Post: #1

I hear a lot of people saying this or that book caused some emotion or change in thinking, but I am curious what book, video, conference etc triggered you to make actual changes to some part of your life or business.

What was the book and what did you change? What were the results positive or negative? Bang was that kind of book for you which is designed for you to change things right away?

In my case one of the biggest influences was an out of print book called Winning Through Intimidation by Robert Ringer. After I read this I changed my whole presentation in business, specifically to let people know I was there to win.

What about you guys?

Post: #2

yes no

Post: #3

The Giving Tree taught me everything I need to know about how life.

Post: #4

How to become an Alpha Male by John Alexander. This book is a little dated (2003) but it truly changed the way I perceived and how I was perceived by women. It was the first time I was given knowledge of body language, status, positive affirmations, etc. A week after applying the principles was actually understand why girls gave me stared at me from time to time and how to make them more attracted to me. It wasn't until this year that I started applying Roosh's principles on the approach which is now leading me to getting some intimacy 80 approaches in. This book speaks on approaching but doesn't get as specific as Roosh does.

Post: #5

Aaron Clarey's Bachelor Pad Economics. Great ideas on streamlining your life from financial, possessions, and timesaving standpoints.

Post: #6

Great idea for a thread.

Boglehead's Guide to Investing / Retirement:

Before 25 the idea of retirement was outside of my universe. At that point I lost a lot of money (relatively speaking) from individual stock picking. Then I just decided to hoard cash here and there, but without any specific goals or plans in mind.

This book taught me the importance of saving, coming up with an investment plan, tax efficient investing, compound interest, and ETFs / mutual funds.

Since then, Ive saved a bunch of money in my tax efficient accounts and other accounts, and have a substantial amount of money placed in a thought out equity / bond allocation.

This book has been a gift and I recommend everyone read it as soon as possible if you are not familiar with, or currently utilizing, the concepts listed above. Its also an easy and enjoyable read.

Post: #7

(07-30-2015 02:30 PM)JamesRodri Wrote:  Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt Free Here

This book will completely change your mind on how an economy works and help you understand how governments f*k it up. You'll see the sham that is modern day politics exposed as the travesty it is.

How did this change parts of my life?

It made me more confident in some strategies such as offshoring my investments and staying off the grid as far as my own government is concerned so that they know as little as possible about the real me.

It also encouraged me to read further and discover other great books by Thomas Sowell, Peter Schiff and other individuals who have a lot to give on this subject.

It made me better at arguing, debating and more logical. This probably sounds to grandiose to be true from a mere 200 pages but check it out for yourself. You won't ever see the world in quite the same way once you have.

I have not read this but will. I have heard Peter Schiff speak and read his book Real Crash which was great. I am also a fan of Jim Rogers and his book Investment Biker about riding a motorcycle all over the world in the 80s is one of the most fun books I have ever read.

Post: #8

(07-30-2015 03:12 PM)LINUX Wrote:  The Giving Tree taught me everything I need to know about how life.

What is this about?

Post: #9

(07-30-2015 05:14 PM)Phil Jackson Wrote:  How to become an Alpha Male by John Alexander. This book is a little dated (2003) but it truly changed the way I perceived and how I was perceived by women. It was the first time I was given knowledge of body language, status, positive affirmations, etc. A week after applying the principles was actually understand why girls gave me stared at me from time to time and how to make them more attracted to me. It wasn't until this year that I started applying Roosh's principles on the approach which is now leading me to getting some intimacy 80 approaches in. This book speaks on approaching but doesn't get as specific as Roosh does.

Sometimes the dated books are best - they are before whatever brand of "political correctness" of the moment. Sounds like a good one.

Reminds me of a book called Dress For Success by Molloy from the 70s full of iron clad rules and forgotten ways men can know what works and doesn't. So raw it would practically be banned today for the pc police. but fill of rules that still work today.

Post: #10

(07-30-2015 05:31 PM)nek Wrote:  Aaron Clarey's Bachelor Pad Economics. Great ideas on streamlining your life from financial, possessions, and timesaving standpoints.

Ok I need this...

Just bought on kindle

Post: #11

(07-30-2015 05:53 PM)se7en Wrote:  Great idea for a thread.

Boglehead's Guide to Investing / Retirement:

Before 25 the idea of retirement was outside of my universe. At that point I lost a lot of money (relatively speaking) from individual stock picking. Then I just decided to hoard cash here and there, but without any specific goals or plans in mind.

