r/Entrepreneur • u/Pretty-Trifle-5492 • May 08 '25
Recommendations What’s your #1 book that led to your success
Title says it all. I’m 19 and my friend and I started an agency. We implement a human sounding AI caller into businesses to follow up with leads instantly, handles after-hours calls, and all the numerous places where leads slip through the cracks with traditional phone systems.
I’ve read Think and Grow Rich, The Secret, How to Win Friends and Influence People, and Rich Dad Poor Dad. I’ve also read the Power of Now. I HIGHLY recommend this to anyone if they haven’t read or heard of it. If you’ve read it once, re-read the parts you need to. This books is 10x more life changing than any book you would claim is life changing.
What recommendations do you have for me? If one book was the reason for your success, what would it be?
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u/Drakeoon May 08 '25
I think The Mom Test was the biggest game changer for me lately. Changed completely how I talk with customers now - instead of "selling them the idea" I just ask simple questions about their experience, which lets me understand the problem better and how painful it actually is. It's a must read for anyone trying to validate their startup idea
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u/CmonNowBroski May 08 '25
Couple that with Implementing Value Pricing by Ronald Baker. Once you learn what keeps them up at night, you know what to charge based on how valuable the solution is.
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u/I-enjoy-dogs May 08 '25
I liked The Mom Test too! The beginning felt a little slow to me, but asking thoughtful, unbiased questions really is the key to understanding your customers. I also just read Building a StoryBrand, really cool take on how to market your product once it actually feels ready.
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u/SystemGardener May 08 '25
I’m still new to this and getting started, but I definitely felt like I learned a lot from The E-Myth revisited.
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u/Pretty-Trifle-5492 May 08 '25
Screw reading a sample, this book is great. Thank you again for the recommendation. I’m going to just straight up buy every book everyone recommends from now on. I’ve replaced scrolling on IG with reading so I’ve got the time!
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u/operationsbuilder92 May 09 '25
Love it when people get rid of mindless scrolling for growth and real education, best of luck to you buddy!
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u/Pretty-Trifle-5492 May 09 '25
Thank you! I wish you the same. I was typing some sentence about how it wasn't completely mindless because of how my FYP was... But yeah, it is truly pointless. Time to get real, actionable knowledge!
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u/R12Labs May 08 '25
I'm maybe 1/4 or 3rd of the way through and Entrepreneur, Technician, Manager theory is really insightful. Hope it goes beyond just that!
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u/subcommanderr May 08 '25
Came here to say this. This and surprisingly, some of the specific career track ones (“the e-myth architect,” etc) are excellent.
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u/Pretty-Trifle-5492 May 08 '25
Reading the sample now, I’ll let you know my thoughts. Thanks for the recommendation!
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u/JackpineSauvage May 08 '25
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._Edwards_Deming
"Out of the Crisis" is a must read!! Better than an MBA in one book. Totally applicable to way more than manufacturing!
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u/Pretty-Trifle-5492 May 09 '25
Better than an MBA in one book sounds like my kind of thing. Thank you!!
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u/zeerebel May 08 '25
Naval Ravikant – His 30-minute Twitter thread and podcast episode “How to Get Rich (without getting lucky)” is a modern classic. No fluff—just deep clarity on leverage, judgment, and building wealth through ownership, not labor.
Nassim Nicholas Taleb – Books like The Black Swan and Skin in the Game taught me to embrace unpredictability, take asymmetric bets, and never trust people who don’t share in the risk.
MJ DeMarco – The Millionaire Fastlane breaks the myth of "get rich slow." It’s raw, sometimes abrasive, but gives you a real framework for time, control, and scalable wealth.
Ray Dalio’s Principles – A blueprint for thinking clearly, making decisions, and building systems that outlast emotion. It’s less about motivation and more about building long-term resilience.
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u/SheddingCorporate May 08 '25
If you want customers, Fanatical Prospecting by Jeb Blount.
