Must Read Books for Realtors in 2014

Feed Your Real Estate Business with the Knowledge... Wisdom and Experience of Others

As a young man in school I really struggled with school and to be honest I read very little unless I had to.

In my early years as a real estate agent I had the privilege to see Jim Rohn speak at an event. Jim was the most amazing business speakers I have ever seen to this day. He made a few comments like grow yourself and grow your income and miss a meal before missing a good book.

Those statements never left me and I began to become a student of my profession and began to read everything on leadership, sales, finance and more.

The ideas and information I learned from these books began to really expand my thoughts, ideas and success year after year.

I would like to share some of my personal "must reads" for all of you and add some of my personal favorites I have found in the last year.

Here Are My Must Read Books for All Real Estate Agents

[feature_block style="icon" overall_style="image" columns="1" icon_style="1"][feature title="Your First Year in Real Estate" icon="1.png" upload_icon="https://agentsboost.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/1st-year-in-real-estate-200x300.png" bg_color="" href=""]

Your First Year in Real Estate contains the essential knowledge you need to start off right in today’s vastly changed real estate market, avoid common first-year missteps, and get the inside edge that will take you to the top.

Real estate expert Dirk Zeller has compiled the industry’s proven secrets and strategies that will enable novice agents to hit the ground running and excel from day one. You’ll get the insider’s guide to:

• Selecting the right company Developing valuable mentor and client relationships
• Using the Internet and social networking to stay ahead of the competition
• Setting—and reaching— essential career goalsStaying on top in today’s challenging real estate climate
• And so much more.

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[/feature] [feature title="The 4-Hour Workweek" icon="1.png" upload_icon="https://agentsboost.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/4hour-workweek-207x300.png" bg_color="" href=""]

The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich (2007) is a self-help book by Timothy Ferriss, an American writer, educational activist and entrepreneur. The book has spent more than four years on the The New York Times Best Seller list, has been translated into 35 languages and has sold more than 1,350,000 copies worldwide. It focuses on what Ferriss refers to as "lifestyle design" and a repudiation of the traditional "deferred" life plan in which people work grueling hours and take few vacations for decades and save money in order to relax after retirement.
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[/feature] [feature title="7 Habits of Highly Effective People" icon="1.png" upload_icon="https://agentsboost.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/7-habits-206x300.png" bg_color="" href=""]

Stephen R. Covey's book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People®, has been a top-seller for the simple reason that it ignores trends and pop psychology for proven principles of fairness, integrity, honesty, and human dignity.
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[/feature] [feature title="Big Data" icon="1.png" upload_icon="https://agentsboost.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/big-data-209x300.png" bg_color="" href=""]

"Big Data" introduces you to the recent bestselling book by Viktor Mayer-Schönberger and Kenneth Cukier. The book examines the way big data changes how we live, work and think. In the book we describe how we will use big data, and where big data's value lies. We also look at Big Data's dark sides, and how to ensure that they do not take control. The book is published in the US by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and in the UK by John Murray.
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[/feature] [feature title="Contagious" icon="1.png" upload_icon="https://agentsboost.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Contagious-181x300.png" bg_color="" href=""]

In this book, Berger reveals the secret science behind word-of-mouth and social transmission. Discover how six basic principles drive all sorts of things to become contagious, from consumer products and policy initiatives to workplace rumors and YouTube videos. Contagious combines groundbreaking research with powerful stories.
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[/feature] [feature title="Deliver The Unexpected" icon="1.png" upload_icon="https://agentsboost.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/deliver-the-unexpected-218x300.png" bg_color="" href=""]

Deliver the Unexpected is a parable structured around a series of false beliefs. Each will present an accepted or common insight into success, then expands, clarifies, or contradicts it with a new truth. The parable follows Josh Abrams, a real estate professional who has been down on his luck and needs to deliver results in order to keep his job. He turns to his competition and an unusual coach for help.

