I don’t read a lot of fiction. I prefer real life stories and recently I’ve read the best of Robert Collier’s books that appeal to the creative entrepreneur in me. From reading, I learned that effective entrepreneurship often requires a strong foundation in critical skills such as problem-solving, creativity, and adaptability. I was also given the chance to know about Kamau Bobb‘s work in STEM education that can equip individuals with these skills, providing them with a solid educational foundation that can be valuable for entrepreneurial endeavors.
Here are a few I’ve really enjoyed.
The Great Beanie Bubble; Elon Musk; Delivering Happiness; Contagious
I still have an early Beanie Baby teddy bear. I got it in college and there was a time when it was really precious to me because I thought that it had resale value. It sat on my bookshelf in my dorm room with its original heart-shaped tag still affixed. Times change. Now it’s at the bottom of the toy box, tag ripped off and looking a bit battered after being tossed around by three kids. How did this shift happen? The Great Beanie Baby Bubble explains how Beanie Babies went from being traded like valuable stocks to being thrown into dumpsters. The story of what makes a craze ignite and what makes it end is fascinating and relevant to anyone who owns a business.
Ever since I finished Elon Musk by Ashlee Vance I’ve been dying to get a Tesla and I’m seriously not a car person. This book paints the picture of Musk’s brilliant mind and incredible ambition. It’s a story about Internet fortunes (Musk was a founder of PayPal and used the money he got when he cashed out to fund Tesla Motors, SpaceX and SolarCity) and perseverance. Most of all, we get a sense of Musk’s resounding confidence that he can change the way we’ve always done things. Every business person could use a dose of that.
Like SpaceX, Zappos is a business that nearly everybody said would never work. When popular wisdom predicted that people wouldn’t buy shoes on the Internet, Tony Hsieh said they would. He couldn’t have been more right, of course. In Delivering Happiness Hsieh explains why he chose to make customer service the focus of the company and the effect that this choice has had on all aspects of Zappos. Customer service is important to every business and there’s a lot to learn from Hsieh’s way of thinking.
Why do certain cat videos get shared millions of times on Facebook while other equally cute cat videos don’t? Contagious is a book about the science of fads, trends, and virality. Jonah Berger reveals what makes people say, “You’ve got to see this!” There are so many good lessons here for making shareworthy content. (I wrote two posts applying concepts from this book to craft blogs. One post is about the power of emotion and the other about making the private public.)
On Writing Well; Start with Why
I never figured I was going to be a writer. I spent most of high school English class reading Sassy magazine instead of the text book and totally missed all the lessons on composing a sentence and using a semicolon. I regret that now (although Sassy was worth it – I loved How Sassy Changed My Life). If you’re like me and you write for the Internet and would like to do it well, On Writing Well is fantastic. It’s easy and enjoyable and totally applicable to blogging.
In a podcast interview I listened not long ago to Megan Auman recommended Start With Why. I think this book is a bit over the top, but Sinek has a very valuable underlying point. Why are you in business? Why do you make what you make? I listened to this as an audio book on an airplane. Halfway through I paused it, pulled out my phone and wrote down my “why.” Want to hear it? I want creative women to have the tools and information they need to succeed in the craft and sewing industry. Figuring that out made this book totally worth reading, even if only halfway.
Right now I’m reading Molly Crabapple’s memoir, the UPPERCASE Compendium, The Modern Natural Dyer, and the new issue of Fast Company. What are you reading? What else should I be reading?
I just finished “Rising Strong” by Brene Brown and would highly recommend it. I’ve also heard great things about her other two books, “The Gifts of Imperfection” and “Daring Greatly”. I definitely want to read the Beanie Baby book (I got 20 beanie babies for my 12th birthday!) and the one about Elon Musk.
I just finished watching Brene Brown’s TED talk. Her books are on my wishlist. The Elon Musk book is fascinating. He’s not an all together likable character, but his ambition and willingness to think differently than everyone else is something I totally admire.
