I’ve Read 152 Books – These 19 Changed My Life

Summary

The speaker reflects on the transformative impact of 19 books that shaped their life journey. Starting from self-development and goal setting with 'The Code of the Extraordinary Mind', they delve into habit formation, self-discipline, and personal growth. The narrative progresses through business fundamentals with 'Think and Grow Rich', system optimization with 'The 4-Hour Work Week', and financial wisdom from 'The Psychology of Money'. The speaker emphasizes the importance of mindfulness and spirituality, highlighting 'The Power of Now' and religious texts like the Holy Quran for life's deeper understanding. The summary underscores the speaker's belief in continuous learning and personal evolution.

Takeaways

• 📚 The speaker emphasizes the importance of reading books that have a profound impact on life, sharing 19 books that have significantly influenced their personal growth.
• 🧘 'The Code of the Extraordinary Mind' is highlighted as a pivotal book for understanding oneself and the world, setting the foundation for personal development.
• 🌟 'Awaken the Giant Within' by Tony Robbins is noted for illustrating the power of vision and breaking free from the constraints of environment and limiting beliefs.
• 🚫 The speaker stresses the urgency of eliminating bad habits early in life, as they can hinder personal growth and the achievement of goals.
• 🔄 'Atomic Habits' is recommended for understanding the difficulty of maintaining consistency and the influence of daily routines on long-term outcomes.
• 🚀 'No Excuses!' by Brian Tracy is identified as instrumental in realizing that self-discipline is key to success across all aspects of life.
• 💡 'Think and Grow Rich' by Napoleon Hill is mentioned as a fundamental book for understanding the mindset and psychology of successful businesspeople.
• 🛠️ The speaker suggests that creating the right product, setting up efficient systems, and finding the right people are crucial for business success.
• 📈 '$100 Million Offer' and '$100 Million Leads' by Alex Hero are recommended for learning how to create compelling offers and market them effectively.
• 💼 'The 4-Hour Workweek' by Tim Ferriss is highlighted for its perspective on outsourcing tasks and building systems for efficient business management.
• 💰 The importance of financial literacy and investing is underscored, with books like 'The Psychology of Money' and 'The Intelligent Investor' being recommended for understanding wealth management.
• 🧘‍♂️ The speaker advocates for the inclusion of mindfulness, reflection, and spirituality in personal development, with 'The Power of Now' and similar books being beneficial for maintaining balance.
• 🕉 The Holy Quran is presented as a comprehensive guide covering various aspects of life, providing direction, purpose, and a framework for dealing with life's challenges.

Q & A

What is the main purpose of the speaker in this transcript?

The speaker aims to share their personal journey and insights gained from reading 19 books that had a significant impact on their life, covering topics from self-development to business and spirituality.

What is the first book mentioned in the transcript, and why is it significant?

The first book mentioned is 'The Code of the Extraordinary Mind' by Vishen Lakhiani. It is significant because it helped the speaker understand themselves and the world around them, setting the foundation for their self-development journey.

What is the main message of 'Awaken the Giant Within' by Tony Robbins?

The main message is that most people get caught up in their current circumstances and fears, and the book encourages readers to take control of their lives, create a clear vision, and eliminate limiting beliefs to realize their full potential.

Why is 'Atomic Habits' by James Clear considered important by the speaker?

The speaker considers 'Atomic Habits' important because it helped them understand the power of daily habits, the difficulty of maintaining consistency, and how to effectively change and improve habits to align with their goals.

What is the key takeaway from 'No Excuses!' by Brian Tracy?

The key takeaway is that self-discipline is the key factor for success in life, and the book provides techniques to break free from excuses and start living the life one truly wants.

What are the three fundamental aspects of business that the speaker realized after starting their own?

The three fundamental aspects are creating the right product or service, setting up the right systems, and finding and training the right people.

What book did the speaker read about business during their early phase of freelancing?

The speaker read 'Think and Grow Rich' by Napoleon Hill during their early phase of freelancing.

What is the main theme of 'The 4-Hour Workweek' by Tim Ferriss?

The main theme is about outsourcing tasks and building effective systems to achieve a lifestyle of working smart, not hard, and having more freedom and control over one's time.

