Great books that are NOT best-sellers. Share yours.

[Johnny boy]

You should read old books because they’re so much better

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

View attachment 52880You should read old books because they’re so much better

Sounds a lot like Sidewalkers, Slowlaners, and Fastlaners.

 

[John Clancy]

In case anyone else would like to get their hands on works by the Alexander Hamilton Institute, looks like a number of books are available in PDF format from this publisher: Search: alexander hamilton institute

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Bump, created from this thread. I didn't transfer the recommendations from that thread due to incorrect format.

 

[Amogh]

What's yours?

Fastlane Book Recommendations

Fastlane books recommended by the community and MJ DeMarco

www.thefastlaneforum.com

Book : Marketing management
Authors : Philip Kotler and Kevin Lane Keller
Genre : Marketing + General business + Branding
Subject/description : It's actually a textbook on this topic and one that my mentor recommended me. One of the most in depth books in terms of addressing the fundamentals.
Amazon link : Buy Marketing Management, Global Edition Book Online at Low Prices in India | Marketing Management, Global Edition Reviews & Ratings - Amazon

 

[stavedeve]

Book: The satvic food book
Author: Subah Saraf
Genre: Health
Subject/Description: Healing the body with plant-based food, without any medicine. Includes detox salads, healing soups. All recipes are free from refined oil, sugar, pungent spices, milk & milk products and processed foods. They are made using ingredients straight from nature, the way you find them in nature.
Packed with beautiful photography, the Satvic Food Book invites you to change your relationship with food and radically enhance your health, digestion, radiance and bliss.

Amazon link: Amazon.com: Satvic Food Book : 45 Healing Recipes to Cure Any Chronic Disease eBook : Saraf, Subah: Books

Check out anything from Dr. Collin Cambell. He is all things whole foods plant based.

 

[ZackerySprague]

Book: Personality Isn't Permanent
Author: Benjamin Hardy
Genre: Self-Development
Subject/Description: I am still in the process of reading this book, but I found it at Barnes N Nobles. The cover caught my eye. This book talks about how your personality is not permanent and how one person can change. There are tests such as the MBTI and Enneagram to be exact that people take to identify and learn personality characteristic traits about themselves. These tests in a sense help people understand themselves and who they might be. But Dr.Hardy demonstrates how one person can change through scientific evidence or a study showing one person can change by showing you a step-by-step process that is laid out in the book.

In my personal opinion, these tests are fun to read, but not to be solely relied on. I feel like if you solely rely on these tests, then I believe you essentially are giving up your power to change and are trying to fit yourself in this "box" per se allowing a test to define who you are and what you can and cannot do. I don't like this one bit.

 

[BrunoRastablasta]

Book: Sex, Ecology, Spirituality
Author: Ken Wilber
Genre: Transpersonal psychology
Subject/Description: I'm a professional writer and I can't find the words to describe this book. It will shift your paradigm, help you understand why people behave the way that they do, show you how human systems evolve, and prepare you for the future to come. It's a 700-page long masterpiece by a guy who's no longer sane. He also popularized Spiral Dynamics so if you heard of that, you should thank him.
(optional) Amazon Link: Sex, Ecology, Spirituality: The Spirit of Evolution, Second Edition: Wilber, Ken: 9781570627446: Books - Amazon

Book: Endurance
Author: Alfred Lansing
Genre: Memoir/Biography/Adventure
Subject/Description: This book was written in1959 and it's a bit cheating the list (it has 8,000 reviews), but it was never a bestseller. However, this book will blow your mind. This is the first book ever written on Shackleton's incredible journey to walk across Antarctica. The entire book is written on the basis of the journals from the crew members so it's accurate in its depiction of people, places, and conditions. If you want to read how tough men and leaders were a hundred years ago, read this book. If this doesn't get you from action-faking to action-taking, I don't know what will.
(optional) Amazon Link:
Endurance: Alfred Lansing, Nathaniel Philbrick: 2015465062881: Books

 

[Antoni Deighton]

Book: Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War
Author: Robert Coram
Subject/Genre: Biography