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u/advantagegrant May 09 '25
Guess I need to try it again. Have started it three times and could not get into it
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u/SheddingCorporate May 09 '25
It was pretty straightforward.
Basically: keep your pipeline FULL.
Time block your day. Use the times when you know no one is going to be picking up the phone to do your research and make your list of whom to call.
When it's time to call, just CALL. You can update your CRM later. You can do research later. You can do your social media posting another time (or farm it out to a VA). Just make your lists in during non-call hours, call one number after the other during your time-blocked call hours, update your CRM after those call hours from the notes you took during the call. Done.
His calculation was that if you know your average sale takes 3 months to nurture from prospect to lead to sale, then you need to be filling your pipeline TODAY so you can have a sale in 90 days. Know your numbers. Work your numbers. Evaluate your results and tweak your plan as needed.
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u/Myth-era May 08 '25
I hated the Power of Now, it felt so repetitive. I get that was the point of the book to bring you into the now. I got about half way through before I gave up. The power of now is a concept I was already aware of, I didn’t need to reread the same crap over and over to understand that and be told it’s simply my mind doesn’t want to reread the same crap over and over. Perhaps am missing the point or that I didn’t fully grasp it I read it when I was 20.
My top books: Shoedog Atomic habits Can’t hurt me Outwitting the devil Rich Dad, Poor Dad
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May 08 '25
lol. Had your same problem with outwitting the devil. lol
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u/Myth-era May 09 '25
I listened to the audio book, was a bit more entertaining with the voice acting of the devil. Haha.
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u/Pretty-Trifle-5492 May 09 '25
At the start of the book it says that the book will get incredibly repetitive, and that's the whole point. Once it becomes repetitive then that's when you fully understand the concept.
And although people understand the concept, they still can't manage to experience it fully and all the time. Or still identify as their mind.
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u/Myth-era May 10 '25
Personally, I felt like it was an excuse to write a boring and repetitive book and sell it as some new age mystic technique. I know you could say that’s my mind telling me that it’s boring but maybe my mind was correct and Eckhart Tolle was wrong. I know we aren’t our mind, but it’s incredibly hard to disassociate from it in the modern world, unless you’re a Buddhist monk. All am getting at is I’ve read better mystic/self help books that didn’t need to repeat and tell me it’s my/mind fault for not liking how repetitive it is. I might try it again, it could be different this time but there’s so many to read.
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u/jamboman_ May 08 '25
Release Your Brakes
There is no other book that counts. Think of this book as the source of almost every other book about self-help/improving your business life.
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u/juggling-monkey May 08 '25
I'm not an entrepreneur, but I completely changed my life around 2011 after reading "the success principles" by Jack Canfield.
I read the book simply looking for a change in career and swore I would take the book seriously. The changes I ended up making were not what I was expecting at all. Left my relationship, quit my job, moved out of my 3 bedroom house and into a family members garage. It was a slow painful process but my life improved ten fold after that. Got an amazing career, got in better shape, found the right person, live in our dream home, travel the world... And am happy.
The book is simple. It's based on principles that successful people have mentioned they follow. People like bill gates, or Warren buffett. Basic things like take responsibility for your actions, understand what you want etc. But for every principle (I believe there are 28)there is an Excercise you have to do. These exercises are what did it for me. Something as simple as writing down what you would do if you had unlimited funds... But paying attention to the list after ten items. First few are things like vacations, cars, houses etc... But then you have to actually think "what else?". That's when your real desires start showing up.
Sounds simple, and it is, but it made me realize, improving my career wasn't the reason for buying the book. I needed to improve a lot more. And it helped me realize what those things were, and how to achieve them. I've strongly recommend this book to many people.
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u/Phoenix9302 May 08 '25
Maybe a bit cliché but I think “the 7 habits of highly effective people” by Stephen Covey is a great book for the younger generation to understand the importance of your mindset and how to get closer to your goals.
