Must Read Books
The Bible
by God, Jesus, Moses, Peter, John, Paul, etc
BotBotBest Comments
The Bible more than any other book is best absorbed in small doses as it is infinitely complex and contains deep wisdom and symbolism. Reading plans, study, and reflection are highly recommended.
Bible Reading Plans
Many foundational leadership and business books reference the Bible.
The Bible is considered foundational to business and leadership because it provides principles and values that are essential to running successful organizations. These principles, such as honesty, integrity, and servant leadership, have been embraced by many successful leaders throughout history.
Moreover, the Bible has played a significant role in shaping Western societal values and structures, including laws, ethics, and cultural norms. Its influence can be seen in many areas of life, including government, education, and the arts.
In the business world, the Bible’s teachings on stewardship, ethical behavior, and treating others with respect and compassion have been influential. Many successful business leaders have drawn inspiration from the Bible to guide their decisions and actions.
Overall, the Bible’s influence on Western society has been significant, and its teachings continue to shape the values and beliefs of many leaders in business and beyond.
Whether one believes in God or not, the Bible is based on an archetype of a heroic selfless leader (see The Hero With A Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell). In the case of the Bible the heroic perfect selfless leader is Jesus. But many modern movies and stories are in fact based on this story and archteytpe, although most heroes are less perfect than Jesus to give them a more relateable story arc. Neo is “The Chosen One” in the Matrix. Luke Skywalker. Iron Man. Superman. etc
How does the Bible promote leadership?
- Leaders are servants first. …
- Fairness is a leader’s moral obligation. …
- Leaders see strength in their followers. …
- Great leaders are tactful. …
- Good leaders are willing to take advice. …
- Leaders uplift others and hear their constituents’ wishes. …
- Great leaders delegate.
- Honest leaders are rewarded.
- Leaders must be trainable.
- Leaders take pride in their work.
Book Details
Bible Reading Plans
The Beginning
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
The Hero With A Thousand Faces
by Joseph Campbell
BotBotBest Comments
“The Hero with a Thousand Faces” by Joseph Campbell is important for business and leadership because it provides a framework for understanding the journey of the hero, which can be applied to personal and organizational growth.
Campbell’s work suggests that the hero’s journey consists of three main stages: departure, initiation, and return. In the departure stage, the hero leaves their comfort zone and embarks on a journey of discovery. In the initiation stage, the hero faces challenges and learns valuable lessons. In the return stage, the hero returns home transformed and ready to share their newfound wisdom.
This framework can be applied to leadership and business by encouraging individuals and organizations to step outside their comfort zones and embrace new challenges. By taking risks and learning from their experiences, leaders and businesses can grow and transform. Moreover, by sharing their experiences and wisdom with others, they can inspire and empower those around them.
Overall, “The Hero with a Thousand Faces” provides a powerful framework for personal and organizational growth that can be applied to business and leadership in meaningful ways.
Book Details
Since its release in 1949, The Hero with a Thousand Faces has influenced millions of readers by combining the insights of modern psychology with Joseph Campbell’s revolutionary understanding of comparative mythology. In these pages, Campbell outlines the Hero’s Journey, a universal motif of adventure and transformation that runs through virtually all of the world’s mythic traditions. He also explores the Cosmogonic Cycle, the mythic pattern of world creation and destruction.
As part of the Joseph Campbell Foundation’s Collected Works of Joseph Campbell, this third edition features expanded illustrations, a comprehensive bibliography, and more accessible sidebars.
As relevant today as when it was first published, The Hero with a Thousand Faces continues to find new audiences in fields ranging from religion and anthropology to literature and film studies. The book has also profoundly influenced creative artists—including authors, songwriters, game designers, and filmmakers—and continues to inspire all those interested in the inherent human need to tell stories.
Think & Grow Rich
by Napoleon Hilll
BotBotBest Comments
“Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill is an important book for business and leadership because it teaches you how to think and act like successful people. The book provides a practical and inspirational roadmap for achieving success in any area of life, including business and leadership.
