I only read "best-selling" books which gives me a curated, narrow viewpoint.

[MJ DeMarco]

Not a fan of Chomsky, but he once said this...

The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum - even encourage the more critical and dissident views. That gives people the sense that there's free thinking going on, while all the time the presuppositions of the system are being reinforced by the limits put on the range of the debate.

That said, if your entire worldview is only shaped by curated best-seller lists that every Tom, Dick, and Harry recommends, you're not receiving a broad spectrum of intelligence or experience, moreover, you're not getting a diverse viewpoint -- you're kept contained in what that big-media gatekeeper's deem as acceptable reading material.

I say this because none of my books have EVER reached any best-seller list. Yet, they have sold more than most books found on best-seller lists. I've had ZERO media help (or I should say, "hype").

In other words, if you only read curated best-sellers, you would have NEVER come across my work. You're likely missing out of other authors who have some valuable things to say, but such things don't meet the media muster to enjoy billions in free publicity. Such books won't be featured on Yahoo Finance or Money Magazine, simply because they fall outside of the "spectrum of acceptable opinion."

I say this because recently within the Unscripted Text Network I asked people to share their most impactful books that ARE NOT best-sellers.
I asked for books that NO ONE recommends, but should be.
I asked for books that aren't hyped on the NY Times' Best Seller lists, on popular finance websites, or other mainstream media outlets.

Sadly few people could respond with any books that met this requirement.

In other words, they don't read ANYTHING except what has been pre-approved by a mainstream consensus.

Instead, many folks responded with the typical blend of books that EVERYONE has heard of, EVERYONE has already recommended, and EVERYONE has seen "advertised" on popular media outlets. If your response to this question is "Think and Grow Rich," "Greenlights," "Atomic Habits," or "Can't Hurt Me" (or any other book with TENS of THOUSANDS of reviews)-- sorry, you've been BOXED into a "spectrum of acceptable opinion". It was both shocking and sad to see.

I'm not suggesting that you stop reading books that appear on the big best-seller lists.

I'm suggesting you need to broaden your horizons and start reading different viewpoints, viewpoints that aren't publicized on the front page of Marketwatch, or recommended by your friend who last recommended Rich Dad Poor Dad and Principles by Ray Dalio.

That said, to many of the people who DID respond with some great underexposed, underground books, I will post the results of survey before the end of the month. Really had some great responses and I will likely need to live to 120 to read them all.

 

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[James007Hill]

Hmmmm , now I am wondering how those "best sellers" lists are made? Who is taking decisions and by what criteria?

I never heard about your books before I started following Alux Youtube channel and they mentioned in several videos so that is how I find out about your 1st book. Although let`s take Rich Dad, Poor Dad one of the most popular books in this field and it is very well known and recommended. Even here in Lithuania translated copies can be easily found. And book is very controversial.

It's apparently not hard to become a "best seller"!

View: https://youtu.be/WxZvEK9k4s0

 

[MaxT]

Not a fan of Chomsky, but he once said this...

The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum - even encourage the more critical and dissident views. That gives people the sense that there's free thinking going on, while all the time the presuppositions of the system are being reinforced by the limits put on the range of the debate.

That said, if your entire worldview is only shaped by curated best-seller lists that every Tom, Dick, and Harry recommends, you're not receiving a broad spectrum of intelligence or experience, moreover, you're not getting a diverse viewpoint -- you're kept contained in what that big-media gatekeeper's deem as acceptable reading material.

I say this because none of my books have EVER reached any best-seller list. Yet, they have sold more than most books found on best-seller lists. I've had ZERO media help (or I should say, "hype").

In other words, if you only read curated best-sellers, you would have NEVER come across my work. You're likely missing out of other authors who have some valuable things to say, but such things don't meet the media muster to enjoy billions in free publicity. Such books won't be featured on Yahoo Finance or Money Magazine, simply because they fall outside of the "spectrum of acceptable opinion."

I say this because recently within the Unscripted Text Network I asked people to share their most impactful books that ARE NOT best-sellers.
I asked for books that NO ONE recommends, but should be.
I asked for books that aren't hyped on the NY Times' Best Seller lists, on popular finance websites, or other mainstream media outlets.

Sadly few people could respond with any books that met this requirement.

In other words, they don't read ANYTHING except what has been pre-approved by a mainstream consensus.

Instead, many folks responded with the typical blend of books that EVERYONE has heard of, EVERYONE has already recommended, and EVERYONE has seen "advertised" on popular media outlets. If your response to this question is "Think and Grow Rich," "Greenlights," "Atomic Habits," or "Can't Hurt Me" (or any other book with TENS of THOUSANDS of reviews)-- sorry, you've been BOXED into a "spectrum of acceptable opinion". It was both shocking and sad to see.

