Books are an essential part of learning. In my opinion, books are the best way to learn. I like to highlight and underline key phrases and thoughts so they are emphasized for me to see later. This allows me to pull the key parts from each book, and put it into a collective summary leaving out the less important details. Reading is a skill and just like everything else the more you practice the better you get. There are a few essential books that have been life-changing for me. I have learned life lessons. financial lessons, mindset lessons, and so much more. Here is my list of my top three essential books that everyone should read:
1. Rich dad Poor Dad
Rich Dad Poor Dad is no doubt one of the most influential books of all time. The principles of this book carry lessons for people of all ages. The backbone is about personal finance and how the rich think about it versus the poor. Growing up, author Robert Kiyosaki had two father figures. His own father was a teacher who lived off of paychecks and got great benefits from his job. His other father figure which happened to be his friend’s dad owned businesses and didn’t rely on a paycheck for income. Robert refers to his rich dad’s way of thinking as “making money work for him”. In his poor dads’ case, Robert states, “he is working for money rather than making money work for him.” These ideas are simple yet extremely profound and eye-opening. People who spend time working for money become a slave to money, while those who have money work for them experience endless freedom. The more assets creating cashflow you have Robert explains, the more freedom you have available to you. In the book, he goes over ways to build up assets and cash flow in essence “having money work for you”. This principle has changed my life, and I am indebted to Robert and his book. This is a great foundational book for those looking to establish new mindsets about life and money. You can purchase this amazing book here: Rich Dad Poor Dad.
2. The four hour workweek
This is probably my personal favorite book of all time. It explains the art of creating assets that allow you to be paid after removing yourself from the forefront. Author Tim Ferriss has done this many times and has created a cashflow empire that allows him to do whatever he wants when he wants. Ferriss does this by creating businesses that are designed to work without him after he sets the framework. He goes over in the book how to do this in detail. He also explains that these businesses, once on their feet should require minimal work from you at all, and this work should be able to be done from anywhere. He explains the importance of hiring virtual assistants to handle your business infrastructure for you. From answering customer inquiries, to making less important decisions, virtual assistants can be used for almost anything. Tim has his assistants set his schedule for him as it pertains to meetings and business-related activities. He never takes a meeting where the goal of the meeting is not predetermined to a narrow scope, and he always makes sure there is a time limit. There is so much can’t miss material in this book. It’s hard to sum it up in a paragraph because there is so much detail and great content. Anyone looking to build off of Robert Kiyosaki’s principle of making money work for you should read this book right after Rich Dad Poor Dad. You can find this book here: The 4 Hour Workweek.
3. The Book on Rental Property Investing: How to Create Wealth with Intelligent Buy and Hold Real Estate Investing
This book takes the principles of the first two mentioned and applies it on an even larger scale. Author Brandon Turner talks about all the ins and outs of real estate investing, how to do it, and the power that it holds. Turner explains the power of cashflow generation from rental properties, and the extreme value a property gains in appreciation over time. This is by far, in Turner’s opinion, the best way to grow wealth. In detail, this book discusses just exactly how and where to select rental properties, how to finance them, and how to manage them correctly and efficiently. Important decisions investors must make are walked through describing the pros and cons of each method. Tools are also introduced including the 1031 exchange that helps roll over smaller properties into bigger ones thereby increasing wealth, and decreasing taxes. You can pick up this valuable book here: The Book on Rental Property Investing.
Conclusion
All of the above books have principles that tie together nicely. Rich Dad Poor Dad is the foundational book that will help you better understand and put into practice the ideas states in the latter two books. Having your money work for you instead of you working for money is such a valuable and timeless piece of advice. This principle can be applied in everyone’s life to create freedom and wealth for yourself you never thought possible. Whether it be real estate, stock market investing, starting your own business, or anything I have not mentioned yet, having your money work for you is the goal. When you take yourself out of the equation for income generation, it gives you the opportunity to do and see what you want without having the alluring pressure of having to work for money. Society purpurates the illusion of a good high paying job with good benefits being the gold standard, but this could not be further from the truth. In reality, these ideas are societal chains that keep you reliant on one thing and one place for all means of life. Only through having money work for you can you unlock true freedom. These books are the stepping stones to achieve such goals. Happy reading and learning!