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Books that will give you a Paradigm Shift! (You'll never be the same again)

Vairavan

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I thought I'd share some books that changed my life forever.I'll also add my key takeaway (The Paradigm Shift).

The Absolute Best:

How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World
by Harry Browne -It'll give you a Ph.D. in Unscripted mindset. If you're going to read only one book in your life, make it this one and thank me later. Everyone who I recommended this book came back to me to say thank you. This book is that good. If this book doesn't change your life, nothing else will. Period. That's all I can say.
Key Takeaway: You don't have to change yourself for others. You don't have to live up to society's standards. You can live life as you want.


The Rest:

Intimate Connections
by David D. Burns - If you suffer from loneliness (all entrepreneurs would) read this book.
Key Takeaway: Practice doing things you want to do with friends, alone. The less you need friends more you have.

No More Mr.Nice Guy by Robert A. Glover - If people keep taking advantage of you, you must read this.
Key Takeaway: Put your needs before other's needs.

Looks: Why They Matter More Than You Ever Imagined by Gordon L. Patzer - If you think looks don't matter, you should read this book.
Key Takeaway: Studies after studies have shown that good looking people are treated better. They earn more. They get better life partners. Even in the court of law, good looking people were given less severe punishments for the same offense.

Getting Things Done by David Allen - Read this if you are not organized with your work.
Key Takeaway: Writing things down will remove the naggings from your head.

Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle - Some people love it, some people hate it. But, it's a wonderful book IMHO.
Key Takeaway: Most of the problems are due to overthinking. You can silence the mind by being a passive observer. (Whatever thoughts come in your mind, simply listen to it. It'll disappear.)

The Millionaire Fastlane by MJ DeMarco - Self-explanatory.
Key Takeaway: Making money is just a mathematical formula (Profits x Units sold).

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie - No best books list is complete without this classic.
Key Takeaway: Make other people feel important.

There are many more books I consider the best. But these are the books that'll help most people.

P.S.Do you guys know any other book that gave you a Paradigm Shift?
 
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Pink Sheep

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How to talk to strangers opened my eyes on how mis-matched body language and intent can be, for better or worse.
 

Jon L

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A couple recent books for me:

Sales EQ & Fanatical Prospecting by Jeb Blount. Both are excellent books on sales. They emphasize the emotional aspect of selling, talking about how the emotions of the salesperson and the potential customer can be used to either completely destroy any chance for a sale, or make that sale happen. Highly recommend them.
 

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The Road to Serfdom by Friedrich Hayek. The scales will fall from your eyes.
Basic Economics by Thomas Sowell. You'll understand value and money and the decisions related to them much better after reading this.
Weapons of Mass Instruction by John Taylor Gatto. It's Ok to cry yourself to sleep when you realize how much critical thinking power the planet has lost in the last century.
Einstein's Cosmos by Michio Kaku. Want to know how original thinking works? Hint: it's not all hard logic and analysis.
Building a Story Brand by Donald Miller. Short, to the point, and really clarifies some aspects of sales and marketing.
The Pleasure of Finding Things Out by Richard Feynman. Another one for good thinking.
Memories, Dreams, Reflections by Carl Jung, in case you thought you were the only one with imaginary friends...
 
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Champion

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I'm just curious. Which books did you order?

How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World by Harry Browne and Intimate Connections.

Howver, I already had some books on the list!
 
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FastManCostin

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Thank you for this list! I just started reading How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World and wow! Amazing gem of a book.
 

Jack Hammer

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Relentless by Tim Grover. I've listened to the audiobook twice now. It does a great job at getting me to get past my insecurities, excuses, nonsense, etc. and just do what I need to do. The voice actor is awesome too. It's like getting a 7 hour lecture on how to be amazing.
 

GoodluckChuck

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Love that Harry Browne book! Was one of my first freedom related books in my early 20's. Definitely has a positive impact on me over the years.
 
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solyom

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Alan Weiss: The Consulting Bible

Even if you don't want to be a consultant, it teaches you how to shift your mindset from selling your hours towards selling the value you are giving to your customers.

This guy has written 40 books and when he wrote this one he was making $2.5M yearly with his one-person consulting business.
 

Pat D. Rick

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Endurance by Alfred Lansing.
I listened to this audiobook and can honestly say that it's one of the most inspiring books ever.

It makes you realise how much sh*t a human can take but still go on and win.

If you ever thought life dealt you a bad hand - read this book!
You will feel more empowered than ever before!

Same with When all you have is hope by Frank O'Dea
I just love true storys about people hitting rock bottom, but coming back as a stronger version of themselves.
 

BellaPippin

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Intimate Connections by David D. Burns - If you suffer from loneliness (all entrepreneurs would) read this book.Everyone who I recommended this book came back to say thank you. This book is that good.
Key Takeaway: Practice doing things you want to do with friends, alone. The less you need friends more you have.

I have mixed feelings about this, but I don't know whether it is something personal: I was raised to be independent, I never fully fit where I was because my mentality seems to have been unscripted one by default (I don't recall any moment in my childhood/adolescence that I didn't think jobs sucked and I wanted to have some business or some sort of passive income). Now I'm alone in Chicago and my circles are small, I'm an introvert so I keep quantity vs quantity. But because people have lives I can't see everyone often.

