Post: #1

Hi guys! As most of you know,its more valuable having vital experiences in real life than "theory",but sometimes there are books that can really change your life..

Which books would u recommend for this stage of life where I am now?

22 years old,i have lot of entrepreneurial ambitions and i have a really good girlfriend

Post: #2

Siddharta, by Hermann Hesse, was a very important read in my life.

I read it when I was 20, during a long trip by myself (>3 months), and it helped me put things in perspective: life is dynamic, ephemeral. It's too short not to follow your own way and carve it in this world, regardless of the values it appears to have to others. One must follow its natural calling.

Another important lesson from the book: your life and the lifes of others sometimes cross paths. These encounters are to be celebrated, but when it is time to part ways, it's something that should rather be accepted with a smile and gratitude for the moments spent together, than feared and held by force refusing to let go. That goes to friendships, girlfriends, business, etc.

It's a good read and I couldn't recommend it more, specially at the age we are in (I'm 22 now also).

Post: #3

Hey man, Im 22 as well and am in the same boat. I've been reading a ton lately. For recommendations, Roosh has a list here:

http://www.rooshv.com/10-books-every-man-should-read

I like Walden and The Power of Habit as well.

More books I would recommend:

-Think and Grow Rich: If there's something you really want to achieve in life, this book will help give you that push.
-How to Win Friends and Influence People: Great book that will help give you new perceptions on interacting with others

There's others, but I think at our age we still aren't exactly sure where we're going in life and these books should help you make that decision easier.

Post: #4

Well, I guess at 24 I'll be the elder spokesman of this thread. Great recommendations so far. Siddhartha is a quick but important read. I didn't really like How To Win Friends and Influence People, just not my style I guess.

I do strongly echo Seth Rose's recommendation of Think and Grow Rich. It's the foundation for a lot of self-help books and started me down the path of self-improvement. It's an easy read but I recommend you spend time breaking down each chapter and trying to implement it into your life.

Another great book is The Book: On The Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are by Alan Watts. This book will make you think and question topics like identity, reality, consciousness, etc. I got really into Alan Watts at your age. I like his books but his strength lies in his speeches. He's very eloquent and talks about some very interesting stuff mainly influenced by Eastern religions/philosophies. If you can get your hands on his audiotapes Out Of Your Mind definitely check that out. Or at least youtube him for some of his lectures.

After Alan Watts I moved on to Osho. He's a really interesting man with a controversial background but his lectures/writings are fascinating. I'd highly recommend his book The Book Of Secrets. I spent like 8 months reading it and it really made a positive impact on my life.

There's so much good stuff out there and if you search these forums you'll find plenty more worthy recommendations. My last suggestion is to think critically about everything you read. Just because it's in a book doesn't make it true, find the topics and authors that you relate to and run with it. Question your own beliefs and approach new information with an open mind, but keep whatever truth you read in books and discard what you don't agree with.

Post: #5

Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl.

Post: #6

I really enjoyed The Alchemist. Also, although 'The Great Gatsby' isnt a conventional self help book, theres a lot to think about regarding what you want from life, and how bad you want it.

Post: #7

If you haven't read some Ayn Rand you probably should. It's an important stepping stone if nothing else.

Post: #8

(02-15-2014 09:06 PM)Sawyer Wrote:  If you haven't read some Ayn Rand you probably should. It's an important stepping stone if nothing else.

which books from Ayn Rand would you recommend?

Post: #9

Ayn Rand? Start with Anthem, then go to Atlas Shrugged or The Fountainhead. Anthem is a quick and easy read that eases the accessibility to the bigger books. The books are very reader friendly, and if you don't like Anthem don't sweat the rest.

I'd also recommend Orwell's 1984 as well as Hesse. I liked Steppenwolf and Magister Ludi. Joseph Campbell's The Power of Myth is also good at your age, I think. You'll accept or reject it all as needed.

