Top 10 Must-Read Books According to Leaders Like , Barack Obama and Elon Musk

By Sean Kim | Lifehack

Want to know what goes on inside the minds of billionaires, global leaders, and game-changers?

Read what they read.

No matter how successful people like Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, or Barack Obama are today, they all acquired their knowledge and experience over time. And they admit that books were a big part of the journey.

I know what you’re thinking: what were these books?

Related Article: 7 Books That Will Change the Way You See the World

Luckily for us, they’ve publicly shared their most recommended and impactful books that have helped them get to where they are today.

We’ve compiled the top 10 books to read, and brought it here for you to enjoy.

Enjoy these 10 books, and share the knowledge with others!

Top 10 Books To Read

1. Atlas Shrugged By Ayn Rand

Recommended by: Steve Jobs and Mark Cuban Topic: Politics & Business One-sentence summary: “Solve the world’s problem through entrepreneurial solutions.”

When Steve Wozniak was interviewed about what influenced Steve Jobs in the early days of building Apple, he mentioned that Atlas Shrugged was one of the books that Jobs used as his guide to life & business. 2. Competing Against Time By George Stalk

Recommended by: Tim Cook Topic: Business, Economy, Productivity One-sentence summary: “Time is now added to the other three critical factors in order to remain competitiveness in the market – money, productivity, and quality.”

Competing Against Time is a book that Tim Cook passes out everywhere and makes it a recommendation for all new hires at Apple to read.

3. Business Adventures By John Brooks

Recommended by: Warren Buffet and Bill Gates Topic: Business & Finance One-sentence summary: “A classic story about the American corporate and financial life.” What do two of the richest men in the world have in common? They love the writings of John Brooks. Gates writes in his essay about Business Adventures: “Brooks eschews ‘listicles’ and doesn’t ‘boil his work down into pat how-to lessons or simplistic explanations for success.’ Instead, he tells entertaining stories replete with richly drawn characters, setting them during heightened moments within the world of commerce.”

Buffett’s classic sayings, such as “you only find out who is swimming naked when the tide goes out,” fits right into the style of Brooks writing as well. 4. Influence By Robert Cialdini

Recommended by: Charlie Munger and Guy Kawasaki Topic: Psychology, Persuasion, Marketing One-sentence summary: “Science-backed methods to persuade just about anyone you want.”

Related Article: 9 Must-Have Books For Expanding Your Spiritual Awareness

Charlie Munger, ’s partner in crime at , attributes Cialdini’s work as having a big influence on his thinking process. His published work of the25 Cognitive Biases of humans was very much influenced by Cialdini’s work.

5. Life Is What You Make It By Peter Buffett

Recommended by: Topic: Life, Purpose, Autobiography One-sentence summary: “Instead of taking the way of least resistance, choose the path to greatest satisfaction.”

This autobiography book by Peter Buffett, Warren Buffett’s son, shares the wisdom learned from his family and his experiences. Here’s how , Media Icon and the Founder of CNN, describes it: “With home-spun, heart-felt wisdom Peter Buffett ponders how to make a meaningful life, while making a living.”

6. The Happiness Hypothesis By Jonathan Haidt

Recommended by: Tony Hsieh Topic: Happiness, Culture, Philosophy, One-sentence summary: “Giving and serving are the way to happiness.”

Related Article: Top 5 Big Ideas from “The Art of Life” by Ernest Holmes

“This is probably the book that’s made the biggest impact on my life over the past five years. The author examines the beliefs about happiness of different cultures, religions and philosophers from different periods, and then compares those beliefs with research that’s been done on the science of happiness. The book is thought-provoking and the concepts can be applied to business and to life.” – Tony Hsieh (CEO of Zappos)

7. The Four Agreements By Don Miguel Ruiz

Recommended by: Oprah Winfrey and Jack Dorsey Topic: Spirituality, Life, Happiness One-sentence summary: The book can be summarized in the following four precepts:

1. Be Impeccable With Your Word 2. Don’t Take Anything Personally 3. Don’t Make Assumptions 4. Always Do Your Best As Jack Dorsey is in the process of running two publicly traded companies, Twitter and Square, he’s forced to mature as a leader. Throughout his journey, he acknowledges The Four Agreement as guiding him in the right path.

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