I love reading. I used to love fiction and philosophical books. But the more I turned into an engineer, the more the plot of many books is predictable, but most of all, the fact that I read on average an equivalent of one book per day during my working hours, and write myself an equivalent of one book per month, my brain turned funny. Whenever I read the lengthy explanation on how the wind was gently flickering her hair... I go "could we please cut the cr** and get to the point"... I think you get the drift.
So I have noticed that in the recent years I have turned into totally different type of literature. Preferably of the popular science kind, scientific research based etc. There is usually still few anecdotes shared by an author, but a good dose of information is exchanged along the way. After reading them, I feel like my intelligence has grown, and I had good time while doing it.
I have decided to make a list of good books I have read so far, which I think have shaped me into the human being I am now. The list is actually so that I do not forget about them when I suggest something to others, but absolutely if you find something for yourself go for it!
I have decided to divide it into two posts. One is more related to money, investing and career. The other one is more related to mental health, pedagogy, self-growth etc.
1. Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think, Hans Rosling, Ola Rosling, Anna Rosling Rönnlund
First of all, if and when you are starting to read anything on the internet, or any book by any self proclaimed guru... you should know how to analyze the data provided. In order to understand challenges upcoming for the new civilization and how we can overcome them, the necessity to understand how the world works is of the most importance.
How can you gain such an insight? By reading one post of one person on internet? Following one news outlet? Or by analyzing the data gathered independently by multiple sources?
This book takes you on a trip to understand how our world has developed in the last 100-150 years, using the data available for mining. It teaches you how to question assumptions, fake news, clickbaits, etc. Essentially it is a good tool to learn how to see the world for what it is. It teaches you also to understand what the world will be like in the upcoming 50 years, and how to make the most correct assumptions about the future.
As an investor, or owner of company, or researcher, this kind of level of thinking is crucial. But in the nowadays society, in which facebook and algorithms shape what you see if you fail to moderate it yourself, it is crucial for you to understand how to demand the other side of the story.
I actually think every teenager should read it. And if you ever was in a discussion with a man who claims he knows EVERYTHING....
I have been taking it out of my bookshelf on many dates with men who tried to mansplain some stuff to me, and pulling out the graphs and charts and data so conveniently plotted in it. But that is just me. It is a risky flirt move, worked only once with a nerd like myself. We are happily dating still, tough, so what the heck, go for it! :)
2. Rich dad, poor dad – What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money – That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!
3. Cashflow quadrant: Rich Dad's Guide to Financial Freedom
4. Rich Dad's Guide to Investing: What the Rich Invest in, That the Poor and the Middle Class Do Not!
The books are written by Robert Kiyosaki. For a person who has never dealt with investing, I think it is good to start in this order. I personally liked the Cashflow Quadrant more as a suggestion on how to take the step to actually start investing.
The Guide to Investing was very interesting in terms of getting to know how the money world works. Some of it was... of the kind... some people say that Illuminatti rule the world... The vibe I got after reading this was.... it seems so!!!!.... The illuminated people who know how to pull the strings, are pulling them without the fear. Good news is, anyone can join them, if they only want to and set their mind to it. Just a small requirement, you should be able to earn millions of dollars per year and demonstrate it is happening every year for few years. Elite clubs. They are just called "Sophisticated investors" and "Accredited Investors" rather than Illuminati. ;)
But my personal interest was more about the IPO process and how does it work from the inside. It helped me to understand what is the purpose of having a startup and how this could turn out. I am in the process of thinking of having one, so this was very interesting.
5. Never split the difference : Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It, Chris Voss, Tahl Raz
Some of it is about how to negotiate with your boss, or client... and some of it about how to negotiate with terrorists. Like your children.
I will leave it at that. ;)
The book is written by an ex-FBI agent who was dealing mostly with negotiations between governments and terrorists, or with hostage negotiations. He discusses each tool he used on an example of true event that occurred, and then tries to explain how to apply it to the real life situations like negotiation of raise, new position, car purchase or your kid asking you for that newest Nintendo.
I read this after recognizing that I have weak negotiating skills and before actually going into the negotiations related to the extension of my contract, which was due. I should disclose that I got the extension to the longest possible term and a raise of 10%, while my initial belief was that I will not get a cent more and will probably be thanked for my services. I must admit I am impressed with the power of suggested solutions.
