Though first published in 1949, the teachings of Benjamin Graham's "The Intelligent Investor" are still influential today.
The book centres around his well-known value investing strategy, or the practice of buying stocks for prices less than their value—in other words, stocks that are currently undervalued by the market. "The Intelligent Investor" shows readers how to make money in the stock market without taking massive risks while tackling the emotional aspect of investing.
This updated version includes commentary and footnotes by financial journalist Jason Zweig, which adds a touch of modernity. A lot of people nowadays think that this book is quite outdated, but I believe it's very good for beginners especially because it provides a basis for investing in stocks, and obviously with this basis you can grow above your usual S&P 500 stocks, if you want to.
Link to book: The Intelligent Investor
This book has helped me the most. Especially because I am the type of person that requires time management and organising skills in order to succeed. So I strongly recommend reading it. It's short and easy, and it provides valuable information that will help you understand yourself more and identify where you want to go in life. Great achievers manage themselves, they do not require being constantly managed by others. But we never learn this skill in school, and it's something we need to cultivate on our own. This book provides strategies to be a better self-manager, just as "The Effective Executive" helps with managing others.
Drucker points out that we all have different strengths and weaknesses, and that it only makes sense to focus on growing and cultivating your strengths. Trying to fix all of your weaknesses will be a waste of time. But, we're all bad at evaluating our strengths. We're much better at knowing what we're not good at. So he suggests constantly giving yourself feedback on how you're doing.
Link to book: Managing Oneself
For the lazy people, aka here the Mayor of Lazy town, you need to read this. It's a summary of most of the important books out there that provide insight into how successful people manage their businesses. You basically understand that most success stories require more or less the same elements: hard work, consistency, a bit of luck, risks and so on.
Link to book: 50 Business Classics
And now for digital and design
These books provide mostly information for UX Design, and how to reach more customers in the digital space. It helps you create a pattern inside your head about who your customers are and how you can attract them to your current and future products, especially digital products. It's quite hard nowadays to find a good UI book, as you can find better and more information online, for example, YouTube.
You don't necessarily need a book to learn about the design side as much.
Hooked (2014) explains, through anecdotes and scientific studies, how and why we integrate certain products into our daily routines, and why such products are the Holy Grail for any consumer-oriented company. Hooked gives concrete advice on how companies can make their products habit-forming, while simultaneously exploring the moral issues that entails.
Link to book: Hooked
If you want your product, service or cause to become the talk of the town – or the talk of the Internet – don't rely on advertising. People trust their friends' and acquaintances' opinions far more than paid promotions. The challenge is getting your offering on the tip of everyone's tongue.
Marketer Jonah Berger explains why some topics blaze their way around the world while others are ignored. His solutions go beyond social media; as he says, Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook are mere tools. If you can forgive him for inventing unnecessary extra jargon (like "inner remarkability"), Berger will show you how to turn your product or cause into a topic of public conversation, a subject that everyone wants to discuss.
That is all for today, hope this information helps you. Have a smashing day! And remember that you can find links to all these books on my Books page!
Link to book: Contagious
