5 Books you should read

Books, books, and more books

Have you heard that many CEO read around 60 books a year? In fact, many well-known CEOs felt that reading was a must like other business skills to become successful. According to Business Insider Bill Gates said in an interviewed that his reading of 50 books a year gives him a huge advantage and provides him with a new perspective on the world. Mark Cuban of Shark Tank fame reads 3 hours a day, Elon Muck said reading helped him learn how to build rockets and even Oprah credits reading to her success. I too love reading and learning new concepts.

When I was a new private practice business owner struggling to create my business, I read as many books as I possibly could. I would scour the bookstores and check out Amazon for their exclusive deals; after all who doesn’t want a good deal, right?

My coaching clients often ask me how many books do you read a year? I wish I could answer 50 like Bill Gates but in reality, I only read about 3 books a month or about 36 a year, not too shabby especially  since  Pew Research Center suggests that “Americans read an average of 12 books per year and that has remained largely unchanged since 2011.” I do suspect that clinicians like yourself are more likely to read more due to our natural curiosity, but I could not find any scientific data to back that up.

In the spirit of helping inspire you to pick up a good book that could provide you with some inspiration and maybe even help with building your business, I have listed a few of my favorites books from what I have read this year.

2017 5 Top Books

1. You Are a Badass at Making Money: Master the Mindset of Wealth by Jen Sincero

This is her second book of helping you learn just how “Badassery you are.” In this book, she focuses on the money with her signature out of the box humor and her practical down to earth approach. She kicks fear to the curb and helps you see how to go for your dreams.

2. The Gift of Therapy: An Open Letter to a New Generation of Therapists and Their Patients by Irvin Yalom, M.D.

I like many therapists have loved Yalom from our graduate school days. In this book, he passes down his wisdom throughout the 87 chapters. He explains his thoughts behind what he does and shares his insight to help each of us become better clinicians.

3.It’s Who You Know How a Network of 12 Key People Can Fast Track Your Success by Janine Garner.

This book was recommended by mentor Jo Muirhead, In this book, Janine takes the concept of networking and teaches that it about nurturing relations that really counts. She shows you that with strategic networking you can build your connections and it takes not as many people as one might think. She explains how to create that inner circle with only 12 key people or even just 4.

4. Platform Get Noticed in a Noisy World by Michael Hyatt

This book helps you break down how to get noticed in such a crowded noisy world. It talks about how to make your service or product stand out to those people who will buy it. He breaks down the steps for different media including use of websites, blogs, and social media platforms.

5. Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek

Talks about what all great leaders have I common and how they inspire others. It leads the reader to define their personal why and it’s not just the money (that’s a result). Additionally, it helps the reader understand their unique selling proposition, a must for all businesses.

 

I know with all the wonderful books published each year it hard to find the time to read them all. The 5 above books I feel are worthy of your time. Let’s me know if you enjoyed these and share with me what you are reading; I am always looking for a good book!

© 2017 All Rights Reserved, Therapist Practice in A Box, Sherry Shockey-Pope, LMFT