What I learned Reading Over 100 Books in a Year

My brother sent me text the other day and asked me how many books I had read this year. I let him know that I was either just under or just over 100 books at the time. He encouraged me to write about what I had learned, and I agreed that it would be a great idea to do so.

Looking back on the year, I can’t believe I read as much as I did, and it was a life-changing experience without a doubt. I am going to go in depth on what I learned and provide all of the goodies on how it went.

Why Did I Do This?

1. Blame Buffett

There are a few reasons for doing this, but the first started with billionaire Warren Buffet. At the end of 2016, I found out that this guy reads for 8 hours a day. Think about that for second, 8 hours! Most people are at work for 8 hours a day or sleeping for 8 hours a day, that is a lot of time spent reading.

I told myself something that day that will hold true until the day I die. I was going to read a lot more, and it would become an expectation in my life. If he reads for 8 hours a day and can run his billion-dollar empire, there is no damn reason that I can’t read for half of that time.

2. Do Black People Know How to Read?

Being in the tech industry, you learn something really quick; black people get no love when it comes to intelligence. Everyone is all about hiring “smart creatives” like Google, but there is one big problem, most people don’t think black people are smart. I think even we as black people have convinced ourselves of this lie in some ways. Now if people need someone to do something physical, they will pick us first, but anything that is intellectually speaking, we are the kid picked last for dodgeball.

I wanted to change that because black people are smart and we are more than capable! I went through most of my time in school feeling like a dummy, but I am intelligent. I want to encourage all of the young black minds out there to read more.

3. My App Was Progressing Slowly

My motivation to learn more was for my business. My app was supposed to come out June 2016, and it did not come out until the end of 2017. The stuff that happened during that time, I will write a book about one day. But I had a choice in that time, I could sulk, or I could get better. I chose the latter.

I did not want the constant setbacks to become wasted time. I decided that I would use 2017 to get better and make it the best year of my life. You can always control how much you prepare. Outside of that and your attitude, there is not much that you can control.

Buying Books the Smart Way

I fell into my current book-buying ways by accident. My wife is a massage therapist, so we moved from Des Moines, IA to Ann Arbor, Michigan halfway through 2017 for her work. When we got here, we knew nothing about the place at all. My wife had a client come in, and the women told her how her husband likes to read and how he gets his books from this used bookstore.

I had never thought of of using a used bookstore before. I had this weird pride about my books being new, but regardless I made one of the best moves of my life, and I just went to check it out. The place sells books for $2, and almost all of the books were brand new anyway. I would head over to this store inside of the library here in Ann Arbor, and leave with 20 books at a time and spend $10.

The couple months of the year I had spent about $600 on books from Amazon. After going to the used bookstore, I started buying all of my books used. I took one of my last Amazon orders from $580 down to $260 just by buying all the books used. Making this switch to used books has allowed me to read much more.

Don’t Sip But Guzzle

As I write this, I have about 43 books sitting here that I have not even had the chance to crack open. To most people, that is ridiculous. I will explain how this is the key to reading a lot though.

It keeps the pressure on to read more and read faster. Most people buy one or two books at a time, and then take their time as if they have all the time in the world to read.

When I first spent $300 on books from Amazon, it was all the money I had in my bank at the time, and I had a baby on the way the next month. I got hit with a nasty tax bill, had to get a new car, and both my wife and I were transitioning to living in Iowa after leaving Phoenix. I knew that if I invested in myself, I would start making more money then I have had. I was right about that, and I read faster than ever because of how much I spent.

I had to read more! $300 worth of books were just staring at me every day. I was no longer going to sip, it was time to guzzle like it was the middle of summer and I had not had water in a few days.

Isn’t it Too Much Information?

I know what you’re thinking. Isn’t that just too much information? Try reading 100 books, and you be the judge. I am all about experimenting. It is why I used to take cold showers, and why I still get up at 3:10 AM. I test things out and see what results they produce in my life. You never know unless you give it a try sometimes.

Reading 100 books was not information overload because it helped me to block out crappy information. I was reading high-quality information, and I did not need to remember every page of the book. I pulled away crucial nuggets I needed for that time in my life. The information from different books begins to mix with your life experiences, and you create new ideas.