You may be familiar with the OODA Loop (Observe, Orient, Decide, Act), which is perhaps the most famous of Colonel Boyd's legacies. Boyd was a fighter pilot who, after fighting in Korea, was soon teaching at the USAF equivalent of Top Gun. He soon became known as Forty Second Boyd, because he could enter a dogfight with an "enemy" on his tail and consistently shoot them down within forty seconds. He is also credited with developing the tactics that led to the 100-hour ground war in the first Gulf War.
Unliked by the Pentagon brass, Boyd's theories about dogfighting were developed from the laws of thermodynamics and entropy. He used rapid, unexpected, movement and targets to defeat his enemies, but his theories, and the thinking behind them can equally be applied to business. One of his colleagues and supporters wrote a business book using his methodology, and you can find his original Pentagon presentations online. But I find this book is a good way to understand where Boyd came from, what the OODA loop really means, and is the best way to start understanding how to incorporate Boyd's ideas into your business.

 

[Henderson]

Hey @MJ DeMarco! This thread is a great idea. I hope it grows and increases in value over time. Personally (as a total noob), I would be interested in all kinds of media. What blogs, forums, or podcasts, etc. does everyone visit regularly for example.

Anyway, here are my book recommendations...

-----------

How to Win at the Sport of Business: If I Can Do It, You Can Do It

Author: Mark Cuban (Yes he's famous but not as a writer)

Genre: Business & Entrepreneurship

Subject/Description:
'Using the greatest material from his popular Blog Maverick, Cuban has collected and updated his postings on business and life to provide a catalog of INSIDERS knowledge on what it takes to become a thriving entrepreneur. He tells his own rags-to-riches story of how he went from selling powdered milk and sleeping on friends' couches to owning his own company and becoming a multibillion-dollar success story.'

Amazon Link

-------------

How to Get Rich: One of the World's Greatest Entrepreneurs Shares His Secrets

Author: Felix Dennis

Genre: Business & Entrepreneurship

Subject/Description:
I like it because it is a no-BS story of how Dennis created his wealth. It is raw and transparent in what it means to be obsessed with success (read: unhealthy, probably divorce, few to no real friends etc.). He also wrote poetry which is fascinating all in itself.

'How to Get Rich is different from any other book on the subject because Dennis isn't selling snake oil, investment tips, or motivational claptrap. He merely wants to help people embrace entrepreneurship and to share lessons he learned the hard way. He reveals, for example, why a regular paycheck is like crack cocaine; why great ideas are vastly overrated; and why ownership isn't the important thing, it's the only thing.'

Amazon Link

-------------

Zero to Sold: How to Start, Run, and Sell a Bootstrapped Business

Author: Arvid Kahl

Genre: Business & Entrepreneurship

Subject/Description:
'In Zero to Sold, Arvid shares his experiences, learnings, and insights from building a Software-as-a-Service business from start to finish. He shows what worked and what didn't work. If you want to build your own bootstrapped business and stay sane while doing it, Zero to Sold will be your guide.'

Amazon Link

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Write Useful Books: A modern approach to designing and refining recommendable nonfiction

Author: Rob Fitzpatrick

Genre: Writing

Subject/Description:
'This guide proposes a different way of planning, writing, & refining nonfiction, drawn from the hard-won lessons of product designers & entrepreneurs. Applied properly, it leads to books that can grow organically via reader recommendations for many years, without relying on either heavy marketing or a large author platform.

The preconceptions about "writing a book" are so deeply entrenched that most authors don't even ask themselves whether a better way exists.'

Amazon Link

 

[Rauschmi]

Book: Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents
Author: Lindsay Gibson
Genre: Self-development
Subject/Description: Helps adults who have had immature parents during their upbringing heal from emotional neglect and other causes. We as children growing up need emotional support for various use cases or events that occur during our lifetime. If this is not provided by our parents when we become adults. It will be hard for us to communicate with others and express how we feel. We also get this huge self-worth problem as if people just don't care at all. This book opened my eyes to what has happened in my upbringing. I was neglected by my parents, I was the kid on the computer. My parents barely checked in with me. I was "straight as an arrow" as they will say, meaning that I always knew what I wanted to do growing up. I was the kid they never had to worried about which thus created that exclusion feeling I felt back then of not being paid attention to. Definitely a good book for anyone who needs self-healing and might I add my parents were the distant parents.

