Success Reading List

It is interesting to note that if I was only allowed to have two "leadership" books in my library, that both of them would be derived from a military viewpoint.  Taking it a step further, both of the books actually come from a Navy background. Personally I have neither a Navy nor a military experience myself.  While I respect the men and women of our military at the highest level I am capable, I never had the honor of serving with them in their endeavor to keep our people and our country safe. The reason I bring this up is because I want you to understand that while Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win does have military elements and stories, and it pulls its leadership lessons from these events, you do not need to be a military person to enjoy this book and learn from its valuable lessons. Written by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin,  Extreme Ownership really gets to the heart of what it takes to be a leader, the concept that all responsibility for eve...

If there was one book that I had to say was the most important to me personally in the last few years it would be Chase The Lion: If Your Dream Doesn't Scare You, It's Too Small by Mark Batterson. In my early life and through school I didn't really like to read.  Maybe the books were just not interesting.  Maybe it was that I didn't get to pick what I wanted to read.  Or maybe it was just the simple fact that I was being forced to read but whatever the reason I was not a reader.  Soon after graduating from school, however, I got around people who read because they wanted to.  I finally understood that reading is one of the best ways to learn, to gain knowledge and really grow.  I also learned that when you are picking the books you want to read, you can find ones that interest you and hold your attention and if they don't, put them down and find another one that does. For years I read heavily.  As time went on, though, I fell out of the habit of r...

With any new project there invariably comes the question, "why did you do that first?"  In this particular case that question could be reworded to, "why did you choose that book first?" Ultimately, one book simply had to be first and as this list grows I am sure you will find many that just as easily could have been first.  For our purposes here, however, I chose The Butterfly Effect: How Your Life Matters by Andy Andrews to get everything kicked off and rolling. The reason for this choice is twofold. First, The Butterfly Effect is a short and easy to read book.  It can be read in right around 20 minutes and should be consumed in one sitting. Second, The Butterfly Effect shows us how "every move we make and every action we take, matters."  This knowledge and understanding of your unique importance to not only your life but the lives of everyone around you and many, many more whom you have never met is a principle that should be the foundation up...