I'm not suggesting that you stop reading books that appear on the big best-seller lists.

I'm suggesting you need to broaden your horizons and start reading different viewpoints, viewpoints that aren't publicized on the front page of Marketwatch, or recommended by your friend who last recommended Rich Dad Poor Dad and Principles by Ray Dalio.

That said, to many of the people who DID respond with some great underexposed, underground books, I will post the results of survey before the end of the month. Really had some great responses and I will likely need to live to 120 to read them all.

I think that's what I like the most about you: your frankness and your honesty.
There are far too many gurus on the net, get-rich-quick scams etc.
You're not one of the people who sell training for $9999 or there's a pdf in it and 4 hours of shitty video.
Respect to you MJ, and thank you again for creating this great forum where we can all help and motivate each other with great people.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Best-seller lists are all editorial decisions made by media powers.
Best-seller lists shape public perceptions.

Hence proving what I've been saying all along.

Hitting a "best seller" list doesn't mean "this is what everyone's reading" -- it means "this is what we want everyone to think, everyone is reading."

In other words, your best sellers are curated so you think, what the powers need you need to think.

What Counts as a Bestseller? - Public Books

A fundamental truth about bestseller lists? They are not a neutral window into what the public is really reading.

www.publicbooks.org

Books on a best-seller list, in other words, are therefore stamped with "narrative approved" or "not dangerous to the narrative" -- because if they were, they wouldn't be on the best-seller list in the first place.

Which is why I always approach any "national" best-seller with caution and skepticism.

 

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[MTF]

I encountered this problem when I was looking for books similar to, ironically, mentioned by you Can't Hurt Me by David Goggins. Most recommendations looked as if copied from the bestseller lists without the author of the post ever reading them. There were always the same books on the list and always the ones I had seen hundreds of times before. Many weren't even that related to Can't Hurt Me. Two books may share the same genre but be for completely different readers, like Can't Hurt Me and Atomic Habits.

I eventually created my own list (and keep adding new books to it regularly) and am always trying to find new "underground" hits.

I think the problem is that these lesser known books are often a hit or miss. For example, I only add to my list books that I really enjoyed reading that contained something valuable that stood out. Usually I only recommend 1 out of 3-4 books I read and out of 25+ that I recommend there are just a few that I think everyone should definitely read.

I have a lot of time to read and treat it almost like a job so it's not a big deal to me to read some average books but I can imagine that people with little time want to be guaranteed a good read (or as close to a guarantee as you can get).

Granted, limiting yourself to big bestsellers only definitely limits your thinking and makes you sound a bit like a stereotypical business/self-help/whatever genre you read reader.

I'm definitely not saying "don't read bestsellers" but it does make me a little suspicious when someone says that their favorite book is a book that happens to be one of the big bestsellers (and definitely when their top3 are all 3 super well-known books).

 

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[Antifragile]

Basically I assume almost every popular is garbage / propaganda (with some exceptions).

The problem is this:

- good books that are unpopular are hard to find, because they are unpopular
- most unpopular books are total garbage and should not ever have been published
- there are more garbage books that we shouldn’t read than quality great books we should read
- most great books eventually become popular, like a great product, because readers will talk about them

Removing the conspiracy theory that anything that’s popular is only popular because some government made it so… I wouldn’t hate on popular books.


@MJ DeMarco , look forward to the list you provide in the future. And I’m a skeptic, if it would take you a few lifetimes to read them, how can you judge them to then recommend them?

 

[MJ DeMarco]

I encountered this problem when I was looking for books similar to, ironically, mentioned by you Can't Hurt Me by David Goggins. Most recommendations looked as if copied from the bestseller lists without the author of the post ever reading them. There were always the same books on the list and always the ones I had seen hundreds of times before. Many weren't even that related to Can't Hurt Me. Two books may share the same genre but be for completely different readers, like Can't Hurt Me and Atomic Habits.

I eventually created my own list (and keep adding new books to it regularly) and am always trying to find new "underground" hits.

I think the problem is that these lesser known books are often a hit or miss. For example, I only add to my list books that I really enjoyed reading that contained something valuable that stood out. Usually I only recommend 1 out of 3-4 books I read and out of 25+ that I recommend there are just a few that I think everyone should definitely read.

I have a lot of time to read and treat it almost like a job so it's not a big deal to me to read some average books but I can imagine that people with little time want to be guaranteed a good read (or as close to a guarantee as you can get).

Granted, limiting yourself to big bestsellers only definitely limits your thinking and makes you sound a bit like a stereotypical business/self-help/whatever genre you read reader.

I'm definitely not saying "don't read bestsellers" but it does make me a little suspicious when someone says that their favorite book is a book that happens to be one of the big bestsellers (and definitely when their top3 are all 3 super well-known books).

