60 Books Like Napoleon Hill's Golden Rules

This book completely changed how I think about communicating with my audience. Donald’s framework for clarifying your message is simple yet incredibly powerful. It taught me how to position the customer as the hero of the story and clarified my role as their guide—a mindset shift that has made my writing and marketing (and my strategic advice) so much more effective.

I love this book's interactivity, especially the inclusion of a StoryBrand template, which I completed as I read through it the second time. 

The author talks about how emotions are often the source of our illnesses, how emotionally induced illnesses wreak havoc on our body, and shows the reader that the path to health and good living is by developing emotional maturity. Maturity creates emotional stasis. That stasis is the base for a healthy life. Then, he teaches you what attitudes are essential to achieve that much needed balance.

I’ve never found a book that lays out the whole-life approach to success as well as this book.

I was particularly impressed by the emphasis on things like marriage and masterminds—the impact those have on our success in life is often overlooked. It gave me a solid framework to look at my own life and see what areas I needed to focus on more, and I consider this book a big part of my success in life.

This was the first book that piqued my interest in human dynamics and relationships. Steven’s seven habits ask us to examine our patterns of interaction with others and consider how we can think and act differently in our work. Steven’s approach opened my eyes to some bad habits I had, while also inspiring me to learn more.

Along with a few business dilemmas and dramas, this book set me on a path of inquiry about humans, relationships, work ethics, and the power of words and conversations. 

Rich Dad Poor Dad is the book that changed the trajectory of my life forever.

It is a parable that explains the difference between the traditional way of thinking “Go to school, get a good job, work hard, retire” with the entrepreneur mentality, and the concepts of utilizing passive income to replace your job at an earlier age.

I love this book because it takes the normally boring subject of finance and investing and breaks it down in a fun and easy way to learn so that you will actually finish the book and have the ability to experience that light-switch moment! 

Without a doubt this is the most commonly mentioned book that I hear referenced on podcasts as “the book that started it all”.

I have always liked The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. When I went to Cuba, I was able to go to Cojimar, the fishing village that was Hemingway's inspiration for this novel. Many historic things in Cuba, including the village of Cojimar, have been relatively closed off to the outside world in a perpetual time capsule like state.

Ernest Hemingway lived for a lengthy period of time in Cuba. He kept his boat, The Pilar, moored in Cojimar Bay. The local village tavern, La Terraza is referred to in The Old Man and the Sea as "The Terrace." Hemingway bonded and became friends with the fishermen in Cojimar. Even though many years have passed since Hemingway wrote this novel, not much has changed over time in Cojimar. It is still very much like the setting described in The Old Man and the Sea.

Hemingway received the 1954… show more.

By now, you might have noticed a theme: if I don’t enjoy reading a book, I don’t trudge through it for the deep insights or how-to information. The storytelling needs to be as strong as the concepts are useful.

Just like The Copy Workshop Workbook, I read an earlier edition of this book when I was just starting out – and it formed the basis for some of my thinking around how to influence – i.e., persuade – consumers and the role psychology and behavioral economics play in crafting effective marketing and brand development programs.

I also recommend this book if you are a consumer, too (who isn’t), because it will help keep you from falling into many of the traps that Cialdini identified.

Another book on money. I couldn’t have survived the leaner times as an actor without the lessons in this book about how important saving money is. It seems logical, but most people don’t do it or don’t do it correctly.

This book helped me to further increase my financial acumen. What happens to a successful actor who knows little about money? He loses his house and his car and loses out on great opportunities. I vowed never to be that type of actor. I vowed to be the entrepreneur that I know I am.

I first read this book as required reading for a college course, and it greatly changed how I thought about investing.

Over the years, I’ve read updated editions, and it never gets stale and always includes new information and insights. But the foundational issues have stood the test of time and remain in the newest edition.

I also love this book because it introduced me at a young age to mutual funds and Vanguard.

America is a fantastic country that has offered more opportunities to change one’s economic status than any other country. That being said, few understand why this has even been made possible by the Free Enterprise System and how it is at risk by careless policies, flippant politicians, and complacent citizens within their communities.

I no longer wanted to be a part of that group of people and figured who better to learn about economics than Milton Freidman. While this book is dense with information, the economic principles are articulated in such a straightforward fashion that even a college dropout like me can understand and apply them.