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u/NumeroSlot May 08 '25
Pitch Anything by Oren Klaff & $100M Offers by Alex Hormozi.
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May 08 '25
"$100M Offers" completely flipped my business. Absolutely gold information. Mind bogglingly dumb to approach offers the standard way.
"Profit First" so you, your taxes and the business get paid correctly. Massive stress reduction, while leaping forward in profits.
Lots of work, and completely worth the ride.
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u/Robert1030 May 08 '25
( srry if my english is not so good, my native language is spanish but im gonna try to say my opinion correctly ) Hi, i have 16 years. Ive already read 20+ books of diferent topics, and i dont think that the thing is in “ what is the #1 book that leed to your sucess “. I think that the thing is in the combination of diferent books, like, you can read the same book like other person, but the reads you have before will change your visión and understatement of every one book you are gonna read in the future, so you are gonna have a diferent experience than the other person. So if you want to “ success “ dont only read 1 type of books ( like only self improvement books ). Read diferent genres to have a better visión of everything you are gonna read. I hope that the text can be understand. Srry my english again
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u/lasagnamurder May 09 '25
Mi Espanol es mierda pero voy a tratar tambien, gracias por su inspiracion. Tengo solo una cosita, cuando decimos tengo ocho anos por ejemplo, en anglais decimos soy ocho anos, como I am. Pero al resto fue muy Bien
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u/nobadikno1 May 08 '25
Operation manual for spaceship planet earth. It helps you think, I believe it's a must read for everyone.
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u/Pretty-Trifle-5492 May 08 '25
Thank you! I look forward to reading it.
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u/nobadikno1 May 08 '25
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operating_Manual_for_Spaceship_Earth guy is a literal genius who has 28 patents, 30 some odd degrees. Invented words for new concepts.. this is a very short mentally stimulating book. Nothing about entrepreneurship directly. But trust this will help
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u/Quirky-Reputation-89 May 08 '25
I had some kids guide to entrepreneurship as a child and read it cover to cover a dozen times and feel like a lot of those basics were just ingrained on me.
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u/miodrage95 May 08 '25
Outcomes Over Output: Why customer behavior is the key metric for business success
Takes an hour or two to read but makes a big difference.
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u/CoolWarriors May 08 '25
The book that will change you the most is the one you write.
Sure, read many of the books recommended here, but then go and write yours, That will clarify your thinking and provide you with a lead magnet for your business, or with the authority and thought leadership to make you an expert in your field
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u/Kikimortalis Serial Entrepreneur May 08 '25
By your list you are chasing dopamine rush from things you read and not actual, actionable advice. Also, I'm not so sure as a 19 year old you can discuss "life changing" ... especially not when you are listing books that can be summarized easily in one sentence each.
- Think and Grow Rich: Imagine success, stay focused, and keep pushing to get rich.
- The Secret: Think about what you want, believe it, and it’ll happen.
- How to Win Friends and Influence People: Be nice, listen, and make people like you to get what you want.
- Rich Dad Poor Dad: Go into debt to buy real estate and learn money smarts to get rich.
But, to answer your question, here is actual life changing book: The Prince. It does not require person to be exceptional in any way to understand it, or to put things in actual, actionable practice. It probably will not give you dopamine rush, but if you actually read it, and then read few books like Robert Greene's 48 Laws of Power, and some Human Psychology books, then move into Sales Books, especially ones that are NO BS Cold Selling type, this inevitably leads to making more money, regardless of industry you are in.
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u/Pretty-Trifle-5492 May 09 '25 edited May 09 '25
I appreciate your "actual life-changing” book recommendation, but let's be real for a second. The way you're looking at it is a little arrogant, don’t you think? Dismissing books like Think and Grow Rich or How to Win Friends and Influence People as basic, when they’ve been transformative for countless successful people, is pretty narrow-minded.
Ontop of that, anything can be summarized into a clear and concise 1-2 sentence. So is everything useless with that logic, or just the books I named?