Definitely a great book, a must read. Yes, I've read it. I think @Red recommended this one to me.

This book definitely shed some light on my childhood, and even to this day. I had my wife read it as well. And lets just say she was shocked and could only read it in short periods. It was too emotional for her to realize and deal with all the things that happened to her growing up. And yes, also to this current day.
Absolutely recommend for everyone.

As I have heard: Nobody escapes childhood without some trauma.

 

[focusedlife]

Book: The Million-Dollar, One-Person Business

Author: Elaine Pofeldt
Genre: Home-Based Businesses
Subject/Description (My take...clcik the book link to get the Amazong description):

If you read the Great Rat Race Escape then this is like an alternative REAL WORLD case study addendum you can reference.

It might be useful for others to be able to run through the CENTS filter, and get some ideas going on other businesses you might want to consider.

See how others were able to pull it off and get a sense of inspiration on how possible this really is.

I dunno...

I really found it useful and it's DEF not a best seller.

Useful?

(optional) Amazon Link: → Click here to check it out

 

[sfarieri]

Fantastic book for Real Estate agents that really focuses on marketing. Learned a lot here. Underrated.




Author: Krista Mashore
Genre: Real Estate/ Marketing
Subject/Description: Focuses on how a top 1% agent sells 100+ homes a year using marketing

 

[PillowMan]

These are all books I have finished and believe are high value to the community. They are all available on Audible and will be linked to Audible. Enjoy!

Book: Confessions of a Real Estate Entrepreneur
Author: James A Randel
Genre: Business | Entrepreneurship
Subject/Description: Real Estate. The author talks about how investing in real estate as a creative problem solver generates the highest returns at the lowest cost. Outside the box approach to being more than a real estate investor but becoming an innovator in real estate.
(optional) Amazon Link: Audible is better so here - Link

Book: Winning Through Intimidation
Author: Robert Ringer
Genre: Business
Subject/Description: Negotiating. This books is from the 80's I believe but its an eyeopener to the 3 main types of people you will meet. The author teaches what to expect and how to protect yourself against them. Highly recommend if you ever have to negotiate.
(optional) Amazon Link: Audible is better so here - Link

Book: Credit Is King: Transforming Your Credit to Royalty
Author: Will Roundtree
Genre: Personal Finance
Subject/Description: Credit Building. Learn how the credit rating agencies work to fix your credit and maximize your score.
(optional) Amazon Link: Audible is better so here - Link

Book: Am I Being Too Subtle
Author: Sam Zell
Genre: Business Biography
Subject/Description: Business Development. Life story and business career of one the greatest living real estate entrepreneurs that created the largest Real Estate Investment Trust at the time of sale, Equity Office. He sold it to Blackstone group for $39 Billion in 2007 before the crash.
(optional) Amazon Link: Audible is better so here - Link

Book: The Money Game
Author: Adam Smith (No not the famous economist that wrote The Wealth of Nations)
Genre: Investing
Subject/Description: The Stock market and how you it really works, told as a story.
(optional) Amazon Link: Audible is better so here - Link

Book: Business Credit Decoded
Author: TY L Crandall
Genre: Business
Subject/Description: How to step by step build business credit and the firms responsible for business credit reporting. *I cant stress how important this book is. If you don't know who Dun and Bradstreet is then this is required reading.
(optional) Amazon Link: Audible is better so here - Link

Book: The Gap and The Gain
Author: Dan Sullivan and Dr.Benjamin Hardy
Genre: Personal Development
Subject/Description: Performance and Mindset management by learning how to measure your success and failures with a growth approach. *boarder line at 1,400 reviews but too good not to share.
(optional) Amazon Link: Audible is better so here - Link

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Well, I'm a little late to the party, but here's my shortlist of books that I recommend. The only one I recommend higher is UnScripted !


