20 Powerful Books to Read in 2020
A new decade is right around the corner! As you start thinking about your goals and book lists for 2020, I wanted to share some books that have made a big impact on my life. If you are looking to level-up in any area of your life, I would highly recommend checking out these books!
Note: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning if you click a link and make a purchase, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.
1. RICH DAD POOR DAD BY ROBERT KIYOSAKI.
Rich Dad Poor Dad is Robert’s story of growing up with two dads — his real father and the father of his best friend, his rich dad. Robert shares the ways in which both men shaped his thoughts about money and investing. The book explains the difference between working for money and having your money work for you. (Amazon)
2. DELAY, DON’T DENY BY GIN STEPHENS
Are you tired of counting calories, eliminating foods from your diet, or obsessing about food all day? If so, an intermittent fasting lifestyle might be for you! In this book, you will learn the science behind intermittent fasting, and how to use various intermittent fasting plans for your unique lifestyle. The best part about intermittent fasting is that it doesn’t require you to give up your favorite foods! You’ll learn how to change WHEN to eat, so you don’t have to change WHAT you eat. Are you ready to take control of your health and finally step off of the diet roller coaster? All you have to do is learn how to “delay, don’t deny!” (Amazon)
3. GIRL, WASH YOUR FACE BY RACHEL HOLLIS
In this book, each chapter tackles a different lie that the author, Rachel Hollis, has believed. Rachel Hollis shares examples from her own life illustrating those lies, and then the methods she used to defeat those lies. There are big, vulnerable topics like ‘I Should Be Farther Along By Now’ and ‘I Will Never Get Past This’. This book really helps readers unpack lies that they may also believe about themselves. (Amazon)
4. THE SLIGHT EDGE BY JEFF OLSON
The Slight Edge is a way of thinking and processing information that enables you to make daily choices that will lead you to success and happiness. Learn why some people make dream after dream come true, while others just continue dreaming and spend their lives building dreams for someone else. This book is not just another self-help motivation tool of methods that you must learn in order to travel the path to success. It shows you how to create powerful results from the simple daily activities of your life, by using tools that are already within you. (Amazon)
5. YOU ARE A BADASS AT MAKING MONEY BY JEN SINCERO
You Are a Badass at Making Money will launch you past the fears and stumbling blocks that have kept financial success beyond your reach. Jen Sincero shares her own transformation—over just a few years—from a woman living in a converted garage with tumbleweeds blowing through her bank account to a woman who travels the world in style. (Amazon)
“This book truly crystallizes the concept that financial abundance is an inside job—in that it all begins with your mindset—and Sincero gets serious (in the funniest ways possible) about helping you identify your particular limiting beliefs surrounding money.” —PopSugar
6. LEAN IN BY SHERYL SANDBERG
Lean In, Sheryl Sandberg focuses the conversation around women in the workplace. In this book, Sheryl Sandberg shares personal anecdotes, hard data and compelling research to change the conversation from what women can’t do to what they can. Sandberg provides practical advice on negotiation techniques, mentorship, and building a satisfying career. She describes specific steps women can take to combine professional achievement with personal fulfillment and demonstrates how men can benefit by supporting women both in the workplace and at home. (Amazon)
7. 7 HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE BY STEPHEN COVEY
Stephen R. Covey’s book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, has been a top seller for the simple reason that it ignores trends and pop psychology for proven principles of fairness, integrity, honesty and human dignity. (Amazon)
8. THE SECRET BY RHONDA BYRNE
In this book, you’ll learn how to use The Secret in every aspect of your life—money, health, relationships, happiness and in every interaction you have in the world. You’ll begin to understand the hidden, untapped power that’s within you and this revelation can bring joy to every aspect of your life. The Secret contains wisdom from modern-day teachers—men and women who have used it to achieve health, wealth and happiness. By applying the knowledge of The Secret, they bring to light compelling stories of eradicating disease, acquiring massive wealth, overcoming obstacles and achieving what many would regard as impossible. (Amazon)
9. THE 10X RULE BY GRANT CARDONE
Extreme success, by definition, lies beyond the realm of normal action. If you want to achieve extreme success, you can’t operate like everybody else and settle for mediocrity. You need to remove luck and chance from your business equation and lock in massive success. The 10X Rule shows you how! Success is your duty, obligation and responsibility, and this audiobook gives you step-by-step guidance on how to achieve phenomenal success for yourself! (Amazon)
10. START WITH WHY BY SIMON SINEK
Simon Sinek starts with a fundamental question: Why are some people and organizations more innovative, more influential, and more profitable than others? Why do some command greater loyalty from customers and employees alike? Even among the successful, why are so few able to repeat their success over and over?
