As you know by now, summertime is when I catch up on my business book reading. Every year, I take a look at all the books I’ve been sent in the last six months to see what’s worth a good read. There are some gems that have been released this year in entrepreneurship, marketing, and productivity, and these picks are already making me itch to grab a cold glass of lemonade and curl up on my favorite beach to read them. Check out my Summer reading list for 2018.
1. Off The Clock: Feel Less Busy While Getting More Done by Laura Vanderkam
If you feel a lot of busyness even when you’re not working on your business, this book is for you. Laura Vanderkam, a time-management expert, gives you seven counterintuitive principles you need to adhere to in order to feel like you have all the time in the world, as well as attitudes to help you remain calm even when you feel overwhelmed.
Just a few decades ago, women had to choose between having a serious relationship and their careers or a business. Now you can have both and excel. An international love and success coach, as well as Senior Editor at Essence Magazine, Charreah Jackson shares tips and strategies on how to be a powerful woman who refuses to sacrifice either her career or her love life, this book will help you have it all.
Do you ever feel like you’re capable of more than you’re actually achieving? It might simply be a matter of knowing what to put your attention on. In this book, author Neen James helps you cut through the noise to put your focus on the right things to increase profitability, get better results, and improve your attention on the right things.
Mel Parker knows a thing or two about leadership. Once an Army Ranger, he went on to become a senior leader at DELL and the President and CEO of Brinks. Along the way, he learned how to help organizations through great leadership. In the book, he outlines his “Parker Principles” which are proven leadership lessons that can help you step up your leadership game in your small business.
I pulled this one from my library for a re-read. What could you do if you were unstoppable? What could you achieve? Tim Grover made his mark by taking people like Michael Jordan and Dwayne Wade and making them even greater. The key is to keep going when everyone else is giving up, learning how to thrive under pressure, and not letting your emotions make you weak. Grover shares strategies he gives his world-class clients, teaching you that anything is possible.
They say timing is an art, but author Daniel Pink proves that it is, in fact, a science. When you make a decision can impact the success of it, and yet most of our decisions are based on nothing more than gut feelings and guessing. Using principles from biology, psychology, and economics, Pink shows you how to succeed at life. With a dozen little factoids about timing, like why we should avoid going to the hospital in the afternoon, you’ll be hooked.
Do you have a value proposition for your brand? If you do have one, is it “inside-out,” as author Lisa Dennis says most are — more focused on product and service features than on your buyers’ needs? This book will help you craft a value proposition that aligns with what your audience really wants, and you’ll be able to use it both in conversations with potential customers as well as in your marketing content.
You might know these authors from their blog, Marc and Angel Hack Life, an inspiring site guaranteed to uplift and inspire you. Now they’re bringing their personal development wisdom to this book. In it, you’ll find tips for changing thought patterns and habits that keep you struggling so that you can overcome any obstacle. With daily rituals, mindfulness techniques, and self-care advice, you’ll nourish yourself, and that will make you a better entrepreneur!
We put so much attention on continually expanding our network to grow our businesses…but what if the network you already have was enough? Business school professor David Burkus leverages the art and science of networking to uncover strategies that work best to grow your business or career, using the network you already have developed.
Yeah sure, I’m throwing my book into the ring here, but it’s for good reason: this summer, since you’re reading all these great business books anyway, is the perfect opportunity for you to get your plan to launch your own business if you haven’t already. And I have some exciting news! The Audible version of the book is now available on Amazon!
Happy Reading!