.
So this book is all about influence and persuasion.
And if you want to improve your sales, this is a must have book.
This is, there's a quote on the front of it for marketers, it is among the most
(06:23):
important books written in the last 10 years. That's from the Journal of Marketing Research.
And I highly agree. Let me read you the back synopsis so you know what we're talking about.
Influence, the classic book on persuasion, explains the psychology of why people
say yes and how to apply these understandings.
Dr. Robert B. Cialdini is the seminal expert in the rapidly expanding field
(06:44):
of influence and persuasion.
His 35 years of rigorous evidence-based research, along with a three-year program
of study on what moves people to change behavior has resulted in this highly acclaimed book.
You'll learn the six universal principles, how to use them to become a skilled
persuader, how to defend yourself against them.
Perfect for people in all walks of life, the principles of influence will move
(07:05):
you towards profound personal change and act as a driving force for your success.
I highly recommend this to all of of my clients when they are struggling with
marketing, with influence, with persuasion, with closing sales.
I think that should be on every entrepreneur's reading list for sure.
So this book is going to teach you about why people say yes to things and how
(07:28):
you can use that knowledge in an ethical way.
He lays out six principles of influence, so including reciprocity,
social and social proof, which are really important in today's business culture.
And he also talks about the subtle ways that our brains work and how marketers,
salespeople, and even just in your day-to-day life, you can use these principles
(07:52):
to sway people's opinions and behavior ethically and with with responsibility.
So if you ever wonder why you get enticed to buy certain things or why you suddenly
want to buy a certain brand of sneakers, this book will explain it and give
you some really eye-opening answers to it.
It's like a little peek behind the curtain of human behavior.
(08:14):
So highly recommend that one.
That's another one I have recommended and gifted to many a client.
The next book I'm going to talk about is Profit First by Michael Michalowicz.
If you are having any cash flow issues, if you struggle to manage your money,
if you never seem to have enough money at the end of the month,
(08:34):
and you're wondering, where is my money going?
This is the book for you. You can read this one in a day.
Profit First, very simple read, very actionable book too.
So my recommendation, this is how I I recommend it to my clients.
And if you hear me flipping pages, by the way, it's because I'm literally holding
each one of these books while I'm talking about it.
When I recommend this book to my clients, I say, read it and apply it as you read it.
(09:00):
So I read it in one afternoon and then I went back and applied it.
But the way I actually recommend reading this is you read it to a point where
there's an action step, take the action, do the thing, come back and complete it.
So there's going to be a point where you need to go talk to your bank and change
how your bank accounts are organized.
So stop reading, take the action, come back to the book. That's how I suggest doing it.
(09:25):
So let me read you the synopsis of what this book is about.
What if rather than you serving your business served you? What if you could
turn a profit from your very next deposit?
What if you had the power to guarantee that profitability?
It's possible and the solution is simpler than you think. Mike Michalowicz,
author of perennial bestsellers, The Pumpkin Plan,
(09:46):
The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur, and Surge, has developed a counterintuitive cash
management system that has helped tens of thousands of small businesses break
out of the doom spiral and achieve instant profitability.
Now with this revised and expanded edition of Profit First, you can do it too.
So he goes on to explain why the traditional accounting formula of sales minus
(10:09):
minus expenses equals profit is contrary to human behavior.
And it's a myth that locks you into a never ending cycle of selling more yet profiting less.
So instead, he flips the formula to be sales minus profit equals expenses.
It's based on this principle, and he explains this beautifully in the book,
(10:29):
that if you had, you know, when you have less, you make different decisions.
If you have less money to work with, you decide things differently. me.
So if you treat all the money that's coming into your business,
and I'm, you know, especially solopreneurs, because if you are a sole proprietor,
everything that comes in is, oh, that's income.
(10:53):
And incorporated businesses often have this philosophy too.
It's not all for your spending. So he teaches you how to divide your money into
different bank accounts and
split it up in a way that will help you to save money in your business,
to set aside money that you need to pay yourself and to always have profit so
(11:17):
that you're not waiting till the end of the year.
