How do I leave my day job? Can you read?

This post is part 5 in a series of ‘How do I leave my day job?’. The first 4 posts are linked below in the ‘Also Read’ section.

I think my weekly consumption of business books is about 1 currently.

Thats a bit slack as I was up to 3 at one stage but this blog has taken up some of my time.

One of the most effective ways to help you succeed in business is to read about other entrepreneurs adventures.

I have learned quite a bit about the ups and downs of running your own business and I am proud to say that some of the stuff I read stuck and saved me from a few major issues.

What I also find interesting is that overtime I have new favorite authors as I find some authors are leading me down the wrong path.

For example one of the most eye-opening books I have read of late is ‘Wrong: Why experts keep failing us–and how to know when not to trust them‘ – its not a ‘business’ book but what it did teach me is that 99% of the official data you see is either manipulated to make us think in a certain way or just plain wrong not only in business but other sectors. Most of the ‘experts’ paraded on TV are not experts they either put their hand up or paid to be on the show. The book provides countless examples of ‘experts’ proven as fakes and whats amazing is that you can source the proof yourself.

Another book that has had  a profound effect on me is ‘Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking‘. If you are an introvert or deal with introverts get this book. If you are an introvert it will make you feel a million bucks after you read it. I wrote a post directly inspired by this book – here

And the other book that I highly recommend is ‘The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Business Don’t Work and What to Do about It’. The book shows you the importance of systems and process within your business. You need to read this book if you are a small business owner.

The other classics such as ‘Good to Great’, ‘The Tipping Point’, ‘Built to Last’ and ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People’ (and many others) don’t really give me that much, just some helpful hints. They all talk about how someone else became successful or how you should think, which is not what you should be trying to do first. The first thing is to find out how you tick – for example don’t try and be an extrovert when you are clearly an introvert – it won’t work. Plus with a lot of these books they are framing their advice within an environment that does not exist anymore – we are in a major recession and this has a massive impact on our business.

So before reading the classics look for books that help define who you are then you can go on and read about how other people became successful and see what you can take from their experiences and mould it to suit your personality.