we're all stuck courting opportunities trying to earn money for whatever the
reason our life goal dictates be it a noble philanthropic cause like changing the world
or the humble beginnings of earning necessities or the ambitious goal of getting filthy rich
in such a spiraling world of needs and wants we struggle to get a few hours off the racing track
and even if we do we often end up taking a stroll on twitter facebook or even catch a
movie on air but did you know that reading is more neurobiologically taxing than processing images
or speech the brain like any other muscle also needs a workout and the benefit of all this mental
activity is sharp memory and nimble learning capacity am i asking you to start reading up
fiction or romance novels no perhaps you don't even have time to do that in your money chase
but here's some good news i've prepared a few books for you that will help improve your
financial strategy and make you rich of course that is if you apply what they teach that way
you'll be engaging your mind in the aforementioned mental activity as well as unlock your own
entrepreneurial potential so without further ado i present to you 10 books that can make you rich
1. the millionaire next door by thomas j stanley and william d danko rated 4 out of 5 on goodreads
over 3 million copies have been sold since this book was first published in 1996.
the book explores the intelligence of america's millionaires the title of the book is inspired
by instances of someone having a millionaire live next door from them without the hype of paparazzi
and glam of wealth it patiently explores seven secrets of these rich millionaires by looking at
various characters their income and consumption the authors try to explain basic things such as
how to determine if you're wealthy calculating net worth generations of wealth and investment secrets
what makes this book appealing to readers is that it's based on a 10-year research and employs the
use of statistics and live instances it proves that high income does not make one
rich accumulating lasting wealth does the magic surprisingly proving that 80 percent of america's
millionaires are first generation which counters the myth that most people inherited their wealth
each in its own chapter the book presents the following seven characteristics of millionaires
who built their wealth 1. they live below their means 2. they believe in financial independence
exhibiting prudence and flaunting social status 3. they allocate time energy and resources 4. their
parents didn't provide economic outpatient care as the author calls the act of parents providing
wealth to their children 5. their adult children are self-sufficient although this chapter is
debatable as it tries to prove that the wealthy believe that supporting their grown kids with
funds may be damaging for the young adults 6. they are skillful with targeting market opportunities
7. they choose the right occupation although the book has received criticism as being age biased
i'd still suggest it as a good read as it focuses on the basics such as frugality conservation and
economical consumption my favorite quote from the book is the foundation stone of
wealth accumulation is defense and this defense should be anchored by budgeting and planning
book number two the richest man in babylon by s clayson who has not heard about this intriguing
book well if you have heard about it then you know it's worth the hype now regarded
as a classic and personal finance advice this book was published in the 1920s making it arguably the
oldest in the genre perhaps the book is popular because of the writing style of the author
who employs parable set 8 000 years ago in babylon to relay his message the diction is not difficult
and the message is clear and powerful giving financial advice and explaining how and why people
are rich in just 144 pages the book groups the parables into general themes of advice
particularly the seven cures and the five laws of gold for example the first law of gold gold
cometh gladly and in increasing quantity to any man who will put by not less than one
tenth of his earnings to create an estate for his future and that of his family and the first cure
start thy purse to fattening they both advise on saving 10 percent of your annual income
to gradually build your wealth clayson believes with time you should increase the savings to about
50 percent more naming the act of saving is paying yourself first while he terms spending money
unnecessarily as paying others and it makes sense i mean would you rather pay yourself or others
book number three your money or your life by vicki robin and joe dominguez are you at peace
with money is your life whole do all the pieces your job your expenditures your relationships
your values fit together these are some of the questions written at the start of the prologue for
the book and if your answers are no then this book is probably a good read for you quite atypical
among personal finance books your money or your life has little to tell about increasing wealth
instead it teaches about how people can transform their relationship with money in a nine step
program proving that most of our money problems are associated with a lack of direction in life
detachment for money is a life-saving skill that robin and dominguez try to put forth hence they
recommend better management rather than working hard to earn more although the actual practical
approach towards financial freedom begins towards the end of the book the earlier parts serve as a
strategic build to open up your mind and to guide you in realigning priorities if the
authors want you to take away anything from their book that would be to build enough wealth so that
later you don't have to work if you don't want to book number four the little book of common sense
investing by jack bogle investing is definitely on your to-do list if getting rich is your goal
and this book is just about that written by the founder and former ceo of the vanguard group
the second largest provider of mutual funds in the world the little book of common sense teaches
a very logical way of investing it elaborates on the practice of index investing that bogle built
the vanguard group around as he writes it from the perspective of an investor the book begins
with a parable and it proceeds to talk about the rational exuberance of most people explaining
that many investors are greedy and would only think of where the money should go to bring more
thereby running down businesses throughout the book he gives insightful tips on focusing on the
lowest cost funds that covers the whole market he offers advice on how to select funds as well
as vital funds that an investor should be aware of in just 18 short chapters each of 10 to 20 pages
it provides a clear and elaborate explanation to a simple investing strategy that any common
man can grasp this book is meant for you book number five rich dad poor dad by robert kiyosaki
although the writer has been criticized for his advocated get-rich-quick practices
of debatable legality no one can deny the success of rich dad poor dad that sold over 32 million
copies internationally while staying for six years consecutively on new york times best seller list
the book offers life lessons to be gleaned from two fathers the high school dropout who is the
rich and the one with numerous degrees who is poor the rich father provides lessons about finances to
two kids using their experiences he makes them understand that the decision to be rich is a
mindset and you have to follow it through by creating your business and getting involved in
investments kiyosaki uses the attitude of both the rich and the poor dads to make you see the
little things that differentiate the rich and the poor the summary of the lessons from the
book include the poor in the middle class work for money but the rich make money work for them
rich people acquire assets while the poor and middle class incur expenses on liabilities
how much money you're able to gather trumps the amount of money you make high income doesn't
make you rich financial literacy is important and ultimately the greatest lesson the most powerful
asset is the mind it determines if you'd be rich or not book number six think and grow
rich by napoleon hill so much has changed in the world since napoleon wrote this book during the
great depression but more than 80 years later the principles advocated still stand relevant with
over 120 million copies sold to date it remains the biggest seller of his books here are some
take-home points from the book 1. mastery over one's mind is key that would include conquering
fears doubts defeatism negativism and all 2. set specific goals including event date and time 3.
