The Most Lifechanging Book You've Ever Read?

Reading has always been a big burden for me; I, like many other people, grew up with computer screens, so rarely did I pick up a book. In fact only today did I really begin - and wow, has it always impacted how I'm thinking! It is a massive benefactor to me already in the way I will act in business, and there must be more gems out there.

So I want to ask what other life-changing books do you know of, or are your favourites?

Today, I read How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie, and it will almost certainly change how I communicate, in business and private, with others, and I will always recommend it because I know this book will benefit others.

Here is a small list of books I plan to read, based on how much I hear these discussed as the most life-changing business related books. I haven't read them, but they are the basis for a good book list based on their popularity and reviews, and any opinions of them are really helpful;
- Getting Things Done - David Allen
- On Becoming a Leader by Warren Bennis
- Influence by Robert Cialdini PhD
- Purple Cow by Seth Godin
- 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
- Why we Buy by Paco Underhill
- Little Red Book of Selling by.. uhh.. idk.

The Prince - Machiavelli
Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
The Origin of Species - Charles Darwin
How to Make Love Like a Porn Star: A Cautionary Tale - Jenna Jameson

Well, maybe the last one not that life-changing, but still fun read

As an avid reader of all types of books, I will say that you do not have to limit yourself to business or self-help oriented books to gain great insight to life. Even fiction books can have a profound effect on a person.

People who think books are boring really miss out. Nothing compares to the world you construct in your head. That is why you hear comments about movies being garbage compared to the book it was based on, even though it may have been a great movie.

A movie gives you pre-made static images and sound to look at and hear, while a book will make you experience the world and situations through someone else's mind, which is valuable no matter the subject. Anyway, good to hear of someone starting to read! I will have to think about it before making any suggestions, too many to choose from What kind of movies do you like?

The secret
and think and grow rich

These are the best

The Bible
4hr workweek - a lot of fluff, but introduced me to the concept of passive income

The Adventures of TinTin - Herge

I was never the same again.

How to Make Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

Quite possibly one of the best books about people ever written.

1. Bible
2. Desiring God - John Piper
3. God's Smuggler - Bro. Andrew
4. Heavenly Man - Bro. Yun
5. Multiple Biographies of Christian leaders

sirgold said:

The Prince - Machiavelli
Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
The Origin of Species - Charles Darwin
How to Make Love Like a Porn Star: A Cautionary Tale - Jenna Jameson

Well, maybe the last one not that life-changing, but still fun read

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ferma231 said:

The secret
and think and grow rich

These are the best

Click to expand...

christianbed said:

The Bible
4hr workweek - a lot of fluff, but introduced me to the concept of passive income

Click to expand...

axus_auto said:

The Adventures of TinTin - Herge

I was never the same again.

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Deleted member 84902 said:

How to Make Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

Quite possibly one of the best books about people ever written.

Click to expand...

Thanks for these contributions, looking into some of them where the titles caught my eye

@axus_auto, not sure if you're serious or a troll...

dichotom said:

As an avid reader of all types of books, I will say that you do not have to limit yourself to business or self-help oriented books to gain great insight to life. Even fiction books can have a profound effect on a person.

People who think books are boring really miss out. Nothing compares to the world you construct in your head. That is why you hear comments about movies being garbage compared to the book it was based on, even though it may have been a great movie.

A movie gives you pre-made static images and sound to look at and hear, while a book will make you experience the world and situations through someone else's mind, which is valuable no matter the subject. Anyway, good to hear of someone starting to read! I will have to think about it before making any suggestions, too many to choose from What kind of movies do you like?

Click to expand...

Thanks for the detailed reply I agree, when you take your own spin on it, it's much more personal, and it makes you think creatively.
I'm a big fan of anything moving, my favourite film is Schindler's List, but many others (A Clockwork Orange, Hannibal trilogy, and The Shawshank Redemption) that are far-fetched and emotionally strange are always the best. I love comedy though; Snatch, Borat, South Park and Forrest Gump are some of my personal favourites

The Millionaire Fastlane.

Very great read, found it on BHW. When I first read it, I knew I really wanted to do IM as a full-time thing. Now I have the physical book, and it's one of the best "motivational" books that I own.

I read way too many to name, working at a bookstore doesn't help either.

Crush It!
The Secret
How to Make Friends and Influence People
Rich Dad Poor Dad
The Art of War

These are a few of mine that I consider inspirational.

~MidKnight

ferma231 said:

The secret
and think and grow rich

These are the best

Click to expand...

Also a vote for the secret here

Rich dad poor dad


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Atlas Shrugged I became a Republican.

Go to Google Books and read "The Hunger Games" for free. It makes you think about our world.

