Clients and colleagues often ask me what books I’ve read that have really made an impact for me. Here are a few you can check out…
1. The Su
ccess Principles: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be. by Jack Canfield
Brilliant book with short, relevant chapters that present each concept clearly and concisely with great examples. You don’t have to read the whole book to benefit from this brilliant man. The book is a roadmap for anyone – from marketing professionals to small business owners, and from teachers to students and parents – striving to achieve their professional and personal dreams and goals. Touching on every aspect of our lives, The Success Principles offers 64 practical and inspiring principles to get any aspiring person from where they are to where they want to be.
2. The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks
I love this book because it cleared up for me why, when things are going well, there seems to be a wrench that gets thrown in. Gay explains that we have an inner thermostat that determines the amount of love and success we allow ourselves. When we exceed our setting, we tend to sabotage ourselves so that we can return to the old, familiar zone where we feel secure. The thermostat was set before you could think for yourself, usually in early childhood. He also explains our relationship to time and how we allow for its limiting feeling.
3. The E-Myth by Michael Gerber
The E-Myth, or Entrepreneurial Myth, says that most new businesses are not started by entrepreneurs who set out to build a strong business but by technicians who enjoy the hands-on work themselves. Because of that natural bias, most business owners focus on working in their business when really they should be working on their business. There is, however, a simple and effective way to offset the E-Myth tendency. Instead of looking at the business as a one-off operation, the owner should consider the business to be a prototype for a large number of franchises that will be added at a later stage. By adopting that mindset, the business owner will not only participate in the business as a technician but will also act as a manager (putting systems in place and controls) and as an entrepreneur (having a vision of how the business can create sustainable added-value for all key stakeholders). A business that is built and managed by someone who combines the approach of the technician, the manager and the entrepreneur will have a far greater chance of future success than one guided by someone thinking like a technician alone.
4. What Should I Do with My Life? by Po Bronson
I love this book because it demonstrated to me real people in real transition and how often those people did not have a laid out plan for achieving their dream. They simply had an idea, inclination or desire for something different and they either just went for it and made it happen or life simply unfolded to reveal what would be the next best step. In What Should I Do with My Life? Po Bronson tells the inspirational true stories of people who have found the most meaningful answers to that great question. With humor, empathy, and insight, Bronson writes of remarkable individuals—from young to old, from those just starting out to those in a second career—who have overcome fear and confusion to find a larger truth about their lives and, in doing so, have been transformed by the experience. What Should I Do with My Life? struck a powerful, resonant chord on publication, causing a multitude of people to rethink their vocations and priorities and start on the path to finding their true place in the world. For this edition, Bronson has added nine new profiles, to further reflect the range and diversity of those who broke away from the chorus to learn the sound of their own voice.
5. The 33 Ruthless Rules of Local Advertising by Michael Corbett
My radio salesman gave me this book before I started advertising on the radio. He said, I was one of only a few clients who read it and because of my involvement, we created a strong alliance that helped me grow my business. This book was created for the 90 percent of small business owners who reportedly are dissatisfied with the results they get from local advertising. If followed, these rules, will broaden the customer base and enhance the bottom line. Specific growth objectives for advertising expenditures and the development of a system of absolute advertising accountability make this book distinctive. Business owners will learn to use advertising money wisely for maximum profitability.
6. Get Clients Now! by C.J. Hayden
Get Clients Now! empowers readers with practical, proven strategies for choosing the right marketing tactics for their situation and personality, diagnosing exactly what’s missing in their marketing and fixing it. Replacing unproductive cold calling with the power of relationship marketing. Filled with hundreds of tools and techniques, as well as a powerful 28-day plan that enables readers to energize their marketing efforts and dramatically increase their client base, the second edition contains up-to-the-minute strategies for relationship-based marketing in the Internet age. Get Clients Now! not only tells you the absolute truth about landing new clients, but also can transform you from a marketing amateur into a marketing genius. It contains all new material on how to use the latest Internet marketing techniques like e-zines, search engine optimization, and blogging…and much more . Packed with over 100 tactics, tools, and foolproof recipes customizable for any professional service business. A popular speaker and seminar leader, C.J. has presented hundreds of programs on relationship marketing, fearless self-promotion, and entrepreneurial success to corporate clients, professional associations, and small businesses.
