Last Updated on January 17, 2022 by James McAllister

By: James McAllister

14 Comments

A little less than a year ago, I quit college to pursue entrepreneurship full time. 

Some say I was foolish for turning down a fully-funded education. That couldn’t be further from the truth.

Like most entrepreneurs, you and I want to be successful. We want to be the greatest people we can possibly be. If that weren’t true, you wouldn’t be here reading this right now.

Those who truly become great are those who keep growing. The people that keep learning and improving. And for those people, their education never really ends.

As I write this, I sit next to over 200 books that I have purchased over the years regarding topics such as building wealth, investing, entrepreneurship, self-improvement, and building a successful mindset. At a minimum, I read at least one of these books a month, though I’m often able to get through 2-3 a week.

I firmly believe that I owe a lot of who I am today due to the insights and advice these books have given me. While not all of them are directly related to blogging, I would like to share of these books with you that I believe every blogger should read. 

1. How To Win Friends And Influence People

friends

First and foremost, let me start off with what I believe to be single most important book I have ever read. No saving the best for last here, because I can’t risk you missing this one.

I have always believed that your ability to sell people on your ideas is one of the most important skills you can develop. When you are able to be a leader and influence the people around you, you have the capability to accomplish incredible things.

The concepts taught in this book are universal and can be applied to practically anyone. That is exactly why I’ve gifted more than 50 copies of this book in total to aspiring entrepreneurs. It’s that good.

This book has not only directly led to more sales for me, but it’s helped me network in ways I have never imagined possible. And let me tell you, one of the quickest ways to skyrocket your growth is to leverage the hard work of other people and network with them.

Surround yourself with successful people, and you are practically guaranteed to become successful yourself.

Pick up a copy now. You will see immediate results from applying the concepts taught in this book, I guarantee it.

2. Think And Grow Rich

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Think And Grow Rich is less of a book on actionable advice, and more of a book on mindset. 

Still, it’s a classic, considered by many to be one of the greatest books of all time.

The author of this masterpiece, Napoleon Hill, spent years studying and interviewing successful people from his era, and used the information he collected to make up much of this book. Think And Grow Rich will not only motivate you to achieve your maximum potential, it will teach you about the power of desire, having a positive attitude, and harnessing the power of the subconscious mind.

The great thing about this book is that the philosophy can be applied to anything in life, not just accumulating wealth.

To be honest with you, this book covers so much that I do not think my words can do it any justice. Pick up a copy of the book here!

3. Your Money Or Your Life

money

While Your Money Or Your Life has nothing to do with blogging, it may help you take a look at why you began blogging in the first place.

You may have thought you were after money, but remember that money is just a bunch of funny looking pieces of paper.

What you are really after is what money represents: time. Freedom.

One of the fantastic things about owning a business is that grants you so much more freedom than working a traditional job. You don’t have a boss hovering over your shoulder. You aren’t forced to wake up and leave at a certain time each day. You are freeing yourself, rather than freeing your employer.

However, if you want true freedom, you must become financially independent. This is exactly why I created my financial independence course.

While Your Money On Your Life is more about your mindset towards money rather than a straightforward approach to financial independence, it is still worth picking up a copy on Amazon and reading through it.

4. Influence: The Psychology Of Persuasion

influence

Every great businessman is a great salesperson. I’m going to assume you do not have a dedicated sales team, so that great salesperson needs to be you.

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, is exactly what it sounds like – a fantastic book teaching you what influences people and how you can use these things to your advantage. What I really love about this book is that it looks at things from a scientific standpoint, while still being incredibly enjoyable to read.

Pick up a copy on Amazon by clicking here!

5. The Young Entrepreneur’s Guide To Business, Finance, and Life

The Young Entrepreneur's Guide To Business Finance And Life

This list wouldn’t be complete without a shameless self-plug for my own book, The Young Entrepreneur’s Guide To Business, Finance, and Life.

Despite having ‘young’ in the title, the truth is the vast majority of this book will be applicable to you if you are a blogger, regardless of your age.

If you’re looking to actually make a business out of your blog, than you’ll want to pick up a copy and read through it as soon as you can. Going from blog to business is what’s going to make you some serious cash, so you’ll want to get on this path as soon as possible.

Note: This book is no longer available for sale. The lessons and concepts have been adapted into my VIP club.

What Books Would You Suggest?

There are certainly more books I’d love to share with you, and perhaps sometime down the road I’ll publish another post like this one.

