How reading books changed my life
Howdy. We're over the hump for 2021 and we're quickly headed toward the end of the year. I wanted to discuss the importance of books and how they drastically changed my life. I truly believe that books are a way to continually grow and improve yourself. Now I understand that a lot of self-proclaimed gurus are trying to push their latest book or product, however, I am talking about books that will significantly change your life and the way you view things. As this blog is primarily focused on investing and personal finance, I will talk about some of the key books that seriously changed my life and why. I will also take a look at my experiences with discussing books with people I've met.
People are interesting
I've had a number of discussions in the past few years with regard to money or personal finance. I've found that my conversations naturally gravitate toward personal finance or FIRE. People are surprisingly open to the idea of discussing personal finance. The conversation usually interests people and they tend to open up about their thoughts on the subject quite easily. I've had quite the smorgasbord of conversations. From defending my position on why I won't invest in Bitcoin to why I believe most people can become millionaires.
Every conversation has a very interesting and unique dynamic. Having been involved in the personal finance and investing space for the past 3 years, I definitely won't call myself an expert but I am humbly confident in what I am doing. So I can rather quickly sense where the person I am talking to is in their journey. Some people have heard about investing and it seems interesting to them. Others have dipped their toes in and they have a few hundred dollars in some company they've heard about from a friend. Almost every time I am asked the same question "Hey what are you invested in?" I answer this question the exact same way. "I can tell you what I am invested in but I would start by understanding why I am invested in something"
I'm quoting myself now, am I famous? Aside from sounding philosophical, I respond this way because I want to lead the person toward my follow-up question, which is "have you read about investing?" The key difference in investing maturity I've found is that the people who have or who are willing to read are the ones who will usually make significant strides toward personal finance and personal growth. Why is that? To be completely honest with you, I believe that it comes down to doing vs pondering. Some people are serious enough to start doing and stop wondering/thinking about something. The advantages of reading are unbelievable so I am sure I don't need to sell you on the advantages, however, most people won't ever do it consistently. Much like going to the gym or eating healthy.
Growing or dying
A bit drastic for a subheading? Well, maybe but I believe that books and informative blogs/podcasts are a very simple and effective way to ensure that you as a person can grow and become a better version of yourself. Wanting to not sound too crazy, I am merely trying to say that books are important ok. I think books are a cheat code to life. You have access to a person's brain who oftentimes has decades of experience in a field. You can listen to books everywhere now with the likes of Audible and even Blinkest that breaks down the key points in a book so you can decide if you want to invest your time in the full version of the book.
The key point I am trying to communicate is that it is vital to keep reading and equipping yourself with the knowledge to make informed decisions on the important things in life. To give you a practical example that relates to the core of my blog would be this. When the stock market eventually goes down or goes through a 'correction' as such I will be buying more of the things I am invested in, because I am equipped with the knowledge and therefore have the belief that I am doing the right thing for me and my family with regards to investment. I would have never thought like this if I didn't really invest the time and money (monthly audible cost) to learn more about money and personal finance.
Key investing books
Alright, with all the telling you what to do out the way, here are my top 3 personal finance books and my key takeaways from them.
This book is truly a unique experience. The entire premise of the book is the review of a survey done on first-generation millionaires. Boring right? Wrong! I've given this book to a number of people and everyone I've ever given it to say it's one of the best books they have ever read. The book does a good job in breaking down the walls or preconceived ideas that the average person has when it comes to what a millionaire actually looks like. If I could only read a single book for the rest of my life, it would be this one. Do yourself a favor and grab this one.
10/10 must-read.
I love this book as it conveys the laws of money and sage advice through a series of tales from historic tablets found in the remains of Babylon. The advice is more than relevant today. The books sometimes uses some quite formal language, however, the book is told in a story-like tone and is only around 4 hours long. Highly recommend.
The 5 Mistakes every investor makes and how to avoid them
If you are looking for a book that breaks down the fundamentals of investing in a way that doesn't want to make you fall asleep, this is the book for you. The author is a seasoned investor who speaks on investing from a commercial investment broker's viewpoint. He manages to explain things in a way that anyone can understand. The supplementary PDF is extremely useful as it visually shows you some facts about investing that aren't so obvious if you do not know what you are looking for.
If you like the advice here today and want to do something practical to start you with your journey why not sign up to my newsletter? I will email you the workbook I created that will show you to practically get started on your journey. Its completely free. Not only that every 2 weeks I will send you a cool newsletter with some exciting news and projects I am working on.