Walden is awesome, but use with caution. It's easy to forget that Walden is Thoreau's Bang. Thoreau didn't just move to the woods, he created a work that gained him location independence and immortality. Your woods may vary. Don't forget the masterpiece.

Post: #10

I'll have to dethrone the current elder of the thread as I'll be 40 next month.

About the best book I've read on the topic of Success and living well is John T. Reed's "Succeeding". He's a West Point graduate and Harvard MBA. He gives an in-depth no-BS overview of the factors you need to consider as you chart your life.

Post: #11

(02-16-2014 06:14 AM)emuelle1 Wrote:  I'll have to dethrone the current elder of the thread as I'll be 40 next month.

About the best book I've read on the topic of Success and living well is John T. Reed's "Succeeding". He's a West Point graduate and Harvard MBA. He gives an in-depth no-BS overview of the factors you need to consider as you chart your life.

It seems to be pretty good autor John T.Reed isnt it?

i've been Reading in Deep through his website but couldn't find in which date was published the 3rd edition do you have any idea?

Post: #12

It says the 3rd edition (which is the one I have) came off the presses 12/16/11. He's a self-publisher, so his books are delivered to him and he mails them to his customers.

Post: #13

(02-16-2014 10:36 AM)emuelle1 Wrote:  It says the 3rd edition (which is the one I have) came off the presses 12/16/11. He's a self-publisher, so his books are delivered to him and he mails them to his customers.

in your personal opinión...its worthy read the book?

Post: #14

I think it's definitely worth reading.

Post: #15

I see 48 Laws of Power is on Roosh's recommendation list and I myself would definitely recommend looking into other books of Greene as well. Art of Seduction and 33 Strategies of War especially.

Post: #16

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius (Gregory Hays translation) has heavily influenced the way I think about myself and my place in the world.

Here is a passage I marked and think about whenever the lazy part of my mind tries to take control:

“At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself: I have to get to work- As a human being. What do I have to complain of, if I’m going to do what I was born for- the things I was brought into the world to do? Or is this what I was created for? To huddle under the blankets and stay warm?”

But it’s nicer here…

“So you were born to feel “nice”? Instead of doing things and experiencing them?”

But we have to sleep sometime…

“Agreed. But nature set a limit on that- as it did on eating and drinking. And you’re over the limit. You’ve had more than enough leisure. But not of working. There you’re still below your quota.”

Post: #17

Man’s Search For Meaning Written by a Auschwitz survivor. I took two big things away from this book: (1) the ultimate freedom is the ability to choose your attitude in the face of any circumstance and (2) the more you target success, the more you will miss it.

There are others, but this is one of those ones that sticks with you and makes you think about how your perception is all you have control over really.

Post: #18

I'll be the third to recommend Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl.

Additionally, I'd like to add "The Four Agreements."

Post: #19

This is going to sound dumb to some, but I read 4 books that completely changed me. The three Tucker Max books, and the biography Patton: The Man Behind The Legend

I was in the same boat, young and full of ambition. All I needed to know were these two things.

1. Disregard what anyone else thinks. If people can't roll with you then fuck them. The best quality a girl can have is being into you. (Tucker Max)

2. Relentlessly pursue your vision for fulfillment in life. Test yourself everyday. (Patton)

I'm a bit biased because I have always been a big fan of biographical work. I learn best by learning from successful people who have done what I want to do. It gives me a real life example, something to aspire to, somebody to emulate and borrow from, and it ends up feeling like a friendship.
Biographies aren't just a laundry list of ideal characteristics, which is good because humans are flawed, and it helps to see how people compensate.

I have 33 Strategies of War next to me right now. I think it's a book on what to do once you are already on your way, but if you aren't pursuing something right now I would save it for later. I'm not a huge fan of the way it's set-up either.

