I have a huge love affair with books and reading. I am a voracious reader and have been most of my life. A few years ago the job I had took me on the road A LOT. I spent 10s of thousands of miles in the air and around 150 nights a year in a hotel room. While that much travel certainly had its drawbacks it also had its rewards (air miles, hotel points and sightseeing). It also came with the added advantage of hours and hours and hours of reading.

At the time I would average a book a week. Since leaving that job I left behind the air miles and hotel points but I retained the reading schedule. In fact, thanks to Audible and their 2x capabilities, I have actually increased the amount of book content that I can consume. I now average about 1 ½ books a week sharing time between my Kindle Paperwhite and Audible (in Automobile University :)) Because of this schedule I have read close to 350 “business” (nonfiction) books in the last 10 years.

From ALL THAT reading, I have learned 2 huge things- 1) there are a lot of great books out there and 2) the more you read the better you can do your job, engage with your family, interact with friends and colleagues – in short….reading makes you a better person.

So this week I am sharing the “Essential Eight”, the 8 books that have had the biggest impact on my growth and development, my motivation and inspiration. Today is the blog but on Thursday I dive even deeper into these books on my podcast. When it goes live you can listen to it here (goes live on March 12^th — episode 021).

The Essential Eight are books that I believe must be read, reread and implemented into your life (they are all favorites so I ordered them in alphabetical by author)

• 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families by Dr. Stephen R. Covey – Had a huge impact on helping to start Family Before Fortune. I think is better and more applicable than his other “Habits” book. (read more here)

• The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy- I have a very detailed routine that I follow with my goal setting and weekly accountability. That discipline comes from multiple readings of this great book on building step by step to success. (read more here)

• Winners Never Cheat by Jon M. Huntsman- Talk about an example of integrity, Jon Huntsman walks through a number of real world scenarios where cheating and dishonesty seemed the easiest course. He became a billionaire philanthropist through hard work and never compromising. (read more here)

• Start With Why by Simon Sinek- There is no better book on the sales cycle and creating lifelong raving fans than Start With Why. It is a must read for any business and employee. (read more here)

• Smartcuts by Shane Snow- You may have heard me rave about this book on my podcast (episode 012). This book was so transformational for me that I read it twice…back to back. The premise is how the most successful rise to the top of their game through strategic “shortcuts with integrity” (smartcuts). (read more here)

• The Ultimate Gift by Jim Stovall- A short but impactful parable about a young man discovering his value through lessons his deceased uncle Red left as his inheritance. (read more here)

• Rule #1 Investing by Phil Town- I think the easiest to understand investment book on the market. Rule #1 comes from Warren Buffett’s famous quote about investing “Rule #1- Never lose money. Rule #2- Never forget rule #1. (read more here)

• See You at The Top by Zig Ziglar- If you know me then this comes as no surprise. I love anything and everything from Zig and this book launched his career. The motivation and inspiration needed to reach your full potential and a blueprint for making it happen. (read more here)

Honorable Mentions- I wanted to throw in a couple of highly impactful books that just missed being included in the “Essential Eight”. Too bad we didn’t make it the “Tremendous Ten”

• 3 books with equal influence The Tipping Point, Blink and Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
• Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

Question: How many of the “Essential Eight” have you read? Did a miss one that should have been included? Leave your comment below or by clicking here.

Join the Goybadi Community

Over the past several months I have been asked many times about the tools that I am using to create and manage Family Before Fortune, my tools of the trade. When I started actively posting on a weekly basis (over a year ago…wow already), I had a very simple wordpress site and a laptop. I really had no idea what I was doing, nor did I know about all the tools could save me a lot of time and make the experience (your experience) better. As I have traveled this journey I have picked up a few ideas and made adjustments as education has encouraged.

This week, for the first time, I consciously sat down and laid out my entire arsenal on one page. This week I put together a “Resources Page”(you may have noticed it in the navigation bar). It took me quite a while to brainstorm and list everything that I am currently using and how I am using each piece of equipment, software and/or training/lesson.

I was pretty surprised to see just how far I have come from my first blog post (text only, no pictures) to where we are today, the journey and growth. As I have learned new things and experimented with different ideas I have found better ways to do things. My little blog has grown to include a podcast, have a theme and a goal. And my audience has grown too (thank you by the way)!! It has been amazing to see what can be accomplished on a laptop with an internet connection.

I encourage you to check out my new “Resources Page”  and I hope that you find it interesting, enjoyable, education and motivating. On the page you will find

• The tools I use for my blog
• The tools I use for my podcast
• Website I love
• The “Essential Eight” – 8 books you must read.
• Webtools I can’t live without
• Podcasts I listen to
• Social media tools I use
• Plugins
• & much more

To access the new resources page you can click the “Resources” link in the title bar above or just click here.

I am curious to know what you think- did I miss anything, which tools do you use? Let me know in the comments section below.