The book emphasizes the power of positive thinking, goal setting, persistence, and taking action towards your goals. It also highlights the importance of developing a strong mindset and the ability to overcome obstacles and setbacks.
The principles outlined in “Think and Grow Rich” can help business owners and leaders to identify and pursue their goals with clarity and purpose, while also developing the resilience and determination needed to navigate challenges and setbacks along the way. Additionally, the book provides valuable insights into the mindset and strategies of some of the most successful business leaders of all time, making it a valuable resource for anyone looking to improve their business acumen and leadership skills.
Book Details
Think and Grow Rich has been called the “Granddaddy of All Motivational Literature.” It was the first book to boldly ask, “What makes a winner?” The man who asked and listened for the answer, Napoleon Hill, is now counted in the top ranks of the world’s winners himself.
The most famous of all teachers of success spent “a fortune and the better part of a lifetime of effort” to produce the “Law of Success” philosophy that forms the basis of his books and that is so powerfully summarized in this one.
In the original Think and Grow Rich, published in 1937, Hill draws on stories of Andrew Carnegie, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and other millionaires of his generation to illustrate his principles. In the updated version, Arthur R. Pell, Ph.D., a nationally known author, lecturer, and consultant in human resources management and an expert in applying Hill’s thought, deftly interweaves anecdotes of how contemporary millionaires and billionaires, such as Bill Gates, Mary Kay Ash, Dave Thomas, and Sir John Templeton, achieved their wealth. Outmoded or arcane terminology and examples are faithfully refreshed to preclude any stumbling blocks to a new generation of readers.
Three Feet from Gold: Turn Your Obstacles into Opportunities!
by Napoleon Hill Foundation, Sharon L. Lechter
BotBotBest Comments
A great follow up read to Think & Grow Rich
Book Details
This remarkable business allegory tells a fascinating story in presenting the key principles of Napoleon Hill’s revolutionary bestseller, Think and Grow Rich. As you follow a struggling young entrepreneur through a life-changing series of encounters with some of today’s foremost business leaders and inspirational figures, you’ll find encouragement and motivation to believe in yourself, discover your own Personal Success Equation™, and never give up. You are just three feet from gold!
A century ago, Napoleon Hill began the research that ultimately resulted in his extraordinary bestseller, Think and Grow Rich. Since its publication in 1937, with more than 100 million copies sold worldwide, the book has inspired generations of men and women to turn their dreams into reality with its wise and effective principles of self-motivation, leadership, service, and achievement culled from Hill’s interviews with visionaries of his day. Now, a hundred years later, in Three Feet from Gold, a young entrepreneur whose life is falling apart finds himself retracing Hill’s steps after a serendipitous encounter with a powerful businessman who sees the young man’s potential and sets him on a challenging journey of personal, spiritual, and financial growth.
Sharon L. Lechter—co-author of the #1 New York Times best-seller Rich Dad Poor Dad—and Greg S. Reid—a successful author and in-demand motivational speaker—have given us more than the story of one man’s dogged pursuit of success. They deliver an effective equation for accomplishing goals that calls for combining passion and talent, taking action with the right association, and above all else, having faith that you are on the right path.
The Magic of Thinking Big
by David Schwartz
Book Details
With more than six million copies sold worldwide, David Schwartz’s timeless guide and best-selling phenomenon, The Magic of Thinking Big, is now available for the first time as an unabridged audio edition.
Millions of people around the world have improved their lives through the timeless advice David Schwartz offers in The Magic of Thinking Big. In this best-selling audiobook, Schwartz proves you don’t need innate talent to become successful, but you do need to understand the habit of thinking and behaving in ways that will get you there.
Filled with easy-to-understand advice, this unabridged audio edition – perfect for gift giving – will put you on the road to changing the way you think, helping you work better, manage smarter, earn more money, achieve your goals, and, most importantly, live a fuller, happier life.
