Book?  Book?  Book?        Reddit.  Reddit.  Reddit.

Megan asked me to list the books I’ve found most helpful in my business life.

As I don’t profit from endorsing anything on this blog (other than my ebook) I’ve used Wikipedia (if available) instead of commercial links. So if you buy these books, you’ll be wiser but I won’t be richer*.

Thus my list is merit based:

Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway.  Susan Jeffers

This book gave me the courage to abandon my human resources career, into which I’d poured massive effort. I cashed in my superannuation to fund a year of creativity. I then became a copywriter and have not once regretted my decision.

The E Myth.  Michael Gerber

This book taught me that if you open a pie shop because you love making pies, you’re in for a big shock. At least half your time will be spent on the business, rather than in it. The book also showed me how to systemise my operation to maximise my pie time.

Purple Cow.  Seth Godin

While I don’t actually remember much of this book, it lead me to Seth’s many other books, products and blogs, which have yielded vast amounts of education, inspiration and motivation. Seth really is one of today’s great thinkers – both in and beyond business.

The Secret.  Rhonda Byrne

Though, like many people, I saw this on video, there’s also a book. This was the first time I’d considered myself part of (and made of the same stuff as) the Universe. It even made me capitalise Universe when it wasn’t technically necessary. A rare feat!

The Science of Getting Rich.  Wallace D. Wattles

I listened to this book on CD in my car. I then listened to it 40 more times. It taught me to decide what I wanted, to ask for it, to work for it and to be grateful for everything else until it arrived.

Now it’s your turn! You can supercharge this exercise by adding your favourite books and telling us what’s great about them. As with our tax discussion, we’ll build a handy hit list to help everyone sort the classics from the crud.

* Actually, scratch that. I just worked out how to create an Amazon store!