For now, I’d love you to share what books you’ve read that have helped bring you to where you are today. We will all benefit from your suggestions, so don’t hesitate to leave a comment!

Happy reading!

Note:

Since publishing this article, I released my VIP Club – which contains notes and important points from all of the books I’m reading. If you don’t have time to read hundreds of books, this can make a great alternative!

About the author 

James McAllister

James is the owner of JamesMcAllisterOnline.com. He started his first blog at the age of 11, and has since gone on to start several successful businesses. In total, these businesses have sold hundreds of thousands of units and have touched millions of lives. Here on JamesMcAllisterOnline.com, he shares his knowledge that brought him to where he is today. If you want to connect with James, follow him on your favorite social networks!

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  1. Hi James,
    Funnily enough, just last Sunday, I had one of those “to hell with it all” days and packed up into about SIX boxes 99% of the books from my training courses over the last 20 years. Likewise there must have been 200+. Then I put them on Streetlife.com as a freebie and someone collected them the same day. It feels SO GOOD to have cleared out the clutter.
    BUT – guess which two survived the cull, quite deliberately…. “How To Win Friends and Influence People” and “Think and Grow Rich”. Great minds think alike!

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    1. Hi Joy!

      Wow! I am jealous of whoever got their hands on those books – for free too!

      I’m going to need to do something about the mess of books I have scattered about myself… I think it’s time to buy a bookshelf or something. I don’t want to get rid of any of them, I love re-reading the good ones and loaning out copies to friends as well.

      It’s just so easy to collect so many books because you can pick them up so cheap and they are so valuable for their price. Yard sales, clearance stores, Amazon… not uncommon for me to buy 30 or more books in one go.

      I just wish I could read them as quickly as I could buy them!

      Haha I am glad to hear you’re a fan of How To Win Friends and Influence People along with Think And Grow Rich. Those were two of the first books out of this pile that I’ve read through and they have shaped me into who I am today. I love them!

      Thanks for sharing Joy, hope to see you here again soon!

        (Quote)
      James McAllister recently posted…Utilize Affiliates To Skyrocket ProfitsMy Profile

  2. Hi James,

    Looks like you’ve got 5 great titles here, especially the last one!

    I’ve read 3 of your recommendations:

    1. How To Win Friends And Influence People
    2. Think And Grow Rich
    3. Influence: The Psychology Of Persuasion

    All great books, classics for sure

    We have to keep expanding our mind with greats ideas, strategies and concepts. Books help to do that, powerfully

    Thanks again James!

    Kim

      (Quote)
    Kim Willis recently posted…How To Influence and Persuade With Powerful Story TellingMy Profile

    1. Hi Kim!

      Glad to hear you’ve read some of these books and found value from them. These books had such a great impact on my life, I know with certainty that I’m going to end up reading them multiple times and giving more copies to aspirational friends as well.

      Kim Willis:
      We have to keep expanding our mind with greats ideas, strategies and concepts.Books help to do that, powerfully

      Absolutely! I was listening to a podcast featuring Grant Cardone a few days ago and I believe he mentioned that the average American reads only 1 book per year, and a good chunk of those books are adult fiction or romance. I wonder how many the average ‘successful’ person reads… certainly much higher!

      Thanks for stopping by Kim, always glad to see you here!

        (Quote)
      James McAllister recently posted…Going From Blog To Online Media Empire – The Ultimate GuideMy Profile

  3. Hi James,

    Awesome books you have shared here…I’ve read Carnegie and Hill but the rest are completely new to me…I’ll have to put them on my ‘to read’ list and actually read them up as soon as my schedule permits…

    It’s good seeing your book up the list too 🙂 You are one author I’ll definitely want to read as soon as I exhaust my own set schedule of books.

    Personally, I have found out the ‘The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari’, ‘Rich Dad, Poor Dad’ and ‘The Art of War’ can all help even the most unmotivated blogger to soar to the skies – if they are read with an open mind.

    Do make the Sunday great!

    Always,
    Akaahan Terungwa

      (Quote)
    Akaahan Terungwa recently posted…August/September NTP Blog Hop: Taking Time Off And A Million Other Awesome EntriesMy Profile

    1. Hey Akaahan! How you been?

      Picking up the other books will definitely be worth your time and money, I assure you. The good news is those 3 are all on fairly different subjects so there won’t be much overlap – just a lot of new knowledge to begin applying to your personal and business life.