How to Win Friends & Influence People
by Dale Carnegie
Book Details
You can go after the job you want…and get it! You can take the job you have…and improve it! You can take any situation you’re in…and make it work for you!
Simon & Schuster Audio is proud to present one of the best-selling books of all time, Dale Carnegie’s perennial classic How to Win Friends and Influence People, presented here in its entirety.
For over 60 years the rock-solid, time-tested advice in this audiobook has carried thousands of now-famous people up the ladder of success in their business and personal lives.
With this truly phenomenal audiobook, learn:
- The six ways to make people like you
- The twelve ways to win people to your way of thinking
- The nine ways to change people without arousing resentment
And much, much more!
There is room at the top, when you know…How to Win Friends and Influence People.
What Color Is Your Parachute? 2022: Your Guide to a Lifetime of Meaningful Work and Career Success
by Simon Sinek
BotBotBest Comments
The MISSION section is highly recommended to find one’s purpose and mission in life. The Flower exercise is also highly recommended. It is very detailed to figure out what one should be doing with one’s life.
The mission section of “What Color Is Your Parachute?” by Richard Bolles is important for finding one’s purpose and mission in life because it guides readers through a process of self-reflection and exploration to identify their unique talents, values, and passions.
The section includes exercises and activities designed to help readers clarify their personal mission, which can serve as a guiding principle for making decisions and pursuing opportunities in their career and personal life.
By understanding their mission, individuals can align their work and life with their values and passions, which can lead to greater fulfillment, happiness, and success. The section also provides practical advice on how to communicate your mission effectively to potential employers and others in your personal and professional networks.
Overall, the mission section of “What Color Is Your Parachute?” can help individuals gain a deeper understanding of themselves and their purpose in life, which can ultimately lead to a more fulfilling and rewarding career and life.
Book Details
With timeless advice, up-to-the-minute insights, and more than ten million copies sold over fifty years, the world’s most popular and best-selling career guide is fully revised and expanded for 2022.
“One of the first job-hunting books on the market. It is still arguably the best. And it is indisputably the most popular.” – Fast Company
In today’s challenging job market, as recent grads face a shifting economic landscape and seek work that pays and inspires, as workers are laid off mid-career, and as people search for an inspiring work-life change, the time-tested advice of What Color Is Your Parachute? is needed more than ever.
This edition has been fully revised for 2022 by Vanderbilt University Career Center director Katharine Brooks, EdD, with modern advice on the job-hunt strategies that are working today, such as building an online resume, making the most of social media tools, and acing virtual interviews. Building on the wisdom of original author Richard N. Bolles, this edition updates the famed Flower Exercise (which walks job seekers through the seven ways of thinking about themselves) and demystifies the entire job-search process, from writing resumes to interviewing and networking.
With the unique and authoritative guidance of What Color Is Your Parachute?, job-hunters and career changers will have all the tools to discover – and land – their dream job.
Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action
by Simon Sinek
BotBotBest Comments
Many mentors and other books reference Start With Why. It is a foundational book and concept. See also The Flower Exercise and Mission chapter in What Color is Your Parachute for tactical details on HOW to Start With Why.
“Start with Why” is important for selecting a mission, purpose, business, and leadership because it emphasizes the importance of having a clear and compelling sense of purpose or “why” that guides your decisions and actions.
The book argues that people and organizations who start with a clear sense of why they exist and what they stand for are more likely to inspire others and achieve long-term success. By focusing on your why, you can create a strong sense of meaning and purpose in your work and life, which can help you stay motivated and overcome obstacles.
When selecting a mission, purpose, business, or leadership approach, starting with why can help you make more informed and purposeful decisions that align with your values and passions. By understanding your why, you can identify opportunities that are truly meaningful to you and avoid distractions or pursuits that do not align with your purpose.
Moreover, when communicating your why to others, you can inspire and motivate them to join you in pursuing your mission or vision. This can help you build a strong team and a loyal customer base that shares your values and beliefs.
