A lot of you got e-readers for Christmas! A lot of you love to read! A lot of you always ask me what I’m reading. I thought I’d give you some of my favorite books to read, in case you’re looking to stock your library in 2011!

The links are all Amazon Affiliate links, which means I make referral money if you buy a book from clicking on the link! So, if you do see a book you’d like to read and you plan on buying it, do it through the link provided in this post!! Thanks! I hope these books add value to your life!

Today Matters - This book changed my life. It’s my favorite John Maxwell book. All about the power of today. I go back through it often. This would be a great gift for a teenager or twenty something.

Rich Dad Poor Dad - This book teaches you to have a prosperity mindset over a poverty mentality. I’m going through this over and over again so I can learn to make my money work for me instead of working for my money.

Think and Grow Rich - Another book to teach you how to have a prosperity mentality. This is a must own and a must read book.

As a Man Thinketh – The main difference between successful and unsuccessful people, is the way they think. This book will help you think the right thoughts!

Linch Pin- This book really helped me realize I can be an entrepreneur and create something that the world will value. It’s teaching me to dream big and risk going for it. I go through this book as often as I can!

Spiritual Leadership – Hands down the best book on leadership in ministry I’ve read.

Overcoming the Dark Side of Leadership – The more I grow the more I recognize the value of this book. We all naturally have “dark sides” to our personalities and leading styles that can be a great blessing, but a great curse as well. This book teaches you to recognize your dark side and overcome it!

The Five Love Languages - One of the most helpful books I’ve read when it comes to relationships. We all have love languages that we respond to. The goal: figure out other people’s love language and love them in that way! This book has been so beneficial to relationships in my life!

See You at the Top - I’m just finishing this book right now. It’s awesome! It’s really helping me work on my self-image which is ultimately connected to my success!

The Total Money Makover – Dave Ramsey is a genius! He’s helping me become financially independent, he’ll help you to! Read this book, do what it says, get free financially!

I finally got around to reading this classic  by Dale Carnegie! Theodore Roosevelt said, “The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people.”

I believe that. Because I believe that, I want to do everything I can to become better at connecting with people. I believe that anyone can learn to be charismatic. I believe anyone can learn  to win friends and influence people. I also believe we all need to develop our people skills as often and as much as we can.

For anyone who is looking to become better with connecting with people, this is hands down a must read!

Buy this Book Here: How To Win Friends and Influence People

Some Highlights:

• 15 percent of one’s financial success is due to one’s technical knowledge and about 85 percent is due to skill in human engineering—to personality and the ability to lead people.

• Dr. Johnson said: “God himself, sir, does not propose to judge man until the end of his days.” Why should you and I?

• Sigmund Freud said that everything you and I do springs from two motives: the sex urge and the desire to be great.

• If you tell me how you get your feeling of importance, I’ll tell you what you are. That determines your character. That is the most significant thing about you.I shall pass this way but once; any good, therefore, that I can do or any kindness that I can show to any human being, let me do it now. Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.

• Emerson said: “Every man I meet is my superior in some way. In that, I learn of him.”

• “If there is any one secret of success,” said Henry Ford, “it lies in the ability to get the other person’s point of view and see things from that person’s angle as well as from your own.”

• You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.

• Jim Farley discovered early in life that the average person is more interested in his or her own name than in all the other names on earth put together.

• Whenever Roosevelt expected a visitor, he sat up late the night before, reading up on the subject in which he knew his guest was particularly interested.

• William James said: “The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated.”There is an old saying: “Give a dog a bad name and you may as well hang him.” But give him a good name—and see what happens!

Recently I’ve become really interested in studying out entrepreneurial leadership. I actually started reading this book from a referral from a book I’m reading on Church Planting. The author said to read it and everywhere it  says entrepreneur, put in church planter instead. I’m glad I followed his advice and read this book.

This was one of the most practical books I’ve ever read. It covers everything you’ll need to know if you’re going to be an entrepreneur. The authors are very straight forward. They tell you exactly the kind of mentality you’ll need to succeed, the knowledge, the team, the right skills, etc.. Perhaps the greatest thing I appreciate about it is that it shows you the price you need to be willing to pay in order to be successful. Most people are not ready or willing to pay the price, and thus the business they start doesn’t last and fails miserably.

If you’re interested in becoming an entrepreneur, you need to read this book!

Buy it Here: Rich Dad’s Before You Quit Your Job: 10 Real-Life Lessons Every Entrepreneur Should Know About Building a Multimillion-Dollar Business

Some Highlights:

• “Our schools train young people to become employees. That is why so many parents say to their child, ‘Go to school so you can get a good job.’ I have yet to hear any parent say, ‘Go to school to become an entrepreneur.”

• “The reason most people who want to become entrepreneurs remain employees is that they have some excuse that keeps them from quitting their job and taking that leap of faith. For many people, the power of their excuse is more powerful than their dreams.”

• The worst thing about living a life of security is that you often lead two lives—the life you live and the unlived life you know you could be living.

• If I were starting my entrepreneurial career all over again, I would start with a network marketing or direct sales business, not for the money but for the real world business training I could receive, training similar to the type of training my rich dad gave me.

• “My point is that it is the fear of losing money that costs people the most money. They are so afraid of losing . . . they lose. They settle for a steady paycheck. They may not lose much money in their life, but they lose out on the potential for great wealth.”

• Start the business. Fail and learn. Find a mentor. Fail and learn. Take some classes. Keep failing and learning. Stop when successful. Celebrate. Count your money, the wins and the losses. Repeat the process.

• My rich dad said, “The main reason to start a business is to have a business to practice on.

• “You must get a job in sales. Being able to sell is the basic skill of all entrepreneurs.”

• The problem for most of them is that they cannot sell, which means they cannot raise money. The inability to raise money may be reason number one why most want-to-be entrepreneurs give up and go back to their jobs.

• “Work to learn, not to earn.”

• “If you want to have the best team around you, you need to be the best at something as well. If you are only mediocre at communications, then you will never need the best attorneys, engineers, designers, or accountants. You will only need mediocre ones because you are mediocre.”

• If your costs frighten you off, then maybe being an entrepreneur is not for you. High expenses are an everyday challenge in business. Taking on that challenge is one of the most important jobs of an entrepreneur.