Get Your Free Copy of 13 Life Quotes (the complete eBook) Here

How well can you swim? I think I’m a pretty good swimmer, but I don’t want my airplane landing in the ocean. How about you? But using your seat cushion as a flotation device is a real possibility if you are on a plane from JFK airport (New York, NY) to LAX airport (Los Angeles, CA) and that plane flies off course 1 degree. Only 1 single degree… it seems like such a small inconsequential amount but the results can be life changing.

In airplanes, missing your destination can result in outcomes ranging from the minor, inconvenience, to the catastrophic and tragic. The same principle is true with our lives and our goals. If you are not committed and determined to staying on course, you can easily find yourself drifting. And the longer that you travel “off course”, the further you will be from your desired destination (results). In our airplane example, a plane that is off by 1 degree will end up 1 mile off course for every 60 miles traveled; meaning our JFK plane from above would end up 40 miles away from Los Angeles.

Throughout your success journey there will be times when you need to readjust and reorient yourself, get back on the path. No one can walk the path to success directly without making adjustments. The key to arriving at your destination is to recognize when you are off course and make the adjustment quickly, bringing yourself back in line with your desired outcomes. 1 way that we can do this is to recognize the obstacles that will challenge us.

Here are the 8 most common obstacles that will try to lead you off the path of success.

1. Imposter syndrome– not believing in yourself and your goals. Everybody experiences a little self-doubt, that feeling that you are not “good enough” or “worthy enough” to have success. Even those you look up to as mentors and leaders experience self-doubt.

• Solution- Remember the quote by SNL’s Stuart Smalley – “I’m Good Enough, I’m Smart Enough, and Doggone It, People Like Me!” Recognize that you have talents and abilities that others don’t have. To be truly successful you must learn to overcome self-limitation and rise above doubt.

2. Over extending– having too much on your plate to get it all done. Sometimes in our desire to please everybody we set ourselves up for failure. We take on more than we can accomplish effectively and accurately. Often the area that suffers from this overextension is our personal goals and desires as we try to meet the needs of others.

• Solution- Remember the Paolo Coelho quote – “When You Say Yes To Others, Make Sure You’re Not Saying No To Yourself.” Choose yourself, your dreams and aspirations first before agreeing to give time to others.

3. Shiny object syndrome– chasing every new technology, strategy or process can distract you from what you need to accomplish. Rather than seeing objectives through to completion, you abandon goals already started and chase after something new that has caught your eye.

• Solution- Remember the Gabby Douglas quote- “It’s very tough for me to focus. I’m like: ‘Look, something shiny! No, focus. Oh, there goes a butterfly!’”. Focusing on your objective without distraction is vital to staying on course. No, focus!

4. Fear of failure– There will always be the possibility of failure. If there isn’t you haven’t set your objectives high enough. Don’t be petrified by possibility of failure and miss the opportunity of success.

• Solution- Remember the Michael Jordan quote- “I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying.” The real failure is in not trying.

5. Failure to launch– ready aim aim aim…. Many “would be” successful goal-setters miss their objective because they never get out of the planning and preparing stage. They find paralysis by analysis more comforting that progress.

• Solution- Remember the Francis of Assisi quote- “Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible”. Just start and as you move down the path, opportunity and answers will appear.

6. Lack of clarity– As Zig Ziglar inquired “are you a meaningful specific or a wandering generality”? If you do not know the steps needed to reach your destination you will not take the shortest route to success. You will wander aimlessly hoping to stumble upon it; always busy but never productive.

• Solution- Remember the Brendon Burchard quote- “People are remarkably bad at remembering long lists of goals….the longer their lists of to-dos and goals, the more overwhelmed and off-track they got. Clarity comes with simplicity”. Having a road map and a simple direction will keep you on course.

7. No end in mind– related to clarity, no end in mind is not understanding what you really want out of life. The result will be missing success. How can you hit a target you do not have? You must have goals to hit and dreams to aspire to.

• Solution- Remember the Lewis Carrol quote- “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.”

8. Listening to critics and naysayers– The world is filled with people willing to tear you down and trample your dreams. If you listen to the critics, the nonbelievers, you will be distracted and begin to drift off course. The more you surround yourself with negativity, the more you become a part of that negativity. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy.

• Solution- Remember the Paolo Coelho quote- “[C]ritics don’t hurt me, because it is me. If it was not me, if I was pretending to be someone else, then this could unbalance my world, but I know who I am”. Knowing who you are, that your dream has value, and igniting your passion for it with shut even the most obnoxious critic up.

There will always be obstacles. The more something is worth to you the more you may have to fight for it. Do not let anything stand in the way of your success. As you get closer to achieving your goals, as your success destination gets closer, the above 8 obstacles will be more present. Commit now to reaching your potential.

Wanting something is not enough. You must hunger for it. Your motivation must be absolutely compelling in order to overcome the obstacles that will invariably come your way. – Les Brown

A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles. – Christopher Reeve

Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal. – Henry Ford

Get Your Free Poster Containing The Article’s Quotes