Knowledge is power, which is why it’s important that you’re always learning. It’s also why I’ve put together a spring reading list of five eclectic books. These titles cover everything from art to cooking, to fitness and biographies.

If you’re looking for something to read, check out the following titles.

1. The French Laundry Cookbook

Fine dining is one of the greatest experiences on Earth.

You dress up, go to a nice restaurant, and have an incredible meal with friends.

Likewise, cooking is art. It takes discipline and patience to craft quality meals. And because of this, I thought it would be fun to learn a few gourmet recipes.

Eating at French Laundry costs $300+ per person.

The French Laundry Cookbook contains all the restaurant’s signature dishes, letting you recreate each for a fraction of the price.

2. Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller

We often hear stories about government regulation and changing technology putting people out of work or making jobs obsolete. But, a quick look to the past shows that these shifts always create a new class of wealth.

After the American Civil War changing laws and new innovations (railroads, telegrams, steamships) lead to incredible prosperity for many opportunity seekers. The biggest winner of this group being John D. Rockefeller, at one point the richest man in America.

Titan is a massive book (almost 800 pages) which details Rockefeller’s entire life. The book covers everything from Rockefeller’s bizarre childhood, to his stoic personality and how it enabled him to amass his personal fortune.

3. Abstract Painting: The Elements of Visual Language

Learning to paint is my big 2019 goal. And while there are plenty of YouTube tutorials on this subject, I wanted to pick up a big book with detailed examples.

Abstract Painting shows you how to create eye-catching and engaging designs.

4. The Little Book of Market Wizards

There are several books in the Market Wizards series. And while all of them are great, the interview format makes them somewhat tough to read. Maybe I’m a dummy, but I find the back-and-forth nature somewhat distracting. It’s easy to miss crucial information this way, and some of the conversationalists are a little too cryptic with their answers.

The Little Book of Market Wizards condenses all four books in the series down to one title. Here you’re getting all the best lesson and information, written in an easy to follow and traditional manner.

If you ever wanted to peak inside the minds of America’s top traders or hedge fund managers, this is the book for you.

5. Special Ops Fitness Training: High-Intensity Workouts of Navy Seals, Delta Force, Marine Force Recon and Army Rangers

This is a bit of a cheat, because I’ve read this book before. But, I’m re-reading some of the workouts here again, because they’re incredibly effective.

Special Ops Fitness Training gives you the exact workouts and routines for a variety of elite military units. These cover everything from Navy Seal exercises to Air Force Pararescue. One of the coolest thing about this book is that it isn’t just a bunch of weight-room activities. Most routines get very physical (like going for a 10-mile hike or 1-mile swim).

This isn’t a book for everyone (many of the workouts are brutal), but the last time I followed it I got into great shape.

Check this one out if you’re looking to shake-up your usual fitness routine.

Spring Reading List – Closing Thoughts

Reading is great, but you always want to expand your knowledge base.

That’s why it’s important to study new things or try unfamiliar activities.

This spring reading list covers a wide range of topics, so hopefully you’ll find something new here and try it out.

Someone recently asked about the three best books I’ve ever read. This took a while to think about.

Why?

Because there are tons of great books with one or two very specific applications. Comparing them is tough, and it’s near impossible to determine how books from vastly different genres stack up.

To solve this problem, I picked three nonfiction titles (for fiction, it’s anything by Hemingway, H.P. Lovecraft, or Anton Chekhov). Each of these providing life-long advice that’s proved helpful for years on end.

Additionally, these cover a variety of topics ranging from American culture to dissecting logical arguments. So there’s something for everyone.

Here’s the list, enjoy!

1. Class, by Paul Fussell

This is a book that’ll influence your decisions years after you read it.

I picked up Class at age 19, and I’m still getting value from it. Why? Because the book guides you through America’s social caste system, showing you how people (on all levels) behave.

One basic example of this (which is especially useful for dealing with people online) is the idea that most wealthy people keep their money “out of sight.” Instead of bragging, they signal status subtle nonchalance. They don’t say “Mansion,” they say “House.”

That’s just one lesson from Class, and the book is incredibly eye-opening how different levels of society act.

You’ll discover who luxury clothing is actually marketed towards (hint, it’s not wealthy people), why tattoos are becoming mainstream, how museum curator is the ultimate prestige job (it has nothing to do with old bones or classic art).

In the era of the rap star and Instagram influencer, Class is more relevant today than ever before. Give it a read.

2. How To Stop Worrying And Start Living, by Dale Carnegie

Most people are slaves to fear. They worry about their job, the economy, politics, sporting events, and what random people think of them.

How many family get-togethers and Thanksgivings are spoiled from needless anxiety?

Control your fears and you eliminate this stress.

How To Stop Worrying And Start Living provides numerous strategies for achieving this. You learn how to tune out “potential worries” (i.e. things that are unlikely to happen), deal with crisis (there’s a good example involving an American banker detained the Japanese Army during WWII), and discover techniques for squashing mundane stressors (like work problems and office politics).

Like Class, this is a book where the lessons stick with you forever.

I first read How To Stop Worrying And Start Living as a teenager, and still use the reframe techniques whenever there’s a stressful situation.

