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Powerhouse Principles
A Miami legend on his rise from government-subsidized housing to skyscrapers, and how to apply his principles to deals of any size.
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The Biggest Bluff
A journalist witha PHD in psychology who’d never played a hand sets out to learn poker, and ends up a pro. The lessons reach well beyond the felt.
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Roll the Calls
The Hollywood super-agent behind Endeavor on dyslexia, relentless persistence and building an entertainment empire.
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The 38 Letters from J.D. Rockefeller to His Son
Fatherly advice on business, money and character, in the form of letters attributed to the richest man of his era.
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The Richest Man Who Ever Lived
Timeless wisdom from the book of Proverbs, and how to put King Solomon’s teachings to work in your life and business.
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The Narrow Road
The self-made publishing mogul’s condensed rules for getting rich, and his warnings about the cost.
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Negotiation
A quick, practical playbook for negotiating: prepare thoroughly, know your walk-away point, and aim for a deal both sides want to keep.
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Sam Walton: Made in America
How a small-town variety store in Arkansas became the largest retailer in the world.
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Stop Asking Questions
The founder of Mixergy on how to run interviews that get people talking: prepare well, go after stories, and steer the conversation.
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59 Seconds
A psychologist’s quick, research-backed alternatives to the self-help advice that doesn’t actually work.
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Shark Tales
How a waitress with a $1,000 loan built one of New York’s biggest real estate firms, one lesson from Mom at a time.
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Scientific Advertising
A century-old classic that still holds up: advertising is salesmanship in print, so be specific, offer something, and measure every result.
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The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing
The classic short rulebook on positioning: be first in a category, own one word in the customer’s mind, and remember it’s a battle of perceptions.
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Atomic Habits
How small habits compound into big results, and a simple framework for building good ones and breaking bad ones.
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The Millionaire Real Estate Investor
The Keller Williams founder on how everyday investors build real wealth through real estate, and the models they follow to find, buy and hold property.
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On the Shortness of Life
A Stoic letter from nearly two thousand years ago arguing that life is long enough, if you stop wasting it.
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The Last Dance
Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls’ final championship season, told through footage that sat in a vault for two decades.
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Smart Calling
A sales trainer’s method for turning cold calls into warm ones: research first, open with something relevant, and always have a clear goal for the call.
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As a Man Thinketh
A tiny book from 1903 with one big idea: you become what you think, so your thoughts are the first thing to get right.
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$100M Offers
Stop competing on price: stack so much value into what you sell that saying no feels like the wrong decision.
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Your Music and People
The founder of CD Baby on getting people to care about your work by being creative and treating them well.
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Natural Health, Natural Medicine
A Harvard-trained doctor’s everyday guide to eating well, moving, managing stress and taking care of yourself.
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How to Win at the Sport of Business
Mark Cuban’s short, blunt take on how he went from broke to billionaire, and why effort is the one thing you fully control.
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The First Billion Is the Hardest
The oilman and dealmaker on taking risks, losing big and making his first billion after 70.
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How to Fight a Hydra
A short fable about deciding to take on something hard, and what to do when it fights back.
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Winning
The trainer behind Jordan and Kobe on the cost of greatness, and why most people won’t pay it.
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The Road Less Stupid
A businessman who made and lost a fortune on why the key to success is avoiding stupid mistakes, and setting aside time to think.
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Unbeatable Mind
A former Navy SEAL commander on training your mind the way SEALs train their bodies.
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Spartan Up!
The Spartan Race founder’s case for discipline, discomfort and doing the hard thing first.
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How to Get Rich
A self-made publishing mogul’s blunt, funny guide to building wealth, and what it costs you.
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You Call the Shots
A teenage entrepreneur’s 19 lessons on building businesses and living on your own terms.
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The ONE Thing
Why extraordinary results come from doing less: find the one thing that matters most and protect the time to do it.
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Choose Your Enemies Wisely
A business plan that starts with your own ambitions, and the rivals worth measuring yourself against.
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Maximum Achievement
A classic of personal development on goals, self-discipline, and taking full responsibility for your results.
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Amarillo Slim in a World Full of Fat People
A legendary Texas gambler on reading people, setting up the bet, and never taking the side he could lose.
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The Millionaire Real Estate Agent
The founder of Keller Williams breaks down how top-producing agents build a business, from lead generation to budgets to hiring.
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#Positivity
A poker champion’s case for optimism, written goals, and treating every setback as part of the path.
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Letters from a Stoic
A Roman statesman’s letters to a younger friend on how to spend a life well.
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Living with the Monks
Fifteen days at a monastery with the phone switched off, and what it taught him about focus and gratitude.
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Big Lucky
A serial entrepreneur on climbing out of poverty and building businesses from nothing.
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You Can’t Teach Hungry
The founder of Morgan & Morgan on running a law firm like a business.
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Anything You Want
Short lessons from the musician who accidentally built CD Baby, on running a business on your own terms.
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The Power of Negative Thinking
Why expecting things to go wrong, and preparing for it, beats hoping they won’t.
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No Excuses!
Why self-discipline is the one habit that makes every other goal possible, and how to build it.
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Every Hand Revealed
Gus Hansen takes you inside his head, hand by hand, as he wins the 2007 Aussie Millions.
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Your Next Five Moves
A self-made entrepreneur’s playbook for business strategy: know what you want, then think five moves ahead.
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The Millionaire Fastlane
Not a get-rich-quick book: the true story of how MJ DeMarco built Limos.com and sold it twice, and the thinking behind it.
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The Art of War
A 2,400-year-old manual on strategy that applies just as well to poker, business and life. The easiest translation I’ve read.
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How to Talk to Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere
The legendary interviewer on being a better conversationalist: mostly the basics, with enough good stuff to make it worth the read.
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How to Win Friends and Influence People
The 1936 classic on dealing with people: show genuine interest, make others feel important, and never win an argument.
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How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling
A former ballplayer turned failing insurance salesman on the habits that made him one of the best: enthusiasm, questions and keeping score.
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The Psychology of Selling
One of the first sales books I read, and still in my top three. It’s about mindset, not tactics.
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Trump: The Art of the Deal
Deal-making principles and the stories behind Trump’s early New York real estate projects, from the Grand Hyatt to Trump Tower.
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Trump Never Give Up
Short chapters on setbacks, from near-bankruptcy in the early 1990s to failed deals, and how he worked through them.
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Think Like a Champion
A collection of short essays on business and life: focus, persistence, learning, negotiation and thinking big.
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You’re Hired
The first winner of The Apprentice on starting a business from his apartment, winning the show, and the lessons from both.
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The Obstacle Is the Way
A short guide to Stoicism: whatever stands in your way is the material for getting past it.
10 entries
Book notes
I read a lot, almost entirely nonfiction. Mostly biographies, business, history, philosophy and the occasional poker book. I highlight the parts I want to remember. This is where I keep them.