Post: #20

Im finishing this book and it is simply...amazing!

http://www.amazon.com/The-Education-Mill...llionaires

Post: #21

(02-22-2014 04:33 PM)Petrosius Wrote:  Im finishing this book and it is simply...amazing!

http://www.amazon.com/The-Education-Mill...llionaires

Petrosius, you may also want to ponder some of the negative reviews of that book, for example :

Quote: First: i would rate 2 1/2 stars if possible but not three!
The premise of this book was really promising. I thought it was going to be, based on the preface, about people who have educated themselves and become experts or broke new ground in technology, finance, and other fields.

What I got: multilevel marketing scams and sleaze. It starts about the third chapter, where he mentions his 'friend' Eben Pagan.. I looked up the guys name and his site.. something in my gut just told me something was very very wrong.. well I looked up his name and it turns out he was one of those 'dating' 'seduction' hustlers. It just got sleazier from there, Ellsberg goes on to say how you should 'lift people ' like Pagan up - and then people will lift you up... does this sound like a non-financial ponzi scheme or what? Ellesberg never mentions Pagan's past, he just says the "runs a 30 million internet marketing company" - gee just like the founder of Zappo's eh? Ellesberg is not upfront about this, implying he knows its a liability and undermines his point. He often refers to copy writers who launched products that made ## million in sales but, suspiciously, never mentions what those products or companies were.( In fairness, he does point out who his personal friends are.)

Then I started to notice all the plugs for his buddies in the pages and I felt like I had paid for an advertisement. I 'thought' having a column on Forbes that this guy would be somewhat respectable, but I should have known better having first heard of him from a link to Tim Ferris (The four hour hustle)'s web site. The cross-marketing is annoying an undermines credibility.. Anyone who has read such books knows the pattern by now: "Four Steps to doing a successful career" Step one "increase networking" You really can't become a great networker without reading "this book by author blah blah blah (plug for book here, and the author of the book having reciprocal agreement to plug you)" But it's not just books, he constantly pushes expensive seminars as well (not his own). Sorry the idea that you have to spend 4000.00 on some 'empowerment' weekend is hogwash. i sincerely doubt these meetings are little more than some insiders making money and a lot suckers out 4000.00.

These guys sell dreams, not real advice. They sell the idea you can work four hours, or you can live like a rock star. A lot of times there advice is counter productive or at the very least unfounded.. they are good confidence men, but what they advise has no efficacy. To be fair to Ellsberg, he does clearly say that your chances of becoming a rock star or billionaire are largely out of your control and he does often site the more temperate Seth Godin.

I also found the writing sophomoric - call me a prude, but if someone has to constantly curse rather than think about what he is cursing about, he's no better than authors who write in cliches (for a wonderful analysis of this read George Orwell's "Politics and the English Language")

I believe that education, particularly higher education, has become a bit of a financial scam, and educational standards have shrunk. But statements like "What do you want your kid to learn, trigonometry, we have computers for that" quoted from one of his "experts" with tacit approval is beyond ignorant.

On the up side, there is some practical advice here and there, some good stories and even if you don't want to emulate ellesberg's tactics, analysis of his self marketing and promotion might be helpful.

Also he does offer practical warnings about the impracticality of today's higher education, the sense of entitlement it creates that cuts one off from opportunities (the idea of being 'above' certain types of work, or that abstract theories of 'film studies' will get you a job anywhere, let alone in film ). Some of his descriptions of the mentality of formal education are amusing and eye opening.

lastly, people who game amazon (like Ferris) are notorious for deleting negative reviews (notice all the short five star reviews, usually the 'user's only one? , so I will saving this off line and will check for occasional attempts by the author or his minions to delete it).

http://www.amazon.com/review/RIZQHYP7JSW...tore=books

Post: #22

(02-22-2014 07:47 PM)Steve9 Wrote:  

(02-22-2014 04:33 PM)Petrosius Wrote:  Im finishing this book and it is simply...amazing!

http://www.amazon.com/The-Education-Mill...llionaires

Petrosius, you may also want to ponder some of the negative reviews of that book, for example :

Quote: First: i would rate 2 1/2 stars if possible but not three!
The premise of this book was really promising. I thought it was going to be, based on the preface, about people who have educated themselves and become experts or broke new ground in technology, finance, and other fields.

