10 Books you should read to cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset

Would you like to be your own boss? Are you tired of working from 8 to 5, receiving meager monthly pay checks, and wondering when your next promotion might be? Then you need to become an entrepreneur and run things on your own terms.

But what does it really mean to be an entrepreneur? Can anyone just wake up one fine morning and say, “hey, it’s time I started my own business”, or is there more to it?

Today, we are going to look at 10 books you should read to help you understand what running your own business really entails. The struggles, persistence, skills, and of course, success stories to help inspire you down the road.

Every leader, which is what an entrepreneur must be, should read at least five books a month. Books are essential if you want to broaden your way of thinking, learn new skills, and push through tough times.

To start and grow a thriving business, you need to make books a regular part of your diet. Just like food is for the nourishment to the body, so are books the nourishment to the mind.

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

This is one of my all-time favorites.

Relationships are essential to the success of any business. After all, what’s a business without customers or allies? Therefore, it’s important to know how to motivate your workers and persuade clients.

If you want to grow quickly as an entrepreneur, master the art of building long-lasting alliances with colleagues, clients, and stakeholders.

Proximity is power in business. Build and maintain your connections. Human relationships should never be underestimated.

2. The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason

The Richest Man in Babylon basically doles out common sense advice brilliantly presented through tales and parables from the times of ancient Babylon. It’s an undisputed finance classic.

If you are in a financial rot without even knowing it, Clason offers you the red pill that will open your eyes to the cold reality.

If you want to discover the age-long principles behind wealth creation, this is a must read.

3. The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss

To be an effective manager, learn how to use your time wisely. You can’t run a successful venture if you are terrible at time management. You can be busy 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and still end up achieving very little.

The 4-Hour Workweek shows you how to make every hour count. It proves that it’s possible to turn 80 hours of work into 4 and still achieve the same results – Unbelievable right? Well, you’d have to find out for yourself how exactly this can be achieved.

If you always struggle to meet deadlines and need a way to propel your hourly output, this book will show you how to maximise your life so that you can spend fewer hours working.

4. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life by Mark Manson

This is an intriguing title. And the content is even better.

The mind is the greatest tool ever given to man. When it comes to succeeding in business or in life, your own mind is the most powerful influence you will ever face. The weak minded never go far, especially so in business.

Not everything in life is relevant. Things matter only when you make it so. You will learn how to channel all your mental energy only on things that can help you achieve what you’ve set out for.

Discover how to take control of your own mind and not allow people, struggles, and downfalls occupy valuable real estate in your head and eat away at your brain.

5. Man Up: How to Cut the Bullshit and Kick Ass in Business (and in Life) by Bedros Keuilian

Excuses and procrastination are the greatest killers of progress. You put days, months, or even years between you and your financial goals every time you delay doing the inevitable.

Being an entrepreneur demands you roll up your sleeves and do the dirty work.  Most people are fond of reveling in their thoughts and end up never gathering the will to set things in motion.

Bedros Keuilian shows you exactly how to stop making excuses and put in the effort when you can’t find the motivation to do so.

This read is for you if you are fond of thinking about your dreams but always find excuses to remain safe in your comfort zone.

6. The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Corporate America by Warren Buffet

To attain your full potentials in business, you’d have to learn the fundamentals.

Many entrepreneurs fail because they lack a basic understanding of what it takes to sustain a business. For this reason, Warren Buffet has arranged his most valuable writings in a well presented manner. Think of it as a quick guide to business success. If you’d rather learn the easy way and avoid the pains of trial and error, go grab a copy.

Of all the things you’d learn from this guide, the basics of sustaining cash flow and an understanding of profit and loss are just the tip of the iceberg. It is an all-encompassing guide to business practices.

7. To Sell is Human by Daniel Pink

To Sell is Human is what you’ve been looking for if you consider yourself shy and think you don’t have the essential skills of salesmanship.

Every entrepreneur needs to understand how to make their target want their offers. Learn how exactly to make people budge in this interesting read.

8. Lost and Founder by Rand Fishkin

The world of business is not all sunshine and rainbows. Do you have what it takes to stick it out even when everything seems to be going wrong?

Rand Fishkin in this brilliant book sheds light on what it’s like to struggle and survive in the world of business as a startup. It presents strong advice that can be applied to any business, no matter the size or industry.

9. The Four Steps to the Epiphany by Steve Blank

As a business, achieving the perfect product-market fit is all it takes to become a leading brand. Steve Blank shows you how to do just that. It presents a series of practical exercises that ensure you don’t make any faulty assumptions about your target market, which can turn out badly for your business. It also gives concrete examples of how to organize your marketing strategies and sales.

10. Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Carl Newport

I had to list this one last because it provides the solution to a problem people, both young and old, battle with daily, around the world.

Today’s world is full of distractions like the internet and social media. It’s increasingly hard to focus on and complete cognitively demanding tasks without succumbing to one form of distraction or the other. Carl Newport presents four rules to help you cultivate a deep work ethic.

There you have it. Get started with your reading and take the first step to a better life.

You may say you can’t find the time to read a book, or even finish one. But there’s time if you create it.

And remember, at the end of the day, it’s all up to you to put everything you’ve learned into practice. See you at the top.