Book: The Path of Least Resistance
Author: Robert Fritz
Genre: Self-Help
Subject/Description: Reset the creative power of your mind to instill new habits into your life. A bit heavy-handed, but well worth the read.
Amazon Link:

The Path of Least Resistance: Learning to Become the Creative Force in Your Own Life: Fritz, Robert: 8601420121591: Amazon.com: Books

The Path of Least Resistance: Learning to Become the Creative Force in Your Own Life [Fritz, Robert] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Path of Least Resistance: Learning to Become the Creative Force in Your Own Life

www.amazon.com

Book: Deep Survival
Author: Laurence Gonzales
Genre: Survival
Subject/Description: A cautionary look at 'who lives, who dies, and why' in survival situations. In other words, be mindful of the cascade of bad decisions. Relatable to all kinds of situations. Do not read in one sitting.
Amazon Link: Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why: Gonzales, Laurence: 9780393353716: Amazon.com: Books

Book: The Art of Selfishness
Author: David Seabury
Genre: Self-Help
Subject/Description: This is THE book for people to learn to say no to toxic stuff and people holding them back. If you 'can't' because your parents/wife/society says no, read this!
Amazon Link: The Art of Selfishness by David Seabury: Seabury, David: 9781635619768: Amazon.com: Books

Book: Get Anyone to Do Anything
Author: David Lieberman
Genre: Self-Help
Subject/Description: It's astonishing how often I refer to this book. Works really well! Seriously.
Amazon Link: Get Anyone to Do Anything: David J. Lieberman: 9780312270179: Amazon.com: Books

 

[Isaac Odongo]

I am currently reading it. The writer is a Ugandan. He visited my workplace yesterday to train parents on 21st century parenting and donated two copies. I have found tremendous gems in the book. I wonder why it isn’t popular.

Of course I don't see the Wall Street gospel but common Fastlane hints and urges. I also don't see the common theme in African self improvement and entrepreneurship books. Upwork and BTC. I see encouragement of life long learning and life wide learning by the dynamic self learning approach in order to fusion disciplines into a sellable unit or skill.

There are things here that ring home in my heart because the book focuses on Uganda and Africa. I am a Ugandan. Examples and illustrations ring straight home. They are closer.

@MJ DeMarco, @Andy Black and the other mods must check this book immediately. Maybe you wont read it. But you must check it. It is vital that we here realise the potential it has of putting Fastlaners from the developing world on the Fastlane road trip.

 

[AdamRyanUK]

One book came to mind which is

Living from a Place of Surrender: The Untethered Soul in Action​

Michael A Singer
Amazon Link

In this book he talks about his life and how he created a sucessful software company whilst providing value to the local community in Florida before going on to write his books. It goes into the spiritual side of things, what led him there and all in all is a very interesting book about providing value. I think it compliments MJ's books well.

 

[Muusa]

Book: Losing My Virginity
Author: Richard Branson
Genre: Business
Description:
This book give a full insight into the life of Richard Branson one of the UK's greatest businessmen and how he built a empire in multiple sectors such as aviation and music. This book includes good business advice and is a interesting read. I recommend this book to aspiring fastlane entrepreneurs as it includes a great fastlane success story.

 

[ZackerySprague]

Book: Ecommerce Evolved
Author: Tanner Larson
Genre: Business Development
Subject/Description: Definitely a good book for anyone who wants to build, grow, and scale an eCommerce store. Found this book online after doing some research. Decided to read it, definitely worth the purchase.

 

[THR]

Book: Start Small, Stay Small

Author: Rob Walling

Genre: Business Strategy

Subject/Description:
Realistic and practical advice on how to build a early stage business and make reasoned choices along the way. Unlike many business books, Start Small, Stay Small eschews traditional lofty goals of VC funding or billion-dollar valuations in favour of making a tightly focused, stellar product with modest resources.

Ultimately this is a marketing book written for a technical audience. So far as I'm aware, there is nothing quite like it.

(optional) Amazon Link: Start Small, Stay Small: A Developer's Guide to Launching a Startup: Amazon.co.uk: Walling, Rob, Taber, Mike: 9780615373966: Books

 

[MJ DeMarco]

@MJ DeMarco when will you share the Hidden Gems? Thank you for answering in advance...

Compilation has turned into quite a project as I received 500+ submissions. Sadly, most of the submissions are best-selling books from best-selling authors, so every book needs to be reviewed.

