Three Things: The 5 best (out of 164) books we've read on business, psychology, and leadership

Back in 2004, a mentor convinced me reading was a life hack. They spent an entire breakfast convincing me to set aside enough time to expand my worldview while learning from those who've "done it before." Since then, we've been trying to devour 2 to 3 books per month on leadership, business and psychology. I'm 164 books deep. Of that list, here are the 5 books I've found most impactful to our journey in building TicketManager and my career: a. Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman. Changes the way we see our decisions, how we make them and where we are clouded in our decision making by subconscious bias we are not aware of. IMHO, this Nobel prize winning masterpiece should be required reading in school. For those who find it reads too much like a text book, "The Undoing Project" by Michael Lewis is a sort of 'Thinking Fast and Slow Lite.' Both terrific reads. b. How Champions Think by Bob Rotella - Rotella has spent his professional life maximizing the potential of athletes and leaders. There are a ton of gurus, like Rotella, however I find most of them to be pop-psychologists telling people what they want to hear as opposed to what actually works in the real world marathon that is life. Rotella has an impressive track record of practical psychology. To that end…. c. Emotional Agility by Susan David - An expert psychologist who digs deep into why we do what we do, how we feel when we do it, and gives practical explanations for living beyond the all-to-common motivational speakers. She's incredible. I had the privilege of having lunch with her once and her EQ is off-the-charts. Everything can't be optimism all the time, and that's a good, and healthy, aspect of life. I'm so thankful for her work and how it has helped us grow a business. d. The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz - The most real, practical, and straightforward business book I've ever read. It's required reading for anyone looking to be an entrepreneur. A masterpiece. Had I read it four years earlier, as we were starting the business, I would have saved millions of dollars and countless hours of heartache. e. Influence by Robert Cialdini - Written in 1984 and even more applicable today. The book seems so obvious when reading, as most truths usually appear when we uncover them. Put together, however, the six rules of influence are as powerful as they are dangerous. There's a reason it has gotten more popular with age. The reader can quickly see how the ideas are weaponized in commerce, politics, business and social circles. An added bonus - "The Sure Thing," an article by Malcolm Gladwell, is the best explanation of entrepreneurs I've come across and is worth reading multiple times through the journey I hope these help and am always looking for great reads and suggestions!