Recommendations

If you’re on this page, it’s probably because you’re interested in getting more from your life and your time.

The majority of what you’ll find here are book recommendations and that’s because I’ve loved reading as far back as I can remember. As a kid, I’d stay up to the middle of the night with a small bedside lamp and read whatever had my interest at the time.

Over time, I’ve kept a list of the books I’ve read and assigned them each a score from 0-10. The book recommendations below each scored from 8-10 on my intensely subjective approximation of their value.

Always remember that success leaves clues and that if you are willing to put in the time to learn what the best have done along the way, you can often achieve similar results.

What I can tell you is that all recommendations on this page—of any sort—are based purely on lived experience; these are products I’ve actually used and feel are worth sharing. I’ve found real value in each of these items.

Personal Finance Book Recommendations

It should come as no shock that to gain financial success, it is useful to spend time reading and learning from the best. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel when you can put yourself firmly on the shoulders of giants.

The Millionaire Mind

If you’ve ever wondered how millionaires get rich, this book covers all the bases. Stanley aggregates the results of hundreds of surveys from millionaires and puts all of it together into a literal blueprint to accumulating wealth.

This book will teach you how to get rich and stay that way.

For more details, you can read my Book Review for The Millionaire Mind.

Your Money or Your Life

Reaching your financial goals isn’t about just budgeting and depriving yourself. It’s about finding a way to find meaning in every dollar that comes your way and then to frame your use of it in terms of your overall goals.

You’ll learn the step-by-step path to tracking your cash flow and passive income in an easy, intuitive way.

Rich Dad Poor Dad

This remains the best book I’ve ever read in outlining the difference between assets and liabilities—one of those pivotal concepts that you simply need to understand in order to really get ahead.

Although I prefer dividend growth investing as an investment style over real estate, this book stresses the importance of generating cash flow which is more important than any particular investment method.

If you want to understand just how straightforward it can be to get money flowing into your account than out of it, this is worth a read.

Stop Working: Here’s How You Can!

We all have to start somewhere—this was the first book I ever read on dividend growth investing. It taught me the simplicity of investing in high quality companies, reinvesting the dividends, and keeping my investment philosophy simple.

I was fortunate to meet the author, Derek Foster, at my local library where he gave a brief talk, sharing insights on the dividend growth investing model.

Philosophy Book Recommendations

I’m a philosopher at heart. I always have been.

Investing can be tough, but life in general can be far tougher. That’s why it’s important to have a strong psychological and emotional foundation from which to handle the inevitable travails.

These philosophy book recommendations can help you develop your mental framework for handling life and welcoming its challenges.

The links below represent my favourite translations of each of the books.

Meditations

All we ever really have control over is the moment that we’re in—there is no reason to become overwhelmed by circumstances when we recognize and embrace that simple fact. You can only do one thing at a time, so choose to do it well and to remain present to do it properly.

Aurelius, the master Stoic and former Roman Emperor, shares his personal philosophy for mastering life through acceptance of what is and encouraging the reader to remember they can control their ultimate reaction to anything life throws at them.

Tao Te Ching

This one reads like a brief book of poetry and yet seems to unlock the mysteries of living effortlessly.

Known as the Book of the Way, this teaches how to succeed without feeling any need to break through resistance. Rather, it is possible to move with life’s rhythms and live harmoniously while enjoying a fruitful, successful life.

Man’s Search For Meaning

Written by Holocaust survivor, Viktor Frankl, this book outlines a few of his experiences in surviving Nazi prison camps in the early 1940s. More importantly, he reveals his insights into the human condition and our innate capacity to persevere in even the harshest of conditions—if we choose to.

Life continuously asks questions of each of us and it is entirely up to us to assume the responsibility of responding to and solving those questions.

Biographical Book Recommendations

Sometimes the easiest way to see the path forward in our own lives is to draw inspiration from seeing life through someone else’s eyes. I am fortunate to have had many mentors along the way, most of whom I’ve never met, all because their stories are shared in written form.

Shoe Dog

This is the memoir of Nike founder, Phil Knight. He covers his major setbacks and triumphs through the early days, both before and after forming his company. You’ll come away with a genuine feel for what life looked like along the way as he pursued his “Crazy Idea”.

I quite literally wasn’t able to set this one down when I read it between airline delays while traveling back in 2018.

Snowball

I can quite easily say that I have learned more from Warren Buffett about stock market investing than anyone else. This book delves into his business and personal lives, offering the full view of what it ultimately took for him to become The Oracle of Omaha.

I consider myself fortunate to have attended the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting in Omaha to get to see him in person.

Buffett remains arguably the greatest investor of his generation—perhaps ever.

Please be advised that there are affiliate links on this page; I may receive compensation if you purchase any of the products listed using these links.