The Top 25 Books I read in 2021 & Why You Should Read Them

It’s common knowledge that the world’s most successful entrepreneurs are avid readers - Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and Mark Cuban highlight the endless list of uber successful people that publicly advocate reading. As someone who was a mediocre high school student on a generous day, I can legitimately claim that reading has changed my life in the most positive ways possible. I'm proud to be an example of it's “never too late” to become a student. I haven’t accomplished everything I plan to yet in my career, but the successes I’ve been fortunate enough to achieve can be attributed largely to the time invested into reading.

So if you’ve taken the time to click on this article, I’m making two assumptions: First, you read for the same reason I do- to get better at what you do. And to be overwhelmingly clear, I don’t read to “escape” or as a hobby. I do it with a specific intent of doing better for ZIG, our AFC business or any other endeavors I work on.

Secondly, I’m hoping you decide to read at least one of these books. If you do in fact take the time to read one, my “ask” in return for writing this article together is to get your feedback and takeaways from it. You can email us at [email protected] or message us on social media to let us know what you think- because who knows where the conversation will go (Side note: wink ??- ZIG is hiring and always looking for more value-add, retail properties to acquire).

Without further ado, here are the “top” 25 books I read in 2021 and how they rank:

Tier 2 Books: I made it through these and had solid takeaways, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to buy you a copy. Speaking of which, I rarely buy books in general- I’m the nerd who rents them from the public library - it saves room in my house and about $40 per month in accumulating new books. If you purchase an audio version (I use Audible) and read the hard copy at the same time, you can retain the information better and read the book faster (THANK YOU Mark Thompson, Founder of STNL.com for the greatest hack EVER):

Tools Of Titans

Radical Uncertainty

Zero To One

The CEO Next Door

The Twenty Seed Game

Retails Seismic Shift

The 7 Perspectives of Effective Leaders

The Captain Class

How Successful People Think

Tier 1 Books: These ones were memorable for their own reasons, a quick note on each below on why you may be compelled to read them:

Conscious Capitalism

The founder of Whole Foods does a wonderful job of putting the world into perspective of what really matters socially, while not losing sight of building a great business.

Extreme Ownership

These former accomplished Seals do an incredible job of articulating the importance of taking radical responsibility for what you can control to mitigate chances of failure.

The Inner Game of Tennis

Don’t play tennis? No worries, this book has very little to do with tennis and everything to do with self-talk. If I’ve learned one thing in business, it’s that mentality going into every pitch, meeting, call, etc. requires a level head, no matter how often you hear “no”.

An American Sickness: How Healthcare Became Big Business and How You Can Take It Back

This book was extremely eye opening and I would strongly suggest everyone in healthcare read it. Even if you aren’t, it depicts a prime example of how systems can work, for better or worse and how to navigate them.

Leave Something On The Table

Frank’s incredible journey at the Hearst Corporation is told in a way that is both inspiring and educational.

The must have books of 2021: Not only are these books worth the money, but they’re also worth buying for other people and the time invested to read them. I can assure you with full confidence that they will pay off far more than the dollars or time expended by reading them.

Living With A Seal

The “Seal” ends up being David Goggins (Author of “Can’t Break Me”, which is also a MUST read), which makes sense after you read what he makes Jesse Itzler, a successful entrepreneur do when living with him for 30 days. The lessons about time management, charisma, grit and relationships are impactful and the writing is delivered an extremely entertaining way by Itzler.

Leaders Eat Last

For those who don’t know Sinek and his work, he’s perhaps one of the most influential minds in of this generation (he belongs in the conversation with Malcolm Gladwell, respectfully). If you want to lead a team of one or 1,000, you must read this book based on live examples and insightful findings from research.

Open

This former champion tennis player gives us the story we all need to hear from successful people- the cold, hard truth. He talks about his “interesting” relationship with his father, how he hates tennis and other highs and lows that make his story almost impossible to stop reading. As an entrepreneur, I really respect how this book was written because like athletes, entrepreneurs can be idolized for glitz and glamour, when most of the time you’re eating sh*t on a daily basis.

Profit First

If you’re a small business owner or even an independent contractor (shout to the brokers out there!), this book does an amazing job of putting financial freedom into an unorthodox, but a seemingly effective way to operate.

The Harder You Work, the Luckier You Get

The founder of Ameritrade tells his amazing story from his humble Midwest beginnings to a becoming massively successful influencer in the way money moves in this country. He gives us a friendly reminder that the American dream is very real and that there’s no reason you can’t make it happen.

On Fire

Shout out to Scott Bitney (Location Commercial Real Estate) for sending this story about a man who overcame all sorts of adversity from a young age to have incredible perspective and thus an incredible life as a result. It’s a story that is so incredible, Hollywood couldn’t replicate it.

A Practical Way To Get Rich And Die Trying

If Jordan Belfort (Wolf of Wall Street) & Mark Zuckerberg had a baby, it would be John Roa. If that sentence alone doesn’t get you to read this book, I’m not sure what else to say. It’s a crazy story about a guy living life to the fullest while failing and succeeding many times along the way.

The One Thing

When Chris Sands (CEO- Sands Investment Group) recommended this book, I knew it would be good. After reading it, it exceeded my expectations. The perspective of what it takes to be great in anything or everything you want to accomplish is perfectly illustrated in this enjoyable read. Keller does a a fantastic job of articulating the importance of focus on what truly matters.

Good Company

The Home Depot, PGA Superstore, the Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta United FC, & more. Arthur Blank owned them all at different points of his career- he tells his story with meaningful lessons of doing things the right way throughout this outstanding read.

It’s How We Play The Game

Stack took Dick Sporting Goods from one store to the retail goliath it is today, and did so while standing by his morals every step of the way with a foundation of hard work, ethics & creativity. The wild ride even gives some great insight on the importance of site selection for retailers, so this one had obvious brownie points for me.

I Love Capitalism

As a co-founder of The Home Depot and one of the best financial engineers I’ve ever read about or studied, Langone’s story would have been good enough on its own for educational purposes. When you add in his delivery (I highly suggest listening to his authentic Long Island accent on the audio version) and the insane anecdotes he shares along the way, it makes this one a “must have” for any motivated person in business.

Like the list? Hate it? Let us know what your thoughts on the list and books- we look forward to the conversation.

Aaron Zucker is a Charlotte, NC based entrepreneur with companies in commercial real estate (Zucker Investment Group) and healthcare (American Family Care franchisee). He is the host of the “Limitless: How To Crush It In Commercial Real Estate” Podcast, is actively involved in several non-profits and is of course, an avid reader.

Follow Aaron on LinkedIn: https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/aaron-zucker-zig/