How I Did It

I Cut Off My Social Media

I Deleted my Instagram account
I deactivated my Twitter account
I deactivated my Facebook

Most of the garbage information we consume is from the social media we consume. Once I cut these out I had more time to read because I spent less time messing around on social media.

Read One Book a Day

I 100% credit this to technique to Tai Lopez. He is the guy you see in every YouTube ad. He tells people to read a new book every day. I thought he was batshit crazy when I first heard him say it, but because I was willing to experiment I was able to learn from doing this.

I became much more excited to read because every day was something new. I was never bored of reading throughout the year. The idea is to read as much of a book in a day that you can, then put the book down and come back to it later and get more out of it later. Or you can just read the key chapters that will benefit you the most at the time.

It became a game to see how far I could get in a day and amazingly about 20% of the books were completed in one day. Nothing feels more badass then devouring an entire book in one day.

Review One Book a Day

Every day for 30 minutes, I review one book that I have already read. I mark my books up when I read them. I first realized this from reading The Bible. When reading it, I always would mark it up and write all through it. But when I bought other books, I felt they needed to keep them in mint condition.

Now I write my notes in them, and I use a highlighter too. The reason I use a highlighter is to prevent my mind from drifting. I can’t drift when I highlight because it keeps me focused on the words.

Review Master Notes Daily

Once I finish reading a book, I take all of the notes and put them into my master notebook. These notes are all in my own words. They represent how I interpret the books and how I can apply the knowledge. I review a few pages of this every day as well.

Repetition is The Key Here

If you have not already figured it out yet, reps are all that matters. The reason consuming so much information was awesome is that most of it I have gone over in different ways MULTIPLE TIMES. I read the book; I go over the book a few times, I go over my notes, I talk about the book with people.

Teach it to Someone Else

I thank God for my amazing wife. When I read these books, I learn so much that I need to talk to someone and she is always a great listener (unlike me). I always try and teach her something from the books I read, but it is more for selfish reasons. I know that if I talk about it right away, it locks the information in. I learn best from hearing myself talk, to be honest, but I read and write to make sure I’m learning from every direction.

Have a Reading Buddy

Believe it or not, I have a friend I went to highschool with by the name of Justin Burns who reads more than me. We run the Kho Podcast together and talk about a lot of these books together. He has helped and inspired me a lot. If I see him buy 20 books, I have to go and step my book game up. I can’t just be ok with him leaving me in the dust. He has helped me to guzzle, and I thank him for that.

Book Awards

Most Surprising Wisdom — The Keys by DJ Khalid

I bought this book as a joke to be honest. I did not think it would be that good, but I wanted to see what DJ Khalid had to say because I grew up getting amped for my races listening to a lot of his songs. He brought the thunder with this book.

One of the biggest lessons I took away was just to be yourself! He had the courage to write the book EXACTLY how he speaks, and it was hilarious. I also learned a lot about momentum and always working for another win under your belt.

Jam Packed with Goodies — Tools of Titans

The book has three sections called health, wealth, and Wisdom. Tim Ferris interviews so many different people that it is pretty much impossible not to have a few interviews that you just love. The book is thick, but it is perfect for jumping around.

Taught Me The Most About Myself — The Hypomanic Edge

Understanding hypomania and its connection to entrepreneurship helped me in so many ways. Once I was able to read this and understand myself it helped me be ok with myself.

How to Obtain Anything You Want — Total Recall by Arnold Schwarzenegger

Big shout out to Arnold for this book. We often forget that this guy moved to the Austria to the USA, became the best body builder in the world, made millions in real estate, became a movie start and then the governor of California. If you want to get everything you want in life, you have got to read this book and put in your reps and sets.

Never Judge a Book by Its Name or Cover — E Myth

The cover and the name suck but the content is fire. The book is excellent for anyone who wants to be an entrepreneur but needs to understand what it means to build a system. McDonald’s does not have the best burgers, but it has the best system.

Craziest Story Everyone Should Know — Hatching Twitter

My friend Justin put me on this book, and I loved it. Not so much for the lessons but the story itself is crazy. Twitter is a company everyone knows but the founding story is just full of some shady moves.

