Tell me what you read… I’ll tell you who you are! I’ve been wanting to write down this curated list of books that most influenced my personal philosophy for quite some time now. I’m sharing it here because I think all those books are REALLY worth reading. What are the books that have influenced you the most? --------------------------- 1. Peter Drucker, “Managing Oneself” I found Drucker by coincidence in a bookstore at the Hong Kong International Airport, in 2006… and he helped me understand myself in ways I didn’t expect. Drucker is the man who coined the term “Knowledge Worker”… back in the days. He is also one of the most influential management gurus of all time. In this famous HBR article, Drucker explains the implication of being a knowledge worker. Everybody who works with his head should read this. 2. Tom Rath, “Strengths Finder 2.0” This book taught me two very important things and (since 2008) has deeply changed the way I work with people. First, find and focus on your strengths because this is where you bring the most value. Second, learn to work with people who have strengths in areas that complement yours. Everybody who has worked under my supervision has read the book and done the “strengths finder” online test; and I’ve shared it to many more. I’ve probably bought and given out over 20 copies to date. 3. Darren Hardy, “The Compound Effect” I consider Darren Hardy one of my mentors. But this book is the one that changed (saved) my life, when I had hit an all-time low (in 2011-2012). Coming out of depression, I couldn’t imagine I would ever have the same passion and energy as I had before. Darren provided me not only with a better understanding of how life works (himself drawing much on Jim Rohn’s teachings); but also with practical tools to get my life back on stronger and faster tracks. This is another book I’ve bought and shared a lot; one time I even got bulk purchase price by getting 25 copies. 4. Napoleon Hill & Clement Stone, “Success through a Positive Mental Attitude” Following an interview with Andrew Carnegie in 1908, Hill was commissioned to interview over 500 successful millionaires and entrepreneurs; he also interviewed hundreds of unsuccessful people. The philosophy of personal achievement he later developed is profound. I could write at length about Hill’s “Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve”. The starting point is that each of us has complete control over only one single thing in our life: our attitude. 5. John Maxwell, “How Successful People Lead” Before reading Maxwell, I had no effective framework guiding how I support people’s and organization’s development. Yet, this is very key to my work! (in development cooperation); and, I believe this is also vital to achieving whatever goals “larger than yourself” that you seek in life. Maxwell’s 5 levels of leadership is a powerful philosophy: position, permission, production, people development, pinnacle. 6. Carmine Gallo, “Talk Like TED” How can one tell compelling stories and influence people? Carmine Gallo made his career a few years ago by studying the way Steve Jobs does/did it (with all the Apple products launches). In this book, Gallo presents the results of his study of the best (most popular) speakers at “TED Talk” conferences. This is not only very insightful because of what he says in the book; it’s also a roadmap to watch the best talks available at ted! Since I’ve read Gallo (and watched tens of TED Talks)… my communication skills have improved tremendously. 7. Robert Kiyosaki, “The Business of the 21st Century” We’ve all spent too much time in school, being brain-washed about getting a (ideally, good) job. Many of us think that buying a house is an investment, where it’s not! And… in the end… we’re all playing the mousetrap survival game that society is. Kiyosaki doesn’t make for the most interesting read. His blunt way of talking about being rich can be shocking. But his insights on personal finance are much needed!, and probably now more than ever. 8. Robin Sharma, “The Leader Who Had No Title” I was introduced to Robin Sharma by a good friend (Matthew Cragg). The title of the book says it all, but the book tells an interesting story. Sharma’s philosophy has much in common with (his good friend) Darren Hardy and with John Maxwell. I mention Sharma here because he’s a very passionate, productive and inspiring personal development coach… who shares tons of stuff and videos for free on the web! 9. Carlos Castaneda, “A Separate Reality” & “Journey to Ixtlan” Several years before reading Napoleon Hill (and understanding that each of us is a prisoner of his own mind), Castaneda opened my mind to the fact that the world is much more than what we think it is. He also introduced me to aboriginal knowledge. Too bad his stories are all fiction! Yet, the legacy of following “the warrior’s way” somehow still lives in me. Similarly, Dan Millman’s “Peaceful Warrior” helped shaped my views and approach about self-discipline and life’s potential. 10. Vincent Lemieux, “L’étude des politiques publiques: Les acteurs et leur pouvoir” Is this list all books about personal development? Haven’t I read anything useful over the decade I spent at the university? Well… there is this one little known book from a professor at Université Laval, where I studied Political Science. I didn’t even follow a class from that professor! Actually… I got the book only in 2002 (when it was published), while researching conceptual frameworks for my master thesis. This provided me a practical framework to understand political power and administrative/social reforms. 11. Donald Trump, “The Art of the Deal” I studied in urban planning and work in urban development. I also personally invest in real estate. Here’s the perspective of a man who built an empire from scratch. You don’t need to share his views and his values; seeing the world from his point of view helps paint the whole picture. Plus, there’s something to learn about his passion and commitment. The bottom line of any learning is to take responsibility for what we do. 12. Richard Bach, “Jonathan Livingston Seagull” As Wikipedia says it, this book “is a fable in novella form about a seagull learning about life and flight, and a homily about self-perfection”. My mom (Pauline Gagnon) read us the book when we were young. This is my mind’s first imprint…
Posted on: Mon, 15 Sep 2014 00:52:22 +0000