Why did the speaker recommend reading books on finance and investing after starting to make money?

The speaker recommends these books to understand the importance of investing, the impact of inflation, and the strategies the rich use to increase their wealth, instead of just saving money.

What is the speaker's view on the importance of reflection, mindfulness, and spirituality in life?

The speaker believes that taking time for reflection, mindfulness, and spirituality is crucial to avoid losing oneself in the process of achieving goals and dealing with life's pressures and responsibilities.

Which book does the speaker consider as the one that covers all aspects of life and provides direction, purpose, and rest?

The speaker considers the Holy Quran as the book that covers all aspects of life, providing direction, purpose, and rest amidst the chaos and hard work.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Life-Changing Books and Self-Development

The speaker shares their experience of reading hundreds of books across various genres and emphasizes the importance of the 19 books that profoundly impacted their life. They discuss the significance of understanding oneself and the world, as introduced in 'The Code of the Extraordinary Mind'. The speaker reflects on their upbringing in a small village in the Netherlands and how books helped them to aim higher and set bigger goals. They also mention the importance of having the right mindset, setting goals effectively, and overcoming fear to achieve one's potential.

05:01

🚀 Developing Dreams, Goals, and Habits

The speaker continues by discussing the importance of creating a clear vision and eliminating limiting beliefs, as highlighted in 'Awaken the Giant Within' by Tony Robbins. They stress the need for self-discipline and character development, as emphasized in 'Atomic Habits' and 'No Excuses!' by Brian Tracy. The speaker also shares their personal journey of starting a freelancing business at 16, and the realization that daily habits are crucial for long-term success. They recommend books that helped them understand the fundamentals of business and the importance of creating effective systems and processes.

10:02

💼 Business Growth and Financial Management

The speaker delves into the business phase of their life, discussing the importance of creating the right product or service, setting up efficient systems, and finding the right people to work with. They mention books like 'Think and Grow Rich', 'Your Next Five Moves', 'The Lean Startup', and 'Zero to One' as instrumental in their business education. The speaker also talks about the significance of marketing and creating compelling offers, citing '$100 Million Offer' and '$100 Million Leads' as influential reads. Additionally, they touch upon the concept of working smart, as introduced in 'The 4-Hour Work Week', and the importance of managing finances and investing wisely.

🧘‍♂️ Mindfulness, Spirituality, and Life's Purpose

In the final paragraph, the speaker reflects on the importance of mindfulness, spirituality, and finding life's purpose amidst the chaos of success. They recommend books like 'The Power of Now' and 'Good Vibes, Good Life' for personal reflection. The speaker shares a profound connection with the 'Holy Quran', which provided them with direction, purpose, and a balanced perspective on life's challenges and victories. They conclude by advocating for continuous learning and reading, regardless of one's stage in life, and highlight the 19 books as the most beneficial in their journey.

Keywords

💡Self-development

Self-development refers to the process of improving one's knowledge, skills, and personal qualities to enhance one's life and potential. In the video's context, the speaker emphasizes the importance of self-development books in shaping their mindset and life direction, especially during their teenage years. The term is used to describe the transformative effect of literature on the speaker's life and their ability to set higher goals.

💡Mindset

Mindset is a psychological concept that refers to a set of attitudes and beliefs that shape an individual's approach to life and problem-solving. The speaker mentions 'mindset' in relation to the impact it has on one's potential and the importance of having the right mindset for achieving goals, as discussed in the book 'The Code of the Extraordinary Mind'.

💡Goal setting

Goal setting is the process of identifying and prioritizing objectives and determining a timeframe for achieving them. The script discusses how the right way of goal setting, as explained in the books, is crucial for realizing one's potential and achieving success in life.

💡Fear

Fear is an emotional response to perceived threats or dangers. In the video, the speaker talks about how fear impacts one's potential and the importance of overcoming it to achieve goals, as highlighted in the self-development books they read.

💡Habits

Habits are regular patterns of behavior that are often hard to change. The speaker discusses the significance of good and bad habits in relation to personal growth and success. They mention the book 'Atomic Habits' as instrumental in understanding and improving their habits to align with their goals.