Craziest Male Story — Roasting in Hells Kitchen by Gordon Ramsey

Just thinking about this book makes me laugh. My brother put me on Gordon Ramsey shows, and the book will help you understand why he is the way he is. The guys who mentored him in France would make Hells Kitchen look soft.

Craziest Female Story — Story of My Life by Hellen Keller

Hellen Keller was born, deaf, mute and blind and she learned to communicate. I wanted to learn how she learned to communicate and write books. The level of persistence this young lady shown was out of this world. This book has the power to kill all of your lame excuses.

Best Journey — Greatest Salesman Alive

The thing I love about journey books is that you can’t put them down because you get lost in the story. Best salesman alive is not just about sales either. I think it is packed with life lessons we all need.

Instant Courage — The Black Jacobins

The book talks about the only successful slave revolution. About fives pages in it goes through the most disgusting explanation of what used to be done to slaves. When I read this, my courage went through the roof because my genes survived this torture. If my people could survive that, what can’t I do?

Most Sentimental — Life’s Greatest Lessons

I lost a childhood friend way too early. Before he passed away, I gave him a book to read, and he gave me this one in return and said I had to read it. Today when I read it, I feel like my friend is talking to me, so I read this book at least twice a year.

Best for Beginners Looking to Read More and Change Their Life — 7 Strategies for Wealth and Happiness.

This book is based on a Jim Rohn talk I listen to. I consider this book to be the first book someone should read if they want to start changing their life. It provides the basic building blocks to getting more money and living a fuller life.

Best Book to Overcome Fear– Outwitting the Devil

The book is Napoleon Hill interviewing the devil. If you are trying to get over a fear of anything that is holding back your dreams, this book is a must-read. I have read this so many times now, and it is the one I have recommended to others the most.

If I Could Only Carry One Book for Life — Laws of Success

The Laws of Success is 500 plus pages, and I read it front to back non stop for about a week to finish it. The laws are undeniable, and it is one of those books that guarantees success if you can apply what it says. If I had to carry just one book, it would be this one. It covers health, saving money, having good relationships and so much more.

Most Mind-Blowing — Move Fast and Break Things

I bought this book from the used bookstore not knowing if it would be fire or not. It just sounded cool, and I know the title is a term coined by the Facebook CEO. The book is essential to read because it talks about how Facebook, Amazon, Google and how these companies are changing our world for the worst. Most people don’t know how much data and power they have on us.

When it’s Time to Be Bad Ass — Genghis Kahn and Making the Modern World

Genghis Kahn is most known for his savage ways, but he was brilliant too. One line I got from this book that I read every morning is “there is no good in anything until it is finished.”

Throughout my life, I have been a great starter, but a horrible finisher and Genghis Kahn knew how to conquer with strategy, and he knew how to finish.

Best for Happiness — Happiness Hypothesis

There is one chapter called the pursuit of happiness, and it is the main one you need from this book. I have slowly gone back and hit the other chapters, but that one gives real practical advice about happiness. For example, uncontrollable noise and being in traffic decrease happiness. Whereas spending money on experiences over things increases happiness.

Productivity Game Changer — The One Thing

I like most people always have struggled with a lack of focus. I tried to do too much at once, and this book made it clear to me why that was a mistake. The One Thing is the comprehensive guide you need to live your most productive life.

The Rest of The Books

The Billy Club — The Billion Dollar Mindset

Like a Virgin (Richard Branson) — Great for outside the box thinking like Richard Branson

Grinding it Out (McDonald’s) — Great for learning about sales and having a bigger vision.

Delivering Happiness (Zappos) — When you want to provide the best customer service in the world, this book is your friend.

The Everything Store (Amazon) — Great for being a long-term thinker and always moving forward at any cost.

Zero to One (Peter Thiel of Paypal) — Great for knowing if your business idea has potential and for bringing innovative ideas to the world.

Elon Musk (Tesla, PayPal, Space X, etc.) — Great for learning how to be an all in risk taker while being able to suffer more pain than anyone else.

The Peoples Tycoon (Ford ) — Great for learning how to bring great minds together and understanding the power of control and ownership.

Self Made Billionaire Effect — Great for learning the commonalities between billionaires.