Overall, “Start with Why” is important for selecting a mission, purpose, business, and leadership because it helps you create a strong sense of purpose and direction that can guide your decisions and actions and inspire others to join you in pursuing your vision.
Book Details
The inspirational best seller that ignited a movement and asked us to find our why.
Discover the book that is captivating millions on TikTok and that served as the basis for one of the most popular TED Talks of all time – with more than 56 million views and counting. Over a decade ago, Simon Sinek started a movement that inspired millions to demand purpose at work, to ask what was the why of their organization. Since then, millions have been touched by the power of his ideas, and these ideas remain as relevant and timely as ever.
Start with Why asks (and answers) the questions: Why are some people and organizations more innovative, more influential, and more profitable than others? Why do some command greater loyalty from customers and employees alike? Even among the successful, why are so few able to repeat their success over and over?
People like Martin Luther King Jr., Steve Jobs, and the Wright Brothers had little in common, but they all started with why. They realized that people won’t truly buy into a product, service, movement, or idea until they understand the why behind it.
Start with Why shows that the leaders who have had the greatest influence in the world all think, act, and communicate the same way – and it’s the opposite of what everyone else does. Sinek calls this powerful idea The Golden Circle, and it provides a framework upon which organizations can be built, movements can be led, and people can be inspired. And it all starts with why.
Everybody Matters: The Extraordinary Power of Caring for Your People Like Family
by Bob Chapman
“Bob Chapman CEO of the $1.7 billion manufacturing company Barry-Wehmiller, is on a mission to change the way businesses treat their employees.” – Inc. Magazine
BotBotBest Comments
The founder of BotBotBest worked for Barry-Wehmiller and Bob Chapman. Simon Sinek, author of Start With WHY, is a champion of this book and philosophy.
Book Details
“Bob Chapman, CEO of the $1.7 billion manufacturing company Barry-Wehmiller, is on a mission to change the way businesses treat their employees.” – Inc. Magazine
Starting in 1997, Bob Chapman and Barry-Wehmiller have pioneered a dramatically different approach to leadership that creates off-the-charts morale, loyalty, creativity, and business performance. The company utterly rejects the idea that employees are simply functions, to be moved around, “managed” with carrots and sticks, or discarded at will. Instead, Barry-Wehmiller manifests the reality that every single person matters, just like in a family. That’s not a cliché on a mission statement; it’s the bedrock of the company’s success.
During tough times a family pulls together, makes sacrifices together, and endures short-term pain together. If a parent loses his or her job, a family doesn’t lay off one of the kids. That’s the approach Barry-Wehmiller took when the Great Recession caused revenue to plunge for more than a year. Instead of mass layoffs, they found creative and caring ways to cut costs, such as asking team members to take a month of unpaid leave. As a result, Barry-Wehmiller emerged from the downturn with higher employee morale than ever before.
It’s natural to be skeptical when you first hear about this approach. Every time Barry-Wehmiller acquires a company that relied on traditional management practices, the new team members are skeptical too. But they soon learn what it’s like to work at an exceptional workplace where the goal is for everyone to feel trusted and cared for—and where it’s expected that they will justify that trust by caring for each other and putting the common good first.
Chapman and coauthor Raj Sisodia show how any organization can reject the traumatic consequences of rolling layoffs, dehumanizing rules, and hypercompetitive cultures. Once you stop treating people like functions or costs, disengaged workers begin to share their gifts and talents toward a shared future. Uninspired workers stop feeling that their jobs have no meaning. Frustrated workers stop taking their bad days out on their spouses and kids. And everyone stops counting the minutes until it’s time to go home.
This book chronicles Chapman’s journey to find his true calling, going behind the scenes as his team tackles real-world challenges with caring, empathy, and inspiration. It also provides clear steps to transform your own workplace, whether you lead two people or two hundred thousand. While the Barry-Wehmiller way isn’t easy, it is simple. As the authors put it:
“Everyone wants to do better. Trust them. Leaders are everywhere. Find them. People achieve good things, big and small, every day. Celebrate them. Some people wish things were different. Listen to them. Everybody matters. Show them.”