💡Self-discipline

Self-discipline is the ability to control one's emotions and actions in pursuit of long-term goals. The speaker cites 'No Excuses!' by Brian Tracy, where self-discipline is presented as a key factor for success across various aspects of life, including health, business, and personal relationships.

💡Business

Business refers to the activities of making one's living or earning profits by producing and selling goods or services. The script mentions several books that helped the speaker understand the fundamentals of business, such as 'Think and Grow Rich' and 'The $100 Million Offer', which were pivotal in building their own business.

💡Investing

Investing is the act of allocating resources, usually money, with the expectation of generating an income or profit. The speaker talks about the importance of learning to invest as a means of managing finances effectively and the books that helped them understand the principles of investing.

💡Mindfulness

Mindfulness is the practice of being fully present and engaged in the current moment. The speaker recommends books on mindfulness to help maintain balance amidst the chaos of life and to foster a deeper connection with one's self and the world.

💡Spirituality

Spirituality refers to a sense of connection to something greater than oneself or the development of a person's inner life. The speaker discusses the importance of spirituality in providing direction, purpose, and rest amidst the challenges of life, with the Holy Quran being a significant source of guidance for them.

💡Reflection

Reflection is the process of thinking deeply about one's experiences, thoughts, feelings, and actions. The speaker suggests that taking time for reflection is crucial in life's journey, helping to maintain a sense of self and purpose amidst the demands and pressures of daily life.

Highlights

The speaker has read hundreds of books on various topics like habit building, mindset improvement, business development, and money psychology.

Most of the information from these books is deemed useless by the speaker, who offers to save readers time by sharing the 19 books that genuinely impacted his life.

The first recommended book is 'The Code of the Extraordinary Mind', which emphasizes understanding oneself and the world for personal achievement.

The speaker was inspired by self-development books at a young age, which helped him to aim higher and set bigger goals.

The importance of having a clear vision and eliminating limiting beliefs for personal growth is highlighted.

The book 'Awaken the Giant Within' by Tony Robbins is recommended for understanding how to take control of one's life and realize full potential.

Daily habits play a crucial role in determining future outcomes, emphasizing the need to replace bad habits with good ones.

The book 'Atomic Habits' is praised for explaining the difficulty of maintaining consistency and the influence of bad habits on daily life.

The book 'No Excuses!' by Brian Tracy teaches the importance of self-discipline across all aspects of life for success.

The speaker's first business venture at 16 involved graphic design, highlighting the challenges of standing out without unique selling points or clear processes.

'Think and Grow Rich' by Napoleon Hill is recommended for understanding the psychology and mindset of successful businesspeople.

The speaker emphasizes the importance of creating the right product or service, setting up effective systems, and finding the right people in business.

Books by Alex Heroiu provide insights on creating offers and marketing strategies for business success.

The '4-Hour Work Week' by Tim Ferriss offers a perspective on outsourcing tasks and building effective systems for business efficiency.

Financial management and investing are crucial once profits are made, with books like 'The Psychology of Money' and 'The Intelligent Investor' recommended for guidance.

The speaker recommends taking time for reflection, mindfulness, and spirituality, with books like 'The Power of Now' and 'Good Vibes, Good Life'.

The Holy Quran is highlighted as a book that provides direction, purpose, and balance amidst the chaos of life's challenges and achievements.

The importance of continuous learning and reading is emphasized, regardless of one's life stage or achievements.