What I got: multilevel marketing scams and sleaze. It starts about the third chapter, where he mentions his 'friend' Eben Pagan.. I looked up the guys name and his site.. something in my gut just told me something was very very wrong.. well I looked up his name and it turns out he was one of those 'dating' 'seduction' hustlers. It just got sleazier from there, Ellsberg goes on to say how you should 'lift people ' like Pagan up - and then people will lift you up... does this sound like a non-financial ponzi scheme or what? Ellesberg never mentions Pagan's past, he just says the "runs a 30 million internet marketing company" - gee just like the founder of Zappo's eh? Ellesberg is not upfront about this, implying he knows its a liability and undermines his point. He often refers to copy writers who launched products that made ## million in sales but, suspiciously, never mentions what those products or companies were.( In fairness, he does point out who his personal friends are.)

Then I started to notice all the plugs for his buddies in the pages and I felt like I had paid for an advertisement. I 'thought' having a column on Forbes that this guy would be somewhat respectable, but I should have known better having first heard of him from a link to Tim Ferris (The four hour hustle)'s web site. The cross-marketing is annoying an undermines credibility.. Anyone who has read such books knows the pattern by now: "Four Steps to doing a successful career" Step one "increase networking" You really can't become a great networker without reading "this book by author blah blah blah (plug for book here, and the author of the book having reciprocal agreement to plug you)" But it's not just books, he constantly pushes expensive seminars as well (not his own). Sorry the idea that you have to spend 4000.00 on some 'empowerment' weekend is hogwash. i sincerely doubt these meetings are little more than some insiders making money and a lot suckers out 4000.00.

These guys sell dreams, not real advice. They sell the idea you can work four hours, or you can live like a rock star. A lot of times there advice is counter productive or at the very least unfounded.. they are good confidence men, but what they advise has no efficacy. To be fair to Ellsberg, he does clearly say that your chances of becoming a rock star or billionaire are largely out of your control and he does often site the more temperate Seth Godin.

I also found the writing sophomoric - call me a prude, but if someone has to constantly curse rather than think about what he is cursing about, he's no better than authors who write in cliches (for a wonderful analysis of this read George Orwell's "Politics and the English Language")

I believe that education, particularly higher education, has become a bit of a financial scam, and educational standards have shrunk. But statements like "What do you want your kid to learn, trigonometry, we have computers for that" quoted from one of his "experts" with tacit approval is beyond ignorant.

On the up side, there is some practical advice here and there, some good stories and even if you don't want to emulate ellesberg's tactics, analysis of his self marketing and promotion might be helpful.

Also he does offer practical warnings about the impracticality of today's higher education, the sense of entitlement it creates that cuts one off from opportunities (the idea of being 'above' certain types of work, or that abstract theories of 'film studies' will get you a job anywhere, let alone in film ). Some of his descriptions of the mentality of formal education are amusing and eye opening.

lastly, people who game amazon (like Ferris) are notorious for deleting negative reviews (notice all the short five star reviews, usually the 'user's only one? , so I will saving this off line and will check for occasional attempts by the author or his minions to delete it).

http://www.amazon.com/review/RIZQHYP7JSW...tore=books

I don't agree with that review

Post: #23

Eben Pagan made bank of Double Your Dating. Can't hate on that. That dude made millions. We all have something to learn from him.

Post: #24

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.

Seriously. If you haven't heard of it, rest assured that it's not what it sounds like.

Check it out.

Post: #25

BB I'm currently reading this now, I'm getting the point somewhat but at almost 3/4 the way through I'm not seeing the big picture.. Hopefully it comes to fruition, I'm sure it will.