Everybody Matters: The Extraordinary Power of Caring for Your People Like Family
by Bob Chapman
“Bob Chapman CEO of the $1.7 billion manufacturing company Barry-Wehmiller, is on a mission to change the way businesses treat their employees.” – Inc. Magazine
BotBotBest Comments
The founder of BotBotBest worked for Barry-Wehmiller and Bob Chapman. Simon Sinek, author of Start With WHY, is a champion of this book and philosophy.
Book Details
“Bob Chapman, CEO of the $1.7 billion manufacturing company Barry-Wehmiller, is on a mission to change the way businesses treat their employees.” – Inc. Magazine
Starting in 1997, Bob Chapman and Barry-Wehmiller have pioneered a dramatically different approach to leadership that creates off-the-charts morale, loyalty, creativity, and business performance. The company utterly rejects the idea that employees are simply functions, to be moved around, “managed” with carrots and sticks, or discarded at will. Instead, Barry-Wehmiller manifests the reality that every single person matters, just like in a family. That’s not a cliché on a mission statement; it’s the bedrock of the company’s success.
During tough times a family pulls together, makes sacrifices together, and endures short-term pain together. If a parent loses his or her job, a family doesn’t lay off one of the kids. That’s the approach Barry-Wehmiller took when the Great Recession caused revenue to plunge for more than a year. Instead of mass layoffs, they found creative and caring ways to cut costs, such as asking team members to take a month of unpaid leave. As a result, Barry-Wehmiller emerged from the downturn with higher employee morale than ever before.
It’s natural to be skeptical when you first hear about this approach. Every time Barry-Wehmiller acquires a company that relied on traditional management practices, the new team members are skeptical too. But they soon learn what it’s like to work at an exceptional workplace where the goal is for everyone to feel trusted and cared for—and where it’s expected that they will justify that trust by caring for each other and putting the common good first.
Chapman and coauthor Raj Sisodia show how any organization can reject the traumatic consequences of rolling layoffs, dehumanizing rules, and hypercompetitive cultures. Once you stop treating people like functions or costs, disengaged workers begin to share their gifts and talents toward a shared future. Uninspired workers stop feeling that their jobs have no meaning. Frustrated workers stop taking their bad days out on their spouses and kids. And everyone stops counting the minutes until it’s time to go home.
This book chronicles Chapman’s journey to find his true calling, going behind the scenes as his team tackles real-world challenges with caring, empathy, and inspiration. It also provides clear steps to transform your own workplace, whether you lead two people or two hundred thousand. While the Barry-Wehmiller way isn’t easy, it is simple. As the authors put it:
“Everyone wants to do better. Trust them. Leaders are everywhere. Find them. People achieve good things, big and small, every day. Celebrate them. Some people wish things were different. Listen to them. Everybody matters. Show them.”
Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World
by
Book Details
Shortlisted for the Financial Times/McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award
“The most important business—and parenting—book of the year.” —Forbes
“Urgent and important. . . an essential read for bosses, parents, coaches, and anyone who cares about improving performance.” —Daniel H. Pink
“So much crucial and revelatory information about performance, success, and education.” —Susan Cain, bestselling author of Quiet
“As David Epstein shows us, cultivating range prepares us for the wickedly unanticipated… a well-supported and smoothly written case on behalf of breadth and late starts.” —Wall Street Journal
Plenty of experts argue that anyone who wants to develop a skill, play an instrument, or lead their field should start early, focus intensely, and rack up as many hours of deliberate practice as possible. If you dabble or delay, you’ll never catch up to the people who got a head start. But a closer look at research on the world’s top performers, from professional athletes to Nobel laureates, shows that early specialization is the exception, not the rule.