Each of the seven myths is a lesson that readers must internalize in order to find success. Individually, each myth challenges accepted wisdom, replacing it with a new, more effective insight. Together, they form a cohesive framework applicable to personal or business achievement.
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[/feature] [feature title="Drive" icon="1.png" upload_icon="https://agentsboost.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Drive-215x300.png" bg_color="" href=""]

Most people believe that the best way to motivate is with rewards like money—the carrot-and-stick approach. That's a mistake, says Daniel H. Pink (author of To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Motivating Others). In this provocative and persuasive new book, he asserts that the secret to high performance and satisfaction-at work, at school, and at home—is the deeply human need to direct our own lives, to learn and create new things, and to do better by ourselves and our world.

Drawing on four decades of scientific research on human motivation, Pink exposes the mismatch between what science knows and what business does—and how that affects every aspect of life. He examines the three elements of true motivation—autonomy, mastery, and purpose-and offers smart and surprising techniques for putting these into action in a unique book that will change how we think and transform how we live.
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[/feature] [feature title="The E-Myth Revisited" icon="1.png" upload_icon="https://agentsboost.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/emyth-revisited-189x300.png" bg_color="" href=""]

In this first new and totally revised edition of the 150,000-copy underground bestseller, The E-Myth, Michael Gerber dispels the myths surrounding starting your own business and shows how commonplace assumptions can get in the way of running a business. He walks you through the steps in the life of a business from entrepreneurial infancy, through adolescent growing pains, to the mature entrepreneurial perspective, the guiding light of all businesses that succeed. He then shows how to apply the lessons of franchising to any business whether or not it is a franchise. Finally, Gerber draws the vital, often overlooked distinction between working on your business and working in your business. After you have read The E-Myth Revisited, you will truly be able to grow your business in a predictable and productive way.
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[/feature] [feature title="The Energy Bus" icon="1.png" upload_icon="https://agentsboost.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/energy-bus-177x300.png" bg_color="" href=""]

The Energy Bus, an international best seller by Jon Gordon, takes readers on an enlightening and inspiring ride that reveals 10 secrets for approaching life and work with the kind of positive, forward thinking that leads to true accomplishment - at work and at home. Jon infuses this engaging story with keen insights as he provides a powerful roadmap to overcome adversity and bring out the best in yourself and your team.
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[/feature] [feature title="Give & Take" icon="1.png" upload_icon="https://agentsboost.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Give-and-Take-189x300.png" bg_color="" href=""]

Named one of the best books of 2013 by Amazon, the Financial Times, and the Wall Street Journal- as well as one of Oprah's riveting reads, Fortune's must-read business books, and the Washington Post's books every leader should read.

Using his own pioneering research as Wharton's youngest tenured professor, Adam Grant shows that these styles have a surprising impact on success. Although some givers get exploited and burn out, the rest achieve extraordinary results across a wide range of industries. Combining cutting-edge evidence with captivating stories, Grant shows how one of America's best networkers developed his connections, why the creative genius behind one of the most popular shows in television history toiled for years in anonymity, how a basketball executive responsible for multiple draft busts transformed his franchise into a winner, and how we could have anticipated Enron's demise four years before the company collapsed--without ever looking at a single number.
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[/feature] [feature title="The Go-Giver" icon="1.png" upload_icon="https://agentsboost.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/go-giver-202x300.png" bg_color="" href=""]

The Go-Giver: A Little Story about a Powerful Business Idea is a book written by Bob Burg and John D. Mann. It is a story about the power of giving. The Go-Giver tells the story of an ambitious young man named Joe who yearns for success. Joe is a true go-getter, though sometimes he feels as if the harder and faster he works, the further away his goals seem to be. And so one day, desperate to land a key sale at the end of a bad quarter, he seeks advice from the enigmatic Pindar, a legendary consultant referred to by his many devotees simply as the Chairman.
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[/feature] [feature title="How to Win Friends and Influence People" icon="1.png" upload_icon="https://agentsboost.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/how-to-win-friends-185x300.png" bg_color="" href=""]