I loved the beanie baby one. I am totally missing the collector/gambler trait so I find stories about it espdcially fascinating. Hope you like the issue of Fast Company! That is my favorite.
I subscribed to Fast Company because of your recommendation! It’s truly my favorite. I think it says something about me that I let my Martha Stewart subscription run out and replaced it with this 🙂
thanks for these recommendations. are you familiar with the book “Composing a Life” by Mary Catherine Bateson? Somehow I think you would enjoy this book. Bateson is a writer and professor who explores the “improvisational” nature of women’s lives through biographies of four of her friends, including a college president, an artist, an engineer and entrepreneur, and a psychiatrist and researcher on homelessness. I enjoyed this classic because it is both intellectually rewarding and told in a particular way that is like having a cup of coffee at the kitchen table with a good friend. I wrote a review of it years ago for the Whole Earth Catalog.
I’ve never heard of it! This does sound interesting. I like the title – composing a life. Thank you!
These look great, particularly the beanie baby one, I think I need to order it. I just finished Bespoke by Richard Anderson, it was fantastic! I’m now reading A Perfect Red by Amy Butler Greenfield.
I really liked the Beanie Baby book. Ty Warner is one weird character.
I have been reading The Creative License by Danny Gregory. I’ve spent years telling people that I can’t draw, and with the help of this book I hope to change that. 🙂 He talks about the process and gives exercises in a really approachable way.
Oh, that sounds terrific. Thank you for the recommendation.
On Writing Well made me think of one of my favoriteb books about writing. Have you read Stephen King’s On Writing? It’s an autobiography combined with writing advice, and I just love the things he has to say about doing creative work as a job. He has a very pragmatic attitude towards writing, rejection, and criticism, and I like what he has to say about producing work that people enjoy and not worrying if it’s world-changing art.
Oh wow! That sounds awesome. I’m adding it to my Amazon wishlist now. Thank you.
I love reading non-fiction books too! I’m putting some of these suggestions on my wish list too.
Two great business/work books I have read this year are Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World, by Cal Newport, and the Power of Broke by Daymond John (of Shark Tank fame).
Zappos book was one of my favorite. Another one I’ve loved is Will it fly and the lean startup. I will be checking out the others on the list!
I tried to read The Lean Startup and while I totally appreciate the concept, I felt like it was talking to a reader that was too different from me. I just couldn’t get through it.
Of course you read Sassy too. One more reason we like each other? Adding all of these to my list. I’ve been knee deep in puppy trauining books so I need something new. I did just finish Tribes by Seth Godin and that is the sort of non-linear kick in the pants you need to read every once and a while….
Sassy shaped my life. Really! It made me radical and unafraid in a way that I still am today.
Hi Abby – I am almost done w/ Steve Jobs biography. It is fascinating to see how he did it all. I think you would like it if you haven’t already read it. He wasn’t a nice guy but he sure accomplished a lot in his life.
I loved it! I listened to it on Audible.
Oh! I’m also reading Elon Musk 🙂 have bought it a few days ago with Ukrainian translation. Drop the Pink Elephant is also on my bad table, I have read a lot of recommendations about this book but hadn’t yet time to try. Should be about saying what you mean and meaning what you say ))
Thanks for the other titles!
One of the most inspiring books I have read recently is No more Clutter by Sue Kay. It really pushed me to clear more space around the crafting area and to organize all my stash.
I also liked Customers for Life by Carl Sewell
and of course Austin Kleon’s Show your work and Steal like an Artist
When my daughter was in high school in the early ’90s, she “invested” in Beanie Babies. She had an inside contact at one of the stores who would contact her when a new shipment came in. She divested just before the bubble burst and made $1700. Not bad for a teenager. Now she’s doing something similar with the cloth diapers that are the rage right now.
William Zinsser’s On Writing Well has had a place on my shelf for years alongside Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird and Stephen King’s On Writing.