5 Greatest Books that I've Read

I’ve always been a regular when it comes to reading things. My motto is “always be learning”. I read all the time. I greatly enjoy books, magazines, newsletters, social media infographics and articles, as well as newspapers (when I can find them). Between trips to the library, graduating college, completing my MBA, my love for bookstores, and frequenting coffee and tea shops the past 30 years - I’ve read a lot of books.

These are the 5 greatest books I’ve read. I know if you read they, they will impact your spiritual life, work in the marketplace, philanthropy, success in business, and growing your retirement in some meaningful way. Here are those five books that made an incredible impact on my life:

The New King James Version (NKJV) Bible

The holy bible is a profound book of history and teaching, and a compass for finding your place and path in God’s Kingdom. Whether you are Christian or not, it is a work of history, and most bibles I’ve owned also include maps of historical sites, accounts of the many kingdoms and battles, prophecies fulfilled, and the documented travels of Jesus and his apostles as they preached and planted spiritual seeds across the known world.

What Jesus did in 3 years at the age of 30, and the 12 apostles for years after Christ’s death is still the most incredible achievement for God’s Kingdom in world history.

As Christians, it fills in missing pieces from Genesis past the old testament. For many, the bible fills in gaps in thinking, answers age old questions, and clearly defines how to live your life and be blessed. Every time I read a book in the bible, God peels back another layer of life’s wisdom and my understanding.

Seek and you will find is the biggest tip I can give you as a Christian. Accepting Jesus as my savior and reading the bible has had a profound impact on my life. Prayer, reading the bible, and praising what God has done in your life will help you grow spiritually and professionally as you grow closer to him. Over time he will create synergies of your past life experiences and newly found divine wisdom in your mind.

When praying, know that God is listening, and he honors your commitment to him. He may have given you a vision for your life, but know it is on his timing. Don’t get discouraged. Also, know that there are some things God doesn’t give us unless we ask for it. Know to ask him for what you need to fulfil his vision for your life. Those are just a few words of wisdom I wanted to share if you are considering reading the bible or needed an extra nudge to do another bible study.

Anointed for Business, Ed Silvoso

Annointed for business is one of the best Christian books I’ve read. Traditionally, when people think of what can I do for God, they think of the church. However, this book focuses entirely on what you can do in the marketplace as a Christian.

Ed Silvoso details how most of the miracles and encounters in the bible occurred in the marketplace, outside of the church. Ed Silvoso tells stories of micro influencers for Christ, some in poor developing countries, only armed with an ice cream stand and a love for sharing Jesus Christ with others.

As an entrepreneur, one women’s testimony recounts leading hundreds to her local church to become Christians all around an ice cream cart business and a conversation about Jesus.

Ed Silvoso tells many stories of micro influencers for Christ and how they used their business or day job to make a real difference for those they engaged with.

This was one of the first Christian books I purchased when I was younger. Annointed for Business really impacted my understanding of the concept of “paying it forward”, how every person is able to make an impact regardless of their circumstances, and the scope of God’s ecosystem outside of church.

Church is open on Sundays; the Marketplace is 365. You can make an impact for Gods Kingdom daily, don’t limit your mindset when thinking about your contribution to God’s Kingdom.

Banker to the Poor, Muhammad Yunus

In one of the poorest regions of the world (Bangladesh) an economics professor named Muhammad Yunus had a vision and less than $100 dollars in his pocket, and created a multi billion dollar bank focused on micro lending to female entrepreneurs.

This man saw millions of hard working female entrepreneurs in agriculture, textiles, consumer goods, and other industries struggling. They couldn’t get ahead and grow their business or standard of living because of a lack of access to capital. These women were stuck in a cycle where their profits mostly went to middle men and cost of materials for the next harvest without ever breaking this cycle and expanding financially.

With this micro lending idea and less than $100, Muhammad Yunus went from village to village making his first micro loans to these women and teaching them about business and how to be successful.

Over time, he found with small micro loans, education, and a lending community in each village – the repayment rate was almost 100% on all of the loans. He would later grow his lending business into a real financial institution - The Grameen Bank, which today is a multibillion dollar financial institution still lending primarily to female entrepreneurs in developing countries.

Beating the Street, Peter Lynch

“Beating the Street” was one of the most profound investing book that I’ve read as a financial advisor at Merrill Lynch in my twenties. I’ve read many investment books and “Beating the Street” by Peter Lynch was by far the best.

A truly remarkable story about his investment strategies and tactics, and depth of industry market vision that made him one of the most successful Wall Street fund managers in US history.

Peter Lynch worked for Fidelity Investments for more than 30 years, and managed the legendary “Magellan Fund”. He really had a vision for understanding how business growth in one industry would spill over into another industry, and timing those investments perfectly.

If you are wanting to better understand how to manage your retirement or investment dollars, or you are a new financial advisor looking to expand your high net worth portfolio management skills - I highly recommend this book.

How to Master the Art of Selling, Tom Hopkins

My first internship was in financial services for Northwestern Mutual. I was giving a few weeks of amazing sales training. Wanting to learn more about how to be a top performing sales person, I picked up the book “How to Master the Art of Selling” by Tom Hopkins in 2001. Almost 25 years later, and its still the best book on sales even without covering digital.

By far, the best book on sales ever, even today in the digital age. If you are in business development/hunter, account management, or want to become a better closer. This book will do wonders for you professionally.

Next time you want to pick up a book at the local bookstore, download a digital copy to your Kindle, or listen to the audio version - I highly recommend these five books for spiritual, financial, philanthropic, and business success.