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What would be your 5 book loadout?

Matake007

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I've been reading business/finance/self-improvement books for a few years and I think I'm getting to the point where I won't get any more but rather keep 5 books handy at all times. This would be for re-reading, revectoring, recapturing any inspiration or motivation I pulled in the first read through. So similar to a video-game, I'm aiming to stick with about 5 books I will always have and go back to. This is not to imply I'd never read again or anything but I'd probably do more rereading of the 5 as opposed to purchasing new books. The books in loadout so far are (no order):

1. The Millionaire Fastlane - @MJ DeMarco
2. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People - Stephen R. Covey (RIP)
3. Unscripted - MJ DeMarco
4. ________________________
5._________________________

What would be your 5 book loadout?
 
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WestCoast

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I look at this totally the opposite. What books are going to motivate me to do what others are not doing?

We all learn from books like MJs... no doubt. But, what books are going to help me live a life completely free and unique from anyone else?

I love all the biographies and GaryVee and Tim Ferris books... but... what will simply make me dream bigger??



#1 The Fountainhead - Ayn Rand

No other book in the world taught and encouraged me to be my own man, to avoid the crowds and popular sayings, and to mark out my own path in life. This book fundamentally rewired my brain and made me a better man. If I read one book in my life, ever, this book would be enough.


#2 The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho

Go where no one else goes, for reasons no one else can understand.


#3 Extreme Ownership - Jocko Willink

This book is so legit, and simple, yet so damn difficult.


#4 Brave New World - Aldous Huxely

Same idea, about being different, and how society works overtime to crush that difference and stamp out any light that isn't approved by the masses.


#5 Animal Farm - George Orwell

Because we see it every day in our political world. And it's sickening.
 
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Choate

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Unscripted

The Pumpkin Plan - I read this years ago in college. Sort of set me on the path of minimalism, especially related to business. Avoid planting a bunch of seeds you can't tend to, weed out the smaller rotten pumpkins that are sucking energy away from the robust, healthy ones (bad vs good customers), nurture the winning pumpkins / customers and overdeliver for them.

As A Man Thinketh - Again, read this years ago, and not sure I'd call it a top 5, but it came to mind early on when I was thinking about my top 5. Just the whole notion that your thoughts dictate your reality is pretty powerful stuff.

How to Win Friends and Influence People - Laying out the basics and reinforcing what should be common sense on how to interact with others and create win/win situations

#1 The Fountainhead - Ayn Rand

No other book in the world taught and encouraged me to be my own man, to avoid the crowds and popular sayings, and to mark out my own path in life. This book fundamentally rewired my brain and made me a better man. If I read one book in my life, ever, this book would be enough.

I'm working on finishing up Atlas Shrugged by the end of the year, have you read it? If so, how's it compare?
 
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WestCoast

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I'm working on finishing up Atlas Shrugged by the end of the year, have you read it? If so, how's it compare?
Absolutely. It's epic as well. It's longer, and a bit more 'dense' for lack of a better world.
It's her most famous book, for good reason. The world could use a John Galt right about now...

That said, The Fountainhead was more impactful to me, personally, since it is really about one man vs. the world.
It's just sooooo inspiring for business, living your own life.

Howard Roark is, to me, the best character written in any book, ever.
If I ever got a tattoo, it would be the last paragraph in the book. I could read that 100 times and still feel so alive.
 

S.Y.

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1. Meditations - Marcus Aurelius
2. Discourses, Fragments and Handbook - Epictetus
3. Skin in the Game - Nassim Taleb

Those are the 3 books I go back to over and over. Don't have a clear 4 and 5.
 
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Black_Dragon43

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1. Meditations - Marcus Aurelius
2. Discourses, Fragments and Handbook - Epictetus
3. Skin in the Game - Nassim Taleb
That's.... too many stoics. I recommend a prescription of Ward No. 6 by Anton Chekhov, it's a short story :p
 

Black_Dragon43

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since it is really about one man vs. the world.
In which case the world wins. Virtually no one gets rich alone, but rather with the help of hundreds of other people. Business partners, investors, vendors, customers, key employees, etc.

I dislike Ayn Rand precisely because her brand of individualism fails to understand how society creates and supports the individual, and permits him to "go down his own path" or not. It's an impossible, one-sided story, built out of a blindness to the real mechanics of society and the world.

And that's why Ayn Rand is accorded ZERO respect in philosophical circles, whether on the left or the right politically. In fact, scratch that. It should say NEGATIVE respect.

What would YOU be without your society? A caveman, or worse. No doubt that the individual does have a role, but that is always within society. And the degree to which the individual can shape society is always limited. Don't forget that freedom itself is an artifact of society. You can be free because you have people producing electricity for you, growing and killing animals for you, and the whole mechanism. Without it, you would NOT be free. You'd be hunting for your food.
 

WestCoast

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In which case the world wins. Virtually no one gets rich alone, but rather with the help of hundreds of other people. Business partners, investors, vendors, customers, key employees, etc.