      I really appreciate you adding your own suggestions! I have a copy of Rich Dad Poor Dad and The Art Of War sitting next to me, but this is the first time I’ve heard of ‘The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari.’ I just added it to my Amazon wishlist, so I’ll pick it up next time I make a book order.

      Good to see you again Akaahan and I look forward to ordering this new book!

        (Quote)
      James McAllister recently posted…Aweber vs GetResponse: A Detailed Analysis And ReviewMy Profile

  4. Hi James,

    Great compilation you’ve got over here. I have read two of the listed books; How To Win Friends And Influence People, and Think And Grow Rich. I was hoping you would add “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” to the list since we are talking about investment and finance here. But this is quite resourceful.’

    I don’t have a “huge” library of hardcover books, as most of my books are in soft copy (Something i find beneficial but space-wise and mobile-wise). You should explore that option too. It allows me to read on the go. Even when am visiting a friend or on a ride back home from school, I can always continue with my reading without appearing as a nerd in the bus.

    Thanks for sharing this compilation.

    Kind Regards.
    Augustus

      (Quote)

    1. Hey Augustus! Long time no see! How have you been?

      Glad to hear you’ve read Carnegie’s and Hill’s books – they are two of my favorites for sure. I did actually consider adding Rich Dad Poor Dad, and I may include it in my next batch of book suggestions down the road, but I really only wanted to include one finance book in this list and had to give it to ‘Your Money Or Your Life’ as I felt the concepts would be more applicable to my audience.

      Funny story though, Rich Dad Poor Dad was actually the first wealth-related book I had ever read, and it sparked so much in me. Once I realized the simple concept that rich people buy assets and handle their money differently, I truly realized that I had the potential to become rich if I made the right decisions and put the right amount of effort into it. Long story short I am not rich yet, but my investment accounts and income are growing every month so it’s clear I’m heading down the right path. I owe it to that book, because otherwise I’d have had no idea that it were possible for me.

      You make a good point on softcover books – the majority of my books are softcover, but I only did that for price reasons. I hadn’t even considered the spacing and mobility factors, so thank you for making me aware of those. Just more reasons to go for the cheaper option!

      It was nice talking to you again Augustus, hope to see you again soon!

        (Quote)
      James McAllister recently posted…Passive Income Does Not Triumph Total ReturnMy Profile

      1. James, I am good. I have just been busy with school work. But thankfully, I am currently on six month clinical rotations (It’s like internship so to say). So i have some time for blogging.

        I have a “monster” blog post am working on, it would be due for publishing by Monday, I can’t wait to have you over and read your view when it’s posted.

          (Quote)

  5. Hi, James,

    I remember my days in the university, struggling to build relationships and connect with people. I was solidly shy and couldn’t even look a female in the eyes.

    Then I read Dale Carnegie’s How To Win Friends and Influence People…and I almost became a master at networking in less than two weeks.

    I grew my friendship so much I got tired of meeting people, because, all of the sudden, shy ole me had become awfully popular.

    Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion is yet another great read. I hadn’t gotten halfway when I thought it wise to apply the loads of principles I’d learned first before going on.

    Think and Grow Rich is just the same. Great classic indeed.

    These are great lists. But I also would love to add:

    1. You’re a writer, by Jeff Goins.
    2. David and Goliath, by Malcolm Gladwell
    3. Crypto Marketing, by Ben Settle
    4. Breakthrough Advertising, by Eugene Schwartz

    Tons of books on my list. Because I’ve found great writers are great readers.

    Moreover, Brian Clark’s reading habit got me jealous and helped to rev up my zeal to read more.

    If you’re ready to read hard, you’re not ready to write (or blog) successfully.

    – Yusuff Busayo

    Great share, James.

      (Quote)
    Yusuff Busayo recently posted…[Experttease #5]: Brent Jones, On Making Income Online Through FreelancingMy Profile

    1. Hahaha Yusuff sounds like you and me had the exact same problem! When I began testing out the concepts in How To Win Friends and Influence People I had more people wanting to talk to me than I wanted to talk to myself. I suppose it’s a good problem to have though right? You know you’re doing something right when you find yourself with a whole new set of problems..

      Thanks for the book suggestions, I’ve added the latter 3 to my wishlist and will start reading the first one with Kindle Unlimited soon. Although Breakthrough Advertising looks like it’s $220 on Amazon, so I’ll probably be ordering that one last haha.

      Always nice to talk with you Yusuff, thanks again!

        (Quote)
      James McAllister recently posted…The 7 Rules Of Selling All Bloggers Must FollowMy Profile

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