The Uber Successful Make Time for Reading, Do You?

Introduction: List of Must-Read Books

Ted Nicholas, a very successful entrepreneur and copywriter, has always stressed the importance of continuous learning. A few years ago, in his Ezine, The Success Margin, he shared “21 Books I've Read That Changed My Life.” I would like to share his list with you. Mr. Nicholas also considered these 21 must-read books to be his life mentors. I was ecstatic when he referred to the books as his mentors.

UPDATE: First Published October 2009

Ted Nicholas Must-Read Books to Become Successful

1. Atlas Shrugged – Ayn Rand
2. Man's Search for Meaning – Viktor Frankl
3. A new constitution for a new country – Michael Oliver
4. Think and Grow Rich – Napoleon Hill
5. Don't Sweat the Small Stuff– Richard Carlson
6. Foreign Tax Havens – Marshall Langer
7. Economics in One Lesson: The Shortest and Surest Way to Understand Basic Economics – Harry Hazlitt
8. A Tale of Two Cities – Charles Dickens
9. How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World: A Handbook for Personal Liberty – Harry Browne
10. The Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie and The Gospel of Wealth – Andrew Carnegie
11. An intimate story of Milton S. Hershey – Joseph Richard Snavely
12. The Wanamaker Diary 1924 – John Wannamaker
13. Five and Ten: The Fabulous Life of F.W. Woolworth – John K Winkler
14. The Alger Series – Horatio Alger (The Complete Ragged Dick Series), Jr. (There are many books in the series)
15. Scientific Advertising – Claude C. Hopkins
16. Confessions of an Advertising Man – David Ogilvy
17. Making Ads Pay – John Caples
18. The Robert Collier Letter Book – Robert Collier
19. How I Made $1,000,000 in Mail Order-and You Can Too!– E. Joseph Cossman
20. The Sun Also Rises – Ernest Hemingway
21. The Little Engine That Could – Watty Piper

Final Thoughts: Ted Nicholas Must-Read Books to Become Successful

I like this list because it does not contain many of the usual suspects. Think and Grow Rich is on Mr. Nicholas' list, and is one of the books that influenced many. I've read Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich and I'm embarrassed to say that I preferred Earl Nightingale's summary of the book. There you have it, I've wanted to get that off my chest for a very long time. Since first writing this post, I have read  different versions of Think and Grow Rich and I appreciate the book more now than a few years ago.

I have read about five of the books listed and another five are on my list to read. I am always fascinated to see the kinds of books that influence highly accomplished individuals. How many of the 21 must-read books have you read, and what are your thoughts? What would your 21 books be? I had prepared a list of 15 books for my Facebook wall. I will add to that list and let you know what my 21 books are.

Have you read:

“Say Yes to Life,” A Book Review of Man’s Search For Meaning by Viktor Frankl

Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper, Review

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Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, Review

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