People like Martin Luther King Jr., Steve Jobs and the Wright Brothers had little in common, but they all started with WHY. They realized that people won’t truly buy into a product, service, movement, or idea until they understand the WHY behind it.
Start With Why shows that the leaders who’ve had the greatest influence in the world all think, act and communicate the same way — and it’s the opposite of what everyone else does. Sinek calls this powerful idea The Golden Circle, and it provides a framework upon which organizations can be built, movements can be led and people can be inspired. And it all starts with WHY. (Amazon)
11. THE MIRACLE MORNING BY HAL ELROD
What if you could wake up tomorrow and any—or EVERY—area of your life was beginning to transform? What would you change? The Miracle Morning is already transforming the lives of tens of thousands of people around the world by showing them how to wake up each day with more ENERGY, MOTIVATION and FOCUS to take your life to the next level. It’s been right here in front of us all along, but this book has finally brought it to life.
Are you ready? The next chapter of YOUR life—the most extraordinary life you’ve ever imagined—is about to begin. (Amazon)
12. HOW TO WIN FRIENDS AND INFLUENCE PEOPLE BY DALE CARNEGIE
Need a change in how you treat others? Having trouble making friends? These tried and true methods have proven themselves over the last 80 years. This book could change your life. You can go after the job you want—and get it! Take the job you have—and improve it! You can take any situation—and make it work for you! (Amazon)
13. SHOE DOG BY PHIL KNIGHT
Fresh out of business school, Phil Knight borrowed fifty dollars from his father and launched a company with one simple mission: import high-quality, low-cost running shoes from Japan. Selling the shoes from the trunk of his car in 1963, Knight grossed eight thousand dollars that first year. Today, Nike’s annual sales top $30 billion. In this age of start-ups, Knight’s Nike is the gold standard and its swoosh is one of the few icons instantly recognized in every corner of the world.
But Knight, the man behind the swoosh, has always been a mystery. In Shoe Dog, he tells his story at last. At twenty-four, Knight decides that rather than work for a big corporation, he will create something all his own. He details the many risks he encountered, the crushing setbacks, the ruthless competitors and hostile bankers—as well as his many thrilling triumphs. Above all, he recalls the relationships that formed the heart and soul of Nike. Knight and his team harnessed the power of a bold vision and a shared belief in the transformative power of sports to create a brand—and a culture, that changed everything. (Amazon)
14. THE OBESITY CODE BY DR. JASON FUNG
Everything you believe about how to lose weight is wrong. Weight gain and obesity are driven by hormones—in everyone—and only by understanding the effects of insulin and insulin resistance can we achieve lasting weight loss.
In this highly readable and provocative book, Dr. Jason Fung sets out an original, robust theory of obesity that provides startling insights into proper nutrition. In addition to his five basic steps, a set of lifelong habits that will improve your health and control your insulin levels, Dr. Fung explains how to use intermittent fasting to break the cycle of insulin resistance and reach a healthy weight—for good. (Amazon)
15. ATOMIC HABITS BY JAMES CLEAR
No matter your goals, Atomic Habits offers a proven framework for improving – every day. James Clear, one of the world’s leading experts on habit formation, reveals practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviors that lead to remarkable results.
If you’re having trouble changing your habits, the problem isn’t you. The problem is your system. Bad habits repeat themselves again and again not because you don’t want to change, but because you have the wrong system for change. You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems. Here, you’ll get a proven system that can take you to new heights.