Transcripts

I've read hundreds of books on

everything from building habits and

improving mindset to building businesses

and the psychology of money you name it

but let me be very straightforward with

you most of the things that you will

read in these books are completely

useless so let me save you the thousands

of hours that I've spent on reading in

my teenage years and share the 19 books

that changed my life completely and made

me be able to build a life where I can

now travel around the world run an

agency manage my finances etc etc and

the first book on this list is the code

of the extraordinary mind everything

starts with understanding yourself and

the world around you I remember it very

well when I was 15 16 years old I

started reading these self-development

books and it opened up a complete new

world to me and this is where this first

book comes to place in this book the

author fishing leani tells what you can

achieve in life when you have the right

mindset and use the right way of goal

setting it explains how fear impacts

your potential the importance of

structure and the balanced life I

personally was raised in a very small

village in the Netherlands with not a

lot of mind-like people around me so

books like these made me be able to look

into the minds of successful and

inspiring people it completely shifted

my view on life and made me be able to

aim higher and set bigger go goals as a

kid who was just in college at that time

now before I move to the second book

it's important to know that you have a

lot of different books that are relevant

for different phases in your life you

have books about improving skills

mindset psychology business finances

investing mindfulness religion etc etc

but today out of these hundreds of books

I will share the books that changed my

life based on different phases in my

life I categorized my list starting with

the books that I've read as a student

with no knowledge and no money all the

way up to where I am today running

multiple businesses and projects now the

second book that I've read very early in

my journey is awaken the giant within

from Tony Robbins this book beautifully

illustrates that most people get caught

up in their current events fears and

challenges they jump on the River of

Life without ever deciding where they

want to end up and it's true most people

are just going with the flood

without ever realizing their full

potential they become part of the mess

of people who are directed by the

environment instead of their own values

and to break free and take control of

your own life and your future it's

important to create a clear and

inspiring vision for yourself you need

to eliminate limiting beliefs and build

faith and these first two books were

essential for finding myself developing

my dreams and goals and understanding

the world and the possibilities around

me and then when you have a more Clear

Vision it's important to start working

and developing your skills mindset and

character in order to achieve this and I

can tell you that this is literally the

fundament of your future I mean having

Big Dreams is good and important to

begin with but without the required

skills mindset and character you will

never get there one of the most

important things I realized very quickly

was the fact that I still had a lot of

bad habits which I needed to get rid of

in order to grow in life and not only

getting rid of bad habit habits I had

but also replacing them with better

habits related to my goals and it's very

easy to say oh I'll do that later I have

a whole life in front of me but this is

one of the most dangerous statements

that you can make when you're young I

say this very often and I'll keep saying

it everything that you do today and

tomorrow and the day after will

determine where you will end up in the

next upcoming few years so if you eat

junk food and never exercise probably in

a few years you will be very unhealthy

whereas if you choose to Fitness work on

yourself and focus on maintaining a

healthy diet you will have higher

chances of being healthy energized and

fit in a few years and this counts for

everything in life your career your

finances your relationships your

business everything so you can have big

dreams and a Clear Vision but your daily

habits are crucial and will determine if

you will make it automic habits is one

of the best books I've read in order to

understand and improve prove this for

myself this book shows you why it's so

hard to stay consistent how bad habits

sneak into your daily life and influence

you without you even realizing it I mean

statistics don't lie Studies have shown

that more than 60% of the people already

give up on their New Year's resolutions

and fall back to their old patterns in

the first 3 months after setting them

and although it might sound crazy

changing your behavior and daily

routines is pretty hard this book make

me realize that it's not necessarily

because of you but mainly because of the

distractions in your environment that

causes a lack of focus and productivity

for example having your phone laying

next to you when you try to work having

a fridge filled with unhealthy food when

you actually try to lose weight having

negative influences and other people

around you and so on in order to change

your daily habits you need to make your

good habits obvious easy attractive and

satisfying and your bad habits harder to

repeat by changing ing your environment

and the association that you have with

them when it comes to achieving your

goals you need to realize that you're in

control you are the only one that is

responsible for your own behavior

mistakes and achievements the book no

excuses from Brian Tracy made me

realized that self-discipline is the key

factor for success in life when I opened

up this book all chapters were called

the same self-discipline and character

self-discipline and family

self-discipline and health

self-discipline and business

self-discipline and money

self-discipline and love and so on in

every single topic of life you should

take 100% responsibility whether you're

a student an employee an entrepreneur

business owner this book offers some of

the most effective techniques to help

you break free from your current excuses

and start living the life that you

really want and I know it's very easy to

blame others your teacher for not