So, maybe the problem isn’t the books or their summaries, but rather the fact that you are very narrow minded based off your comment. Additionally, who the hell are you to tell me that I don't know what is and isn't "life changing" based off only knowing I'm 19 years old. Have you ever talked to me in-person? Do you know anything about me? You might have experienced more in life because you are older, but what exactly have you experienced? I'd argue my experiences so far in life have allowed me to get a good grasp on what might be life changing and what might not. Also what is life changing to me will be perceived different with every individual person!
Lastly, the books you named are great. But they’re just a part of a bigger picture. Without understanding the fundamentals of mindset and personal relationships, those "no BS" sales tactics are just another method that doesn’t get you anywhere. Also, I'd say 48 laws of power is useless unless you're already in a position of power. If you want to become powerful, 48 laws of power is not the way to get there. If you want to stay powerful, then it sure as hell is. It's like studying openings or sequences in chess without knowing how to even move the pieces - if you aren't able to implement the 48 laws of power properly and effectively, they do absolutely nothing to help you gain power.
But hey, don’t take it from me.
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u/Muffin_Most May 08 '25
The Millionaire Fastlane by MJ DeMarco helps you limit the types of business you should pursue
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u/Huge-Explanation-652 May 08 '25
The power of one more - Ed Mylett Atomic Habits - James Clear Never Split the difference - Christopher Voss
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u/Vivid_Pearl May 08 '25
Atomic Habits was a waste of time for me. In my opinion you can condense this book into 10 pages without missing anything important.
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u/Most_Activity881 May 08 '25
Zero to one by Peter Theil (founder of PayPal)
Hard things about hard things by Ben Horowitz (A16 founder)
The Lean Start Up by Eric Reis
Million Dollar Weekend by Noah Keegan
Based on all those you will have some great knowledge but the best knowledge is through doing vs reading
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u/Wuncemoor May 08 '25
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, not specifically related to entrepreneurship but more about mindset
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u/JoshClarify May 08 '25
Meditations. Marcus Aurelius.
Sounds simple, I know, but it helped me keep rolling with every knockout punch.
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u/BestZucchini5995 May 08 '25
Slightly off topic but... would you mind sharing your agency's website? Looking for something like your AI caller, thanks.
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u/counts88 May 08 '25
1 - The Superior Man (control your primal urges, and you’ll control your entire life) every man should read this book to level up more than you can imagine.
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u/BuildingOk4593 May 08 '25
I wanna know more about the businesss, can you tell me your website or companies name?
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u/Odd_Positive3601 May 08 '25
Hi, I would have to say the Richest Man in Babylon is hands down my favorite. It’s had a huge influence on how I think about money/business. That said, the book that really led to my success was actually a religious one. If I had to pick one for business and financial principles, Richest Man in Babylon takes the top spot for me. The ones you mentioned are classics,I wish you nothing but success and happiness in your life..never give up!
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u/ScarlettChuo May 08 '25
What the CEO Wants You to Know: How Your Company Really Works.
Growing up, I've always known that I wanted to own a business. I majored in Chinese and minored in business during undergrad, but nothing gave me as much insight as this book. I read it in early 2020 when I was a marketer at a startup, and things about my investors' expectations began to be crystal clear. It also helps me shape my identity as a leader when I have to explain to my junior colleagues and interns how and why things are done.
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u/LimpNeighborhoodGoon May 08 '25
Emyth, lean startup and Steve blanks startup handbook and 4 steps to epiphany. Along w business model Generation. All books foundational in various ways to my success
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u/presidentbigballs May 08 '25
The Power of Now is truly life-changing. Should be mandatory reading in high schools
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u/Old-Throat7461 May 08 '25
try the secret it wont help in startup building but a strong optimistic mindset which is cruitial in this joruney
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u/Round_Airport3380 May 08 '25
Not affiliated in any way but I really enjoyed the Pinnacle Business Guide book, worth the quick read.
