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Posted about 10 years ago

The top three books that all RE investors need to read

Real Estate Investor's must read books

80% of US Families did not buy a single book this year. 80% of US families are part of a paycheck to paycheck grind. Is there a relation between the two? Absolutely! In order to be a successful businessperson you really need to leverage lessons learned and information from those who have walked the path before you. There's an amazingly easy way to do that: BOOKS!

I insist that you read. I don't care how much you hate reading or how slow of a reader you are. It doesn't matter. If you can read 1 book in 365 days then you're miles ahead of 80% of the US population. This business is plagued with people who want your money to be a mentor or join their course. I'm not saying those are bad things, I'm just saying if you're looking at all the options there is a wealth of inexpensive information in Books.

You don't have to go to a bookstore to get a book and if you're reading this blog then you're already 2 clicks away from having a book. Here's my ninja guru trick for free (LOL): I personally own an amazon kindle fire and it's not the newest version. I got it for $100 because it's last year's model. When I want a book I simply go to amazon.com and have it delivered to my kindle. Then I prepare a cup of coffee and enjoy! Hell, there's times I read all night and get dressed for my day job. My wife thinks I'm nuts, but a book is like a magnifying glass into someone else's mind. Anytime my birthday rolls around I simply ask people for an Amazon gift card instead of any gifts.

There are certain books that I constantly quote and think about. I'd like to outline three of those to get you started on your reading journey. I'll suggest them in the order that I'd read them, but that's really up to you.

Book #1: The Go-Getter

You can read The Go-Getter in less than a day. This book was written by Peter B. Kyne and is rather dated. However, it delivers an important principle. That principle is: Success only comes to those who have the mindset that nothing (ABSOLUTELY nothing) will get in the way of achieving that success.

Book #2: Rhinoceros Success

Rhinoceros Success is written on an elementary grade level and has the reader imagine them as a Rhinoceros and the rest of the population as lazy cows. It's very humorous at times, but really bangs home clear messages. In my opinion it should be a required read for anyone getting an MBA or starting a business. Scott Alexander is the author and really drives home the message that success is about constant, recurring, positive activity. I personally have quotes from this book written down and taped onto my monitor. I start everyday looking over quotes from this book.

Book #3: Dale Carnegie's How to win friends and influence people

Wow! All I can say about How to win friends and influence people is wow. This book single handedly changed my life. The book is well written and has real world examples of how to instill principles that will allow you to interact with people on a day to day basis. The business world is not only about business principles, it's about treating people right. One of the biggest things that I attribute to my newfound people skills from this book is remembering people's names. Before I simply would say, "Sorry, I'm not great with names" which transfers to "Sorry, your name isn't important enough for me to remember." Now, I take decisive action to remember names of everyone (even every starbucks employee that I run across). Not only do I remember them for a day, I remember them forever.

Some of you my ask, why didn't I include Robert Kiyosaki's Rich Dad, Poor Dad? The reason is simple, although I think it's a good book and the cash flow quadrant is really valuable, I believe there are MUCH better books. If you're the type of person who doesn't read a lot and had to rank books to read, I'd put it at #15 or so. In our community it has gained a lot of ground because it's the go-to answer for "What book did you read?" In the end we all know systems that generate passive cash flow are fantastic. However, we can't get there without dedicated, hard, consistent work.

My dad was neither Rich nor Poor. What he was is a damn hard worker. Professional fireman and owns his own Landscaping business. Did he write a book about cash flow? Nope. Did he teach me 10x more than I learned in Rich Dad, Poor Dad? Hell yes. Maybe I should write a book: Your dad is rich, but mine was a hard-working ethical fireman.

I hope you enjoy the books, let me know what you think in the comments and please subscribe to my biggerpockets blog by clicking to the right.


Comments (9)

  1. Great post i totally agree reading books Thanks


  2. I just bought all three. :o)


    1. Great! I know you will enjoy them. I just went on a long trip for the holidays and re-listened to Dale Carnegie's how to win friends and influence people. My wife even listened!


  3. I just ordered Dale Carnegie's book a couple days ago. Still waiting on it to be delivered. I've heard a lot of great things about it and I'm excited to start reading it. Glad to hear you rank it high on your list. Thanks for the post. Jeremy from Atlanta


  4. Reading is my lifeblood for investing. It teaches, mentors, inspires, creates, and destroys the thoughts running through my brain daily on my next move, and my future. I have not read these 3, just ordered em up on amazon.


    1. Let me know what you think of them! All are easy reading.


  5. Reading is my lifeblood for investing. It teaches, mentors, inspires, creates, and destroys the thoughts running through my brain daily on my next move, and my future. I have not read these 3, just ordered em up on amazon.


  6. I totally agree with this Blog. I have a large library at home and read a lot. One magazine I subscribe to that I love is Success Magazine which has an audio CD with each issue. Highly recommend this for casual and inspiration reading. I also love books by Brian Tracy and Zig Ziglar. I have several books by both authors in my home library. My Dad is a very successfuly real estate investor and reads books a lot. Still reading at 87 years old. Very amazing person and my real estate mentor. Thanks very much for your thoughts and insights about the power of reading.


  7. I totally agree with this Blog. I have a large library at home and read a lot. One magazine I subscribe to that I love is Success Magazine which has an audio CD with each issue. Highly recommend this for casual and inspiration reading. I also love books by Brian Tracy and Zig Ziglar. I have several books by both authors in my home library. My Dad is a very successfuly real estate investor and reads books a lot. Still reading at 87 years old. Very amazing person and my real estate mentor. Thanks very much for your thoughts and insights about the power of reading.