Funny, whenever I see a book recommended over and over (while enjoying significant media hype) I know to avoid it.

The latest one to reach this level of hype is The Pyscholgy of Money which from what I hear, is just another Slowlane shit-show of saving, investing, and indexed funds. In other words, pre-approved by big-media and big-finance.

I found a hidden gem recently from a guy named Alex Hormozi.

LOL, not a hidden gem. This is the only 3,103th time I've heard about the book. It also probably means its a repackaged compilation of Halbert, Kennedy, and the rest of bro-marketing gang. It was on my list of "to reads" until I saw it gather steam on the hype train, especially by direct marketing types who focus on great marketing, over great products. I'll pass.

And I’m a skeptic, if it would take you a few lifetimes to read them, how can you judge them to then recommend them?

Well they are already recommended, so a big part of the "variability" is gone. Picking up to read random non-best-sellers certainly is likely to result in more misses. But I have some faith in those who have recommended these books, so instead of 80/20 (bad to good) it will likely turn into a good probability.

 

[Mathuin]

I say this because recently within the Unscripted Text Network I asked people to share their most impactful books that ARE NOT best-sellers.
I asked for books that NO ONE recommends, but should be.
I asked for books that aren't hyped on the NY Times' Best Seller lists, on popular finance websites, or other mainstream media outlets.

Sadly few people could respond with any books that met this requirement.

Bold & Determined Volumes 1-3. He actually recommends TMF in Vol 2 as the best business book that every entrepreneur needs to read.

 

[Diego Liu]

One caveat I’ll add is that most people read a book, feel inspired for a while, and fall back into their old habits.

You can get pretty far ahead in life by just applying what you’ve learned from 10 best-selling books.

How many millions of people have read Atomic Habits and Can’t Hurt Me yet are still fat, lazy “poopy pants”?

How many millions of people have read Rich Dad Poor Dad and The 4-Hour Workweek yet are still working a 9-5 job and doing nothing else on the side?

I just went through The Untethered Soul again 2 weeks ago and wondered if I’d really read it once already before.

Great books require that you revisit them multiple times. As you life circumstances change, you get fresh, new insights out of them.

Or even after you get new insights and start taking action, without setting up and system and being constantly reminded, you simply forget the lessons and return to your old ways sooner or later.


I’d surely fallen into this trap for a long time. This video made me decide to reread books that I enjoyed reading and learned a lot from rather than just always frantically searching for the next big thing out there.

It’s been a great decision so far. I can already foresee myself rereading TMF and Unscripted later this year and kicking myself for why I haven’t been applying some of the great principles I already knew to my life.

 

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[Simon Angel]

Well, no book has changed my life as much as TFM, so I'm about to go ahead and read Unscripted for the first time. It's been a long, long time since I've read any books (apart from skimming through PDFs to search for a particular answer).

I think what separates your books from all the influencers and gurus is that you're, in the words of the late Eazy-E, a real mothaphukkin' G.

You're an authentic guy and your books allow us to experience what goes on inside your head and how you perceive the world. There's also a hint of cynicism that I also relate to.

Plus, absorbing the information and messages in the book is basically like taking the red pill. And I'm itching for a refill.

 

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[Iwokeup]

I think it's hilarious when people say their goal is to read "50 books this year"... that's the problem we have right now: too much information.

I would rather read a book over and over again for a year, take copious notes, and implement the strategies/tactics in the book.

Multi-tasking is impossible. At least for mere mortals.

This is the key. It’s not just knowledge but implementation.

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to realize that many “amazing” books are just repackaged crap. When you realize that “The Obstacle Is the Way” is nothing more and nothing less than an update of Marcus Aurelius’ Stoic masterpiece “Meditations,” it blows apart the whole GURU business subculture.

SEE ALSO: Any sort of business mindset book which is simply repackaged “Law of Success.”

MY PHILOSOPHY: Execute the basics well.

- I would rather learn and execute 10 core lessons then constantly get distracted by new information(which probably isn't so effective).
- Once I see a critical mass of people I trust saying that “Book X is high-yield,” only then will I give it a try.
- Incidentally, I use the same attitude with evaluating C0VlD-19 information. Usually the truth comes out if you give yourself a little time. Which is why I never understood panicked reactions to info that usually turns out to be spurious.


MY CORE READING LIST

- “TMF "

- "1 Page Marketing Plan” by Alan Dib
> I don’t care if it’s a “bestseller.”
> It’s compact, easy to read, gives actionable information, is a great marketing strategy guide.
> It also is littered with key philosophical insights.
> Especially useful for IRL/brick and mortar businesses.

- “The War of Art” by Pressfield. For creatives.

