5 Must-read Books for Budding Entrepreneurs! Reading is a great tool for self-growth. In fact, a study has found that most CEOs read four to five books a month, but this goal can be difficult for young entrepreneurs

The world around us is structured in a way that if we want, we can easily live our lives on autopilot - and no severe harm will come our way.

Without learning.

Without growing at all.

But if you're an entrepreneur, lack of growth is fatal. The path you've chosen requires you to challenge your best self, and go to bed a little bit wiser than you were when you got up. If you pause for a moment and reflect on the habits of some of the most successful entrepreneurs, you'll realize the obvious.

• Warren Buffet spends 80pe cent of his day reading.

• Mark Zuckerberg reads one book every two weeks.

• Bill Gates reads one book per week.

Reading is a great tool for self-growth. In fact, a study has found that most CEOs read four to five books a month, but this goal can be difficult for young entrepreneurs - with so much on their shoulder combined with the excitement of starting out on their dream journey - to read this voraciously.

1. Leadership and Self Deception: If "thinking out of the box' is what you need to develop - this has to be the go-to book. This book completely changes the way we look at things and inspires us to read our anger symptoms differently. This is essential for every budding entrepreneur, as there's always so much that can go wrong, and induce anger and anxiety. The book forces you to think out of the box - thereby being an extremely useful resource for any aspiring leader. It puts forth a very strong point, that most of our lives we end up being in a box, without realizing our true potential. True success can be achieved only when we think outside the box and enable others to succeed without getting into self-deception or self-betrayal.

2. Decent People, Decent Company by Robert L. Turknett and Carolyn N. Turknett: The topics explored in this book are imperative to any good leader, as it talks about why leading with respect, responsibility, and integrity is extremely crucial. The book inspires a true leader to introspect, and ask tough questions if needed. For every leader just starting out, this book will change the "why can't they?" to "what can I?".

3. Crossing the Chasm: This one is specifically for the new-age tech leaders as it tells you how to market yourselves, your products, and services better in today's ever-changing and adaptive world. After all, crossing the chasm between early adopters and the pragmatic majority is an art that needs careful thinking. Understanding the behaviours and motivations of early adopters, and knowing their intent, to diving into the mindset of the pragmatic majority - this book talks about working out a marketing plan for all of these different stages and different faces.

4. Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike by Phil Knight - If you want to experience passion, this is the memoir you just can't miss. Written by the creator of Nike, this book talks about his dreams, passions, and everything he did to pursue it and make Nike what it is today. Have the "never say die' attitude and the strength of hustling through everything - and come what may, you'll "just do it!'. After all, there's always a silver lining somewhere, we just need to find it.

5. Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln By Doris Kearns

Goodwin - This book focuses on the inspiring story of Abraham Lincoln and his struggles to lead America during one of the toughest times. Lincoln built a team and a cabinet, and was seriously disliked - but nevertheless managed to get the best out of his team during his Presidential reign. Talk about being a great leader!

There's really so much to read and learn from, the onus is on you to actually do it. Like many young entrepreneurs, if you, too, are confused as to what books to pick first, let the above-mentioned list be your guide!