Definitely worth a read.

3. Writing Philosophy: A Student’s Guide To Writing Philosophy Essays, by Lewis Vaughn

This is the first persuasive writing book I ever read, long before ever hearing the phrase “copywriting.”

Writing Philosophy is a quick, easy read (just under 200 pages) which teaches you how to craft argumentative essays. Additionally, you learn essential skills for analyzing other people’s arguments.

You’ll learn the power of persuasion and the ability to pick apart faulty theories, all in the span of one book.

Writing Philosophy bases itself around logic, something which isn’t always used in consumer marketing but is crucial in more “high-level” transactions (trading stocks, arguing legal cases, business to business sales, spreading ideologies).

If you’re looking to study higher forms of persuasion, this is an excellent book.

How To Build A Billion Dollar App is one of the best non-fiction books I’ve ever read.

Written by George Berkowski, co-founder of Hailo (a precursor to Uber), this a guide to building big, mainstream businesses.

You learn how to take an idea and scale it up, hopefully to the billion dollar level.

The book covers everything from acquiring customers, to raising capital, to growing your business internationally. Plus, there are tons of valuable insights into marketing, customer retention, testing features, and managing a team. Much of which is applicable to every type of business.

In this article, I’ll explain why I liked the book, and what you’ll learn from it.

Three Lessons From How To Build A Billion Dollar App

How To Build A Billion Dollar App is about 500 pages long, so there’s a lot of information here.

However, I’m going to tell you three of the best lessons I got from reading it. This are things anyone can implement, and they’re all useful tips if you’re already running a business.

Here we go.

1. How To Get Your Business Featured In Major News Outlets

Do you ever visit a Forbes or Business Insider and see an article like “18 Year-Old BitCoin Genius Launches New Crypto Consulting Firm?” That’s a press release. And it’s basically an advertisement masquerading as “big news.”

(Here’s One Example Of A Press Release I Found On Forbes.com)

Most companies put these out, and you’ll find them for almost every industry: from Hollywood movie studios to one-person start-ups.

How To Build A Billion Dollar App detail the steps for writing and sending your own press releases.

What surprised me the most about this, was how cheap PR actually is. For $200, you’re able to reach a ton of major news outlets.

Plus, it’s even cheaper if do all the work yourself.

If you do any copywriting or marketing, this is incredibly useful. I’ve written a couple of these for clients now, but press releases are also useful if you’re selling your own product or running a company.

2. SEO For App Stores And Marketplaces

Putting a product on the marketplace is only half the battle.

If you’ve ever sold eBooks or have an Amazon Merch account, you know that it’s pretty difficult to get good rankings naturally.

You need to understand how a marketplace’s algorithms work in order to maximize your results.

One of the best pieces of SEO advice from How To Build A Billion Dollar App is this:

“Include both what your app does (as well as keywords) and branding [in the app’s title].”

For example:

• “WhatsApp Messenger” – Brand name (WhatsApp) and what it is (Messenger).
• “Grab” – Cras, Bikes, And Taxi Booking App” – Brand name (Grab), plus a detailed description what it offers.
• “TextNow: Free Calls + Texting” – Simple brand name, straightforward description of what it does.

In branding, there are three types of names:

1. Descriptive (tells you what to expect, like “Shredded Wheat”).
2. Suggestive (hints at what the product does, the name “Twitter” implies a communication service).
3. Empty Vessel (there’s no connection between the name and service, think “Starbucks” or “Zappos”).

By including what your product does in the title you’re able to capitalize off SEO algorithms, even if you’re brand name is suggestive or an empty vessel.

3. “The Sun Rises In The East”

If you run an Internet business, target China.

Why?

Because there are over 618 million Internet users and a booming economy. Disposable income tripled between 2005 and 2013, and the county has 122 billionaires.

On top of this, many services which are “old news” in the West are still novelties there.

Mobile gaming, big budget action movies, social media, online shopping, fast food, and luxury clothing are all huge.

On top of this, many “big players” (like Google and Facebook) are banned by the government.

Personally, I started doing more business-to-business work in China last year, and it’s pretty amazing. There’s a big market for English language content, and basic sales skills (like knowing which words trigger customers to buy) go a long way there.

How To Build A Billion Dollar App illuminated why this is an important market, and one that a lot of Westerners overlook.

Closing Thoughts

(Line, A Texting App, Has Built A Massive Brand Off Their Emojis)

If you’re interested in app development or what it takes to grow a large-scale business, this is a terrific book. There’s a lot of high-quality information on building a brand and reaching as many potential buyers as possible.

Click Here To Order

Conflict is dumb.

Whenever possible avoid it. Waging a “personal war” is a great way to waste time and drive yourself crazy. That said, trouble is often unavoidable.

As Kenny Rogers put it, “Sometimes you gotta fight when you’re a man.”

And when this happens, you might as well know how to properly defend yourself. Your life depends on it.

Today’s article covers the best military and tactical books I read in 2017. These deal with everything hand-to-hand combat to political intrigue, to predicting your optimal strategy in any situation.

Enjoy!

