50 Global Entrepreneurs Recommend 50 Books That Forever Impacted Their Lives My Facebook group of business owners from around the world share their favorites.
By Andrew Medal Edited by Dan Bova
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
From 2011 to 2013, I read 197 books, and I became more cultured, intelligent, informed and dare I say better looking. Books have the power to change lives. ( I feel like somebody needs to queue the Reading Rainbow theme song. "Take a look, it's in a book, Reading Rainbow!")
I'm pro entrepreneur in all I do. Let's consider me the self-proclaimed "People's Entrepreneur." My mission is to help other entrepreneurs realize their dreams and maximize their potential.
It's the reason I created a Facebook group for a bunch of entrepreneurs to connect, share their wisdom, stories and ask questions. We have almost 4,000 entrepreneurs from about 20 countries. We all ask questions daily and learn from each other and get better at being entrepreneurs.
Related: 9 Brilliant Business Books You Can Read in an Afternoon
One of the recent questions was, "Name one book that has had the greatest impact on your life." This list contains 50 different books from 50 different entrepreneurs in the group from around the world:
1. Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill -- recommended by Sandile B. Magwaza
2. Start by Jon Acuff -- recommended by Kimberly Edwards LaComba
3. The Lean Startup by Eric Ries -- recommended by Matt Barber
4. Zero to One by Peter Thiel -- recommended by Franklin McCullough
5. Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki -- recommended by Mannan Gupta
6. The 100 Dollar Start Up by Chris Guillebeau -- recommended by Nawaz Dangra
7. Produced by Faith by Devon Franklin -- recommended by Say Smith
8. The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind by Gustave LeBon -- recommended by Ingo Behle
9. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey -- recommended by Puna Snamandla Gumede
10. The Pursuit of Happyness by Chris Gardner -- recommended by Vrush SG
11. The Day That Turns Your Life Around by Jim Rohn -- recommended by Paul Kudzaishe Kuona
12. Miss Jessie's: Creating a Business From Scratch Naturally by Miko Branch
13. Rich Dad's Guide to Investing: What the Rich Invest In, That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not Do! by Robert Kiyosaki -- recommended by Bek Alcantara
14. The Richest Man in Babylon by George Samuel Clason -- recommended by Mphezeni Thwala
15. The Four Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss -- recommended by Roxana-Mark Stahl
16. Rework by David Heinemeier and Jason Fried -- recommended by Shan Ru Shaman
17. Losing My Virginity by Richard Branson -- recommended by Marci Pascua
18. Crush It by Gary Vaynerchuk -- recommended by Alex Velev
19. Stay Hungry by Rashmi Bansal -- recommended by Shaukat Kotwal
20. The Startup of You by Reid Hoffman -- recommended by Bright Bruce
21. Good to Great by Jim Collins -- recommended by Adetona Abiodun Abdulquadri
22. Entrepreneur Revolution by Daniel Priestley -- recommended by Oliver Woodward
23. Millionaire Fastlane by MJ Demarco -- recommended by Andrew Kingsley
24. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie -- recommended by Niall Kenny
25. The Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz -- recommended by Marisol Acevedo
Related: The 7 Books Bill Gates Wants You to Read This Summer
26. The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley -- recommended by Mark Whelan
27. The Amazing Race to Entrepreneurial Freedom by Georgina Terry -- recommended by Dana Malkenhorst
28. The Education of Millionaires by Michael Ellsberg -- recommended by Oscar Niebla Fuentes
29. The E Myth by Michael E. Gerber -- recommended by Matthew Deem
30. Do You by Russell Simmons -- recommended by Shy Set Apart
31. The Alchemist by Paolo Cohelo -- recommended by Nick Taylor
32. The Law of Success by Napoleon Hill -- recommended by Yoshua Werts-Galloway
33. You Were Born Rich by Bob Proctor -- recommended by Golden Gepp
34. The Art of War by Sun Tzu -- recommended by Terri Hayes Leary
35. What the Rich Know and Desperately Want to Keep Secret by Brian Sher -- recommended by Okoro Henry
36. Business at the Speed of Thought by Bill Gates -- recommended by Simphiwe Siflso Hlabisa
37. How to License Your Million Dollar Idea by Harvey Reese -- recommended by Shelly Kochevar
38. Start With Why by Simon Sinek -- recommended by Terry Tsang
39. Creativity, Inc. Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand In the Way of True Inspiration by Ed Catmull -- recommended by Jessica Adams
40. Choose Yourself by James Altucher -- recommended by Tony Williams
41. The Opportunity Analysis Canvas by Dr. James V. Green --recommended by Jamilah Merrick
42. Do Cool Shit by Miki Agrawal -- recommended by Richard Kevin Nesbitt
43. Three Feet From Gold by Sharon Lechter and Craig Reid -- recommended by Ash Schmidt
44. The Obstacle is the Way - the Timeless Art of Turning Trials Into Triumph by Ryan Holiday -- recommended by Prabhjot Maan Puar
45. The Everything Store by Brad Stone -- recommended by Arne Giske
46. The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham -- recommended by Nilo Frias
47. The One Thing by Gary Keller -- recommended by Caio Amaral
48. The Bible -- recommended S'phiwe Ngubane
49. The Success Principles by Jack Canfield -- recommended by Kelly Jacobson
50. Outwitting the Devil by Napoleon Hill -- recommended by Kyle Scouten
I'd love to hear your recommendations. Tweet me or provide them in the comments section below.
I want you to join our private Facebook group. Come learn from almost 4,000 other entrepreneurs. Share your stories, get advice, and get better at being an entrepreneur. Request an invite here.