- “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Carnegie

- Atkins' “New Diet Revolution” and the “Carnivore Code” by Saldino.
> Packed with info, research, and actionable items for myself and my patients.

- “Family Rules,” by Kenneth Kaye, PhD.
> How to really raise a family that’s actually congruent with the real world.
> Implementing Kaye’s recommendations has made raising my sons (I’m a single father) easier, more rewarding, and everyone’s happier.
> “Scary daddy” voice is rarely heard anymore.

- “Your Memory: How It Works & How to Improve It” by Higbee, PhD
> A truly outstanding & practical book that has served me well ever since medical school.

There are probably some others but my “break time” is over. Back to it.

 

[BaraQueenbee]

One time my brother spend an afternoon on my laptop and did his admin and ordering.

It COMPLETELY changed my recommendations on youtube.... and mostly:
Amazon.

I ordered 6 books that I would have never ordered or known the existence of.

One about golf, one on biology, one on psychedelics, another one about the mindset of golf and a quantum physics one.

One of the best things that accidentally happened: ironically every book gave me insights or some ideas that I definitely expanded my own view in life (and some were even applicable in business).

A year later I spend a whole year listening to opinions that were opposing of mine (podcasts, youtube) and that was another mental expander and a great exercise in not being reactive but learning from all paths of life.

This post is GOLD.

 

[Johnny boy]

Stumbled upon some books when I was a young'n, and it has made all the difference.

Pimpology - Pimpin Ken



Bold and determined volumes



I'm basically done reading most books except for specific things like if I need to read up on laws for an industry I'm in. For a classic car leasing company I plan on starting soon I read the 'truth in lending' act and regulation M. For franchising my current company I've been reading some lengthy old books written about being a franchisor and doing it the right way, the same books the lawyers that handle that stuff read.

I already know what I need to do I'm just busy executing on it for the next few years.

 

[nnogalaxy]

Very well said, I totally agree with this. I find incredibly valuable information in places nobody looks almost all the time. Wheter it be a youtube video with 100 views or a book Ive never seen anyone talk about.

same concept can apply to music, you may listen to mainstream artists and enjoy them but when you actually go deep and listen to artists nobody knows about you can find extremely talented and golden artists who simply never blow up.

 

[YeabsiraHaile101]

Not a fan of Chomsky, but he once said this...

The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum - even encourage the more critical and dissident views. That gives people the sense that there's free thinking going on, while all the time the presuppositions of the system are being reinforced by the limits put on the range of the debate.

That said, if your entire worldview is only shaped by curated best-seller lists that every Tom, Dick, and Harry recommends, you're not receiving a broad spectrum of intelligence or experience, moreover, you're not getting a diverse viewpoint -- you're kept contained in what that big-media gatekeeper's deem as acceptable reading material.

I say this because none of my books have EVER reached any best-seller list. Yet, they have sold more than most books found on best-seller lists. I've had ZERO media help (or I should say, "hype").

In other words, if you only read curated best-sellers, you would have NEVER come across my work. You're likely missing out of other authors who have some valuable things to say, but such things don't meet the media muster to enjoy billions in free publicity. Such books won't be featured on Yahoo Finance or Money Magazine, simply because they fall outside of the "spectrum of acceptable opinion."

I say this because recently within the Unscripted Text Network I asked people to share their most impactful books that ARE NOT best-sellers.
I asked for books that NO ONE recommends, but should be.
I asked for books that aren't hyped on the NY Times' Best Seller lists, on popular finance websites, or other mainstream media outlets.

Sadly few people could respond with any books that met this requirement.

In other words, they don't read ANYTHING except what has been pre-approved by a mainstream consensus.

Instead, many folks responded with the typical blend of books that EVERYONE has heard of, EVERYONE has already recommended, and EVERYONE has seen "advertised" on popular media outlets. If your response to this question is "Think and Grow Rich," "Greenlights," "Atomic Habits," or "Can't Hurt Me" (or any other book with TENS of THOUSANDS of reviews)-- sorry, you've been BOXED into a "spectrum of acceptable opinion". It was both shocking and sad to see.

I'm not suggesting that you stop reading books that appear on the big best-seller lists.

I'm suggesting you need to broaden your horizons and start reading different viewpoints, viewpoints that aren't publicized on the front page of Marketwatch, or recommended by your friend who last recommended Rich Dad Poor Dad and Principles by Ray Dalio.

That said, to many of the people who DID respond with some great underexposed, underground books, I will post the results of survey before the end of the month. Really had some great responses and I will likely need to live to 120 to read them all.

Damn. I've never thought of it before, I only chase NY times best sellers and YouTube videos with a million views.. Even movies that everyone loved I will check it's reviews and if nobody likes it, I don't like it either or I don't give it a try.. Now. I realize that if it's known by the mainstream people, you gotta ask why?