Combat Without Weapons

This is a short book (less than 40 pages), but it left a big impact on me.

Written during the Second World War, Combat Without Weapons is a simple how-to guide for unarmed combat.

The author, Captain E. Hartley Leather of the Royal Canadian Artillery, covers all the important hand-to-hand combat techniques (like disarming a gunman, breaking an attacker’s stranglehold, or parrying a knife wielder).

While this was interesting stuff (did you know that jabbing, not swinging is the proper way to use a staff in combat?) I especially liked psychological aspect of how to fight.

As the author explains:

In personal combat, as much as in the strategies of armies, the two chief elements of success are surprise and speed. It does not matter twopence what you do so long as you do it fast, and when you do it, do it as though your life depended on it, because it often does.

This is great advice no matter the situation.

Whether you’re dealing with real-life conflict, boxing, or playing poker, there’s nothing more devastating than an overwhelming surprise attack.

The majority of people fold under the slightest pressure. Doing the opposite often reveals that your enemy is nothing but a “glass cannon.” Capable of dishing out threats or attacks, but quick to crumble once the tables turn.

Combat Without Weapons takes about an hour to read and is well worth it.

There’s good, practical self-defense tips. Plus straightforward psychological advice on how to handle yourself when under attack.

The Prince

The granddaddy of all political strategy.

I listened to The Prince on YouTube (here’s the link) over the summer, and thought it was great.

Despite being 500 years old, The Prince is still relevant. Most major powers (either nations or elite people), still use the same tactics described in this book.

Here are a few key points:

• Never reform things too much (people hate change and you create new enemies) – You see this a lot in politics. Many solvable issues get debated back and forth for decades, with little progress ever being made.
• “There is nothing more important than appearing to be religious” (i.e. why American politicians love pretending they’re Christians).
• Win by deception and trickery whenever possible.
• When forced to confront an enemy, make sure your attack is “so severe that his vengeance need not be feared.”

If you’ve never read before, The Prince pick up a copy. It’s a good primer on how politics works, and how to maneuver yourself when in the public eye.

The Art Of Seduction

This book’s title is incredibly misleading.

I’d always assumed The Art Of Seduction was a PUA title like The Game.

It isn’t.

The Art Of Seduction is all about using charisma to win people over in a variety of settings, including political and social.

This is useful if you do anything in the public eye (like copywriting or sales). And there’s a ton of good information on making yourself more attractive to an audience.

Here are just a few of my favorite tips:

• Let others project their emotions.

Charismatic people tap into the repressed desires of others, acting as a sort of outlet for their audience to live out their secret desires. The whole entertainment industry is built around this concept.

Many popular movies, for example, act as wish-fulfillment for the viewer.

Think about he first Die Hard film and why it’s so popular. An ordinary working class American man stops a terrorist threat, saves his family, and rekindles his failing marriage.

Meanwhile, all the “elitist” characters (bureaucrats, snobby businessmen, reporters, etc) get their comeuppance when they fail to recognize that the protagonist was right about everything the entire time.

It’s a power fantasy that resonates with the masses.

• Insecurity is the least seductive trait.

People hate insecurity. And anyone who comes across as self-doubting or unsure of themselves will quickly lose their audience.

The 2016 election is a great example of this.

Specifically, Jeb Bush vs Donald Trump.

On paper, Jeb was a sure thing. Career politician, family man, noncontroversial.

But during debates and speeches, he came off as insecure and weak (reminding the audience to “please clap” for him). And this was amplified a million times when compared to Trump’s unshakable confidence.

• Never reveal what’s behind the curtain.

If you’re good at something, make people believe it’s magic.

The masses hate it when they learn that your talents and abilities came from years of hard work and practice.

This is why most successful people give out generic advice like “follow your dreams” or “do something your passionate about.” It’s more palatable than unveiling the grueling work that goes into developing a profitable skill set.

If you’ve never read The Art Of Seduction I highly suggest grabbing a copy.

It’s a deeply insightful book on persuading and “seducing” the masses.

Thinking Strategically

Easily the most important book I read in 2017.

Thinking Strategically is a tough read, but worth it. The book is meant to improve your “Tactical I.Q.,” giving you an edge in business and daily life.

Essentially, this means that you’re able to make better decisions.

And one of the key ways to do this is to “look ahead and reason back.”

You predict the outcome of your decisions and then use this to calculate your best course of action.

Here’s a basic personal example.

In December, when BitCoin prices skyrocketed, to $11,000, I had two choices.

Hold my coins and hope the price continued rising, or sell off for 360% profit.

To determine the best option, I made a decision tree. This I something I learned about from the book, and it looked something like this.

• Option 1: Sell BitCoin, collect 360% gains, 0% risk.
• Option 2: Keep BitCoin, collect nothing, potentially high risk.

Written on paper, option one became the clear choice.

Rather than getting emotional and anticipating “future gains,” I sold off my crypto. One month later BitCoin prices dropped by 58%.

This is a simple example of something from this book, but it helped me avoid a massive financial crash.

Thinking Strategically is a dense read and quite challenging at times. However, the information does help improve your critical thinking and decision-making abilities.

As such, it’s well worth the challenge.