My Top Ten Business and Spiritual Books

I love to read. Reading is one way that I grow and change every year. Maybe you have heard the saying “You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read.” Every year I am very intentional about planning out some of the books I want to read in the coming year. I don’t always get them all read, but it really helps to have a list. I have started using a website called Goodreads to keep track of the books I am currently reading, the ones I want to read and the ones that I have finished.

I have been meeting with a group of guys that have committed to read one book per month for 10 months. Some of these guys were not readers and this has been a struggle, but they have hung in there and made a solid effort to get through the books. I know it is stretching and changing these guys. They will not be the same after these 10 months.

I hope you will consider increasing your reading. It may be reading one book this year or maybe its reading one per month. Set a realistic goal and then start reading. If you spend a little time each day reading, you can finish nearly any book in a month.

Here is my top ten business book list followed by my top ten spiritual book list:

1. Tribes: We need you to lead us – by Seth Godin
2. 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John Maxwell
3. Good to Great by Jim Collins
4. Becoming a Coaching Leader by Daniel Harkavy
5. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
6. Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell
7. First Break all the Rules: by Marcus Buckingham
8. The Leadership Challenge by James Kouzes and Barry Posner
9. The 360 Degree Leader by John Maxwell
10. The Fred Factor by Mark Sanborn

Spiritual Growth Top Ten:

1. The Life You’ve Always Wanted by John Ortberg
2. Crazy Love by Fancis Chan
3. The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman
4. Victory Over Darkness and Bondage Breaker by Neil Anderson
5. Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
6. When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett
7. TrueFaced by Bill Thrall
8. Deadly Emotions by Don Colbert
9. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by Peter Scazzero
10. Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges

There are many more I could add to each list, but these are some of the ones that have influenced me the most over the years. If you want to change in 2011, then make a commitment to read. Schedule it on your calendar if you have to. One last thing, I also read the Bible every year, usually in a different versions. Some of my favorite versions of the Bible are:

• The Message by Eugene Peterson
• New International Version
• Amplified Bible
• New Living Translation
• The Leadership Bible New King James Version

Leaders are readers!