Gesundheit!: Bringing Good Health to You, the Medical System, and Society Through Physician Service, Complementary Therapies, Humor, and Joy by patch adams

Art of war

The rose that grew from concrete

Psychology books, anything I can get on that topic or harm reduction

Also, if or when I have a chance a list of books I would like to read

Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member
Written by: Sanyika Shakur

Assata: An Autobiography
Written by: Assata Shakur

Ponder on This: A Compilation
From the Writings of: Alice A Bailey & the Tibetan Master, Djwhal Khul


Kabbalah
Written by: Gersham Scholem

Thoughts and Meditations
Written by: Kahlil Gibran

Telepathy
Written by: Alice A Bailey

The Autobiography of Malcolm X
As told to: Alex Haley

Ah, This!
Written by: Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh

The Tibetan Book of the Dead
Written by: W.Y. Evans-Wentz

Bhagavad-Gita As It Is
Written by: A.C. Bhaktive-danta Swami Prabhupada

The Confessions of Nat Turner
Written by: William Styron

The Psychedelic Experience- A Manual Based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead
Written by: Timothy Leary, Ph.D, Ralph Metzner, Ph.D., Richard Alpert, Ph.D.

James Baldwin: The Legacy
Edited by: Quincy Troupe

Initiation
Written by: Elisabeth Haich

The Meaning of Masonry
Written by: W.L. Wilmshurst

Social Essays
Written by: LeRoi Jones

The Grapes of Wrath
Written by: John Steinbeck

I Shall Not Be Moved
Written by: Maya Angelou

And Still I Rise
Written by: Maya Angelou

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings
Written by: Maya Angelou

Nature, Man and Woman
Written by: Alan W. Watts

Linda Goodman's Sun Signs
Written by: Linda Goodman

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Written by: Robert M. Pirsig

A Raisin in the Sun
Written by: Lorraine Hansberry

Native Son
Written by: Richard Wright

The Practical Encyclopedia Of Natural Healing
Written by: Mark Bricklin

The Complete Illustrated Book of the Psychic Sciences
Written by: Walter B. Gibson and Litzka R. Gibson


One Hundred Years of Solitude
Written by: Gabriel Garcia Marquez

The Destiny of the Nations
Written by: Alice A. Bailey

The Visionary Poetics of Allen Ginsberg
Written by: Paul Portuges

The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy
Written by: E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, James Trefil

The Diary of Anais Nin
Edited and with a Preface by: Gunther Stuhlmann

The Souls of Black Folk
Written by:W.E. Burghardt DuBois

The Psychic Realm
Written by: Naomi A. Hintze and J. Gaither Pratt, Ph.D.

Tropic of Cancer
Written by: Henry Miller

Nostradamus: The Millennium & Beyond
Written by: Peter Lorie

The State of the World Atlas
Written by: Michael Kidron and Ronald Segal

Catcher in the Rye
Written by: J.D. Salinger

Sisterhood is Powerful: Anthology of Writings from the Women's Liberation Movement
Written by: Robin Morgan

In Search of Our Mother's Gardens
Written by: Alice Walker

Savage Inequalities: Children in America's Schools
Written by: Jonathan Kozol

At the Bottom of the River
Written by: Jamaica Kincaid

Music of Black Americans: A History
Written by: Eileen Southern

Moby Dick
Written by: Herman Melville

Life and Words of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Written by: Ira Peck

Blues People
Written by: Amiri Baraka

All You Need to Know About the Music Business
Written by: Donald Passman

All God's Children: The Boskett Family and the American Tradition of Violence
Written by: Fox Butterfield

Black Sister: Poetry by Black American Women, 1746 to 1980
Edited by Earlene Stetson

The Harder We Run: Black Workers Since the Civil War
Written by: William H. Harris

Makes Me Wanna Holler
Written by: Nathan McCall

Great White Lie: Slavery, Emancipation and Changing Racial Attitudes
Written by: Jack Gratus

Imitation of Christ
Written by: Thomas a Kempis

Teachings of the Buddha
Written by: Jack Kornfield

No Man Is an Island
Written by: Thomas Merton

Mysticism
Written by: Evelyn Underhill

Wisdom of Insecurity
Written by: A.N. Watts

Secret Splendor
Written by: Charles Essert

Life as Carola
Written by: Joan Grant

Serving Humanity
From the writings of: Alice A. Bailey

Here and Hereafter
Written by: Ruth Montgomery

The Prince
Written by: Niccolo Machiavelli

Mine is definitely Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki.

It really changed my thinking and perspective.
If there's one book that you need to read, it is definitely Rich Dad Poor Dad.

Although.... there are proofs that his "Rich Dad" is just a myth and what Robert Kiyosaki writes are just pure gibberish to sell his books.... still, the book can really inspire you and some of his teachings really open your eyes!

Heavier than Heaven and The Old Man and The Sea

Retire young retire rich, from R. Kiyosaki.

If you liked rich dad poor dad you will love this one!

The Teachings of Don Juan - Carlos Casaneda

This was a real eye opener makes you really think about life different.

Fingerprints of the Gods - Graham Hancock
Cosmos - Carl Sagan
The God Delusion - Richard Dawkins
The Singularity is Near - Ray Kurzweil