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The worst book I ever read was..

MJ DeMarco

I followed the science; all I found was money.
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Please note:

You can hate a book when you first read it.
If you read it 10 years later, your opinion on it might change.

I find this happening A LOT with movies. Something I first watched in 15 years ago I hated. When I watch it again, I love it.

If you're changing as a person and expanding knowledge, this should happen to you too.

Two books I read YEARS ago that I couldn't stand (or finish) was Good to Great and Art of the Start.

I'm wondering if would enjoy them today.
 
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Roveso

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I did read Think and grow rich and RDPD and found some value out of them, specially from the later; it helped me to change the 9-5 mindset, and to identify the so call rat-race.

One book I just couldn't finish was 4HWW, even after 2 attempts; it does have some good tips, but I think it has a lot of guru stuff to get rich easy.

And, in fiction, the WORST book for me was "The bible of clay" by Julia Navarro. Large and semi-historical pile of trash. Also, a special mention of an awful fictional book: "What comes next" by John Katzenbach.
 

Ninjakid

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Most books I don't like I just stop reading. But one I finished was...

Rich Dad, Poor Dad

Okay so this was the first book a read on how to be rich and I thought it was so great at first. And I admit, it propelled me to better things.

But let's just be honest. The book sucks.

But I wondered why I didn't actually know how to create passive income after reading. I thought, maybe I'm just not paying enough attention? I'm not getting the message?

But no, it's because that's how BS artists work. The give you vague half-truths sprinkled in a vortex of convolution, and try tell you the truth is so complex that only they can teach you.
 

Maxboost

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Deep Work by Cal Newport.. The book seems like all fluff.

Don't know if I will finish this book.

Some of the info can be found in Scot Adams book about creating systems and routines instead of goals.
 
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Invictus

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I couldn't even finish outliers. It was a pretty sorry excuse for a book.

I think I list that one somewhere in this thread as well.

Gladwell has huge numbers of fans and has sold countless books, but I won't be picking another one up. If his other books are anything like Outliers, I doubt I'm missing anything.
 

Kak

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I think I list that one somewhere in this thread as well.

Gladwell has huge numbers of fans and has sold countless books, but I won't be picking another one up. If his other books are anything like Outliers, I doubt I'm missing anything.

Almost seems like he has an external locus.
 
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GPM

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10X Rule by Grant Cardone - finished it somehow but what a bunch of rah rah bullshit

I have never read this book, but I absolutely love the audiobook. It is just mental on a whole extra level. Dude comes off as completely insane, but I still love that audiobook. I have listened to it 3 times, and still can't get enough of it.

I read a Malcolm Gladwell book and it was a complete snorefest. Dude would not stop talking about his old days as a pastor, and a bunch of other mumbo jumbo that I can't even remember now. However, if you can't sleep at night I HIGHLY recommend reading his works.
 

ZF Lee

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Two books I read YEARS ago that I couldn't stand (or finish) was Good to Great and Art of the Start.

I'm wondering if would enjoy them today.
Yes, I would enjoy books that gave me a very significant boost in reaching my goals or solving tough problems. The resulting successes gave me a positive feedback to continue reading the books. It's like beginning to love a dirty job when you get rewarded for it.

For instance, I pretty much enjoyed Oren Klaff's Pitch Anything, as it had some insane hard hitters on framing your speech and understanding the mood of the audience.

I tried a few tricks from the book in my presentations at university, and it was a hit. I will be going over the book again.

Even for TMF and UNSCRIPTED , I still come back to them because the mini practices within them on providing value and understanding business in a more holistic approach have made my life and thinking process much different than expected.

couldn't even finish outliers. It was a pretty sorry excuse for a book.
The first part of the book was like,
'X millionaire got born at X date, so he was in time to get X opportunity.'

'Bob the athlete was born on X date, so he was in time to get drafted for the NBA.'

A question rang in my head, "What does it have to do with me, and how can this be applied in my life?'

When I couldn't answer these questions, I quit the book.
 

Real Deal Denver

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YOU GUYS are killing me! (But this thread is ingenious anyway!)

Several of the books that have been bashed here are on my list to read.

I reread the reviews on Amazon for Art of the Start 2.0. I really have to have that book. But, man, has it been trampled to death here. I'm going out on a limb and presuming that the readers of that book are much more advanced than me, so it was a waste of time for them. There. Now I feel better. I'm buying the damn book! But, thanks for the warning everyone ~

Here is a quote from the book, which I lifted from a review. I really like this - it is so true. Up until now I was not quite able to bring this concept into focus. This quote does exactly that though.

"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people are so full of doubts." - Bertrand Russell
 
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Formless

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10X Rule by Grant Cardone

Was tempted to check out the 10x rule, but then I saw Grant's AMA on the r/sales reddit.

He ignored all the questions that required specific knowledge to answer. He only responded to general questions with "work harder and write your goals" type of answers. So I pigeonholed him as a guru with vapid material.

