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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[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.

 

[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.

 

[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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[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.

 

[deliux]

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.

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.

 

[izraelinspired]

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.



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.

This is so so true!



Here's an example in the forex trading industry...

I started learn to trade like 4 yrs ago and I struggled alot, and you know why? It's was because I kept reading the same crappy books and courses that were recommended and hyped by the media and the Trading world at large. And the result? It kept on struggling and failing.



Early last year, I cane across some group of Traders who are actually making it big in the industry. They control millions of dollars in equity, so I got the opportunity to chat with them online, that was when I discovered that everything I've learnt from the media is BS!



I felt like melting away. I started learning from people who were not hyped by media l, and boy my trading game Changed! I just wished I found all these when I was starting out. Fast forward to now, I've learnt alot and bro! they are really working, and I'm so so excited.



Conclusion: When you find that everyone follows a path and keeps getting the same crappy results, reinvent the wheel and follow the non traditional norm.



I owe you one MJ. Your book has drastically Changed my life.

 

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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

 

[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.

 

[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 always laugh at people who suggest a best-seller book as if I've never heard of it. This happened on Clubhouse (aka Cesspool) when I asked for what someone else reads. They took it upon themselves to tell ME to read a bestseller. I don't mean to take an elitist point of view. But people are so quick to grab "group think" books and push them on everyone else.

 

[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.

 

[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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[Jacob1993]

Good Afternoon Everyone.

My recommendation is "How I found freedom in an unfree world" by Harry Browne

 

[socaldude]

Anything by ICRL press. Just reading one of these books will make you smarter than if you read 100 NYT best sellers.

Books - ICRL

 

[Mark Foster II]

I forgot to respond to the form but I recently read “Personality Isn’t Permanent” by Benjamin Hardy and REALLY loved it! Quality book about letting the future “You” that you craft dictate your actions vs the current “You” and past personalities you’ve clung to over the years.

Solid read!

 

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[sherminator]

$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.

He quotes DK quite a bit. Actually a bunch of the big digital marketing gurus, like Frank Kern, Perry Marshall, Russell Brunson, Ryan Deiss — all come from the DK tree.

And for good reason, his stuff just flat out works. What is ironic is that DK was slow to embrace digital and social media.

I just discovered Hormozi a couple of weeks ago at the recommendation of a friend.

 

[Antifragile]

none of my books have EVER reached any best-seller list

I find this surprising.

 

[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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[Private Witt]

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

View: https://youtu.be/WxZvEK9k4s0

LMAO!

I was an Amazon best seller once in...Canada! Best could do was #2 in US, darn Lonely Planet got in my way.

 

[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!!

 

[Togata]

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.

This really goes in hand with one of Naval Ravikant latest tweet.

"Read the books they don't want you to read" N.R

 

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[WillHurtDontCare]

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

Someone pointed out to me a while ago that ideas only become mainstream when they're useful to those in power / people aspiring to power. For example, Protestantism spread not only because of the validity of Luther's criticisms, but because it was a way for kings to steal power from the Church.

 

[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?

 

[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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[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.

 

[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.

 

[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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[MTF]

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.

A classic worth re-listening to:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJuapp9SORA


But maybe not, it was too popular back in the day and you'll become a too narrow-minded muthaphuckkin' G.

 

[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.