Are There Books You're Obsessed With Reading?

Here Are Mine

For many years, I rarely read a book more than once. Not sure what that was all about. Maybe it’s the fact that there were so many others to tackle.

But over time, I’ve changed my tune a bit. I grabbed a journal at a local bookstore and began to scribe about books that have had a significant impact on my life. 

One of the things I’m discovering is that the practice of journaling offers a great way to remember and integrate many of the key concepts contained in them. This aligns well with a common theme of mine with non-fiction books which is to find ways to make the concepts more actionable. 

Many years ago while a kid, I found myself intrigued with a Kellogg’s Cornflakes (cereal ad) television commercial: “Taste Them Again For The First Time.” In the spirit of this theme, below are seven books that I have re-read over and over for their timeless wisdom: 

Sacred Hoops: Spiritual Lessons of a Hardwood Warrior by Phil Jackson

This is my all-time favorite book, one that I discovered during a very pivotal period in my life. At the time, I was a hard-driving healthcare HR executive in Chicago on the fast track to success. Then my life was indelibly altered by two life events that changed the course of my being forever. 

Enter Phil Jackson, the ex-coach of the Chicago Bulls and member of the pro-basketball Hall of Fame. Residing in the Windy City during the team’s championship ride in the ’80s, I was impressed with how Phil remained calm and present on the team bench amid the hysteria of game action. One of my favorite moments was during a media interview when he was asked by a reporter about his peaceful presence on the bench. Phil displaying a wry smile remarked, “I’m just focusing on my breathing.” 

This is the embodiment of his Zen Buddhist approach to life which he discusses at length in the book. — a theme that has had a major impact on my life. He espouses the importance of approaching one daily work “ with a clear mind...not thinking, just doing.” Moreover, he admonished his readers to live in the moment, remaining calmly focused on what’s right in front of them.

Making Money Is Killing Your Business: How To Build A Business You’ll Love and Have A Life, Too by Chuck Blakeman

If you’re a startup business owner who’s finding that it’s all about making money to survive the next day, then this is your book.  The main message of author Chuck Blakeman:  “Often our reason for starting a business is for the time and  significance it provides us with.” His point: Why start a business that simply grinds you into the ground with little or no lifestyle freedom.

Admittedly, when I first read this book, I had no clarity or direction. I tried to read it a couple more times. No dice. Now in reshaping my business brand, I’m finding it to be the perfect anecdote for building a new business that “works for me versus me working for the business.” 

I believe that the value of a book to us is often a case of timing. So now that I’m armed with clear intent, moving through this book, again and again, is a breeze. 

The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classical Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance by Tim Gallwey

This book has been a saving grace at times in my life where I’ve found myself stuck in a rut. It always reminds me of how often I’ve become my worst enemy by overthinking things. 

What author Tim Gallway is referring to here is that voice in our mind that continually nags us with an endless stream of instructions on what to do and how to do it. He refers to this mode as Self 1. 

Using examples from his days as a tennis instructor, he gently guides the reader on a path to Self 2. — the stage, he says, where we cease thinking and just do. Whether it’s a tennis stroke or writing the next few lines of the novel we intend to publish, Gallwey believes that the body knows naturally what to do when we quit allowing the overly critical and cerebral Self 1 to rule. 

The Tao Te Ching: A New English Version by Stephen Mitchell

Do you prefer a life of forced outcomes or one of effortless ease? Personally, I’m more aligned with the latter. And this book is a great guide to get there. 

Stephen Mitchell’s translation of Lao-Tzu’s Tao Te Ching, or Book of the Way, is a gentle resource on the art of living. Its eighty-one brief chapters explore the ebbs and flows of humanity, providing wisdom that helps one recognize the importance of aligning with the natural rhythms of one’s life. 

This has been my go-to book over the years as a morning study guide and meditation, one that helps me stay grounded throughout the day. 

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

My love affair with this book began back in 1985 with a random conversation with a fellow patron at a local pizza shop. Since then, I’ve turned back to this massive 561,996-word book numerous times, attracted by its admonitions around free enterprise, tough-mindedness, and thinking for oneself. 

I find this book to be a self-confidence builder as I overcome obstacles in my quest for greatness. Moreover, it serves as a healthy reminder of the dangers of thinking and playing small amid the intense statist, oligarchical times that we presently live in. 

The 50th Law: by 50 Cent and Robert Green

Whenever I’m feeling sorry about my plight as an African-American male, I turn to this book to help set me straight. In The 50th Law, hip hop icon 50 Cent (aka Curtis Jackson), along with the bestselling author of The 48 Laws of Power, Robert Greene offers street smart advice for success in life and work based on a key theme principle: fear nothing. 

I find 50 Cent to be one savvy dude, someone who is unwilling to compromise who he is whenever he finds himself backed into a corner.  This inspiring book is a constant reminder to me that harboring excuses amid the battles that life constantly throws at us is a losing proposition. 

The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf

This final book is a bit of an outlier as it was my daughter’s bedtime favorite when she was a child. It has captured the attention of readers since it was first published in 1936 and was a personal favorite of both civil rights leaders Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King. Jr. 

So what did it teach me? Honestly, it was patience as a parent. Because my daughter insisted there be no other book read to her, we must have traversed it a couple of hundred times. 

Sick of reading it multiple times each night, I would intentionally skip chapters whenever I thought my daughter was asleep. Thinking I had gotten away with it, I would suddenly hear her sweet voice say “Wait daddy, you skip some chapters….” So back I’d go to reading it again for the first time.