MJ you're the BEST. Thanks for everything.

 

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[sherminator]

I think it's hilarious when people say their goal is to read "50 books this year"... that's the problem we have right now: too much information.

I would rather read a book over and over again for a year, take copious notes, and implement the strategies/tactics in the book.

Multi-tasking is impossible. At least for mere mortals.

 

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[Kak]

The Charles Koch books Science of Success and Good Profit are both very well thought out, contrarian, and game changing reads.

 

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[Antifragile]

Well...the best by whose standards?

Mine.

Aggregators of reviews (if left unmolested by the platform selling the books) is indeed a great source of value. I do not want to read 1,000 shit self published books to finally find 1 that was worth it.

For example, @MTF newsletter “discomfort club” recommended books, I got 4 or 5 of them because he read them, he summarized them. And guess what, some of them were bestsellers and great too.

 

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[Mathuin]

The art of discipline by Chad Howse is good

Damn, I haven't heard that name in awhile. I remember reading his blog around 2016. He was one of the first self-improvement authors I'd read.

One of my favorite books of all time is "The 50th Law" by Robert Greene and 50 cent

I hate Robert Greene. Dude hadn't accomplished much before writing his first self-improvement book.
I much prefer listening to people who have actually done something first and then wrote a book

 

[Antifragile]

I understand your point, but you must see that this way of thinking amounts to crowdsourcing your learning to average people.

I am afraid you do not understand my point.

Tell me, how many great "gems" books you uncovered so far? You alone, not through any type of aggregator (like this Fastlate Forum or some other means)? How many books do you read in your best year? How efficient is it?

Crowdsourcing may be of some utility, but, at best, I have found it to create average thinkers. At worst, it creates lobotomized groupthinkers.

No, you are wrong, at best I read a life changing book!
Let's take one of my favourite books: 7 Habits. By your logic, you leave no room for this book to be excellent. I am now either "average thinker" or "lobotomized groupthinker". Give me break Kyle. I understand what you meant but your argument presumes that:
a) bestsellers are such because only average people chose them.
b) no bestsellers are actually best for the value they add.
Horseshit.

So by reading the NYTBS list instead of the average guy, you get upgraded to be the average that reads the NYTBS list, nothing more. Congratulations, not.

Again, horseshit example to just fit your narrative. Re-read my post. I do not know how NYTBS list is created and don't care, my comment was about efficiency of choosing a good book by relying on reviews / ratings.

Want another upgrade? IMO seeking truth regardless of popularity or mainstream appeal. That’s the point here.

In general, we all seek the best books regardless of popularity. Yet it is more likely that unpopular books are unpopular because they suck! And it is also more likely you'll never find your "diamonds" in the dirt of millions of self published crap that comes online every day.

Truth is subjective, because what is "true" for you may be not so for me. I don't even know where you are going with this, other than potential conspiracy theories.

So is the theoretical "upgrade" you offer like finding a unicorn on your own?

Think about the average person. Do you respect them? Do you want to work with them? Would you take business advice from them? Would you even ask for it? You know as well as I do that the average person is an imbecile that is probably ruining the world.

This is a dangerous way of thinking. I am going to say there is no "average person". Every person has something and is better than the rest. I am one of those people. I happen to be good at RE. I happen to be terrible at applied arts. You should want to work with me if we do a RE deal and reject me if I ever bring up anything to do with art.

You are ranting, I get it. And this is the tone of MJ's thread too - a rant.

My point is this: don't get triggered. What you are seeking is what everyone wants. Amazing books that weren't yet uncovered by authors who maybe don't write amazingly well but their message is amazing. Authors who don't know how to game the system to get on all the top hit lists and become mainstream. Maybe because mass media doesn't want their message to get out. Trust me, not only I understand, I look for and read as many titles as I can that were recommended by friends.

But... the reality is that it's very, very hard to find these. It's mostly about luck. And when you do, you'll share those titles which sometimes propels them to bestseller lists. And, many of the bestseller books are actually useful, amazing, life changing knowledge! It's not black and white.

Average is useless in my world. I’ll give any book a try, but I’ll throw it in the trash quicker than a one legged man at an a$$ kicking contest if I decide it’s “average.”

I am ok with dumping a book when I find no value. I give it 20-30 pages and poof... no value, no more reading.

 

[Guest-5ty5s4]

Weird debates on this thread that don't make sense. Lots of all or nothing thinking. It don't work dat way (yes, dialect intentional).

Sometimes curation and reviews are good, sometimes they aren't. Sometimes you find a hidden gem, lots of times the books that aren't popular are crap. Many of the bestsellers are pretty good, many of them are the same old junk (who has the biggest marketing budget? That's who is at the top of the list). You get the idea.

