You are here: Home / Sandra's Blog / 10 Books Which Made a Difference to My 2011

10 Books Which Made a Difference to My 2011

By 11 Comments
Pin It

Sandy ReadingEver since I was young, I’ve been a reader. Reading was, and still can be, my escape into another world.

While I average about “totally for fun” book a week, I also read 1-2 business-related books — whether true business management, leadership, systems, mindset, wealth, marketing, social media. . .in some way, it’s related to business.

Last year I read 72 business books. Today I’m sharing the Top 10 which either inspired specific actions, motivated or just plain had an impact on me.

Thanks to Anita Kirkman of www.VisionInPurpose.com who suggested this post which required me to think back and take a good look at what still remains on my bookshelves (after a thorough office purge and reorg) and how those books affected me and/or my business.

Here they are (in no particular order):

  1. The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
  2. Be Unreasonable by Paul Lemberg
  3. No BS Time Management for Entrepreneurs by Dan Kennedy (read annually)
  4. Ignore Everybody and 39 Other Keys to Creativity by Hugh MacLeod
  5. The Amazing Power of Deliberate Intent by Esther and Jerry Hicks
  6. Small Giants: Companies That Choose to be Great Instead of Big by Bo Burlingham
  7. The Thank You Economy by Gary Vaynerchuk
  8. The Simple Abundance Daybook of Comfort and Joy by Sarah Ban Breathnach
  9. Unthinking by Harry Beckwith
  10. Fame 101 by Jay Jessup and Maggie Jessup

Whether you choose to read (paper or electronic), listen to audios or attend out-of-your-niche industry events, be sure to constantly access new ideas.  You never know where the next great one will come from.

After all, the idea of a restaurant drive through was inspired from someone using it at a bank and transferring it to their industry.

What can you learn and transfer in 2012?

What was your favorite book(s) from 2011?  Will you share with us below?

 

Pin It

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Related posts:

  1. Services vs Products: The Marketing Difference
  2. Business Mistakes Made, Lessons Learned
  3. 5 Things Which Make the Difference Between a Hobby and a Business
You're welcome to use this article on your website, blog or in your ezine if you include this entire blurb, without modification: If you liked this article, you'll want to hop on over to www.SandraMartini.com for more comprehensive business building and marketing strategies, articles and resources. Sandra Martini, a Small Business Mentor, founder of Escalator Marketing™ and creator of the Escalator Profits Program™, teaches small business owners and entrepreneurs how to build sustainable businesses without losing their integrity or their minds.
Filed Under: Sandra's Blog, Self Improvement, What I'm Reading Tagged With: , ,
  • Maureen

    Thanks Sandy, Those are some great suggestions and it is always wonderful to find avid readers. In my training classes I often find people have given up on reading because they are exhausted from reading email all day.  They don’t know what they are missing by not  feeding their minds with new ideas.

    • http://www.SandraMartini.com/blog Sandra Martini, Biz Mentor

      Hi Maureen,

      Thanks so much for your note!  I couldn’t agree more.  Reading has become a chore rather than a pleasure to many.

      It’s always exciting to find those who still relish in escaping and learning with books.  I can’t begin to count the number of ideas I’ve gotten from reading.

      Thanks for stopping by and commenting!

      Sandy :-)

  • Sue

    I just went to Amazon, Sandy, and purchased two of your recommendations that I had not read last year.

    My two favorites for 2011 were:
    1) “Launch: How to Quickly Propel Your Business Beyond the Competition” by Michael A. Stelzner
    2) I took a writing virtual retreat day with Susan Daffron and then bought her book:”Publishize: How to Quickly and Affordably Self-Publish a Book That Promotes Your Expertise”. This book helped me publish my own book to Kindle last week.

    • http://www.SandraMartini.com/blog Sandra Martini, Biz Mentor

      Hi Sue,

      Congratulations on publishing to Kindle and thanks so much for the recommendations!  I just hopped over to Amazon and picked them up (LOVE Amazon Prime!), they’ll be here for the weekend. :-)

      Which two did you pick up?

      Enjoy!

      With abundance,

      Sandy :-)

      • Sue

        First of all, LOVE Amazon Prime. Laurie Foley told me recently that there is a great show on the streaming video called Downton Abbey – I’m going to check it out this weekend.

        I bought No B.S. Time Management (and read 1/2 of it last night on my Kindle!) and “Ignore Everybody”. The time management book is great and I’m looking forward to receiving the “real”book through Prime of Hugh MacLeod.

        Happy reading!
        Sue

        • http://www.SandraMartini.com/blog Sandra Martini, Biz Mentor

          Gotta love No BS Time Management — I love Dan’s No BS books for quick reads and always pick up at least one idea to implement immediately.

          Beware when reading “Ignore Everybody” — he’s comfortable using “foul” language.

          Enjoy!

          Sandy :-)

          • Sue

            Hi, Sandy, I’ll be careful! Also picked up on my Kindle to start reading last night “The War of Art”. Love it – so true about everything he talk about when it comes to Resistance.

  • http://www.cherylcope.com Cheryl Cope

    Could you please elaborate and tell us why each one made a difference in your life—specifically how did it help you?—what idea did you implement into your life and how did that change your life?

    • http://www.SandraMartini.com/blog Sandra Martini, Biz Mentor

      Hi Cheryl,

      Whew! That’s a big request…I took several ideas from the different books and some of them inspired other actions (or non-actions) in my life and/or business.

      I think everyone who reads will receive the message that’s right for them at the time (part of why I read some books annually — I get something new each time).

      Thanks for commenting and enjoy!

      With abundance,

      Sandy :-)

      • http://www.cherylcope.com/ Cheryl Cope

        I was hoping for a little bit on each book but I suppose that would be a lot of work for you. The reason why you like each one may be totally irrelevant to me. At any rate, thanks for the post!

  • Toni V. Martin

    My favorite was “The Millionaire Messenger” by Brendon Burchard. It was more marketing research for me, as a ghostwriter and publishing consultant. He did an excellent job of educating his audience on why sharing their message is important, gave a little bit of the how, and seeded his content with offers and upsells in a non-sleazy way. It set the standard of how a lead-generating book should be done. Great list and post Sandy!