Disney — Great for making sure you never give up and having while having a wild imagination. I could only read about 200/800 pages of this one. It is a very slow and brutal read for me. The story is the same. He almost fails a billion times and just never gives in and endures sickening amounts of risk and pain.

To Pixar and Beyond — Great for learning how Steve Jobs got booted from Apple and built Pixar into a monster despite the fact that the company was burning money like it was their jobs (pun well intended).

How Google Works — Great for learning how to run a large company that still innovates and foster an environment where smart people want to work.

Hard Drive (Bill Gates of Microsoft) — Hard to relate to Bill Gates for me because he is a genius from birth, but I could relate to his work ethic and what it took to build Microsoft. No one has intensity like this guy!

Top Pick

Made in America — Jeff Bezos of Amazon pretty much went everywhere with this book for a good reason. Walmart is worth a lot of money and is only recently on the decline because of Amazon ironically. Anyone who can build an empire as large as Walmart has something to teach us all. The main thing I took away from this book is that you have to create a company that is true to who you are. Sam Walton was a frugal guy, so he built a frugal company. He cared for people, so he formed a company that did the same. The Walmart we know today came to be after he passed because they let go of his vision.

Books The Change You From The Inside Out

Who Says You Can’t You Do — Great book for learning how to know who you are and get more out of your life.

Disrupt You — Great book for remembering that as time changes you have to grow and keep finding ways to remake yourself.

Winning With People — John Maxwell always makes good books, but this one focuses you in on simple strategies to be better with people. I think of it as a modern day “How to Win Friends and Influence People”

Love Does — One of the best stories I have ever read on persistence came from this book. Also teaches the importance of just sticking with people when they need you.

How to Win Friends and Influence People — One of the best books written on how to be liked and be persuasive. Most people have heard of this book. If you have not read it you need to just go and get it now.

How Successful People Think — Another John Maxwell classic that is easy to read since it is broken into small chapters. The book will change how you think about success day to day.

Managing Oneself — The book is an hour read that reminds you of the importance of knowing who you are first. You can’t learn about the world until you understand how you best learn.

Will Power — To attain anything or make a change you need the willpower to do so, and this book breaks down how to get the most out of your willpower and why the morning is so powerful.

Success With a Positive Mental Attitude — Great book if you have been in a negative place for a while.

Acres of Diamonds — Everything you need to succeed is right in your backyard so stop searching the world for it.

15 Invaluable Laws of Growth — The key lesson I got from this book that changed my life is that you need to have a plan for growth. Most people think growth is automatic because as kids we automatically grow larger in size.The reason I read 100 books this year is because I had a plan to make it the best year of learning in my life.

Top Pick — 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

I had heard of this book many times, but honestly, it sounded so cheesy that I never bought it. When I finally read it, I realized that it was the real deal. The book first builds you up from the inside out. My favorite of the habits is the last one, which is to sharpen the saw.

Diet Books

This Ain’tNot Normal Folks — Author Joe Salatin is one of the originals in the organic food game. The most significant lessons I have gotten from the book come from how to raise kids and the advantage of dropping technology and doing things old school.

Diet Cults — Must read for anyone who firmly believes in any diet as many believe in religion. The book will help you to see that there is no one right way to eat for all 7 billion people.

Family

The Danish Way of Parenting — Another great book that gives a great perspective on how to raise your kids and why Danish kids are so happy.

Seasons of Marriage — I have not gotten through this entire book because I just focused on my current season my wife and I are in but overall it is helpful to know where you are and how you can thrive in your current season.

What I wish I knew Before I Had Kids — I read the marriage version of this book, and it helped me to get my marriage started right. The kid’s version is just as helpful.

When The Struggle is Real

The Obstacle is The Way — The author goes through different examples of how struggle is a good thing, and we need to do everything we can to go towards difficulty and not run from it.

David and Goliath — We think the advantage is in having more money, a bigger house, being taller, but the truth is that every disadvantage opens the door for an advantage if we look hard enough.

Power of Broke — Daymond John from shark tank dives in on the advantages of having less. My favorite story is the one on Under Armor because I have always been a huge Kevin Plank fan.

The Dip –Great for people who need to quit and say no more. You need to realize that you must find the one thing worth holding on to and work to be the best at that.