If you've ever had your bookkeeper say to you, this is how much profit you made this year.
And you're like, where is it?
Where's the profit? And they're like, it's on the spreadsheet.
And you're like, but why isn't it in my bank account?
Where is the money? money because you spent the money already.
(11:38):
So he will teach you how to always have profit.
And then it builds in a reward system too, so that you get the gratification
of doing the work and then you get to treat yourself.
And I personally love that part of it.
But what's really great about this plan is when you execute it,
it will calm your nervous system down when when it comes to money and don't cheat the system.
(12:03):
I've given this to clients before and they've, they've done it.
They're like, I did it, but I
don't have all my bank accounts separated because I don't want to do that.
Or like they try to cut, don't cut corners on it.
Do it exactly the way he lays it out in the book and you will be far more successful.
You will have more money in the account.
You will have less money to spend on your business. So it's going to make you
(12:25):
make different decisions because your expenses are going to be dramatically
different when you do this process, but it means you'll make different decisions.
I think this is an example he gives in the book where,
If you have $1,000 in your business expense account, you will make different
decisions than if you only have $100 to spend, right?
(12:47):
And if you have $10,000 in your expenses account, if you have $100,000,
you're going to make choices differently.
You're going to take bigger risks if you have more money there.
But if you have less to play with, you're going to think very strategically
about where that money should go and what's going to get the best return for you and your business.
So highly recommend that. Even if you're not having cash flow issues,
(13:08):
it is a great system to follow.
I suggest doing it and learning it. And he tells some great stories about where this came from.
Okay, the next book I'm going to recommend is Napoleon Hill's Outwitting the Devil.
You probably thought I was going to say Think and Grow Rich, but I wasn't.
Although that is an excellent book too. But I think Outwitting the Devil is even better. better.
(13:32):
Outwitting the devil is going to really get into some of the things that we
do that stop us from staying on our path of purpose.
So things we do, like he talks about drifting in the book, how people drift.
They don't stay on course with what they really should be doing.
Now, I will warn you, this book is controversial, and it wasn't published until
(13:57):
quite a while after after Napoleon Hill's death.
His wife begged him not to publish it because she thought people would come
after them. So it was locked away in their vault or in a safe.
And then after his death, she still didn't publish it. I think it was actually,
and I could be wrong on this, so don't come at me if I'm wrong,
but I think the story goes that she didn't publish it in her lifetime.
(14:19):
And it was later her, like their, their family later on decided that this is
a work of of art that really should be out in the public, that this is an important book for people.
And the reason it's so controversial is that he writes the book as though he's
having a conversation with the devil.
And that the devil is on trial in this book, and he's questioning him.
(14:44):
So it's a metaphor. It's a metaphor, guys. It's a parable.
It's not scary. It's not meant to be dark or demonic in any way.
It's meant to be a metaphor for what goes on in our minds and how to manage our own devils within.
So here's the synopsis of this book. Using his legendary ability to get to the
(15:07):
root of human human potential, Napoleon Hill digs deep to reveal how fear,
procrastination, anger, and jealousy prevent us from realizing our personal goals.
This long-suppressed parable, once considered too controversial to publish,
was written by Hill in 1938, following the publication of his classic bestseller, Think and Grow Rich.
(15:28):
So this is, it's just a fantastic read.
I actually, I have read the But I also listened to the audible version of it.
And I really liked it because there's different voices. It's like listening
to a play. It's a really well done audio book.
So if you like audio books, you might like to do the audio version of this one.
(15:53):
It's fantastic. I did this with my mastermind. We did a book club study of this
book together, and everyone found it really eye-opening.
And it forced each of us to challenge our own beliefs about ourselves and look
at things that we were doing.
So if you want to change your mindset, and if you struggle with things like
procrastination, fear, anger, jealousy,
(16:15):
if you feel like you have these unconscious barriers that hold you back in some
way in your business, Outwitting the Devil, Napoleon Hill. Great read.