Clear is known for his ability to distill complex topics into simple behaviors that can be easily applied to daily life. Along the way, readers will be inspired and entertained with true stories from Olympic gold medalists, award-winning artists, business leaders, life-saving physicians, and star comedians who have used the science of small habits to master their craft and vault to the top of their field. (Amazon)
16. ESSENTIALISM BY GREG MCKEOWN
Have you ever felt the urge to declutter your life? Do you often find yourself stretched too thin? Do you simultaneously feel overworked and underutilized? Are you frequently busy but not productive? Do you feel like your time is constantly being hijacked by other people’s agendas?
If you answered yes to any of these, the way out is the Way of the Essentialist.
The Way of the Essentialist isn’t about getting more done in less time. It’s about getting only the right things done. It is not a time management strategy or a productivity technique. It is a systematic discipline for discerning what is absolutely essential, then eliminating everything that is not, so we can make the highest possible contribution towards the things that really matter.
Essentialism is not one more thing—it’s a whole new way of doing everything. A must-read for any leader, manager, or individual who wants to do less, but better, and declutter and organize their own lives, Essentialism is a movement whose time has come. (Amazon)
17. THE POWER OF BROKE BY DAYMOND JOHN
Daymond John has been practicing the power of broke ever since he started selling his home-sewn t-shirts on the streets of Queens. With a $40 budget, Daymond had to strategize out-of-the-box ways to promote his products. Luckily, desperation breeds innovation, and so he hatched an idea for a creative campaign that eventually launched the FUBU brand into a $6 billion dollar global phenomenon. But it might not have happened if he hadn’t started out broke – with nothing but hope and a ferocious drive to succeed by any means possible.
Broke can actually be your greatest competitive advantage as an entrepreneur. Why? Because starting a business from broke forces you to think more creatively. It forces you to use your resources more efficiently, forces you to connect with your customers more authentically, and market your ideas more imaginatively. It forces you to be true to yourself, stay laser-focused on your goals, and come up with those innovative solutions required to make a meaningful mark.
When your back is up against the wall, your bank account is empty, and creativity and passion are the only resources you can afford, success is your only option. You’ll learn how to tap into that Power of Broke to scrape, hustle, and dream your way to the top. (Amazon)
18. PURPLE COW BY SETH GODIN
You’re either a Purple Cow or you’re not. You’re either remarkable or invisible. Make your choice. What do Apple, Starbucks and Dyson all have in common? How do they achieve spectacular growth, leaving behind former tried-and-true brands to gasp their last? The old checklist of P’s used by marketers – Pricing, Promotion, Publicity – aren’t working anymore. The golden age of advertising is over. It’s time to add a new P – the Purple Cow.”Purple Cow” describes something phenomenal, something counterintuitive and exciting and flat-out unbelievable. Seth Godin urges you to put a Purple Cow into everything you build and everything you do, to create something truly noticeable. It’s a manifesto for anyone who wants to create products and services that are worth marketing in the first place. (Amazon)
19. OUTLIERS: THE STORY OF SUCCESS BY MALCOLM GLADWELL
Malcolm Gladwell takes readers on a journey through the world of “outliers”–the best and the brightest, the most famous and the most successful. He asks the question: what makes high-achievers different?
His answer is that we pay too much attention to what successful people are like and too little attention to where they are from. Along the way, he explains the secrets of software billionaires, what it takes to be a great soccer player, why Asians are good at math, and what made the Beatles the greatest rock band. (Amazon)
20. HOW SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE THINK: CHANGE YOUR THINKING, CHANGE YOUR LIFE BY JOHN C. MAXWELL
America’s leadership expert John C. Maxwell will teach you how to be more creative and when to question popular thinking. You’ll learn how to capture the big picture while focusing your thinking. You’ll learn how to tap into your creative potential, develop shared ideas, and derive lessons from the past to understand the future. With these eleven keys to more effective thinking, you’ll clearly see the path to personal success. (Amazon)
What books are on your 2020 book list? Share with me below! I am always looking to check out new books!
Originally published at www.macymichelle.com.