How to Win Friends and Influence People is one of the first best-selling self-help books ever published. Written by Dale Carnegie and first published in 1936, it has sold 15 million copies world-wide. This grandfather of all people-skills books was first published in 1937. It was an overnight hit, eventually selling 15 million copies. How to Win Friends and Influence People is just as useful today as it was when it was first published, because Dale Carnegie had an understanding of human nature that will never be outdated. Financial success, Carnegie believed, is due 15 percent to professional knowledge and 85 percent to "the ability to express ideas, to assume leadership, and to arouse enthusiasm among people." He teaches these skills through underlying principles of dealing with people so that they feel important and appreciated.
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[/feature] [feature title="Lean In" icon="1.png" upload_icon="https://agentsboost.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Lean-in-206x300.png" bg_color="" href=""]

Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead is a 2013 book written by Sheryl Sandberg, the chief operating officer of Facebook.In Lean In, Sandberg digs deeper into these issues, combining personal anecdotes, hard data, and compelling research to cut through the layers of ambiguity and bias surrounding the lives and choices of working women. She recounts her own decisions, mistakes, and daily struggles to make the right choices for herself, her career, and her family.

She provides practical advice on negotiation techniques, mentorship, and building a satisfying career, urging women to set boundaries and to abandon the myth of “having it all.” She describes specific steps women can take to combine professional achievement with personal fulfillment and demonstrates how men can benefit by supporting women in the workplace and at home.
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[/feature] [feature title="Linchpin" icon="1.png" upload_icon="https://agentsboost.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Linchpin-208x300.png" bg_color="" href=""]

This book is about you-your choices, your future, and your potential to make a huge difference in whatever field you choose. There used to be two teams in every workplace: management and labor. Now there's a third team, the linchpins. These people figure out what to do when there's no rule book. They delight and challenge their customers and peers. They love their work, pour their best selves into it, and turn each day into a kind of art.

Linchpins are the essential building blocks of great organizations. They may not be famous but they're indispensable. And in today's world, they get the best jobs and the most freedom. As Godin writes, "Every day I meet people who have so much to give but have been bullied enough or frightened enough to hold it back. It's time to stop complying with the system and draw your own map. You have brilliance in you, your contribution is essential, and the art you create is precious. Only you can do it, and you must."
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[/feature] [feature title="Little Red Book of Selling" icon="1.png" upload_icon="https://agentsboost.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/little-red-book-of-selling-186x300.png" bg_color="" href=""]

Little Red Book of Selling includes Jeffrey's 12.5 Principles of Sales Greatness and strategies and answers from a lifetime of selling that will teach you how to make sales forever. In this book, you will have the opportunity to understand why sales happen. And by mastering the elements that Jeffrey Gitomer gives you, you'll make sales happen for yourself forever. It is loaded with small bite-sized pieces of expert "how to sell" information and sales techniques that inspire and encourage the reader to become the expert in sales as well as in the industry in which they sell for. It is hard packed with sales tips and advice for those learning sales basics and is an excellent refresher for the seasoned sales person.
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[/feature] [feature title="The Millionaire Real Estate Agent" icon="1.png" upload_icon="https://agentsboost.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/millionaire-real-estate-196x300.png" bg_color="" href=""]

Gary Keller knows the beauty of a simple path to a spectacular goal! Whether you are just getting started or a veteran in the business, The Millionaire Real Estate Agent is the step-by-step handbook for seeking excellence in your profession and in your life. This book presents a new paradigm for real estate and should be required reading for real estate professionals everywhere.
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[/feature] [feature title="Mr. Shmooze" icon="1.png" upload_icon="https://agentsboost.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/mr-shmooze-192x300.png" bg_color="" href=""]

Mr. Shmooze: The Art and Science of Selling Through Relationships teaches many principles of sales excellence that you won't learn in business school, but that will put you on the path to great success in sales! The protagonist, "Mr. Shmooze," is a business and marketing consultant modeled after several "superstar" salespeople. Mr. Shmooze has built a huge business by giving of himself to others, while always adding value to the lives of everyone he touches.