It's not so cut and dry, but the gist of this thread is pretty much true as far as I'm concerned. Not that anybody asked me, just adding myself to the thread

But yeah, the majority of written works do not become NYT bestsellers, meaning the majority of what's out there isn't a NYT bestseller, meaning the majority of great books are not NYT bestsellers... am I saying this right...

Just because something is popular doesn't make it true, and just because something is rare doesn't make it special.

I came across TMFL from a random Youtube channel about how to make money! The book won on merit!

 

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[sherminator]

Not a fan of Chomsky, but he once said this...

The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum - even encourage the more critical and dissident views. That gives people the sense that there's free thinking going on, while all the time the presuppositions of the system are being reinforced by the limits put on the range of the debate.

That said, if your entire worldview is only shaped by curated best-seller lists that every Tom, Dick, and Harry recommends, you're not receiving a broad spectrum of intelligence or experience, moreover, you're not getting a diverse viewpoint -- you're kept contained in what that big-media gatekeeper's deem as acceptable reading material.

I say this because none of my books have EVER reached any best-seller list. Yet, they have sold more than most books found on best-seller lists. I've had ZERO media help (or I should say, "hype").

In other words, if you only read curated best-sellers, you would have NEVER come across my work. You're likely missing out of other authors who have some valuable things to say, but such things don't meet the media muster to enjoy billions in free publicity. Such books won't be featured on Yahoo Finance or Money Magazine, simply because they fall outside of the "spectrum of acceptable opinion."

I say this because recently within the Unscripted Text Network I asked people to share their most impactful books that ARE NOT best-sellers.
I asked for books that NO ONE recommends, but should be.
I asked for books that aren't hyped on the NY Times' Best Seller lists, on popular finance websites, or other mainstream media outlets.

Sadly few people could respond with any books that met this requirement.

In other words, they don't read ANYTHING except what has been pre-approved by a mainstream consensus.

Instead, many folks responded with the typical blend of books that EVERYONE has heard of, EVERYONE has already recommended, and EVERYONE has seen "advertised" on popular media outlets. If your response to this question is "Think and Grow Rich," "Greenlights," "Atomic Habits," or "Can't Hurt Me" (or any other book with TENS of THOUSANDS of reviews)-- sorry, you've been BOXED into a "spectrum of acceptable opinion". It was both shocking and sad to see.

I'm not suggesting that you stop reading books that appear on the big best-seller lists.

I'm suggesting you need to broaden your horizons and start reading different viewpoints, viewpoints that aren't publicized on the front page of Marketwatch, or recommended by your friend who last recommended Rich Dad Poor Dad and Principles by Ray Dalio.

That said, to many of the people who DID respond with some great underexposed, underground books, I will post the results of survey before the end of the month. Really had some great responses and I will likely need to live to 120 to read them all.

I found a hidden gem recently from a guy named Alex Hormozi. Recently picked up his tome “$100 M Offers”. I doubt that he is on any bestsellers list, but his material is succinct and to the point. All about marketing and selling.

Apparently he has built $100 million in revenue in about 8 years, starting with owning a gym and diversifying from there. Highly recommended, an excellent read, plus lots of solid videos on YouTube.

 

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[DarkZero]

I found a hidden gem recently from a guy named Alex Hormozi. Recently picked up his tome “$100 M Offers”. I doubt that he is on any bestsellers list, but his material is succinct and to the point. All about marketing and selling.

Apparently he has built $100 million in revenue in about 8 years, starting with owning a gym and diversifying from there. Highly recommended, an excellent read, plus lots of solid videos on YouTube.

$100m offers is a VERY popular book now in marketing and sales. And has been for a year. Not a hidden gem. He is on a bestsellers list on Amazon (just didn't pay to get up there). The book is valuable for sure. But Hormozi is also a direct response marketing/sales king. Doesn't work for every industry. He pulls a lot of his stuff from Dan Kennedy and Russell Brunson and the guru world. If people knew Hormozi came from that arena he would get a lot more hate than he does, because people seem to hate on anyone who comes from that world.

 

[Rhino8541]

One caveat I’ll add is that most people read a book, feel inspired for a while, and fall back into their old habits.

You can get pretty far ahead in life by just applying what you’ve learned from 10 best-selling books.

How many millions of people have read Atomic Habits and Can’t Hurt Me yet are still fat, lazy “poopy pants”?

How many millions of people have read Rich Dad Poor Dad and The 4-Hour Workweek yet are still working a 9-5 job and doing nothing else on the side?

I just went through The Untethered Soul again 2 weeks ago and wondered if I’d really read it once already before.