I dislike Ayn Rand precisely because her brand of individualism fails to understand how society creates and supports the individual, and permits him to "go down his own path" or not. It's an impossible, one-sided story, built out of a blindness to the real mechanics of society and the world.

And that's why Ayn Rand is accorded ZERO respect in philosophical circles, whether on the left or the right politically. In fact, scratch that. It should say NEGATIVE respect.

What would YOU be without your society? A caveman, or worse. No doubt that the individual does have a role, but that is always within society. And the degree to which the individual can shape society is always limited. Don't forget that freedom itself is an artifact of society. You can be free because you have people producing electricity for you, growing and killing animals for you, and the whole mechanism. Without it, you would NOT be free. You'd be hunting for your food.

Lol, I'll try to be nice here, but, this is an extremely uneducated, almost grade school level critique.

Also, appealing to people in 'philosophical circles'??? Who the hell cares what someone in a philosophical circle thinks??

Do you judge your own life based on what random people think and say about you?
I think MJ wrote an entire book about avoiding this super limited thinking!

--
I'm going to *guess* you haven't actually read the books, and if you did, you might re-read them, as you effectively got it exactly backwards.


You don't build skyscrapers by yourself.
You don't build railroads by yourself.
You don't build oil fields by yourself.
One of the greatest parts of being a human, is voluntarily working with other humans.
Ayn Rand celebrates that.

--
It's a person's vision to do great things, having the backbone to stand up to the group, and do what THEY want.
The greatest societies and structures and achievements occur when individuals come together, by their own choosing, to do things a planned and structured central government could never ever do.

If you missed that in the books, I'll send you one of my copies for you to revisit.

Vision, Hard Work, Dedication.... those are traits of people who move our world forward.
Most people in business value those ideals - even if people in 'philosophical circles' speak ill of them.
 
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Raoul Duke

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@WestCoast

You mention avoiding a trap. I would steer clear of Dragon. You are talking to a brick wall.
 

JAJT

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I dislike Ayn Rand precisely because her brand of individualism fails to understand how society creates and supports the individual, and permits him to "go down his own path" or not. It's an impossible, one-sided story, built out of a blindness to the real mechanics of society and the world.

Have you read Ayn Rand?

Because I don't get that impression at all from her work.

Her philosophy was all about being your best and demanding your worth for your mind and effort within society. It was against the idea that your efforts should be someone else's windfall or that you should be a leech within society. It was about contributing to society and being rewarded by society for improving it with your efforts.

Saying you dislike the idea of being self made because the building you operate from was made by brick masons or because the product you're selling is being moved by warehouse staff or whatever else is some very petty reddit-esque attitude and misses the point entirely.

Self made is about being your best and producing your best and demanding your personal worth. It doesn't mean giving society the finger or saying you could have done it alone without the infrastructures that a functioning society allows.
 

BizyDad

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I think my history shows I'm no friend to the Dragon. My biggest issues with him involve my (perhaps mistaken) view that he hypes self interest in many of his threads.

Imagine my surprise reading what he's saying here. Being better read on Rand, I think he's made several of my points better than I could have. I read Atlas Shrugged on the forum and realized I never need to read more Rand.

The greatest societies and structures and achievements occur when individuals come together, by their own choosing, to do things a planned and structured central government could never ever do.
I don't see how this statement is true.

The pyramids, the internet, the Great Wall, the space race, the building of railroads, and many empires throughout history were products of a centralized government and/or utilized forced labor as a means to an end.

Sure, there are great human achievements that fit your criteria. But there are plenty that don't. And since individual liberty for all is a fairly recent human innovation, I'd say the majority of human achievement doesn't fit your criteria. How can you ignore that?

It doesn't mean giving society the finger or saying you could have done it alone without the infrastructures that a functioning society allows.

It doesn't? What was the valley in Colorado all about? Did we read two different books?

On this forum alone we see Ayn Rand proponents suggesting the middle finger to society route.

The redditesque approach to Rand is largely the bulk of Randians, imo. You seem to be a more enlightened sort, but I think you're in the minority in that group.

Just a few days ago we heard somebody's ranting about how slavery hasn't been abolished, we are all the government's property, and society's zombies blah blah, finished off with the classic "who is John Galt?"

All because he bought a home with an HOA?

The post has since been edited to a more reasonable tone, but this uber libertarian borderline anarchism prevades Randians. "Everybody" is dreaming about that idyllic valley in Colorado. If it isn't the majority, it's certainly the most vocal.

So if non-randians accuse the randians of being this way, it's likely because that's what we hear most often.

Self made is about being your best and producing your best and demanding your personal worth.
I think you've (or Rand) watered down the meaning of self made. By this definition, anyone can be self-made. But that wasn't the original meaning. A self-made person is somebody who starts with nothing and rises to a position of success/importance/influence.

There are good parts to her philosophy, many of which you mention, but there are also a lot of poisonous ones the way I see it. Personally, I see Rand as an extreme, as I explained above. I prefer a more balanced view.

Exactly.
 
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socaldude

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Lol I haven’t read Ayn Rand in years. The fountainhead was a big long book.