The reader follows Mr. Shmooze through a variety of meetings and encounters, learning from his techniques alongside Robert, the young protégé. Robert aspires to be a "young Shmooze" as he watches his mentor making powerful emotional connections that lead to better results and more fun in sales. An easy and compelling read, Mr. Shmooze is a parable about relationship selling to be prized by salespeople, business executives and entrepreneurs. Learn how great salespeople achieve super sales results when they make powerful emotional connections with prospects and bring laughter and fun to each encounter!
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[/feature] [feature title="Power of Focus" icon="1.png" upload_icon="https://agentsboost.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/power-of-focus-197x300.png" bg_color="" href=""]

The No 1 reason that stops people from getting what they want is lack of focus. People who focus on what they want, prosper. Those who don't, struggle. In The Power of Focus you'll discover the specific focusing strategies used by the world's most successful men and women. Find out how to: Focus on your strengths and eliminate everything that is holding you back; Change bad habits into habits that will make you debt-free and wealthy; Create an excellent balance between work and family life - without guilt!
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[/feature] [feature title="The Power of Habit" icon="1.png" upload_icon="https://agentsboost.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/power-of-habit-197x300.png" bg_color="" href=""]

In The Power of Habit, Pulitzer Prize–winning business reporter Charles Duhigg takes us to the thrilling edge of scientific discoveries that explain why habits exist and how they can be changed. Distilling vast amounts of information into engrossing narratives that take us from the boardrooms of Procter & Gamble to sidelines of the NFL to the front lines of the civil rights movement, Duhigg presents a whole new understanding of human nature and its potential. At its core, The Power of Habit contains an exhilarating argument: The key to exercising regularly, losing weight, being more productive, and achieving success is understanding how habits work. As Duhigg shows, by harnessing this new science, we can transform our businesses, our communities, and our lives.
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[/feature] [feature title="Raving Fans" icon="1.png" upload_icon="https://agentsboost.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/raving-fans-196x300.png" bg_color="" href=""]

Sheldon Bowles and Ken Blanchard’s Raving Fans, is written in the parable style of Gung Ho!® and The One Minute Manager®. It uses a brilliantly simple and charming story to teach how to define a service vision, learn what a customer really wants, institute effective systems, and make stunning customer service a competitive advantage—not just another “flavor of the month” program. This book has become required reading for organizations around the world and is a necessity for those who are serious about survival and service excellence.
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[/feature] [feature title="Secrets of the Millionaire Mind" icon="1.png" upload_icon="https://agentsboost.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/secrets-of-a-millionaire-mind-197x300.png" bg_color="" href=""]

In his groundbreaking Secrets of the Millionaire Mind, T. Harv Eker states: "Give me five minutes, and I can predict your financial future for the rest of your life!" Eker does this by identifying your "money and success blueprint." We all have a personal money blueprint ingrained in our subconscious minds, and it is this blueprint, more than anything, that will determine our financial lives. You can know everything about marketing, sales, negotiations, stocks, real estate, and the world of finance, but if your money blueprint is not set for a high level of success, you will never have a lot of money—and if somehow you do, you will most likely lose it! The good news is that now you can actually reset your money blueprint to create natural and automatic success.

Secrets of the Millionaire Mind is two books in one. Part I explains how your money blueprint works. In Part II you will be introduced to seventeen "Wealth Files," which describe exactly how rich people think and act differently than most poor and middle-class people. Each Wealth File includes action steps for you to practice in the real world in order to dramatically increase your income and accumulate wealth.
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[/feature] [feature title="StrengthsFinder" icon="1.png" upload_icon="https://agentsboost.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/strengths-finder-203x300.png" bg_color="" href=""]

