Reading is not only one of my favorite hobbies, but it’s also one of my top keys to success as an independent advisor. As a lifelong learner, I find I gain the most knowledge, wisdom, and insights out of reading books and I make sure to reserve time each day to devote to this practice. In 2018, I hit my goal of reading 40 books. This may sound like a lot to those of you who don’t read a lot, but it’s easily do-able when you commit yourself to an hour of reading a day. While some of the books I read pertain specifically to our industry, many more of them are about success or life in general. I find that reading on a broad range of topics is the best way to spur new ideas and ignite imagination! Today I want to share with you my five favorites in the hopes that you might grab one of them and that it will improve your practice as well.
Five of My Most Highly Recommended Books
Searching for and Maintaining Peace: A Small Treatise on Peace of Heart by Father Jacques Phillippe
I’m a spiritual guy, so this book really resonated with me. It lays out tips on overcoming fear and placing confidence in God and has a lot of great real-life examples that are easy to relate to. If you find that you often get overwhelmed by negativity in the world and are stressed out a lot of the time, this book can help you rely on faith to find more peace and serenity.
The Power of a Praying Husband by Stormie Omartian
I love The Power of Praying series by this author and this one has got to be near the top of the list. When you invite God into your life and your marriage, you can develop more intimacy and be your wife’s champion and biggest supporter. I love the comments from well-known men who use tips from this book as well as the prayer ideas. This is an easy read that leaves you feeling better about your spouse and about the institution of marriage.
Pre-Suasion: A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade by Robert Cialdini
We all have to use a little persuasion in our financial planning business and there’s nothing underhanded or immoral about it. Persuading your clients, referral partners, or colleagues to hear and understand your point of view is all part of being a businessperson and knowing how to do it effectively can make a big difference in your level of success. This excellent book argues that it’s the key moment before you deliver your persuasive message that really matters as it changes the listener’s state of mind so he is then primed to change his mind about the issue at hand.
Do you have 2019 planned out with yearly goals? If so, you may have fallen into the trap of ‘annualized thinking’. When you instead think of your year in 12-week cycles, you feel more of a sense of urgency and it can really hone your focus and creativity. This book is good not only for professional goals, but for personal ones as well. There are lots of great strategies discussed and I believe implementing them can really speed up your success.
Seeking Wisdom: From Darwin to Munger by Peter Bevelin
This author’s journey to find deeper wisdom is fascinating to read about, especially because he focuses a lot on learning from his personal mistakes and the mistakes of others. Those of us in the financial industry will love his observations on Charlie Munger, though he certainly does not limit himself to experts from just this field. Bevelin shows how figuring out the road to unhappiness can help us avoid further mistakes and improve not only our thinking but also the direction our journey takes. This is a thought and life-changing book and my absolute favorite of the year.
So there they are! My favorite books I read in 2018 and that I highly recommend to those I work with. Have you read any of these books or others that you believe had a big impact on your life? I’d love to hear about it! Leave your comments below.