Seeing your opinion of the book, I'm glad I didn't waste my time.
 

Cashflow Queen

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You make several assumptions in this post:

1. You assume you can gauge the success of an author based on public perception. I personally know several authors who sell a lot of books and people assume they are successful, but in reality, the authors know more about writing motivational books than they do about the topic on which they write. If you knew them, you wouldn't take their subject-specific advice.

2. You assume that the bad information in a book won't outweigh the "nuggets" of good information. I know plenty of books that have nuggets of good information, but then chapter upon chapter of bad information. I'd rather steer a newbie away from the 99% bad information as opposed to toward the 1% good information -- the best way to do that is to not read the book.

3. You assume that there is little wasted investment in reading a bad book. This is far from the truth, even if there are nuggets of gold within the book. Personally, it probably takes me 20-40 hours to read a dense educational book -- spending 20-40 hours for one or two nuggets of information isn't worth the lost week of time that I could have been building my own business, finding investments or even writing my own book. Time is my most valuable asset, and if I lose a lot of it reading bad books, that's a big loss in my life overall.

Learning by reading and learning by action is not mutually exclusive. Reading can certainly be a shortcut. Steering someone away from a “bad” book is mostly an egotistical endeavor when that book is highly rated by many other people who say they have obtained great value from it...Such as most of the books mentioned on this thread to be a “waste of time.” Are you going to trust 1000 data points or 1? The best way to see if it’s truly going to be a waste of your precious time is to start reading it and think for yourself if it applies to you. Besides, reading develops character and wisdom that is not measurable in numbers; if you are in business for the money and only value time, then yeah maybe this is not important and you should just go back to work 24/7. If you want to become a leader then time investment will look different.
 

YoungPadawan

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"50 Shades of Grey."

Man, that book sucked a$$. (not literally, lol)

I had to sleep in my car in my college's parking lot because I showed up a day early after Christmas break, and they wouldn't let me into the dorm room.

So, as I froze my a$$ off in my 1998 Oldsmobile Cutlass, I read the only book that I had downloaded on my hard drive on my laptop: "50 Shades of Grey."

Alright, all jokes aside, the worst business book I've read would be "The Secret."

I've read a few business books that have spewed the hot garbage that "The Law of Attraction" preaches, but this one takes the cake.

Nothing in life comes from you just dreaming about it. You need to go out there and DO IT.
 
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Fastlane Liam

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Read Dave Ramsey's Entreleadership book
The whole idea of not hiring someone because of their spouse or firing people if they are going through divorce because if they can't be trusted in their relationships they can't be trusted at work.
yikes
 

JAJT

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Recent disappointment: Daymond John's Rise and Grind.

It's like a dozen or so 2-3 page stories from a number of people you may and may not have heard of. Then he talks a bit about each story and what the take-away was for him. Sometimes it's a hell of a stretch.

It's rare I get basically nothing out of a book but this was one of them.

Good premise, terrible execution. If he was already in touch with these folks and getting their stories he was inches away from delivering a home run with more depth and value. But as it stands it's just shallow nonsense.
 
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jon.M

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Deep Work by Cal Newport.. The book seems like all fluff.

Don't know if I will finish this book.

Some of the info can be found in Scot Adams book about creating systems and routines instead of goals.

I didn't finish it. The message makes sense but get to the point already, Cal.
 

Maxboost

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I didn't finish it. The message makes sense but get to the point already, Cal.

Let me tell you a story about this guy....Remove electronic distractions,....Heres another story of this guy...blah,blah,blah,.... go somewhere else to do deepwork, Here's another story...blah...blah..blah...

I never finished book and returned it to the library. I wasted my time...
 

JasonEP

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It's funny how different I felt from others in this topic when I first read Let There Be Range. That book totally changed everything about how I viewed NLH/PLO. I absolutely loved it. And I do feel that when it came out it was worth the price, you'd make your money back in a day applying the concepts. I think it still sells for $1200 though. You can get all the info from that book for free nowadays. It is still applicable, but not a secret anymore and the game is harder because absolutely everyone understands the concept of ranges now.

Moving on, I was angry when I finished Think and Grow Rich. It's only like 50 cents on Kindle, so I was really only upset at the time spent reading it. It has so many glowing recommendations, but it was just voodoo "imagine the money and you'll have it" stuff. I read it after I read MFL and Unscripted , so that was probably why I disliked it so much.

I also wasn't a huge fan of Rich Dad Poor Dad, but I think it is because of when I read it. I had already read The Millionaire Next Door, which was the first personal finance/self improvement book I ever read, and I think most people's first book from that category is RDPD. So I have a lot more nostalgia for MND. I also ready RDPD after MJ's books as well. Fun read, but definitely not in my "must read" recommendations.

Lastly, I would say that The One Thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan is overrated. I didn't think the book was bad by any means, I just feel that it didn't need an entire book devoted to the concept. It also recycled a lot of stuff from their book Millionaire Real Estate Agent. So I had seen a lot of the stuff in the book before. (I'm not a real estate agent but I would recommend MREA to anyone interested in starting a business. I felt that book was great at laying out how to build a team and a business that you can one day step out of.)
 
