by Scott Pape - December 24th 2005
Christmas has gone corporate. I’ve heard that the fat man now only does his annual around-the-world tour as a night trip for the frequent flyer points.
Perhaps I’m a little jaded, but what should we expect from the white-bearded, red-suited Santa, whose modern-day persona was created by the marketing department of Coca-Cola in the 1930s?
Instead of showering my loved ones with gifts that would see me swimming in the shark-infested sea of debt in January, I prefer to give something more meaningful than a matching set of stainless steel kitchen appliances.
A wise person once said: “In 20 years from now you’ll be the same person, except for the people you meet and the books that you read.”
For this reason I tend to give the books that have inspired me as Christmas presents.
Win-win
These are very Barefoot gifts that won’t send you broke, and that have the potential to positively affect the people you care about most.
I can’t afford presents for all my loyal readers, but my Christmas gift to you is a rundown of my three favourite business-related books.
Well, other than The Barefoot Investor’s Five Steps to Financial Freedom in your 20s & 30s of course.
Think and Grow Rich
The first is the classic Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. Don’t be put off by the spruiker-ish title – this book was first published in 1937, and has sold millions of copies worldwide.
Hill was one of the first writers to profile the wealthy people of his era (Henry Ford, Thomas Edison and steel magnate Andrew Carnegie among others) and detail the strategies they used to achieve lasting success.
The principles outlined in this book have withstood the test of time.
The original version is as relevant today as it was when it was written in the heart of the American depression 70 years ago.
Affluenza
The second is Affluenza: When Too Much Is Never Enough, by Clive Hamilton and Richard Denniss from the Australia Institute. The authors pull no punches as they deconstruct society’s consumer culture and examine where our consumption binge is taking us.
The book is a call to arms to people who, despite earning more money than ever, find themselves overworked, stressed, in debt and unhappy, asking themselves: “Is this all there is?” It’s the ultimate antidote to keeping up with the Joneses.
To Be or Not To Be Intimidated
The third is American writer Robert Ringer’s To Be or Not To Be Intimidated.
Ringer delivers time-tested truths about achieving success in the world of business. I have learnt a lot from Ringer, who counsels readers not to be “contaminated” by the words of “old pros” who dispense unsought advice.
Regardless of your chosen profession there will always be people who invariably throw grenades at your ideas, ambition and plans.
Many of these people, according to Ringer, are simply insecure, and delight in bringing down other people as a way of justifying their own shortcomings.
Throughout my career I have come up against people who have told me that my ideas won’t work and that I’m wasting my time.
To be truthful, I often fall flat on my face, make mistakes, and over time have endured many failures that could, or should, make me “learn my lesson”.
Instead, I follow Ringer’s advice and get up off the mat, dust myself off and move forward towards my goals.
Ringer’s wise words are for everyone with ambition: don’t fall into the trap of having your decisions and goals influenced by the opinions of others.
The only thing that matters in the end is your plans and how you execute them.
The key is to get advice from people who are supportive, and to seek out those who have achieved success on their terms.
This is where books can work wonders.
Pick their brains
For a few bucks you can get inside the head of Richard Branson in his autobiography, Losing My Virginity.
If you’re thinking about starting a new business venture, why not learn from the stories of Janine Allis, the founder of Boost Juice, or Harvey Norman’s Gerry Harvey?
It’s no coincidence that it’s often the most successful people that read the most.
Reading gives me the opportunity to learn from those who have faced the same challenges and hardships that I will likely encounter at some time or another.
If you’ve already spent a fortune on presents for your friends and family, why not treat yourself to a bit of summertime reading with the three books I’ve mentioned? It may be one of the best presents you’ll ever receive.
Merry Christmas, and as always, tread your own path!
Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bcnbits/363695635/
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