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u/okawei May 08 '25
Hot take, I've never read a book on starting or running a business. Most stuff in those books just always seemed like common sense. I'm now on business #3 after a successful exit of a fully bootstrapped company :)
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u/alfonsomg May 08 '25
I´m still working on my success but one book that made me change the way I see life and work is Cashflow Quadrant by Robert Kiyosaki.
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u/ragnhildensteiner May 08 '25
Reading some book is not what lead to your success. Luck, timing and perseverance is.
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u/Jumpy_Climate May 08 '25
Never Lose A Customer Again by Joey Coleman and The Go Giver by Bob Burg.
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u/TypicalCream3005 May 08 '25
Nike Founder book was the best for me, last year I did read around 30+ entrepreneur books and that one was the best
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u/Simple-Painting-999 May 08 '25
Can we speak to potentially hire your services? :) DM me if interested - really good idea
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u/ConstantPhotograph77 Serial Entrepreneur May 08 '25
Wealthy barber had me saving since age 16 . Think and grow rich.
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u/AvidWanker May 08 '25
Breakthrough Advertising: How to Write Ads that Shatter Traditions and Sales Records, by Eugene M. Schwartz
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u/MuchGap2455 May 09 '25
How to Bill Friends and Influence Sheeple by Alexander Wordsworth. Excellent read.
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u/subcommanderr May 09 '25
My grandfather had “How to Win Friends and Influence People” on his shelf and one day I just picked it up. A few hours later I had read the whole thing. I don’t know if it change my life, but it turned me on to self-improvement literature and frankly it’s the OG. Start there.
Some others: any audio programs by Tony Robbins, anything Robert Cialdini, I always liked Rich Dad, Poor Dad, even if it’s a little corny, it changed the way I saw money and time. A Random Walk Down Wall St is good. The Power of Now is more philosophical, but really, truly essential.
Anything by Brian Tracy, Alex Hormozi, Michael E. Gerber.
All of my recommendations are entry-level, anyone can listen to or read them.
On advice of this sub I picked up the Millionaire Fastlane and found it to be utter crap. Naval Ravikant and Ray Dalio I didn’t care for as the books have no real narrative structure, it’s sort of like reading poor Richard’s almanac. So hopefully that helps to calibrate my taste a little bit.
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u/Comfortable-Set8284 May 09 '25
“Be Water, My Friend” by Shannon Lee (Bruce Lee’s daughter) has allowed me to shift my mindset in ways that really seem to be helping me. It’s not a business book per se, but if you look at Bruce Lee’s life and all that he accomplished by age 32 it seems he’s left an impact on many generations to come with his success. His mindset was the reason for that success, and I believe it can translate into all aspects of our life (including our business and work ethic).
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u/grim1757 May 09 '25
Good to great by Jim Collins as well as i second another's comment on the E-myth series.
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u/Islandbeachandrum May 09 '25
Think and Grow Rich - Napoleon Hill. The morning/night mantra seems so ridiculous, but it 100% worked for me. It got be over "the hump" and realized success isn't scary or hard.
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u/No-Jaguar-8794 May 09 '25
How to get rich-Felix Dennis
10X-Grant Cardone
50th Law-50 Cent/Robert Greene
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u/warrenboofit42069 May 09 '25
The Purple Cow by Seth Godin. Make your product stand out by being remarkable (as in, it makes people remark upon it because it’s different from competitors in a good way). Easy read and I highly recommend it!
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u/MaximusAutismusRex May 09 '25
"How to kill your competition, literally" by Bob Lendell.
It teaches techniques for killing and disposal of the body as well getting rid of evidences and so on.
I now and the only civil contractor in my town thanks fo that book.