Okay, and the final one that I'm going to talk about today, and by the way,
this is not, I'm going to reiterate, this is not an exhaustive list.
Because I could do a whole other list for books just on mindset,
(16:36):
books on marketing, books on sales, books on whatever, books for fun,
like books when you just want something fun and delightful to read.
So don't think that these are the only books I could recommend for you or that,
you know, that this is it.
These are just the books that I most commonly recommend to my clients.
(16:59):
And they've had a big impact on my life and business too. So the last one I'm
going to talk about today is The Go-Giver by Bob Burg and John David Mann.
And this is a lovely book.
It's a, as it says right on the cover, a little story about a powerful business idea.
It's phenomenal. I first read this book in, I think it was 2018.
(17:23):
A friend recommended it. And I have been racking my brain trying to remember
who recommended it to me.
I think it might have been someone in my Toastmaster club at the time, but I'm not sure.
So this book was recommended to me and I picked it up and I read it and I fell in love with it.
And then I started referring it to everyone.
I told every friend of mine in business, you've got to read this book.
(17:45):
And I have gifted this to many people.
So let me tell you what The Go-Giver is about. I'll read the synopsis to you.
The Go-Giver tells the story of an ambitious young man named Joe who yearns for success.
Joe is a true go-getter, though sometimes he feels as if the harder and faster
he works, the further away his goals seem to be.
(18:05):
Desperate to land a key sale at the end of a bad quarter, he seeks advice from
the enigmatic Pindar, a legendary consultant referred to by many devotees simply as the Chairman.
Over the next week, Pindar introduces Joe to a series of Go-Givers,
a restaurateur, a CEO, a financial advisor, a real estate broker,
(18:26):
and the connector who brought them all together.
Pindar's friends teach Joe the five laws of stratospheric success and help him
open himself up to the power of giving.
Joe learns that changing his focus from getting to giving, putting others' interests
first, and continually adding value to their lives ultimately leads to unexpected returns.
(18:46):
Imparted with wit and grace, The Go-Giver is a classic bestseller that brings
to life the old proverb, give and you shall receive.
This book is phenomenal. This is another one that you can read in an afternoon.
It's simple and impactful. And I love that it's in a story format because it
(19:07):
makes it so enjoyable to read. You're not just reading a how-to book about business.
You're reading a story. And as humans, our brains are wired for stories.
So I highly highly recommend this one. And in this book, they go through these laws.
So he goes through the five laws of stratospheric success.
I'm not going to tell you what they are, you need to read the book.
(19:29):
But he goes through these five laws of stratospheric success.
And if you apply these to your life, if you apply them to your business will change.
That's my personal guarantee to you.
Because I have seen it work many times in my business and in other people's
businesses. consciousnesses.
Now, here's something exciting that I get to share with you.
Today, I interviewed Bob Berg, the co-author of The Go-Giver.
(19:54):
So I first read the book in 2018.
Today, I interviewed Bob Berg for the podcast, and that episode will air in just a couple weeks.
So I'm very excited to share it with you.
He was so giving of his time, truly representing the Go-Giver spirit.
He shares incredible insights in this interview, and you're going to love it.
(20:18):
And I felt so honored that he would come on my show, onto this show,
and talk about the Go-Giver and the Go-Giver principles.
So those are the books I wanted to share with you today. These are the books
that But if you read them, if you read these five books and you apply what you
learn, your business will be different.
If you read one of these a week or a month, let's say you give yourself five
(20:41):
months, you read one a month.
And you apply them, in five months, you'll have a very different business and life.
You read them in five days, you're going to have a different business and life.
What I'm telling you is that if you read these books and apply them,
your business and your life are going to change and improve.
The key there is that you apply them.
Often people read these books and then put them on the shelf and don't do anything with them.
(21:03):
That my friends is shelf help, not self-help.
So I don't know, I encourage you to pick them up.
And oh, something else exciting I wanted to share with you is I'm starting a
book club because I have these incredible people who come on the show and they
talk about their books and they talk about books they love.
