6 winter reads for an inspired 2017

As yet another December the 31^st comes closer, we’re reminded of yet another bout of New Year resolutions, and we all know how effective those turn out to be! So we got you something more reliable instead — a pre-new year reading challenge for a promising and inspired start to 2017. To help you make the most of the coming year for your business, we’ve hand-picked five books that’ll help inspire the best in you.

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1. Romancing the Balance Sheet by Anil Lamba: I first heard about this book when I attended a corporate briefing session hosted by the author in Mumbai over two years ago. The conference room was packed with young aspiring entrepreneurs, all there because of one reason — decoding the BS (and by that I mean balance sheet). This book is the holy grail for any entrepreneur who finds himself cowering under the weight of his financial papers, struggling to understand the basics of accounting and wanting to learn how sound financial planning can see a company through the toughest of times.
2. Business Adventures by John Brooks: This book won’t require much hard-selling after we tell you that it is Bill Gates’ favourite business book! A review from the man himself says: Business Adventures is as much about the strengths and weaknesses of leaders in challenging circumstances as it is about the particulars of one business or another. In that sense, it is still relevant not despite its age but because of it. John Brooks’ work is really about human nature, which is why it has stood the test of time.” This business classic gives you an insightful understanding of some of the huge corporate and financial events/scandals in America, and how aspiring entrepreneurs can learn something from each and every one of those incidents.
3. The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss: The name says it all. With The 4-Hour Workweek, Ferriss highlights the importance, or rather the necessity, of entrepreneurs allowing themselves some personal space to maintain a healthy work-life balance. As an entrepreneur, your job tends to become a 24*7, nonstop duty, and you continue doing it because you love what you do — but what if someone told you there’s a better way to do it? The book emphasises the need to stop postponing all your hearty desires for the retirement and build a life a life you want to live — TODAY! The sub-title of the book reads: “Escape 9-5, live anywhere, and join the new rich.” Now, doesn’t that have you excited already?
4. Zero to One by Peter Thiel: Motivating individual and corporate innovation, Thiel initiates a conversation specifically with startups using his bestseller, where he shares valuable advice and his own philosophies about how to turn an idea into a successful venture, how to lead and not follow, how to innovate and not just replicate! An excerpt from the book reads: “Doing what someone else already knows how to do takes the world from 1 to N, adding more of something familiar. But when you do something new, you go from 0 to 1.”
5. Money and the Prosperous Soul by Stephen DeSilva: Emphasising the importance of psychological well-being for a successful business venture, and decoding the spiritual beliefs about money management and financial failure, this prophetic book by Stephen DeSilva will teach you how handling a business is not just about academic know-how or playing by the rules, and why entrepreneurs should not cast aside or underestimate their emotional power while making important leadership decisions.
6. The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand: “The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.” The Fountainhead captures the essence of entrepreneurship — perseverance, zest, and an undying spirit even when faced with the most challenging situations. The protagonist of the book is an architect who struggles to fight the societal limitations being forced upon his art, ironically, quite similar to the author herself, who was faced with 12 rejections by publishers before her book finally released, and even then it was some time before word of mouth really kicked in and turned it into a masterpiece. The book will surely inspire the fighter spirit and never give-up attitude in you, so if you haven’t read it yet, now is the time.

So pull out your reading glasses, get cracking on your reading marathon, and keep us posted on your progress! If you’re not convinced with the list above, here’s our ultimate reading list for entrepreneurs for you to browse through.