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Supa

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Alright, all jokes aside, the worst business book I've read would be "The Secret."

I've read a few business books that have spewed the hot garbage that "The Law of Attraction" preaches, but this one takes the cake.

Nothing in life comes from you just dreaming about it. You need to go out there and DO IT.

The problem with those books like Think and Grow Rich or The Secret is not the think positive aspect of them.

The problem, imo, is, that they say all you have to do is to think positive and somehow stuff will happen like you envisioned it.

In my opinion, thinking positive and seeing yourself as being able to succeed at whatever it is you want to succeed at, is an essential part of actually succeeding.

It's just a part of it, though. Or, more like a good foundation on which to base your actions on.

I loved Psycho-Cybernetics therefore, as it explores the connection between your self image and your actions, that are based on that image, if negative or positive.

From the book:

“Self-image sets the boundaries of individual accomplishment.”

“Low self-esteem is like driving through life with your hand-brake on.”

“You act, and feel, not according to what things are really like, but according to the image your mind holds of what they are like. You have certain mental images of yourself, your world, and the people around you, and you behave as though these images were the truth, the reality, rather than the things they represent.” – Maxwell Maltz
 

Fastlane Liam

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Six months to Six figures was a bit of a letdown for me. Seemed to have generic advice and alot of "follow your passion and not work a day in your life" kind of vibe.
 

JP Alvis

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- The Alchemist was horrible and still, I forced myself to finish it (what a waste of life...)

- The Art of the Start 2.0 was only a waste of hours, I couldn't read more than 2 sessions.

- Choose Yourself
seemed to have a good message for me at the time, but the writing was boring and I found myself thinking: "Ok, I choose myself... what now?" and I couldn't answer it.

- I gave up on Antifragile because I had a similar experience that some guys here are reporting with Deep Work, it uses a lot of words just to make a point: Look for some degree of discomfort and find a way of improving yourself through it.

-
I finished Freakonomics because of hype just to find myself with a lot of data and no idea what to do with it, I avoided all books from the authors ever since.

-
How to stop worrying and start living, I gave up after the first chapters...

- I find the stoicism a great way to live but still couldn't finish The Obstacle is the Way, I still completed The Ego is the Enemy though, perhaps due to my narcissism at the time of reading it; I might revisit it again in the future.

- All books by Walter Riso (I don't remember which one I started reading on my teens and throw it to the trash in less than an hour, hoping to save someone else from it... I looked at some of the titles of his books and they'll the same self-help bullshit)

I find interesting that some of the books I liked have bad reviews (e.g. Deep Work) and still, I'm willing to give it a try to those that I haven't read so far to make my own opinion about them.

Great thread...

Thanks,
JP
 
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Nik@16

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Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell.

Aside from being a pop psychology book that extrapolates research and case studies (things are rarely so black and white), I felt like it had a terrible theme. All of these hugely successful people happened because they were outliers and there were events out of their control. They were born a few months earlier in the year, they managed to learn to code when it was still new because their school just happened to have a class, etc.

It's not that I don't think some people have a few things line up right, or that some people have more convenient opportunities, but I hated the feeling I got reading the book. It felt like Gladwell was saying that it comes down to not just having a talent, but in being lucky enough to have the opportunity to do that.

And I despise anyone that says it comes down to luck. I believe that if you're willing to sweat and bleed, you can make it work. Maybe you won't hit it huge as a billionaire or Rock n Roll Hall of Fame, but you can make the climb.
The harder you work the luckier you get . It's true but the book was about absolute success not relative success. you didn't liked it because it scattered your dream of being a billionaire.
 
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Nik@16

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the problem with Ayn Rand is that she falls in the category of people who don't walk the talk as mentionned by MJ DeMarco.

she died poor on welfare wheras she had been fighting altruism for all her life

how funny.

without help and altruism , she would have slept in the street.

yes you guys don't want to hear that but the future belongs to global communism after the failure of capitalism.

i am talking long term here. 50 years and more

so don't worry, you can still become the next millionaire and retire on the beach
She did it on purpose because she thought taxation is theft. Books were verbose as F*ck .True That.
 

WJK

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The harder you work the luckier you get . It's true but the book was about absolute success not relative success. you didn't liked it because it scattered your dream of being a billionaire.
Yes, I too have seen people who have these moments of total luck show up. Then that the blessed person ran with their stroke of good luck and it paid off for them. I have learned that just about everyone has consistent opportunities which show up. Yes, most aren't billionaire sized. But, it's amazing how far even a small one can carry the person who can capitalize on it. And then Life gives them another one to run with.

The other side of the coin is that most people's moments to shine die of total neglect or lack of recognition. Very few people actually run with an opportunity. They walk over without seeing it. If they do see it, they don't know where to start, how to make a plan and then work that plan. They are simply not ready for that moment.
 
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