And then I thought we need to be reading these books.
(21:26):
So I'm starting a book club. It starts this month. The first book club session will be March 28th.
We're doing a happy hour thing. That doesn't mean you have to drink alcohol on it.
I won't be, I don't drink, but I want it to feel feel casual, it'll be online.
So you can come on, get comfy, your favorite cup of tea or whatever beverage
(21:48):
you enjoy. And we'll talk about the book.
So if you are interested in joining the book club, you've got to join my online
community, the Level Up Club, and the book club is contained inside of the Level Up Club.
So I will put the link in the show notes. You join the Level Up Club and then just click on either.
(22:09):
There's different circles, which are different topics. So either click on Success
in Mind book club or just go to the meetup tab and click join the meetup.
You can do it either way. And our first book, drumroll please,
our first book on the calendar for the month of March is Read,
Lead, and Succeed by Dr. Danny Brassell.
(22:32):
So if you listened to the episode that I had a couple weeks ago now with Dr.
Danny Brassell, if you listened to it, you were probably very inspired by him
because he's incredibly inspirational.
And he talks all about literacy, leading and reading.
So I thought, what a great book to start with, because that episode really,
(22:52):
it inspired this episode, and it inspired the idea for the book club.
So if you want to join that and
jump in on this, I also suggest that you listen to that episode with Dr.
Danny Bursell, because, and I'll take that in the show notes as well,
I'll make it easy for you to find.
Because in that episode, he gifts the audience with a free copy,
(23:17):
a free digital copy of his book, Read, Lead, and Succeed.
So we're going to be starting with that book and you can get it for free from Dr. Danny.
And you'll also get on his newsletter, which he sends out amazing content,
great book recommendations.
So if you want to up your reading this year, if you have goals to read more.
(23:37):
If you want to improve your mindset, if you want like just to improve your thinking,
if you want to improve your thinking, you got to read more.
You'll want to be on his newsletter list for sure. So join the book club and
then you get to connect with other like valued entrepreneurs who are also interested
in improvement and growth, personal development.
(23:58):
And we'll all do this together and it'll be casual, fun. We'll talk about the
book and have some tea or whatever beverage you want. There's no judgment.
And we'll have a great time together. So if you would like to do that,
go to the link in the show notes, join the Level Up Club, and get on the book club. Just get on it.
All right. Thank you so much for joining today. I hope you enjoyed this episode.
(24:22):
If you did, leave that five-star review, share it with a friend,
invite someone else to come join the book club with you.
And I will be back again next week. By the way, I don't know if you've noticed,
but I'm now doing two episodes a week.
So what I'm doing right now is one interview a week, you'll get an interview
from an expert talking about something really cool. And then I'm doing two episodes a week.
(24:44):
And then one solo show, this being the solo show, which I thought this would
be a lot shorter of an episode, to be honest, but we're coming up to I think
the half hour mark, I think, if I'm correct.
So it's not as short as I thought it was going to be. But anyway,
so one interview, one solo show, they come out Tuesdays and Thursdays.
And next week, I have another great guest coming on, Vanshal Sandeep.
(25:10):
And she's going to be talking about writing, how to write her books.
And we get into the craft of writing, and she's a fantastic writing coach.
So she's going to talk about why you might want a writing coach and what the
role of a writing coach is and the writing process, the creative process.
And she's just a really cool woman to talk to.
So you'll enjoy that episode too, especially if you want to write a book this year.
(25:34):
And even if you don't want to write a book, she has, she's just cool. She's a cool chick.
So you're going to want to check out next week's episode next Tuesdays.
And then I will be back for another solo episode on the Thursday.
So make sure that you are coming back twice a week.
All right, thanks for joining me today. I hope you have a fantastic rest of
your day, a great weekend, and we'll see you again next week. Bye for now.
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Nikki Glaser Podcast
Every week comedian and infamous roaster Nikki Glaser provides a fun, fast-paced, and brutally honest look into current pop-culture and her own personal life.