Point being... I enjoy solitude, in fact I recharge my energy that way. I know my happiness comes from within and not depends on attachment to others, etc.

HOWEVER that doesn't mean I WANT to be alone all the time. Can I go to the movies, go to a restaurant, etc by myself? Yes and I have. Do I want to? No.

You could argue I still have a bit of attachment. I mean, we ARE social creatures. As long as it's not an extreme pattern and you are needy and insecure without others...
 
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LRG

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Nisargadatta Maharaj: I am that
Eckhart Tolle: The power of now
Anthony DeMello: Awareness
Dan Millman: Way of the peaceful warrior
Eric Berne: Games people play
MJ de Marco: The millionaire fastlane

(sry, not too many biz books on the list)
 

THR

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I have three recommendations, one for personal development two for business development.

I particularly like Atomic Habits by James Clear. It's about how subtle, consistent changes can lead to huge yields.

Blue Ocean Strategy by Kim/Maugorgne is the best business strategy book I've ever read. It talks about how to position a business in such a way that competition becomes irrelevant.

Finally, Small Giants by Bo Burlingham is fantastic. All about companies that made a conscious choice to stay true to their core principles rather than cash out.

All three of these books changed my perspective to a substantial degree, and I attribute parts of my thought process to their advice.

Your recommendation of How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World is hard to find in print! I'll have to read the Kindle version.
 

S.Y.

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Meditations by Marcus Aurelius and Letters from a Stoic of Seneca.

Stoicism has profoundly changed my life. All aspects of my life have benefited from it.

The idea that my interpretation of events and not the events themselves is what bother me, has been monumental.

"if you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it ; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment"

The acceptance of life and death, the recognition that my happiness depends on me and that I don't need much to be happy...

The focus on doing: "waste no more time about arguing what a good man should be. Be one"

Timeless lessons left and right...
 

Vairavan

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Your recommendation of How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World is hard to find in print! I'll have to read the Kindle version.

It's a very old book. Read it in whatever format available. It's worth it.
 
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Vairavan

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Meditations by Marcus Aurelius and Letters from a Stoic of Seneca.

This quote by Seneca impacted me the most:

It is in times of security that the spirit should be preparing itself to deal with difficult times; while fortune is bestowing favors on it then is the time for it to be strengthened against her rebuffs.
 
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MπR

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Meditations by Marcus Aurelius and Letters from a Stoic of Seneca.

Stoicism has profoundly changed my life. All aspects of my life have benefited from it.

This is a classic. I still have to work on my stoicism from time to time.
 

MπR

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A lot of great books already mentioned. Here are a few that changed my thinking.

Business
The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business by Josh Kaufmann

Full Engagement by Brian Tracy

How Companies Win: Profiting from Demand-Driven Business Models No Matter What Business You're In by Rick Cash

Not business related. But changed my look on systems and dependencies

Books about permaculture and self-sufficiency:
The Resilient Farm and Homestead: An Innovative Permaculture and Whole Systems Design Approach by Ben Falk

Sepp Holzer's Permaculture: A Practical Guide to Small-Scale, Integrative Farming and Gardening Sepp Holzer

Gaia's Garden A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture
 
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BellaPippin

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You missed the point. You don't have to be alone all the time. The point being made is you should have fun doing things with or without friends. If you keep doing this, you'll become less needy.

That's exactly what I said. I can do both, but at some point it's natural to crave some quality human connections. It's been proven in studies isolating people makes them go nuts. We use the term "needy" too freely when it should only apply for people who obviously take it to the next level and can't be with themselves. But just because you feel lonely from time to time doesn't make you needy.
 

BellaPippin

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A perfectly healthy individual should never feel lonely. You should try the loneliness test in the very first chapter of the book.

The author has done years of research and clinical work. He knows what he is talking about. His first book "Feeling Good" is considered the bible in CBT circles.

I feel that's a little bit of a stretch, I disagree. I was, however, talking about my own personal experience, not arguing about an author's claims on a book I haven't read, nor I'm gonna take one person's book as "a bible" on a subject because that's a falacy of authority.
 
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BrunoRastablasta

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Endurance by Alfred Lansing.
I listened to this audiobook and can honestly say that it's one of the most inspiring books ever.

It makes you realise how much sh*t a human can take but still go on and win.

If you ever thought life dealt you a bad hand - read this book!
You will feel more empowered than ever before!

Same with When all you have is hope by Frank O'Dea
I just love true storys about people hitting rock bottom, but coming back as a stronger version of themselves.

Endurance is a freaking amazing book. It's one of the best leadership journey's I ever stumbled upon in my entire life. A 10/10!
 

BrunoRastablasta

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I read 110 books in the past two and a half years, but the one which brought me to a different dimension was definitely A Brief History of Everything by Ken Wilber.

This book was the intro to spiral dynamics for me and if there is anything that helped me fundamentally see reality, understand it and accept it (amor fati), it's this one.

I can't recommend it enough.
 

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