Top 10 Books in 2018

At the beginning of the year, I set out to read 60 books during 2018. I read something that said the average CEO will read at least 60 books a year. Soo… challenge accepted. Although I’ve lost count of how many books I got through this year, I’m pretty sure that signals that I was at or above 60 books, right? 🙂

In no particular order, these are the top ten books I’ve read this year that I felt made the most impact and aligned with my purpose for the year. Send me a message or comment on this post a book (or books!) you really loved this year and at least one title you want to read in 2019! I want to read more novels this year so I want to start the year off by reading All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr and The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway!

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

Loved this book as it talked how fairly simple it is to win friends and influence people by simple things such as kindness and appreciation. Carnegie gives many examples throughout the book for simple tasks such as just writing a letter or email, and how to get others to say “yes” to you without you trying very hard… Definitely, a must-read for anyone but also those who need a tad bit of help in the area of handling/connecting with other humans 🙂 & I would keep it on the shelf if I were you!

Bonus: 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is a good one as well.

The Promise of a Pencil by Adam Braun

What I do remember is this book being the first one I read at the start of the year. I read it in two days, sitting on the bus during my 90-minute commute to Brickell (don’t miss those days). It was the perfect book to pick up right after graduating college because I was really inspired by Adam Braun and the dedication he had to his purpose in bringing this organization to life and making it as successful as it is! It gave me more perspective on my vision and more driven towards my own goals for the year.

Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki

EXCELLENT READ. I really enjoyed this one because the author literally had two major influences growing up- his real dad (the “poor” dad), and his best friend’s dad (the “rich” dad). Growing up under both influences taught him a lot about life but also about money and investing. This book mainly is his way of giving you perspective about financial literacy and how you can make money work for you. Definitely another bookshelf essential 🙂

In Order to Live by Yeonmi Park

Yeonmi Park is a North Korea defector and now a human rights activist, hoping her book “will shine a light on the darkest place in the world.” Incredible story and page-turner about her life and escape from North Korea. Gives you great insight into the way things actually are in the country, what the people are going through, and just how brainwashed the country makes its own people. She made it through a lot, including hunger, trafficking, separation from her family, and sadly, much more.

The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clayson

Okay, although this book is for anyone and great financial advice for many, let me just @ all my millennial friends real quick. Time to make a change in your finances and if you say you don’t know how or what to do, literally do anything to change that. Start saving cause we’re young y’all and if we start now, you’ll only be better off in the future. This is a short read and basically reminds us to distinguish our wants from our needs by using the 7 simple rules of money- but you’re gonna have to read it to find out!!!  “The laws of money are like the laws of gravity: assured and unchanging.”

The Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

I didn’t read a ton of fiction books this year, but I have to shout this one out BIG time. A lot of people will get turned off by the fact it’s about 500 pages, but trust me when I say you will want MORE from Tomi Adeyemi. Luckily for you, this young-adult fantasy novel is actually the first in a trilogy so definitely expect the second book real soon! Oh, and they have already secured movie rights because it was that good. Definitely gave me Black Panther vibes and really touches on themes of oppression and racism in this West-African inspired novel about dark-magic and the race to bring magic back to the people of Orisha.

The First 20 Hours by Josh Kaufman

Okay, so I’m not going to lie. Josh here really changed my idea of what it means to learn. The best takeaway I got from this book was writing down my “Someday/Maybe To-Do List.” He basically describes this as a prioritized list of a few things or everything you want to do someday. He mentions that we all have a list like this, but we probably won’t ever do most things on the list because none of us really know how to multi-task. Oh, you want to learn Spanish but also learn the guitar? It’s possible. It’s just the way you go about it. The FIRST 20 HOURS. The first 20 hours of learning a new skill are important and he really goes in depth about the steps you need to take in order to acquire new skills faster than you normally would. 10/10 recommend!

Heads in Beds by Jacob Tomsky

This was a good one… Especially funny if you’re in the hospitality biz like me! It’s a memoir and collection of experiences from Tomsky’s life and all the jobs he had in the hotel industry- the good, the bad, and the ugly. He’s a bit aggressive and can piss a few people off, so if you get offended easily, probably not the best memoir for you- it will also give you more respect for people in the service industry in general and give you an idea of all the things we go through to make sure your experience is worth it soooo yeah 🙂

Crushing It! by Gary Vaynerchuck

Had to add one from my boy Gary! Not to be confused with his other book, “Crush It,” this bestseller is essentially a follow up of his first book- a collection of people and entrepreneurs who read Crush It and have been following Gary’s principles to build a better business. Crushing It will give you the inside scoop of some of these brands and people and how they did whatever it took to make their brand a success. Pretty cool read since many of these entrepreneurs are just your average Joe’s/Jane’s who have a particular passion and did everything in their power to reach their potential!

Living With a Seal by Jesse Itzler

Quick, easy, and a fun read, Living With a Seal will make you question the human mind and body after every chapter. Jesse trains with retired NAVY Seal David Goggins for 30 days. Goggins is insane. He is known now for being an Ultra marathon runner and for pushing past incredible limits. But he takes an ordinary and average guy like Jesse and whips him into tip-top shape. It really makes you wonder if you’d be able to do what he does. Looking forward to reading Goggins new book “Can’t Hurt Me,” as well as Jesse’s other book “Living With the Monks,” in 2019.