Books That Blow Your Mind

As I sit here idly in my chair tapping away on my gently humming laptop, I'm looking

around to see my bookcases are positively brimming! Full with everything from airport novel throwaway rubbish to marketing classics via profound spiritual tomes.

Sure, there's some seriously awful trash on there…"Thinner" by Stephen King - what a stinker.

But trashy novels can also be great, check out "Hunted Past Reason" by Richard Matheson - a novel that lives up to the term "breathlessly exciting".

Then we have spiritual enlightenment in a breezy, easy read style thanks to The Barefoot Doctor and Stuart Wilde (his "The Trick To Money Is Having Some" is surely a must read for every aspiring entrepreneur.) along with the deeper stuff Sanaya Roman's Spiritual Growth and Thoreau's Walden or Life In The Woods (not exactly a self-help book but mind-expanding nonetheless)

Then we have my movie books (I'm a film addict) Taschen's deluxe and weighty encyclopedias for each decade of movie-going are shiny, doorstops that I love to flick through now and again.

But we're marketers, business men and women, entrepreneurs here, so what are the best books I've read so far that had a positive impact on my income?

1) The Adweek Copywriting Handbook - Joseph Sugarman. If you're selling anything on the net you have to learn how to write copy and this is as good a guide as any. Sugarman's wise yet breezy tone can turn even the most hopeless writer into a copy superstar.

2) Maximum Achievement - Brian Tracy. Fact is, there are going to be times when you feel like you've hit a brick wall and maybe, just maybe, you're not cut out to run your own business. Books like this can help you through those stages. Not least because Mr Tracy actually comes up with an exact formula and specific thought processes to become successful at anything. Mind blowing stuff!

3) Made To Stick - Chip and Dan Heath. Explains why some ideas are "sticky" and others not. This book can really help when coming up with a concept for a new product

4) Hypnotic Writing - Joe Vitale. Ok, another copy book but you can zoom through this in a couple of hours it's such a fun read. Also great if you want to become a pro blogger.

5) Ready, Fire, Aim - Michael Masterson. Just finished this one and I highly recommend it. You'll be left in doubt what your overall aim should be with your business i.e. creating your own legion of products. Masterson literally walks you through building a $100 million business. Essential stuff.

A little overrated?

I could go on raving about another 20 or 30 books but here's a couple I was a little disappointed in…

1) The 4 Hour Work Week - Tim Ferris. In a nutshell…outsource everything. Some great ideas but a bit lightweight, perhaps it was just overhyped.

2) The Robert Collier Letter Book - Robert Collier. Sure, a great book on copy, if you live in the 1930's. Maybe I'm being a bit mean, some of the stuff in here is timeless…it's just a little dry for my tastes these days. I'd much rather pick up a Sugarman or a Dan Kennedy and reap the same rewards.

I hope that's given you some ideas for late summer reading, please let me know below if you've got any recommendations…

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