 

[mikecarlooch]

Million Dollar Consulting - Alan Weiss

Million Dollar Consulting: The Professional's Guide to Growing a Practice, Fifth Edition: Weiss, Alan: 9781259588617: Amazon.com: Books

Million Dollar Consulting: The Professional's Guide to Growing a Practice, Fifth Edition [Weiss, Alan] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Million Dollar Consulting: The Professional's Guide to Growing a Practice, Fifth Edition

a.co

 

[JustMorpheus]

Book: A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future​

Author: Daniel H. Pink
Genre: Business
Subject/Description: This book explains that those who master right-brain thinking(Empathy, Meaning/Spiritual, Creativity - Storytelling, Design, Symphony, etc.) will succeed the best in the future. Due to many jobs leaving America, those who have skills that can't be easily outsource(those mentioned above), will have a great advantage in the coming years.
(optional) Amazon Link:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1594481717/?tag=tff-amazonparser-20

Book: The Dhammapada (Easwaran's Classics of Indian Spirituality Book 3)
Author: Eknath Easwaran
Genre: Spirituality
Subject/Description: Nuggets of wisdom from the Buddha. This book is very useful for developing spiritually. Completely changed my outlook on life.
(optional) Amazon Link:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1586380206/?tag=tff-amazonparser-20

 

[mikecarlooch]

Any suggestions on what to name this document of compiled books?

Some quick thoughts...

101 Must-Read Business and Self-Development Books Not Hyped on Any Best-Seller List ...
101 Great Business and Self-Development Books You Never Heard Of...

101 Underground Business and Self-Development Books The Mainstream Doesn't Want You To Read..

 

[Epic Irony]

Not sure if it is too late to suggest another book for the list, but I just finished reading this one and it completely blew my mind. I think this book has the potential (and high probability) to bring a radical change in anyone who reads it, takes it seriously, and applies it in real life. And what I just said is an understatement. You have to read it and try it out on yourself, and you will get what I mean. It is different than anything else I have ever read.

​

Existential Kink: Unmask Your Shadow and Embrace Your Power (A method for getting what you want by getting off on what you don't) - by Carolyn Elliott​

 

[Runum]

The Complacent Class: The Self-Defeating Quest for the American Dream​

Tyler Cowen

Examples of how American culture has changed. And how we are being managed by algorithms.

 

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[mikecarlooch]

The Entrepreneur Roller Coaster - Darren Hardy

1,000 Reviews On Amazon

Subject/Description: I started reading this book and he was talking a lot about mindset so I almost dismissed it as just another self-development mindset book on entrepreneurship, but I decided to continue listening. It's not that anything in this book is ultra ground-breaking (although it may be for intellectually curious rookies like myself), but the way Darren puts these strategies into easy-to-understand frameworks makes it one of the most memorable entrepreneurship books I've ever read. He goes deep on everything from selling, to building a culture in a team.

I would say it's aligned with fastlane principles.

 

[ValueSystems]

Thanks for the share, this thread is ongoing, so it's never too late!

Love this project and I've been excited about it since it was announced!

Suggestion:
Release the database still unorganized as a "built in public" project so it's already accessible in "beta".
I promise you beta users like us won't mind that's it's messy. We can still find gems of value in there!

Ship fast, break things — as kids like to say these days.

Just my 2 cents, cheers!

 

[Vinz]

Ok, here is mine about a topic I always like to read about.
The Boy Crisis - Why our boys are struggling and what we can do about it , by Warren Farrel

Talking about "what the media wants you to read" this is probably one they DON'T want you to read.
It seems like talking about the numerous problems boys of today have growing up doesn't catch enough attention.
But it is a wordwide problem. More and more boys are failing at school, work, many aspects of life, especially compared to girls...
And the causes are many. But here Dr.Warren (which was a Feminist for many years !) gets down to the core ones.
The main one is lack of father figures. You don't the lack of a father presence gives birth to SO MANY consequences, but it is. It even makes risk of death more likely .

Great book to understand what boys today are going through.

 

[ZackerySprague]

Book: Product Entrepreneur - How To Launch Your Product Idea: Napkin Sketch to $1million in Sales
Author: Chris Clearman.
Subject/Description: Chris Clearman runs an eCommerce brand called Matador Products (Outdoor adventure eCommerce brand with patents, has over 145k followers on Instagram). He shows people his process on how he created his own eCommerce brand. I found this book last night and decided to pick it up today.

 

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