6. Even Buffett isn't perfect: What You Can--and Can't--Learn from the World's Greatest Investor, Vahan Janjigian
The review of the tactic applied by the most well-known investor of our times, Warren Buffett. The author takes a step by step look at the "mistakes" that the guru has made. This book has helped me to understand what is value investing and growth investing. How to read the financial statements of the companies and different values reported by the companies, in a very basic way. It also taught me that even experienced investors can get cocky and invest in something despite their own rules, and regret it afterwards... But it very much underlined how having multiple checks in place, set of rules around investing and trading is of utmost importance as a form of "stop loss" or safety precaution, that should kick in in case of emergency.
7. 21 lessons for the 21st century, Yuval Noah Harrari
After finishing this book, I felt my heart was pounding and I had a crush on the author. I mean I felt like he has put the words I had in my head on paper. Like he knew me. His way of thinking is similar to the way my brain is wired. But, to quote Alanis Morissette - "Isn't it ironic, you meet a man of your dreams and then you meet his ... beautiful husband", I googled him and found he is married to a very nice gentleman. There went my crush.
I found this book extremely stimulating for deeper thoughts and reflections on how our world is philosophically wired and as a starter for discussion. I started dabbling in machine learning science for my own research, and certainly some points that were discussed about data management, inequality in the world of AI inflicted by humans ourselves, implications it may have to the future, to our careers to development of companies etc. All of those things crossed my mind at some point, but he just so cleverly put them on paper. Money flow is not just about goods exchanging hands anymore, so it is good to open yourself to the discussion about the value of the data, and I would say it is a good starting point for that.
8. The Ultimate Sales Machine: Turbocharge Your Business with Relentless Focus on 12 Key Strategies, Chet Holmes
"Pig headed determination and discipline". This is a tagline of this book. I recommend this book to anyone who is either starting their company, has struggles scaling their small company, is in the sales business, has any sort of clients that pay for his work or deals with salespeople as high end customer. I am kind of all of those.
It is a must read, definitely. I cannot say I enjoyed this book. The feeling I got was more of the kind - "ha... so this is how I have been manipulated by salespeople!". And in places, I wanted to crawl into embryo position under the shower and weep. But also quite a lot of it was related to self reflection on how things went wrong in the company I had in my 20s, and how this could have been avoided.
But, it really helped me to define myself as a professional. How to communicate with my team members and stakeholders. It actually enforced my belief that my approach is good: the planning, the to do lists, the prioritization, checkups of progress, avoiding of unnecessary emails, repeating the same activities to become specialist and the person my clients go for help to, feedback, troubleshooting, the building of the repour with clients and having their needs met. This book really helped me to make a mental leap from being a "phd student" to a professional scientist.
9. Secrets Of The Millionaire Mind, by T Harv Eker
This book seemed like a one big advert for the seminar by T Harv Eker. That was the part which I didn't appreciate about it. If I spend my time with a book, I would rather not hear how this is not good enough, and I will get sooo much more if I attend one of the seminars for a just few hundreds of dollars ;)
That said, it is a good book for anyone who needs a bunch of motivational one liners to keep them going on a quest to become a millionaire. It simplifies the process. It makes it sound easy and attainable. And the truth is, it is all in our heads. Every of the books from the above list underlines that with "pigheaded determination". You can be faced with a problem in your life. It can be the end of you or a lesson on a way to new you. What the world is, depends very much on your perception.
Getting your head into the correct mindset is really crucial. I recommend this one for simplicity. Skip the advert parts ;)
10. The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko
Last, but not least the book which describes an average millionaire household in USA. You think you know how the rich live by looking at Kim Kardashian's show or insta? Think again. She is the exception rather than the rule. This is why reading the "Factfullness" in the first place is so important. To understand the power of this book! To understand how millionaires make their purchases, what they eat, how they spend free time, what are their values, how they raise their children, etc. Not by following a wanna be rich someone on internet, but by actually looking into the statistical data gathered about millionaires.
By looking at the facts and data, you can start to emulate it and become one of them yourself.
I already made one post about this book, as it really made me thinking about how to raise my kids. I truly recommend this one. Tough there is lots of tables and stats.... hope you like it as well.
More recommendations coming soon, hopefully.
Do you have some good book suggestions?
Leave them in the comments!
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