As an aspiring leader and entrepreneur, what are three books I must read?

Being a business leader means making a concerted effort to positively run your life, and do whatever it takes to be the best leader possible. There are a number of ways that any potential leader can start crafting themselves, but one of the best strategies is by starting to read as much as possible. There is no shortage of relevant and beneficial material. From learning how to work with others to understanding motivation and trust, leadership is a fluid evolution requiring constant adjustment. Here are six books which help with this leadership transformation.

1. The Truth About Leadership: The No-Fads, Heart-of-the-Matter Facts You Need to Know
   James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner

These two authors take their 30 years of research on the topics of effective leadership to create a detailed, hard-hitting book on how to deliver effective leadership tactics. Focusing on classic tactics such as trust, ethics, and credibility, this book is filled with some of the best nuggets of information that can positively shape any business leader’s life and trajectory.
2. Hustle: The Power to Change Your Life with Money, Meaning, and Momentum

Neil Patel, Patrick Vlaskovits, and Jonas Koffler

Hustle is one of those books that you need to read in order to really understand. This book covers a variety of different topics that can help any leader both inside and outside the office. As the title suggests, the text discusses money, and how to gain positive momentum with it. It teaches you how to really hustle in order to make your dreams and goals a reality.
3. The Heart of Leadership: Becoming a Leader People Want to Follow

Mark Miller

One of the keys to being a successful leader is making it so that people actually want to follow your direction. This book focuses on changing the lives of leaders by teaching them to lead from the front. It sets out to teach them how to set positive examples for others to follow. Many great leaders share similar traits that inspire others, and this book teaches you how to exhibit those traits.
4. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You

John C. Maxwell

There are a lot of leadership books that focus on things like philosophy and perspective. This is not one of those books. This is a straightforward approach to leadership, presented as the “21 Laws” of figuring leadership out. It's easy to skim, easy to digest, and one of those books that's able to quickly change the way potential leaders can tackle their leadership approach.
5. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change

Stephen R. Covey

This is one book that is sure to make the top of a lot of lists, but it is one that is extremely pertinent to today’s most successful leaders. This book has been one of the biggest best-selling books of its kind since it was first released in 1989 and it is still helping people today. It can quickly change the life of any leader as they learn how to be more effective and productive each and every day.
6. Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us

Daniel H. Pink

Pick up this highly entertaining read and you can learn more about the ability to motivate and push others to do their best. This book is all about how motivation is central to leadership and it highlights some of the secrets of truly motivating others and how to get meaningful work out of those that you lead.

One book I recommend highly, Matthew, is Leadership and Self-Deception by the Arbinger Institute. Blessings on your journey!

Three books that have influenced me as a leader are: Leadership Is an Art by Max De Pree; The Empowered Manager by Peter Block,; and Good to Great by Jim Collins. Also, almost any book by Peter Drucker will be helpful.

Best wishes on an exciting journey,

John Ellis

I have written three books and would be interested in your thoughts if you read them:
Help Me: I'm Lost - A guide for new managers
Management Mistakes: A fable for new managers
70 Actions for Success

They are not famous but people who read them like them for their practical advice.

Narrowing it down to 3 is tough, but here are my recommendations for an aspiring entrepreneur:

The Alchemist by Paul Coelho

Influence by Dr. Robert Cialdini

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

Bonus one: Book Yourself Solid by Micheal Port

Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and his Cash Flow Game might light your prosperity flame!

Well Matthew, any of Tom Peters books would be a start even checking him out on You tube might be interesting, while there check out Kyle Cease, Mike Dooley and Jack Daly. Pour Your Heart Into It by Howard Schultz CEO of Starbucks you might find inspiring. Check out Grinding It Out by Ray Kroc of McDonald's fame. Maybe E-Myth or E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber would be interesting. Google them to get an overview or check on Amazon for an overview. When you finish those I could probably come up with a few more. Happy hunting! One of my favorites is The Dream Manager by Matthew Kelly. Check him out on you tube also. The best! Paul

At times we don't have all the time to learn from our own mistakes so its best we learn from others and I strongly believe we need to understand our self first and only then we can lead .
The best books to read are - The Leader Who had no Title & The Saint, the Surfer, and the CEO by Robin Sharma and last but not the least to sum up all the best we have in each of us and from failure to success a must read book is The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Hi! Great question. I would suggest reading the following books:

1. Three Signs of a Miserable Job by Patrick Lencioni
2. Creating Magic by Lee Cockerill
3. Fearless Leadership by Carey Lohrenz

All great reads.

I like where you are going with this. I love to read and write for inspiration. Here are a few suggestions.

1. Mindset by Carol S. Oweck
2. Winning by Jack Welch
3. The Data Driven Leader by Jenny Dearborn, David Swanson

Hi there! It's so great that you are looking to read as much as possible to find your passion. I can tell you from a leadership perspective, it is important to keep learning and reading. Here are my top 3 books:

1. Rise and Grind: Daymond John (This book is pretty new, but I love how it energizes me and challenged me to look at things through a different lens.)
2. The Fearless Leader: Chris Baron (I had the pleasure of working under Chris Baron's leadership, and I am a better person because of her approach.
3. Good to Great: Jim Collins (I read this book every once in a while to stay on task and remember that I can always do better.)

Good luck~