The War of Art — Great for fighting your demons and things that hold you back. I won’t say much else because it is such an easy book to read. It is one of the books where every page is a half page and every other page is a new chapter.

Top Pick — Three Feet From Gold

The book is another journey book telling the story of a guy trying to find a way in life. As an entrepreneur, it is perfect because he talks with all these people who have achieved greatness and they explain how. If you like good quotes andgolden nuggets, you will love this one.

Leadership

Legacy — Covers the traditions of the New Zealand rugby team. If you love sports, this is one of the best leadership books out there.

All In — One of my favorites on building a team that is 100% bought into the vision.

Tribal Leadership –The book easily could have been the top pick for the leadership category.The authors break tribes down into five different levels. The goals are to be a level four, and five tribes and it is all broken down by language that used amongst a group. The key is that you can’t skip a level. A level two will not become a level four.

Level 1 — “Life Sucks” (Inmates in Prison)
Level 2 — “My Life Sucks” (Workers at the DMV)
Level 3 — “I’m Good” (Most employees at alright companies)
Level 4 — “We’re Good, but They Are Not” (Apple vs. Microsoft vs Google, etc…)
Level 5 — “Life is Good” (A team that just won a championship)

If you don’t read it, at least listen to the TED talk.

Pushing Up People — The idea is that you want to develop a company where leaders create leaders and people want to work for you. If you feel like being in business means being cutthroat, this is a good read for .

21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership — More John Maxwell magic here. I think this book points out some key leadership areas that are weaknesses for you. The issue is that to be a real leader you need to hold your own in all 21 areas of leadership. Honestly, you can read any book from this guy and you will be good to go.

What Type of Leader Are You? —A great book for people who are not sure what type of leader they are or what type of leader those around them are.

One Minute Manager — Great for people who struggle with micromanagement.

Gandhi –Great for anyone looking for the courage to stand for what they believe in.

Eleven Rings by Phil Jackson — The guy won eleven NBA titles, what else do you need to know. Anyone that can lead Shaq, Jordan, Kobe, and Pippen has some good things to say.

Strengths-Based Leadership — We all tend to slip away from focusing on our strengths, and this book will get you refocused.

Judgment on The Front Line — Great book for humbling any leader and remembering that the people on the front line of any company know the most.

Working With Emotional Intelligence — IQ is much overrated, and the books talk about how EQ is actually what is a better measure of future success

Top Pick Extreme Ownership

My friend Justin had told me to read this over, and over again and I can’t think of a book that impacted me more this year. The book requires looking in the mirror at yourself and realizing that you are the reason for every problem you have. When everyone takes ownership of a situation, problem tend to disappear.

Marketing

Contagious — Great book for ideas on how to get good ideas to spread.

Hooked — After reading this book you will not want to spend as much time your phone or on social media, but you will understand how to build products that do just that.

Irresistible — Similar to hooked but focuses more on addictive behaviors and what they are doing to us.

Ogilvy On Advertising — Great book for anyone looking to advertise their products even if it is just on social media. There are some bad ass old school lessons in this book.

Top Pick — Hacking Growth

I gave this book the win because I am in the tech industry, which relies so heavily on growth as a measure of success. I consider this book to be the bible for marketing for anyone looking to achieve high growth. The basic idea is that you don’t know what will trigger growth, so you need to test everything. The book goes into great detail on how to do that and how to have meetings with your team to make this all happen.

Bread $tackers

Way of the Wolf — Most legit sales book I have ever read.

Pitch Anything — Most legit book on pitching and presentations that I have ever read.

How to Be Rich — Great old school lessons on wealth.

Instant Millionaire — A remarkable story about building wealth and being laser-focused on what you want.

Millionaires of Genesis — The book gives examples people in bible stories we all know were actually millionaires and even billionaires.

Millionaire Mind — Statistics on real millionaires and everything about them.

When I Stop Talking, You’ll know I am Dead — A surprising book on a guy in the entertainment business I did not know at all. Great book for developing courage and selling your ass off.

Little Book That Still Beats The Market — If you’re interested in buying stocks, this book is a must-read.