decide and take rational steps towards achieving the goals 4. audibly recite your goals to yourself
as often as possible hill recommends early morning recitation 5. develop a team of experts that know
more than you the author calls the team your mastermind 6. prepare for failure but understand
that it is the pathway to success 7. routinely perform self-analysis and self-improvement
the book does quite a detailed explanation of this and its 13 principles of money-making secrets even
oprah winfrey wasn't spared from being inspired by this book so why should you book number seven
the simple path to wealth by j.l collins if there was anything colin spent more time doing than
writing his book it would be strategizing how to write this book in an appealing way to his
audience the author appears to be more practical as he provides a simple path to making your wealth
for collins saving fifty percent of your income is the way to go the earlier you're able to save
in your career the better it is if you're in the process of wealth building collins says
1. save enough for fu money collins believes you can and should save your way to freedom
he possesses that you should be able to do what you want with money over a longer time which is
why he recommends 50 savings at minimum 2. on top of the fu money collins says you save more and
that should be mainly for investment recommending the vanguard total stock market index fund
you don't have to follow his investment plan though colin's explanations are easy to understand
and i think you'd enjoy the engaging and often humorous style he's employed to write the book
8. the 4-hour work week by tim ferriss no matter how much you love your job too much workload
isn't fun and can even get frustrating ferris felt the same and how he got out of this fate
forms the basis of his book having spent more than four years on the new york times bestseller list
the four-hour work week has had over 2.1 million copies sold in the book ferris encourages that
you improve yourself so that you get better at your job and get the best out of it he also talks
about passive income streams and provides ideas tools and possible plans to follow on how to
generate them online the author advocates personal development as that is what can help you earn more
and propel you to quicker financial freedom with ferris it's great to invest your funds
but even better to invest in skills that would bring home money 9. shark tank jump start your
business by michael parish doudelle this book is for you if you're an inventor of a concept or idea
as someone who tries to build their own business you do not necessarily need someone to tell you
to save cut expenses and be reasonable with money you know how to manage money
however that's not enough hence you need a more practical book by people
who've been in your shoes this book can help you practically claw your way into business success
the book has a special contribution from every notorious billionaire on the abc show shark tank
it offers insights into the world of entrepreneurship the reality and the nitty-gritty
so this is not a book for those seeking personal wealth as it were but for people who want to build
their businesses into an empire of wealth you get to know what real life principle is compatible
with your kind of business and to develop marketable ideas and craft a business model
just as the cover says how to grow a business from concept to cash
10. the power of broke how empty pockets a tight budget and a hunger for success can become your
greatest competitive advantage by damon john and daniel pisner one of damon john's famous quotes is
life is a cruel teacher she loves to give you the test first and a lesson later and for him
being broke was just the test as he worked his way to his current 250 million dollars net worth
best known as founder and ceo of fubu damon john is a multi-million dollar investor who has not
just built his own business from nothingness but has also helped several other businesses
to build theirs through the reality business show shark tank the book draws his experience starting
the fashion line fubu on a forty dollar budget and building it into a six billion dollar brand
as well as the stories of dozens of other entrepreneurs who have fought their way to success
to show how people can power through with empty pockets and achieve their dreams
in this book the author makes no attempt to pamper being broke in a way that it is not
instead he presents it as an energy and a force that is capable of making a person grow
if only they know how to channel it correctly he further says that desperation breeds innovation
and what's more the author lets you know what to do with the innovation and how to go about
it from practical experiences the book offers lessons by using real life stories of known people
to preach the gospel of wealth no book has ever made anyone feel this good about being broke
grab this book and you'll see how broke can be your advantage and there you have it those
are the top 10 books that can make you wealthy if you've read them do tell us how using their
methods is working for you in the comments section below i hope to see you next time