If I remember correctly “the fountainhead” was an allegory for your mind. The collective whole sometimes being contrary to the interests of the individual. But when taking responsibility for your mind the individual can have interests aligned with the whole of society. Knowing her writing style, nothing in her fiction book is a coincidence. There was a reason the main character was an architect designing infrastructure.

I like reading books that are challenging to understand not because the author is trying to be complex on purpose but because truth requires work sometimes. Instead of reading the book in a 3 hour session it will be a book you will have to refer back to your whole life. How well an author can take words and put them into sentences and create syntax is indicative of the clarity he has over life. It’s a big tell.
 

SEBASTlAN

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#1 The Fountainhead - Ayn Rand

No other book in the world taught and encouraged me to be my own man, to avoid the crowds and popular sayings, and to mark out my own path in life. This book fundamentally rewired my brain and made me a better man. If I read one book in my life, ever, this book would be enough.

Thanks for the rec. I always saw it on bookshelves but assumed it was just an Atlas 2.0 - added it to my list.
 

WestCoast

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@Matake007 sorry this thread turned into a pseudo-intellectual book club on you.

The internet is weird .... *shrug*
 
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Raoul Duke

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Well, at least unlike you, I know how to be civil and I have interesting things to say. Most of your posts are a meme, or your attempt at trying to be funny. Even if people disagree with me, which is absolutely fine, it makes everyone involved think - it challenges people, and people learn out of it. I can't say the same about virtually everything I've seen so far from you in the forums. Maybe you have better posts somewhere, but I haven't seen them yet.

These are your last posts:
Y I'm feeling stuck
Dilemma
If you had 2 months to learn a skill, that adds value and makes you money, what would you learn?
https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/backyard-running-track.91851/#post-907576
How to find a profitable blogging niche?
Residual energy following me in life, don't know what to do anymore

Most of them memes, 1 word posts, insults, and shares of what other people are saying. So you should be the LAST person to talk about me. Shame on you. You should do something about your post quality, I'm not sure how you're still permitted to jerk around all over the forum. It makes this place worse for everyone involved.


Fake guru says what?
 

Johnny boy

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I’d give these books to any young man who wants more out of life than what he’s been getting. Especially to someone who wants to grow a large business

1. TMF

2 Bold and Determined volumes 1-4 by victor pride: a blog turned into a book about all things worth knowing about being a man (fitness, style, dating, money, freedom)

3. Pimpology by pimpin ken: a book about the psychology of a pimp, written by a pimp. It teaches you all you need to know about being a leader without any of the bullshit. Funny as hell.

4. No BS ruthless management of people and profits by Dan Kennedy: learn the details and strategies of managing people in your business. All about systems. If you want to have a big business you’ll need to know the truth about hiring and managing people and this book delivers.

5. The e-myth by Michael Gerber: how to run a business like a franchise instead of a one man shop.

If you drill these books into your head and go act on these lessons you’ll have a large, formidable, profitable company and millions coming in each year. Not for the “lifestyle design” idea of making $900 a month but living on the beach like many strive for.
 

Fr33zerPop

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I've been reading business/finance/self-improvement books for a few years and I think I'm getting to the point where I won't get any more but rather keep 5 books handy at all times. This would be for re-reading, revectoring, recapturing any inspiration or motivation I pulled in the first read through. So similar to a video-game, I'm aiming to stick with about 5 books I will always have and go back to. This is not to imply I'd never read again or anything but I'd probably do more rereading of the 5 as opposed to purchasing new books. The books in loadout so far are (no order):

1. The Millionaire Fastlane - @MJ DeMarco
2. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People - Stephen R. Covey (RIP)
3. Unscripted - MJ DeMarco
4. ________________________
5._________________________

What would be your 5 book loadout?
Will someone please repost this list as a "favorite books" list to consider so that I don't have to wade through the petty arguing?
 
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PirriRichFast

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Found some, before he went all god mode.
it whas allowed to download them for free, so i guess its allowed to share them here for free.
I have more of them if you guys like

Have fun
 

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PirriRichFast

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The others
 

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Andreas Thiel

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I dislike the idea of rereading books more than reading new ones.

So my take on this is more along the lines of ... which books can be used to create a foundation of mental models which other books can then be cross-referenced with:

  • #1 - The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
  • #2 - The Warrior Class: Sun Tzu's the Art of War
  • #3 - The Millionaire Fastlane
  • #4 - Thinking, Fast and Slow
  • #5 - So Good They Can't Ignore You

But there are so many important books that build on the foundation that can be created with those books ...

Unscripted , Abundance - The Future is Better Than You Think, The First 20 Hours, The Power of Habit, Freakonomics, Smartcuts, The Art of Asking, The ONE Thing, Zero To One etc. ... so I really think the disclaimer is important.
 
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Johnny boy

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I think it's important to note that Victor has renounced many of his teachings in those books -> that shows that for him at least they have ultimately failed and been ineffective. Anyone looking at them should at least be aware of that.
90% of people that followed that site at all just know he went nuts.

It's a shame people can't find the good advice there anymore. The young men being raised nowadays need it more now than ever before. I owe a lot of my success to coming across that stuff when I was 17.
 

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