10 Books Every Aspiring Millionaire Must Read If you aspire to the summit, learn from those who have already climbed mountains.
By Deep Patel Edited by Dan Bova
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You have big dreams and big goals -- you want to be a successful entrepreneur or business leader and join the millionaires' club. But how do you go about it?
The best piece of advice anyone can give you is to feed your mind through reading. You need to cultivate a successful mindset and learn how to develop the right product in the right marketplace. If you are serious about becoming a millionaire, you must be smart about investing your money and making good financial decisions. You have to know how to gain power and hold your own on the rocky shores of the business world.
This list of 10 books is tailored to give you the insights and means to make you a successful millionaire. Read on if you are ready to take on the world.
1. Principles, by Ray Dalio
Principles explains how setting your life up around a set of solid core principles can simplify your decision-making process and keep you from second-guessing yourself. It will give you the tools to be analytical and successful, and allow you to live your best life.
You'll need to determine what's important to you in setting up and creating your business. But there are some values that will always make sense, such as creating an environment of trust and transparency. The idea behind this collection of principles is to keep from being overwhelmed by decisions and life. Use these principles like a compass, so that no matter the circumstances, you have a framework that will keep you heading down the right path.
Related: How Meditation Can Transform Your Business
2. Money: Master the Game, by Tony Robbins
This is a must-read for anyone who wants to make their money work for them and achieve true financial freedom. Money walks you through the necessary steps to turn a small nest egg into a mountain of wealth so you can live your life how you want to. One of the lessons Robbins details is setting up a "freedom fund," which is your investment fund that will eventually set you free.
Make sure your money is getting a workout, not being lazy in a low-interest bank account. Your money needs to be building interest year after year. And most importantly, do your homework and believe in yourself. Fatalistic attitudes will only lead to failure.
Related: Tony Robbins: 6 Basic Needs That Make Us Tick
3. Thinking, Fast and Slow, by Daniel Kahneman
Nobel Prize–winner Daniel Kahneman's book Thinking, Fast and Slow shows how easy it is for humans to veer away from the rational. The truth is, we are subject to many biases, and this is especially important for entrepreneurs to be aware of, as we tend to only see things from our own perspective.
Kahneman's years of work detail how our behavior is determined by two different systems. One is impulsive, automatic and intuitive -- it operates without our conscious control. The second is thoughtful, deliberate and calculating -- this is our ability to reason and engage in decision-making. The second system is important because it relies on self-control and our ability to focus our attention; it is the strength behind our intelligence. However, it's important to recognize that our mind tends to oversimplify things without sufficient information, which often leads to judgment errors.
Related: The Secret to Happiness at Work Is the Right Job for Enough Money
4. Secrets of the Millionaire Mind, by T. Harv Eker
Is your subconscious "financial blueprint" set for success, or are your thought patterns likely to lead you into a constant struggle with money? Secrets of the Millionaire Mind looks at how your relationship with money is determined by patterns that have been ingrained in you through your upbringing. Your parents are your first role models when it comes to managing finances.
From a young age, we observe how our parents deal with money, and that shapes our thought patterns and guides our behavior when it comes to finances. We naturally tend to replicate our parents' income strategies, which explains why most people tend to stay in about the same income bracket as their parents. If you want to take full control of your finances, you have to recognize these thought patterns and adopt the habits and mindset of millionaires.
Related: Quiz: Do You Have What It Takes to Be a Millionaire?
5. The Intelligent Investor, by Benjamin Graham
The Intelligent Investor will give you a solid understanding of contemporary financial theories, so you can invest wisely without the risk of losing it all. Warren Buffett has said this book shaped his professional life. Graham first outlined this approach to long-term, risk-averse investment in the stock market in 1949, but the concepts are still valid in today's investment world. Intelligent investors use thorough analyses to look at the intrinsic value of a company and its propensity for growth.
An intelligent investor focuses on securing steady returns rather than speculating or focusing on short-term gains. Speculating is inherently risky because these investments are based on market fluctuations. Instead, an intelligent investor looks at a stock's long-term value -- at the company's big picture and financial history. Following these guidelines, you'll lose the rollercoaster ride and gain something that works long term.
Related: Even Warren Buffett Relied on a Mentor
6. Blue Ocean Shift, by Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne
This is a step-by-step guide on how to move beyond the rat race in an overcrowded marketplace. It's time for entrepreneurs to leave behind the overcrowded "red ocean" of fierce competition and open up new worlds of opportunity: the "blue ocean" that is free from competition.
Blue Ocean Shift gives the reader tools to navigate the wide-open markets that transcend competition. This "blue ocean shift" allows you to discover markets that are ripe and still untouched if you just know how to tap into them. Along the way, you'll learn about market-creating tools that will help you facilitate your own blue ocean shift.
7. The Millionaire Fastlane, by M.J. DeMarco
Most people never achieve millionaire status because conventional roads to wealth don't work. If you feel like you're wasting time at a job you hate, dream of founding your own enterprise or want to become a millionaire but don't know where to start, The Millionaire Fastlane is for you. One of the biggest problems of creating wealth is failing to plan ahead. Even if you make an impressive income, if you constantly splurge on gratifications like expensive dinners and luxury cars, you will go broke.
The conventional path to wealth relies on working really hard while you are young so you will have enough money set aside when you are old to relax and enjoy it. That can be a long time to wait! What if you could create a product or a business that is self-sustaining? Then you will be generating income even when you're not actually working.
Related: How Unconventional Thinking Can Lead to Early Retirement
8. The 48 Laws of Power, by Robert Greene
Showing off your brilliance won't win you any favors, but cleverly using the work of others to your advantage will. The 48 Laws of Power takes an irreverent look at the fundamental characteristics of power. It helps you understand how power works, how to use it to your advantage and how to defend yourself when others wield power against you.
If you are an entrepreneur hoping to gain the upper hand in the market, or anyone looking to acquire power, this is the book for you. One important rule to remember as an entrepreneur: Any credit given for an invention or creation is just as important as the invention itself. If you don't claim credit, someone else will steal your idea and take the credit.
Related: Get the Story Behind 'The 48 Laws of Power,' the Book That Influenced 50 Cent, Kanye West and Countless Prisoners
9. The Little Book of Common Sense Investing, by John C. Bogle
The Little Book of Common Sense Investing focuses on efficient and simple ways to grow your wealth by investing in low-cost index funds. Bogle is the founder of the Vanguard Group and creator of the world's first index fund.
He explains why you should always choose the fund with the lowest fees (hint: actively managed funds are expensive and usually underperform) and how you can avoid market bubbles (hint: people often make unsound investments based on popular opinions, which are really risky investments). Look for safe, low-cost index funds, which are more cost-efficient and diversified.
Related: Lifestyles of the Rich and Frugal: 7 Thrifty Millionaires and Billionaires
10. 10X Rule, by Grant Cardone
If you want to be a millionaire, you're going to need a clear plan to climb the ladder of success. The 10X Rule explains how anybody can apply one simple rule to set themselves up for achievement and lasting success. The guiding principle behind this rule is that you need to invest 10 times more and reach 10 times further than anyone else to achieve your goals.
This rule is based on the premise that success will always require more effort than you expect. You have to devote that much more time and effort than your competitors. Whatever it is that you want to achieve, you must be willing to put in exponentially more effort and set your goals higher. This book will inspire you to reach for the sky and achieve goals beyond your wildest dreams.