To help people uncover their talents, Gallup introduced the first version of its online assessment, StrengthsFinder, in the 2001 management book Now, Discover Your Strengths. The book spent more than five years on the bestseller lists and ignited a global conversation, while StrengthsFinder helped millions to discover their top five talents. In StrengthsFinder 2.0 Gallup unveiled the new and improved version of its popular assessment, language of 34 themes, and much more. While you can read this book in one sitting, you'll use it as a reference for decades. Loaded with hundreds of strategies for applying your strengths, this Wall Street Journal, Business Week, and USA Today bestseller will change the way you look at yourself -- and the world around you -- forever.
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[/feature] [feature title="The One Thing" icon="1.png" upload_icon="https://agentsboost.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/the-one-thing-190x300.png" bg_color="" href=""]

The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan is an excellent self help book which explains how to prioritize tasks when there are an avalanche of things to get done in the near term. The book shows how people quickly lose focus and accomplish little or nothing in an attempt to get too many things done on an immediate basis. The One Thing is a wonderful book which addresses the dangers of analysis paralysis and the lack of focus in trying to wade through too many items on the agenda. The authors make it clear how to set priorities to begin getting the right things done the right way. This book will benefit management at virtually every level in an organization.
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[/feature] [feature title="The Tipping Point" icon="1.png" upload_icon="https://agentsboost.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/the-tipping-point-191x300.png" bg_color="" href=""]

The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference is the debut book by Malcolm Gladwell, first published by Little Brown in 2000. Gladwell defines a tipping point as "the moment of critical mass, the threshold, the boiling point". The book seeks to explain and describe the "mysterious" sociological changes that mark everyday life. As Gladwell states, "Ideas and products and messages and behaviors spread like viruses do".
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[/feature] [feature title="The Greatest Salesman in the World" icon="1.png" upload_icon="https://agentsboost.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/thegreatestsalesman-201x300.png" bg_color="" href=""]

The Greatest Salesman in the World is a book, written by Og Mandino, that serves as a guide to a philosophy of salesmanship, and success, telling the story of Hafid, a poor camel boy who achieves a life of abundance. The book was first published in 1968, and re-issued in 1983 by Bantam. Mandino's clear, simple writing style supports his purpose: to make the principles of sales known to a wide audience. A parable set in the time just prior to Christianity, The Greatest Salesman in the World weaves mythology with spirituality into a much needed message of inspiration in this culture of self-promotion. Mandino believes that to be a good salesperson, you must believe in yourself and the work you are doing. It is a simple but profound spiritual philosophy about how to succeed in the world's marketplace, easily understood and easy to take to heart.
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[/feature] [feature title="Think and Grow Rich" icon="1.png" upload_icon="https://agentsboost.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/think-rich-193x300.png" bg_color="" href=""]

Think and Grow Rich is a 1937 motivational personal development and self-help book by Napoleon Hill and inspired by a suggestion from Scottish-American businessman Andrew Carnegie. While the title implies that this book deals with how to get rich, the author explains that the philosophy taught in the book can be used to help people succeed in all lines of work and to do or be almost anything they want.

Think and Grow Rich has been called the "Granddaddy of All Motivational Literature." It was the first book to boldly ask, "What makes a winner?" The man who asked and listened for the answer, Napoleon Hill, is now counted in the top ranks of the world's winners himself.
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[/feature] [feature title="Who Moved My Cheese? " icon="1.png" upload_icon="https://agentsboost.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/who-moved-my-cheese-190x300.png" bg_color="" href=""]

An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life, published on September 8, 1998, is a motivational book by Spencer Johnson written in the style of a parable or business fable. The text describes change in one's work and life, and four typical reactions to said change by two mice and two "littlepeople", during their hunt for cheese. With Who Moved My Cheese? Dr. Spencer Johnson realizes the need for finding the language and tools to deal with change--an issue that makes all of us nervous and uncomfortable. Most people are fearful of change because they don't believe they have any control over how or when it happens to them. Since change happens either to the individual or by the individual, Spencer Johnson shows us that what matters most is the attitude we have about change.

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I hope these books will open your minds and hearts as much as they did for me.

Please leave a comment in the box below to let me know your own recommendations for me to read in the balance of 2014. Would really love to hear from you all and add to my book repertoire.

 

Strength and courage,

Wade

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