This book taught me the importance of saving, coming up with an investment plan, tax efficient investing, compound interest, and ETFs / mutual funds.

Since then, Ive saved a bunch of money in my tax efficient accounts and other accounts, and have a substantial amount of money placed in a thought out equity / bond allocation.

This book has been a gift and I recommend everyone read it as soon as possible if you are not familiar with, or currently utilizing, the concepts listed above. Its also an easy and enjoyable read.

Like Rich Dad Poor Dad?

Post: #12

"Consumed" is a documentary that can be found on youtube or here. It is similar to The Century of Self which has been discussed here on the forum but Consumed is less than an hour while The Century of Self is 4 hours long.

The documentary explains how western culture has been brainwashed into chasing status through material things. Most of this started after the World Wars. There were significant advancements in psychology during those wars as countries put a lot of resources into their propaganda efforts. Many of the propaganda experts transitioned into working for corporations after the wars. The most famous of these men was Sigmund Freud's nephew Edward Bernays. Freud and Bernays believed that humans were a very negative species and needed to be controlled. Their theory was that consumerism would be a way to control people if they were able to manipulate people into spending their lives working and the never ending cycle of chasing bigger and better material items. Bernays also made a lot of money through his work in advertising, marketing, and public relations.

An evolutionary psychologist in the documentary explains how humans have two fundamental goals - to survive and to mate. Survival in modern day western culture is far easier than it was during the overwhelming majority of human history. As we focus less on survival we focus more on mating. This relates to consumerism as advertising is used to subtly make us insecure about our abilities to attract the opposite sex and make us feel like we need to acquire material things to compensate for these insecurities.

After watching this documentary I started a long process towards a minimalist lifestyle.

Post: #13

(07-30-2015 07:29 PM)offthereservation Wrote:  

(07-30-2015 05:53 PM)se7en Wrote:  Great idea for a thread.

Boglehead's Guide to Investing / Retirement:

Before 25 the idea of retirement was outside of my universe. At that point I lost a lot of money (relatively speaking) from individual stock picking. Then I just decided to hoard cash here and there, but without any specific goals or plans in mind.

This book taught me the importance of saving, coming up with an investment plan, tax efficient investing, compound interest, and ETFs / mutual funds.

Since then, Ive saved a bunch of money in my tax efficient accounts and other accounts, and have a substantial amount of money placed in a thought out equity / bond allocation.

This book has been a gift and I recommend everyone read it as soon as possible if you are not familiar with, or currently utilizing, the concepts listed above. Its also an easy and enjoyable read.

Like Rich Dad Poor Dad?

I read Rich Dad Poor Dad a while ago, and although it provided some kind of momentary enthusiasm about getting rich, it didn't really provide actual tools for doing so. That book, as I recall, is primarily about building wealth from real estate, right?

Boglehead's Guide to Investing is more about:

1. tax efficient investing by means of Roth IRA / 401k etc.
2. proper portfolio allocation (what % international stocks, what % US stocks, what % bonds)
3. Guide to ETFs/ Mutual Funds/ Indexes, and why these are superior investment products.
4. Understanding the power of compound interest.
5. Being simple in your investing.
6. Importance of living within your means.

Unlike rich dad poor dad, which is somewhat nebulous in its approach, Bogleheads Guide to Investing provides you with tools and resources to make proper investments now - you can contribute to your IRA NOW, and you should do so now. Save up $1k and dump it into a vanguard account asap - that is exactly what I did as soon as I finished the book.

Prior to reading the book, I had no idea wtf an IRA was. Similarly, althought I thought I understood compound interest, I did not really comprehend the power of the idea.

Anyway, there are a lot of great ideas to draw from that book, and the earlier that you draw from its advice the better - I wish my parents gave me that book when I was like 14 or 15. Still, I'm glad to have read it at twenty five, since it totally changed how I managed my finances. Rich/Dad Poor Dad changed nothing for me, since it provided no way for me to make changes to my lifestyle which reaped immediate results. There is a difference between understanding the importance of investing in real estate, but having to wait for a few years to save start-up capital, and understanding the importance of investing in index / mutual funds in your IRA, and being able to do so immediately. In my early twenties, I had no discipline to save start-up capital for five years, bit by bit, but I did have the discipline to throw a few hundred bucks at the end of the month into a mutual fund.