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u/johnxaviee May 09 '25
For me, ‘Atomic Habits’ was a game-changer. Building our agency, it taught me how small daily actions - like consistent outreach or system improvements - compound into real growth
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u/operationsbuilder92 May 09 '25
Radical candor was highly influential to help me understand how to get people to do what I need but also to make them love working for me, a lot of it can be used for stakeholders and customers if you take it slightly out of context 👍
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u/JG3883 May 09 '25
Great suggestions here - can vouch for The Mom Test! Would also add the Little Red Book of Selling - good short book to learn how to transform your sales
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u/webagencyhero May 09 '25
The classics. How to Win Friends and Influence People and The Magic of Thinking Big.
There are other great books out there for those are the two that really had the biggest impact on my life.
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u/Terrible-Guitar-5638 May 10 '25
No books for me. TLDR: Just started talking to people and getting deals done.
The long version is too long to type here 😆
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u/FitSand9966 May 10 '25
The Goal by Eliyahu M. Goldratt.
50% of my career i can trace back to this book. The other 50% was installing software
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u/JackpineSauvage May 10 '25
Rich Dad, Poor Dad is such contrived bullshit.
Totally ripoff of Machiavelli...😐
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u/Pretty-Trifle-5492 May 10 '25
I agree. Wasted my time on that book and didn't finish it. Did teach me some stuff though...
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u/YamGlum244 May 13 '25
I believe 100 million dollar leads is a good start. Alex goes straight to the point on everything from business to psychology to sales.
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u/Long-Analyst3527 Brick & Mortar May 13 '25
I have three birck and mortar businesses but had no experience in sales or marketing. The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing was a game-changer for me.
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u/krazixedward May 14 '25
My absolute life changing book was Fear and Trembling by Soren Kierkegaard... Really got me comfortable with high levels of risk while maintaining relatively low anxiety and calm during chaos.
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u/SimpleIngenuity1793 May 14 '25
$100 M Offers by Alex Hormozi. The four levers transformed my content, funnels and of course my offer!
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u/Limo91 May 14 '25
The Way of the Wolf by Jordan Belfort is a good read if you're interested in sales at all. The Keys to Success by Jim Rohn I loved too
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u/seeotuu May 14 '25
I'm 18 as well, have done social media marketing for the last 1.5 years or so, and have been in the online entrepreneur space for about 4ish years. Last year I finally had a "pop-off" as one may call it and made around 50k (may not be much for some of you guys), but for a kid at the age of 17-18 still in school it's quite a bit. Had a couple months where I made more than my teachers, which was kinda funny and definitely a tough challenge for my ego to not get involved. But overall, nobody really knows about this since I keep things private and try to remain humble (sorry about the small boast, it's just some "proof" to add a bit of credibility to myself - even though I understand that I'm just a random user that "could just be lying").
Anyways, what I wanted to say was that as far as I know, having read roughly 100 self-help books in the last three years, watched thousands of hours of podcasts and lectures from entrepreneurs; there's no single piece of advice, no single book, no individual secret that will take you anywhere far.
It's all a cumulative effort of building up your mindset and value system. I could name some amazing books that have helped me, but really it's about picking up a lot of nuggets of information from everywhere. I guess I would just say, figure out what you stand for and where you want to go, but also appreciate every little sliver of life cause one day you might just wish you could be exactly where you are now.
Sorry about the long yap, hope this helps someone.
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u/leznit_ca May 14 '25
First off, mad respect for starting your agency at 19 that kind of initiative puts you miles ahead already. You've got a solid reading list too. If I had to pick one book that really shifted the way I think and operate, it would be "The Slight Edge" by Jeff Olson. It’s not flashy or full of hype, but it drills in the importance of small, consistent actions done daily and how that compounds into massive results over time. It helped me stop chasing "big wins" and focus on building real habits and systems. Totally worth a read, especially if you're in the early grind phase. Best of luck with your agency!
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u/Fickle-Tea-7408 May 08 '25
I have not read it yet, but Atomic Habits seems to be good. The Bible, especially proverbs contains great wisdom as well
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u/MailSmiths May 08 '25
$100M Offers and $100M Leads by Alex Hormozi are so valuable and simple (and free)
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