Great books require that you revisit them multiple times. As you life circumstances change, you get fresh, new insights out of them.

Or even after you get new insights and start taking action, without setting up and system and being constantly reminded, you simply forget the lessons and return to your old ways sooner or later.


I’d surely fallen into this trap for a long time. This video made me decide to reread books that I enjoyed reading and learned a lot from rather than just always frantically searching for the next big thing out there.

It’s been a great decision so far. I can already foresee myself rereading TMF and Unscripted later this year and kicking myself for why I haven’t been applying some of the great principles I already knew to my life.

Great advice here and something I find myself doing. I occasionally revisit the impactful books when certain thoughts come up from my subconscious and I recall where the thought originated.

I also have a tendency to only read “self improvement” books and have to remind myself it’s ok to read fiction or books for entertainment from time to time.

I’m sure many have the same habits.

I’m looking forward to seeing this list.

Fantastic opening quote!!

 

[MTF]

@MJ DeMarco not sure if you use Spotify but the same thing happens with music. Spotify's playlists give priority to the most popular songs. It's almost impossible to get away from them.

I have a long playlist with my favorite songs and have been complaining for a long time that when I shuffle play them, it isn't actually random. The same songs repeated over and over again despite playing from a playlist of almost 800 songs.

I was curious what was going on and learned this today:

Unfortunately, in large playlists (over 150 songs), the shuffle option prioritizes the songs that Spotify perceives you enjoy the most; this is why you might notice that some songs are repeated while listening on shuffle.

Some people even report that shuffle playing a playlist with just 100 songs isn't random. Essentially, instead of listening to the entire playlist you're going to listen to the same several dozen songs over and over again.

In other words, Spotify controls what kind of music you're listening to. It offers a shuffle play option but for any longer playlist (including your own favorites) it isn't random. It's just another way to control the narrative give people what the algorithm thinks they want.

For this reason, I started listening to my favorites on YouTube again as YouTube offers true shuffle playing.

 

[jjipkr]

How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World by Harry Browne

DUCY by David Sklansky

The Sovereign Individual by James Davidson

The Adventure of Jonathan Gullible a free-market odyssey by Ken Schoolland

 

[Sara.P]

One caveat I’ll add is that most people read a book, feel inspired for a while, and fall back into their old habits.

You can get pretty far ahead in life by just applying what you’ve learned from 10 best-selling books.

How many millions of people have read Atomic Habits and Can’t Hurt Me yet are still fat, lazy “poopy pants”?

How many millions of people have read Rich Dad Poor Dad and The 4-Hour Workweek yet are still working a 9-5 job and doing nothing else on the side?

I just went through The Untethered Soul again 2 weeks ago and wondered if I’d really read it once already before.

Great books require that you revisit them multiple times. As you life circumstances change, you get fresh, new insights out of them.

Or even after you get new insights and start taking action, without setting up and system and being constantly reminded, you simply forget the lessons and return to your old ways sooner or later.


I’d surely fallen into this trap for a long time. This video made me decide to reread books that I enjoyed reading and learned a lot from rather than just always frantically searching for the next big thing out there.

It’s been a great decision so far. I can already foresee myself rereading TMF and Unscripted later this year and kicking myself for why I haven’t been applying some of the great principles I already knew to my life.

This is why I have filled volumes of notebooks with book reports of the best books I've read.
I highly recommend this!

As I read (kindle) I highlight the best passages. Once I'm finished with the book, before starting another, I will hand write everything I highlighted into my "Better Book" notebooks.
For me, the act of transcribing by hand does more to commit the info to memory than reading it once.

I can read 5 books' worth of my cliff notes in an hour or two.
Frequently I'll flip through a notebook for a quick reference when I'm implementing the lesson, or to site a passage to a friend when a theory comes up in conversation.

People think it's crazy, but they never complain when I share the knowledge I have at my fingertips.
Yeah, writing the reports takes a couple hours, but I only read before getting out of bed in the morning so it kinda washes out *shrug* (I think it's crazy people sit around for a couple hours reading during the day! Lol This feels way more productive)

 

[JesseT]

Not a fan of Chomsky, but he once said this...

The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum - even encourage the more critical and dissident views. That gives people the sense that there's free thinking going on, while all the time the presuppositions of the system are being reinforced by the limits put on the range of the debate.

That said, if your entire worldview is only shaped by curated best-seller lists that every Tom, Dick, and Harry recommends, you're not receiving a broad spectrum of intelligence or experience, moreover, you're not getting a diverse viewpoint -- you're kept contained in what that big-media gatekeeper's deem as acceptable reading material.

I say this because none of my books have EVER reached any best-seller list. Yet, they have sold more than most books found on best-seller lists. I've had ZERO media help (or I should say, "hype").