The book is named after Mr. Boglehead himself - I highly recommend reading the Boglehead forums religiously @ https://www.bogleheads.org - I think it is the best place to learn a level-headed, logical, & conservative investing philosophy which will build your wealth for decades to come. (Sorry if I appear over-zealous - implementing their ideology has resulted in many positive changes to my life)

Post: #14

(07-30-2015 07:25 PM)offthereservation Wrote:  

(07-30-2015 03:12 PM)LINUX Wrote:  The Giving Tree taught me everything I need to know about how life.

What is this about?

It is a kindergarten or first-grade level book, on the surface. It really is quite profound.

The Giving Tree

Post: #15

yes no

Post: #16

(07-30-2015 09:20 PM)JamesRodri Wrote:  [quote='offthereservation' pid='1076787' dateline='1438302278']
[quote='JamesRodri' pid='1076643' dateline='1438284658']
Where did you see Schiff speak? Must've been interesting as he is a great orator.

New Orleans Investment Conference a few years back. Yes he was great.

Post: #17

(07-30-2015 08:16 PM)Moto Wrote:  

(07-30-2015 07:25 PM)offthereservation Wrote:  

(07-30-2015 03:12 PM)LINUX Wrote:  The Giving Tree taught me everything I need to know about how life.

What is this about?

It is a kindergarten or first-grade level book, on the surface. It really is quite profound.

The Giving Tree

I read it but I missed the profound part. Seemed whiny and pointless.

Post: #18

(08-01-2015 09:43 PM)offthereservation Wrote:  

(07-30-2015 08:16 PM)Moto Wrote:  

(07-30-2015 07:25 PM)offthereservation Wrote:  

(07-30-2015 03:12 PM)LINUX Wrote:  The Giving Tree taught me everything I need to know about how life.

What is this about?

It is a kindergarten or first-grade level book, on the surface. It really is quite profound.

The Giving Tree

I read it but I missed the profound part. Seemed whiny and pointless.

I'm guessing Linux was being ironic, but I wasn't. At is happens, a lot of feminists hate the book. Can you fathom why? The title alone is clue enough.

The tree- representing the feminine and motherhood- derives happiness just from giving, even until there is nothing left to give, and is still happy because she gave all she could. There is a sort of darkness and sadness to the story. When you read the book out loud to a group of kids, rather than speed through it by yourself sitting at your computer, more of that comes through. It's a classic for a reason, and will probably still be read in 50 more years.

Post: #19

Back to the topic of the thread. My Kung Fu master wrote a series of books. They really were a critical part of the curriculum and of my growth as a martial artist. They helped build philosophical and spiritual development. There is a lot of strategy in them too, along with detailed descriptions of techniques and drills.

Basically if the school and unique style of Wind Fist Kung Fu- derived from boxing, Kenpo, and various styles of Kung Fu (8 different animals), were to vanish- it could be potentially be resurrected some day in the future because of these books. I'd go so far as to say they are the red pill of martial arts.

Here is the first of the series:

http://www.amazon.com/Chu-Jeng-Book-Drag...B005067PFW

Post: #20

THe Four-Hour Workweek.

The end results speaks for themselves.

Post: #21

(07-30-2015 07:29 PM)offthereservation Wrote:  

(07-30-2015 05:31 PM)nek Wrote:  Aaron Clarey's Bachelor Pad Economics. Great ideas on streamlining your life from financial, possessions, and timesaving standpoints.

Ok I need this...

Just bought on kindle

This is excellent so far thanks

Post: #22

Huge cliche right now but for all it's faults and outdatedness, The Game exploded my interest in getting what I want out of life and set me on a journey that led me to all kinds of great writing, including Roosh's stuff and the great posts I've read here. Roosh summed it up pretty well calling it the "gateway drug to Game."

Also the original Cosmos by Carl Sagan. It's a book as well as a TV series but it pretty much set the foundation for my whole belief system. Highly recommend it.

Post: #23

(08-05-2015 06:18 PM)brob Wrote:  Huge cliche right now but for all it's faults and outdatedness, The Game exploded my interest in getting what I want out of life and set me on a journey that led me to all kinds of great writing, including Roosh's stuff and the great posts I've read here. Roosh summed it up pretty well calling it the "gateway drug to Game."

Also the original Cosmos by Carl Sagan. It's a book as well as a TV series but it pretty much set the foundation for my whole belief system. Highly recommend it.

Good stuff. For me it was neomasculinity as much as game that made me want to go to see Roosh in DC..