The Purposeful Library

Books Referenced:

There are too many to list here. This is an article about reading, and I promise to share as many links below as I can.

Leaders are readers.

Learners are earners.

Maybe there are more clichés but suffice to say knowledge is power.

(Well, knowledge + action is power… but that is for another article.)

The fact is knowledge is crucial for our own growth and development.

When you stop learning, you stop growing.

But aside from growing, as humans, we should just know some things…

• How to mix colors from the primaries.
• A general history about a part of the world other than our own.
• How many horcruxes Voldemort made (IYKYK).

There are more, of course, but you get the picture.

Knowledge makes life a bit more fun. Conversations are deeper. You can connect with most anyone. And you are great at avoiding getting duped by marketing scams.

But here is the real kicker: The improvement and trajectory of your life is based on two things, your actions and your ability to learn.

This is not an article about action.

This is about learning. More specifically, this is about learning from books.

When we read, we consume years of research, experience, and intentional thinking in just a few hours.

If we lived in the Matrix, we could just plug the metal spike in our brains and download what we want. Alas, we are in the real world.

Reading is a reliable way to download new software into our brains. While reading does not install that software, it does make it ready for application.

In this article, I am going to share with you some books which have changed my thinking, leveled up my performance, made me a better leader, and were just plain awesome.

Let’s dig in.

150 Well Chosen Books

First, let’s just acknowledge a few things about reading.

There are a bajillion books out there. Everyone has different tastes so some of my recommendations my not jive with you. But hopefully there is enough here to make an impact.

When considering which books to share with you, I was reminded of a quote from the Abbe Farria in Alexandre Dumas’ classic, The Count of Monte Cristo.

If you have not read it, or watched the movie, it is a revenge story where a man (Dantes) gets framed, goes to prison, learns from a wise man (Abbe Faria), escapes prison, and then exacts his revenge. The book was written in 1844.

There is a scene in the book where the Abbe is telling Dantes about his extensive library he used to have before being in prison. He tells Dantes,

“I had nearly five thousand volumes in my library at Rome; but after reading them over many times, I found out that with one hundred and fifty well-chosen books, a man possesses, if not a complete summary of all human knowledge, at least all that a man need really know.”

He goes on to share that he devoted 3 years of his life to reading and studying these 150 books.

Boom.

I love this.

You don’t need an extensive library. You need a targeted library. A purposeful library.

It is ok to have, or to want, a ton of books… But it is worth considering that everything you need is locked in 150 core books. The rest of your growth relies on action, reflection, and course correction.

The concept of 150 books is important because many books are derivative. Few are seminal works. If you can read the one most impactful book on a topic, then you will have a good grasp on the subject. I mean, why read 3 books on habits when 1 will enough?

Let’s talk more about topics.

My work spans across 3 areas of development:

• Leadership
• Personal
• Performance

All three of these topics can help you achieve more. First, you may not be a leader of others, but you are a leader of yourself and a leader of your family. So, leadership books apply to you as well.

Personal development is all about personal skills, mindset, self-awareness, etc. to help you live with more happiness, impact, and influence.

Performance development is about the skills and systems of taking action. It is like applied personal development.

With these topics in mind, I would like to share a few books that (in my opinion) belong in the 150 books of your personal library.

Before reading further

There is one book you should read that does not fit into the categories below.

How to Read a Book by Mortimer Adler & Charles Van Doren

I know it is a silly title, but this book is awesome. For anyone who enjoys reading, and especially loves reading for learning’s sake, this book provides outstanding strategic guidance on reading. After consuming this, you will never read a book the same way again.

Leadership books

These books will help you be a better leader, for yourself and others.

Leadership - James MacGregor Burns

I love this book. Here is a quick blurb from Amazon: “Burns's pioneering study, introduces the highly influential theory of ‘transformational leadership,’ stating that the best leaders are those who inspire others to come together toward the achievement of higher aims. Featuring fascinating case studies drawn from history, Leadership is the classic text for anyone seeking to understand executive decision-making, the dynamics of influence, and moral leadership. Transformational leadership has applicability in so many different places. This book deserves a spot on your shelf.

The Leadership challenge - James Kouzes & Barry Posner

While the book “Leadership” is a deeper read, this one is a great summary to the practice and serves as a blueprint for leadership development. As of today, it has been through 7 editions and is one I constantly revisit when helping leaders level up their skills.

Extreme Ownership - Jocko Willink & Leif Babin

This is a leadership manual from a different perspective… from 2 ex-Navy Seal commanders. The theme of the book is reflected in its title, but the authors do an amazing job connecting solid leadership practices with their compact leadership experience. They have a follow up book to this called The Dichotomy of Leadership, as well. It is another great read. If you are looking for a tactical approach to leadership, these are the books for you.

Emotional Intelligence - Daniel Goleman

This book changed how we view intelligence. We tend to glorify intellectual intelligence, but it turns out that intelligence of emotions is a better predictor of success. This book outlines how EQ works and how to develop our capacity for it. As a leader, we work with emotions (our own and of other people). This book is a must read and supports us in every avenue where we manage relationships.