David Epstein examined the world’s most successful athletes, artists, musicians, inventors, forecasters and scientists. He discovered that in most fields—especially those that are complex and unpredictable—generalists, not specialists, are primed to excel. Generalists often find their path late, and they juggle many interests rather than focusing on one. They’re also more creative, more agile, and able to make connections their more specialized peers can’t see.
Provocative, rigorous, and engrossing, Range makes a compelling case for actively cultivating inefficiency. Failing a test is the best way to learn. Frequent quitters end up with the most fulfilling careers. The most impactful inventors cross domains rather than deepening their knowledge in a single area. As experts silo themselves further while computers master more of the skills once reserved for highly focused humans, people who think broadly and embrace diverse experiences and perspectives will increasingly thrive.
Succeeding
by John T. Reed
BotBotBest Comments
John T. Reed wrote this book for his sons to document everything he felt that they needed in order to succeed in life. Through this website and others I am trying to do the same for my children. They are my WHY.
There are so many things I would like to teach my children. I have spent many tens of thousands of hours reading and studying success and successful people. I wish my Father had given me this head start but then I am standing on his shoulders as he stood on his Father’s shoulders and on down the line. And my children will stand on mine as John T. Reed’s stood on his.
Book Details
High goals are fine. Author John T. Reed reached several high goals in his life like making a million dollars, getting degrees from West Point and Harvard, being listed in Who’s Who in America, appearing on TV shows like 60 Minutes, writing over two dozen well-received books, as well as celebrating a 30-year marriage and raising three fine sons. His experience has also been varied from being the son of an alcoholic father to living in the country, suburbs, and big city to serving a tour in Vietnam to working for a large corporation to successful self-employment and extended bachelorhood. He also failed significantly in various pursuits and thereby learned many important lessons. “Succeeding” will tell you how to achieve high success, but it will constantly remind you to go for enough, not more; and to pursue what suits you, not just some goal chosen solely based on how much you think it will impress others. Strategies, tactics, tips, and tricks on how to succeed. Lessons learned by one man in his 50 plus years. The book focuses on choosing the right spouse and career. Unlike most success books that encourage you to choose whatever extremely high goals your heart desires, this book emphasizes the importance of choosing the right goals. If you choose your goals carefully, you are far more likely to achieve them and far more likely to be happy when you do.
The Power Of Positive Thinking
by Dr. Norman Vincent Peale
BotBotBest Comments
Life is hard. Very hard at times. When life gets difficult, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and defeated. Negative thoughts can take over and make the situation seem even worse. However, by practicing positive thinking, we can change our mindset and approach the situation with a more hopeful and optimistic outlook.
Dr. Norman Vincent Peale’s “The Power of Positive Thinking” is based on the idea that if we can think positively, we can transform our lives and overcome challenges.
This can have several benefits, including reduced stress and anxiety, improved self-confidence, and increased motivation to take action towards solving the problem. By focusing on positive thoughts and visualizing a positive outcome, we can reprogram our minds to see challenges as opportunities for growth and development.
In essence, the power of positive thinking helps us to stay hopeful and optimistic even in difficult times, which in turn can help us to overcome obstacles and achieve our goals.
Book Details
An international bestseller with over five million copies in print, The Power of Positive Thinking has helped men and women around the world to achieve fulfillment in their lives through Dr. Norman Vincent Peale’s powerful message of faith and inspiration.
In this phenomenal bestseller, “written with the sole objective of helping the reader achieve a happy, satisfying, and worthwhile life,” Dr. Peale demonstrates the power of faith in action. With the practical techniques outlined in this book, you can energize your life—and give yourself the initiative needed to carry out your ambitions and hopes. You’ll learn how to:
· Believe in yourself and in everything you do
· Build new power and determination
· Develop the power to reach your goals
· Break the worry habit and achieve a relaxed life
· Improve your personal and professional relationships
· Assume control over your circumstances
· Be kind to yourself