In other words, if you only read curated best-sellers, you would have NEVER come across my work. You're likely missing out of other authors who have some valuable things to say, but such things don't meet the media muster to enjoy billions in free publicity. Such books won't be featured on Yahoo Finance or Money Magazine, simply because they fall outside of the "spectrum of acceptable opinion."

I say this because recently within the Unscripted Text Network I asked people to share their most impactful books that ARE NOT best-sellers.
I asked for books that NO ONE recommends, but should be.
I asked for books that aren't hyped on the NY Times' Best Seller lists, on popular finance websites, or other mainstream media outlets.

Sadly few people could respond with any books that met this requirement.

In other words, they don't read ANYTHING except what has been pre-approved by a mainstream consensus.

Instead, many folks responded with the typical blend of books that EVERYONE has heard of, EVERYONE has already recommended, and EVERYONE has seen "advertised" on popular media outlets. If your response to this question is "Think and Grow Rich," "Greenlights," "Atomic Habits," or "Can't Hurt Me" (or any other book with TENS of THOUSANDS of reviews)-- sorry, you've been BOXED into a "spectrum of acceptable opinion". It was both shocking and sad to see.

I'm not suggesting that you stop reading books that appear on the big best-seller lists.

I'm suggesting you need to broaden your horizons and start reading different viewpoints, viewpoints that aren't publicized on the front page of Marketwatch, or recommended by your friend who last recommended Rich Dad Poor Dad and Principles by Ray Dalio.

That said, to many of the people who DID respond with some great underexposed, underground books, I will post the results of survey before the end of the month. Really had some great responses and I will likely need to live to 120 to read them all.

I have been reading "Meditations" by Marcus Aurelius for 20 years, before Joe Rogan and Tim Ferris were talking about it. This book has basic lessons on life and has been integral to my discipline and success.

 

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[Antifragile]

While I thank you for the compliment, I know for a fact that isn't true.

I cannot remember exactly how I got your book in the first place, but it had to have been from some list or a recommendation. It was Unscripted .

Before I bought, I checked ratings and guess what:

{REMOVED}

 

[ArmanK]

Not a fan of Chomsky, but he once said this...

The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum - even encourage the more critical and dissident views. That gives people the sense that there's free thinking going on, while all the time the presuppositions of the system are being reinforced by the limits put on the range of the debate.

That said, if your entire worldview is only shaped by curated best-seller lists that every Tom, Dick, and Harry recommends, you're not receiving a broad spectrum of intelligence or experience, moreover, you're not getting a diverse viewpoint -- you're kept contained in what that big-media gatekeeper's deem as acceptable reading material.

I say this because none of my books have EVER reached any best-seller list. Yet, they have sold more than most books found on best-seller lists. I've had ZERO media help (or I should say, "hype").

In other words, if you only read curated best-sellers, you would have NEVER come across my work. You're likely missing out of other authors who have some valuable things to say, but such things don't meet the media muster to enjoy billions in free publicity. Such books won't be featured on Yahoo Finance or Money Magazine, simply because they fall outside of the "spectrum of acceptable opinion."

I say this because recently within the Unscripted Text Network I asked people to share their most impactful books that ARE NOT best-sellers.
I asked for books that NO ONE recommends, but should be.
I asked for books that aren't hyped on the NY Times' Best Seller lists, on popular finance websites, or other mainstream media outlets.

Sadly few people could respond with any books that met this requirement.

In other words, they don't read ANYTHING except what has been pre-approved by a mainstream consensus.

Instead, many folks responded with the typical blend of books that EVERYONE has heard of, EVERYONE has already recommended, and EVERYONE has seen "advertised" on popular media outlets. If your response to this question is "Think and Grow Rich," "Greenlights," "Atomic Habits," or "Can't Hurt Me" (or any other book with TENS of THOUSANDS of reviews)-- sorry, you've been BOXED into a "spectrum of acceptable opinion". It was both shocking and sad to see.

I'm not suggesting that you stop reading books that appear on the big best-seller lists.

I'm suggesting you need to broaden your horizons and start reading different viewpoints, viewpoints that aren't publicized on the front page of Marketwatch, or recommended by your friend who last recommended Rich Dad Poor Dad and Principles by Ray Dalio.

That said, to many of the people who DID respond with some great underexposed, underground books, I will post the results of survey before the end of the month. Really had some great responses and I will likely need to live to 120 to read them all.

PREACH!

If you read what everyone reads, you will think like everyone.

I have said this once but I will say it again: if a book is not worth re-reading then it wasn't worth reading at all.

The best book I have ever read had probably less than 100 amazon reviews at the time. And which book is that? Awareness by Anthony de Mello

Buy it. Read it. And thank me later.