Crucial Conversations - Joseph Grenny et al.

Words are tools of communication, but there is more to communication than words alone. And a lot of conflicts arise from poor communication… some of that comes from words and some of that comes from non-verbal signals. This book covers a bit of everything on the communication front and focuses on how to handle difficult conversations. The info in this book will help anyone level up their communication.

Effective leaders know how to communicate, address conflict, and leverage conversations for more impact. This book will help you understand the intricacies of conversations and how to improve your communication skills.

There are many more books I could add to this list, but the above 5 are ones I return to often.

Now that we have covered the leadership side, let’s move into the personal development world.

Personal Development

There are too many books here to list. However, there are a few staples for anyone looking to level up their personal game.

Mindset - Carol Dweck

There was a period of time around 2010 when every new personal-development book I read referenced Carol Dweck and her work on the growth mindset. This book covers the growth and fixed mindsets, how to cultivate it in yourself and others, and how to recognize which mindset you have. Spoiler alert, you may have a growth mindset in one area of life but a fixed mindset in another area. This book changed the popular culture around “everyone gets a trophy” to “everyone should be praised according to their effort.”

Read this book.

How to Win Friends and Influence People - Dale Carnegie

I mean, have you heard of this book yet? It is on every list of self-help and personal improvement books. It is a classic and for good reason. The lessons in this book not only teach you how to be a better communicator (so you can win friends and influence people), but it makes you take a look in the mirror and recognize areas where you can change for the better.

Psycho-Cybernetics - Maxwell Maltz

What happens when you change someone’s face with plastic surgery? Well, one doctor found that some people were entirely changed for the better. Others, however, were lame before surgery and just as lame afterwards. How is this possible? Well, one plastic surgeon set out to discover why. In doing so, he created a body of work around the concept of “self-image.” Even though this book is almost 65 years old, the information is just as relevant today as it will ever be.

No More Mr. Nice Guy - Dr. Robert Glover

Nice guys finish last. Do you know why? They are passive aggressive. I am a recovering nice guy, and this book helped me understand the difference between “nice” and “kind.” And the difference is immense. I recommend this book to any person who feels they have to be nice to get when they desire. This book is not about being rude. It is actually about understanding where we make personal sacrifices with the false belief it will help us get what we want. It is an empowering read providing insights into our own psychology and motivations.

The Power of TED - David Emerald

Want to know about a mindset that will crush you and prevent you from achieving anything? It is called the victim mindset. This book helps us understand how a victim mindset presents itself and how to flip it on its head. While it is great for personal development, it is also a book that helps us show up as effective humans in all relationships. The victim mindset keeps us stuck. The empowerment dynamic is where it’s at.

As noted in the leadership section, there are a TON of books that could go here. These 5 or ones I return to often.

But learning about concepts won’t help you. Action is where the rubber meets the road. This is why we need to learn to take action and do so consistently over time.

For this we need performance development.

Performance Development

We do not rise to our goals. We fall to our systems. This quote is an apt way to start my first recommendation, because it was stated by James Clear, the author of the first book:

Atomic Habits - James Clear

This is not a seminal work on habit building. However, Clear does an AMAZING job summarizing and bringing together the worlds of habits, identity, behavior change, and achievement. If I had one book to read on habit change for the rest of my life, this book would be it.

High-Performance Habits - Brendon Burchard

Whereas Atomic Habit is all about behavior change, High-Performance Habits is all about the behaviors of high performing individuals. Brendon Burchard is a big name in personal development and performance coaching and his lessons are well described in this book. There are 6 core actions from high-performers, and you can learn them too.

Flow - Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

First, his name is pronounced MEE-Hai Chick-SENT-mee-hai. This book is also about high performance. But where Burchard talks about performance over time, Csikszentmihalyi discusses performance in the moment. Flow state is also known as being “in the zone,” and the author’s research has been referenced in countless other papers and books. He is the go-to expert on flow state and acute performance.

Deep Work - Cal Newport

Where would we be without focus? In a world full of distractions, Newport comes through with a clear and resounding message empowering us to create time for focus and deep work. No one ever invented anything awesome while multitasking. This book will help you rethink how to structure your day to get more impactful work done.

Crush it - Gary Vaynerchuck

For me, this book is all about motivation. Gary Vee lays is out there sharing how our dreams will not build themselves. We must go out and crush it. Gary’s energy comes through on each page… even better if you get it on audiobook. Prepare to feel motivation surging while reading this!

What About Fiction?

This will be a fun topic to cover in another article.

The Wrap Up

The more you read, the more you learn. With more information you can create more opportunities for experimentation and turn the info into real knowledge.

And you don’t have to read every book out there.

150 well chose books is enough to know “… at least all that a man need really know.”

The 17 books referenced above will cover enough ground in leadership, personal development, and performance to keep you crushing it for awhile.

So get reading…

and please let me know some of your favorite books!

Go crush it!

Clark