Last year I wrote about the best books I read in 2018, and last week I published a list of my favorite audio-books that I re-listen to. 

Going into my first job after graduating college in 2015 I had to read two books before starting: Good to Great, and How To Win Friends and Influence People. Both of these books, while containing simple principles, significantly impacted my performance and the way I thought about interacting with others and approaching problems for the business. Sometime after that I was exposed to prolific readers like Tim Ferriss, Ryan Holiday, and Derek Sivers, to name a few. Through them I learned that education does not stop when we leave the four walls of the school system. It is a lifelong endeavor that needs to be taken seriously. 

Through reading I have found mentors, great ideas, humility, solutions to problems that others have already solved, and so much more. I hope you’ll check out one or more of these books, and share them with someone else in 2020. 

Health

This Is Water by David Foster Wallace and The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman, though not directly related to physical health, were two of my favorites for a healthy mind-state and healthy relationships. I still often revisit Becoming a Supple Leopard which has been the most important book for me in terms of fitness – a complete guide to optimizing your movements and preventing injuries. 

Wealth

The Simple Path to Wealth by J.L. Collins impacted my behavior most tangibly of all the books I read this year, and helped to clarify an investing strategy that works best for me. Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek and The Coaching Habit by Michael Bungay Stanier both impacted the way I lead others more than anything else. Seth Godin’s AltMBA, Linchpin, Bootstrapper’s Bible, This is Marketing, and Purple Cow has made me a better worker, changed the way I see problems, and has built a habit of shipping the work. 

Wisdom / Philosophy

Stillness Is The Key by Ryan Holiday and The Second Mountain by David Brooks top the list for me. Both are authors of some of my favorite, and most dog-eared, books of all-time. They both eloquently bring ancient philosophers to you in a page-turning fashion. The Second Mountain is a call for individuals to live a committed life and Stillness Is The Key is an approach to find focus in the noisy world we live in. Toa Te Ching would be a close third.

Full List From 2019 (in no particular order):

1. About Face
2. Boot Strapper’s Bible
3. Design Your Life
4. Digital Minimalism
5. Footprints On The Moon
6. Leaders Eat Last
7. Linchpin
8. Purple Cow
9. Steal Like An Artist
10. Stillness Is The Key
11. The Art of Possibility
12. The Coaching Habit
13. The Simple Path To Wealth
14. The War of Art
15. Angela’s ashes
16. Goals (zig ziglar)
17. Ambition (Jim Rohn)
18. This is marketing 
19. How to stay motivated (Zig ziglar) 
20. How to win friends and influence others
21. Tao Te Ching
22. The 5 Love Languages 
23. This is water
24. A People’s History of The U.S.
25. Undaunted Courage 
26. Changing the Picture, Zig Ziglar 
27. The secrets of closing the sale 
28. Sapiens
29. Playing with Fire
30. The Obstacle Is The Way
31. Ego Is The Enemy
32. The magic of thinking big
33. The Second Mountain