Top Pick — Millionaire Fastlane

I hate choosing this book because the name is cheesy and the cover is even worse. The book is not about getting rich easy but on how you don’t want to just work for 50 years and then retire with a million dollars in the bank to die with. It gives you another way and why the path creates real wealth.

Building an Empire

Becoming Facebook — The book helps you understand the fundamental choices Facebook made that made it as successful as it is today.

Pumpkin Plan — Great for people in any service business. The idea is that you need to cut your horrible clients because they kill businesses slowly.

Only the Paranoid Survive — Was a tough read because it is for more prominent businesses and I am not at that point. None the less, the idea is to stay hungry because at any time someone can eat your lunch.

Start Something That Matters — Founding story of Toms Shoes and I read this fire in one day! It will inspire you to get up and do something right away!

Influencing virtual Teams — If you want to build a remote team, this is an excellent book with some simple advice to help you do so. Easily a one day read as well.

Relentless — The author trained MJ, Kobe and D-Wade. If you want to build a personal brand or get excellence in your own life, this is the book to help you get there. If you follow his words, you will become a savage though!

Barbarians to Bureaucrats — Only needed the first half of this book. It is about the life cycles of a business and how an entrepreneur needs to change as the company grows. It explains why some entrepreneurs are better off selling their baby or finding another CEO to come in.

Age of The Platform — The importance of platform businesses like Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google and how they have changed their industries as we know them.

Screw it Lets Do It — A short Richard Branson book that I did not enjoy personally.

Invisible Org — Another book on building remote teams but this one is more about automation and creating the correct systems. Great for digital marketers looking to automate their business.

Rework — All about rethinking things like being a workaholic and how to rethink the workday. Rework is a book you send to your boss without them knowing who sent it.

Top Pick — Built to Last

Built to last goes in-depth on what makes a company last a long time. I can’t think of a better book on what it takes to build an empire. The type of empire that will continue after the founding CEO is gone. The book has to be read many times over because there is just too much fire packed in it!

Random Knowledge

By The Spear (Alexander the Great) — Like Genghis Kahn, Alexander the great was a beast. He was 19, and he was just concurring the world like it was nothing. There are some wild lessons you will learn from this book.

Seasons of Life — Another Jim Rohn book about the seasons of life and knowing how to thrive in each one.

The Story of The Human Body — I just learned so much random things about evolution and the human body.

Art of Learning — Written by a former chess and push hands champion, it is interesting but did not captivate me personally but I did learn a lot about how to learn a new skill on a deep level.

Health Care Paradox — I needed this to understand the issues with American health care a bit better for my app. Great read if you are interested in the topic.

Body Language — Every kid should be handed this book in elementary schools. It angers me that I read this so late.The book uses pictures to help you better understand what people body language really means.

Selfish Gene — the Main point from this book is that learning from others is a great way to learn because it is less risky then trial and error that costs time and can get you killed.

Top Dog — We live in a competitive world, and this book breaks down why. It also explains why some people are that annoying competitive type, where they lose a simple board game and act a fool about it. All athletes and former athletes should read this.

So Good They Can’t Ignore You — The title pretty much covers what the book is about. You don’t need to do what you love; the love comes from working at something over an extended period.

Power of Others — Interesting book on why we need others and follow others. There is even a chapter on how to survive in extreme isolation. The key is to make an inanimate object your friend like Wilson in the Castaway.

Top Pick — Evolutionary Psychology

When I was in school, I never read one textbook from front to back. This book is a textbook, and I read it from front to back, it was that good. The amount I learned was unreal. Wither it is dating, tribes, families, suicide, mating, fighting, murder, the list goes on and on. You will learn so much about why humans do the things we do.

#1 Lesson From It All?

Think With a Long Term Mindset

When you think long-term, you shrug off the setbacks and obstacles of life because you know they won’t last. When you think long-term, you focus your day on the things that matter. If I had to pull one lesson from all of these books and all of the success I read this year this would be it.

If you want a good marriage, think about where you want it to be in 50 years and act accordingly.

You want to be healthy don’t think about what will taste good now, focus on what you want to look like in 10 years.

If you want to be wealthy, don’t spend your money on things that will rust rot and depreciate. Invest your money in things that will be worth more in 10 years.

The list can go on and on, but this article is long enough. Be long-term minded in everything you do.