helping you your bus for not giving you

that promotion your parents for the way

they raise you up as a kid but you

should focus on what you can control not

on what's outside of your control and

once I improved my daily routines and my

habits and realized the importance of

self-discipline and consistency I

started with my first little freelancing

business at the age of 16 years old at

that time I was still studying graphic

designing and I tried to build my little

business on the side the first book that

I read about business in this phase was

Think and Grow Rich from Napoleon Hill

one of the most popular and famous books

for beginners this is a book that you

see all over the place on social media

and all of these self-help YouTube

videos but it's a good book for the

fundamentals the psychology and the

mindset of doing business it's about how

to turn your burning desire into

material outcomes and Building Wealth

Napoleon Hill the writer of this book

dedicated his life to researching the

successful people in his time answering

questions like what is the difference

between successful people and

unsuccessful people and what do they do

differently how do they spend their time

and work on their goals it's a really

good book for people who are interested

or about to start with business but

books that I would recommend in this pH

as well that go a little bit more in

depth are books like your next five

moves from Patrick B David The Lean

Startup from Eric rise or 0 to1 from

Peter field these books go more inept on

how to prepare yourself and start and

skill your business in the most

efficient way one of the most important

things I realized after I was in

business for like one or two years was

that it's actually about these three

things one create the right product or

service like what makes you special and

stand out from your competitors two is

setting up the right systems you will

never be able to skill if you don't

build processes and systems that work

for you and three finding and training

the right people because you can't do it

alone and when you want to do that to

build better systems and optimize your

product or service I'm a big fan of the

two books of Alex heroi $100 million

offer and $100 million leads he

perfectly illustr atates how to create a

good offer and Market it in the best way

and to be honest I literally started as

a freelance graphic designer reaching

out to people and offering them them my

designing services like designing logos

posters and flyers but I had no idea

what I was doing I didn't had any unique

selling points to stand out from my

competitors no clear processes for

delivery and payment structures or

marketing strategies to find any clients

and of course you learn a lot by EXP

experience and probably it's your best

teacher but these books help me a lot to

improve my services and set up effective

systems and now when speaking about

systems a book that is also interesting

to read is the 4-Hour Work week from Tim

Ferris he explains how he runs his

million dooll Company by just working 4

hours a week and I don't think the goal

should be to work four hours a week when

you're just starting out but it gives a

perspective on what's possible when you

Outsource most of your tasks and build

effective systems and structures in your

company they always say it's about

working smart not hard but when you do

both when you work smart and work 70

plus hours a week you will get to

another level trust me now once you

start making some money it's important

to know how to deal with finances and

start investing books like the

psychology of money the intelligent

investor or why the rich are getting

richer start to become more interesting

to read in this phase and let me tell

you one thing saving money is is one of

the most stupid things that you can do

once you start making some good profits

but miraculously spending your money

might be even more stupid so it's

important to know what to do in this

phas these books explain the importance

of investing the impact of inflation the

game that the rich play to increase

their wealth and so far we have covered

most part of my journey from starting

without any knowledge to understanding

the world and the possibilities

improving habits building businesses and

all the way up to managing finances but

what I noticed for myself the deeper I

got into this journey the busier and

more chaotic my life started to become a

lot of pressure responsibilities money

ups and downs a lot of people that want

something from you etc etc and whatever

path you choose in life I would

recommend anyone to take time for

reflection mindfulness and the spiritual

side of life as well trust me it's easy

to lose yourself in the process when you

don't pay attention to this aspect of

your life as well and you have a lot of

books for this like The Power of Now

Good Vibes good life or the things that

you can only see when you slow down and

these are all good books that I've read

but for me I found out that there is

just one book that covers all of these

aspects of Life One book that gives me

direction purpose and rest between the

hard work and chaos and probably some of

my true followers out there already know

which book I'm talking about the Holy

Quran this book I unfortunately found

later in my journey about 2 3 years ago

I started reading it and it blew my mind

it talks about everything from Health

marriage and family to the power of

prayer meditation gratefulness and the

purpose of mankind and whether your

beliefs I would recommend everyone to

read some religious books in some phases

of their life it provides more Direction

structure and Clarity I came to realize

that life is just a test and it's up to

you on how you deal with it and not only

how you deal with stress hardship losses

mistakes and things like that but also

the things like Victory money wealth

love etc etc because trust me once you

achieve the things you really want God

doesn't stop testing you once he gave

you what you worked so hard for the test

might become even more difficult like

they say More Money More Problems how

are you going to spend your wealth how

do you deal with the pressure everything

like that so it's good to keep learning

and reading no matter where you are in

life and after spending thousands of

hours reading these hundreds of books

these 19 were most beneficial in my

journey so far