These are the books that I read (kindle/hardcopy) and listened (Audible and Audiobooks) in 2019.
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change
I was greatly surprised after reading this book that being successful and highly effective is really not a rocket-science but paying attention to very fundamental things that we already know like being aware, being open and flexible, listen and understand others, etc. If you always wonder what successful people do differently or what all successful people have in common? This book is your answer.
Rich Dad Poor Dad: What The Rich Teach Their Kids About Money – That The Poor And Middle Class Do Not! by Robert T. Kiyosaki
This book covers a great deal about some very essential but important things and ways you should watch your money not to waste but invest. Rober explains the very basics of financial well being and a few good habits and practices to put your money to work to make more money. The book is a perfect gift, especially for the young generations and kids.
Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose by Tony Hsieh
I truly enjoyed the journey of this Asian dude Tony H and Zappos. Tony reminds me of Elon Musk. His childhood adventures on enterprise and then his passion for creating a unique “Company Culture” and obsession for a great “Customer Services”. The roller coaster ride of his person and professional life and the way he dealt with them is truly inspiring.
Hit Refresh: The Quest to Rediscover Microsoft’s Soul and Imagine a Better Future for Everyone by Satya Nadella, Greg Shaw, Jill Tracie Nichols
From the love of cricket to a deep empathy for customers, he is certainly one of the most interesting and inspiring leaders to watch and learn. Since he has taken a charge as CEO of the world’s largest and biggest tech giant – Microsoft, how he leads and aligns the company’s vision and culture is a great read for every CEO and aspiring leader. I witnessed some great leadership qualities from Satya’s personal and professional life.
Nikola Tesla: Imagination and the Man That Invented the 20th Century by Sean Patrick
Mr. Tesla – The legend with marvelous and magical innovation in electricity and wireless power. The book has a very interesting angle on the power of imagination and dreams. It showcases how Mr. Tesla and other genius are audacious enough to dream a world that doesn’t existing and hard to believe until it becomes a reality.
This is Marketing: You Can’t Be Seen Until You Learn To See by Seth Godin
Seth Godin is the legend and Marketing Guru. I am a huge fan of his blog already but when this book came out, I couldn’t wait. He has done a pretty good job challenging the old-school marketing practices and put forward the true marketing practices where your customer is the hero, not your product or brand. His book is truly a myth-buster of several marketing concepts and practices. A must-read for everyone who cares about marketing and branding.
Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead: What Every Business Can Learn from the Most Iconic Band in History by David Meerman Scott, Brian Halligan
I found out about this book when Brian Halligan – CEO of HubSpot made mention of this book at his key-note during Saastr Conference. The book is a case study of marketing strategies that Grateful Dead (an Iconic music band) experimented with. They tried new bold but very well thought marketing ideas and were very successful with them.
Inner Engineering: A Yogi’s Guide to Joy by Sadhguru
On my constant quest to seek inner peace, I picked up this book to explore the mysterious and mystical inner-world. The book takes you deep inside your brain and body. I am fond of listening and watching Sadhguru as he truely mastered the art to explain the complex concepts in a very simple way. The book has the same style and tone to take you on a journey to Joy by exploring through physical, spiritual and mental dimensions.
Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson, Kenneth H. Blanchard
This tiny little book is a must-read for everyone. One of the smallest books with a very powerful message on dealing with the change and crisis. With it’s comic and creative storytelling, the book perfectly pitches to embrace the change in our personal and professional life, it also explains the right and wrong reactions to those changes.
The 5 AM Club: Own Your Morning. Elevate Your Life by Robin S. Sharma
I have been saving the best for the end. If I have to pick and read only one book from 2019 it would be “The 5 AM Club”. Robin Sharma has always been my favorite inspiring author and speaker. The book takes you to places like Mauritius and India with four main characters – an entrepreneur, an artist, a billionaire, and a Spellbinder. With Robin’s exceptional art of storytelling, it serves a great knowledge and inspirational guide on achieving great results by mastering your routine to start at 5am. The book also has an amazing collection of wisdom thoughts and quotes (that I’m planning to publish in other blog posts).
If you have any other feedback for these books or questions, feel free to share them here in a comment. Also, here is my 2018 book read list and reviews.
P.S. Check out my list of favorite gadgets and tools of 2019.