28 OF THE BEST BOOKS TO READ IN 2020

Living the life you want, starts with your mindset.

Over the course of the last few weeks and months of being mostly required to stay home due to lockdown, I’ve spent a lot of the time outdoors, hiking, off-roading, or bicycling, to maintain social distancing (and my sanity). But I’ve also spent a substantial amount of time indoors learning. Learning how to better my craft, learning about building better connections with those around me and those farther away, but also learning how to improve every aspect of my life [my health, my time-management, my creativity, my mindset, my relationships].

It’s been an emotional journey of learning how to grow on a much deeper level that I don’t think would have been possible without this lockdown. Something I have been eternally grateful for throughout all of this.

But why am I telling you this?

I was again encountered with the fact that many of the most successful CEOs of the world, read 52 books a year, despite being some of the busiest individuals known to man.

And I asked myself, …

What would dramatically change in your life if you were to read one book a week?

According to the exceptionally successful men and women who continuously read one book a week or more each year, when you make the commitment to read this much the rewards are substantially higher than the effort you need to put in, including increased knowledge on various topics, increased cognitive functions, memory, vocabulary, intuition, focus, and concentration, but also decreased stress and irritability, just to name a few.

But reading on this level doesn’t end there.

For one, you don’t know what you don’t know. And the more you learn, the more you earn.

With more knowledge comes higher self-confidence. With more confidence comes deeper relationships, higher conversational skills, and guaranteed higher levels of success. Which opens new opportunities, new experiences, and a new level of life others only dream of.

“Successful people do what unsuccessful people are unwilling to do.”

There are 28 weeks left in the year 2020. I’ve made a list of the 28 books I’m reading to finish 2020 strong. And I’m inviting you to join the challenge with me, and reap every single one of these benefits and more.

Here’s my list I’ve compiled based on recommendations from my closest friends, mentors, and some of my favorite world class CEOs.

28 OF THE BEST BOOKS TO READ IN 2020

1. Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits, of Billionaires, Icons, and World Class Performers A #1 New York Times bestseller by author Tim Ferriss
2. Atomic Habits: An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones A New York Times bestseller by author James Clear
3. The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth: Live Them and Reach Your Potential. By New York Times best selling author John C. Maxwell
4. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You Also by New York Times bestseller, John C. Maxwell
5. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind A #1 New York Times bestseller by Author Yuval Noah Harari
6. Poor Charlie’s Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger by Peter D. Kaufman
7. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion National Best Seller by Robert B. Cialdini
8. Man’s Search for Meaning by Author Viktor E. Frankl
9. Leonardo da Vinci  A #1 New York Times bestseller from Walter Isaacson
10. Letters from an Astrophysicist A New York Times bestseller by Author and Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson
11. Great Dialogues of Plato Translated by W. H. D. Rouse, one of the world’s most outstanding classical scholars and translator of Homer’s The Odyssey and The Iliad
12. How to Be a Movie Star: Elizabeth Taylor in Hollywood By acclaimed biographer William J. Mann
13. Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World The Wall Street Journal Bestseller by Cal Newport
14. Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead A #1 New York Times bestseller by Brené Brown
15. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking A New York Times bestseller by author Susan Cain
16. Outliers: The Story of Success A #1 National Bestseller by author Malcolm Gladwell
17. Spartan Up!: A Take-No-Prisoners Guide to Overcoming Obstacles and Achieving Peak Performance in Life By founder and CEO of both the Spartan and Death Race, author Joe De Sena
18. The Alchemist: A Fable About Following Your Dream The extraordinary international bestseller (with over 25,000 reviews on Amazon so I guess it must be an alright read) by author Paulo Coelho
19. The Book of Virtues: A Treasury of Great Moral Stories Edited by William J. Bennett
20. The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief An instant New York Times bestseller by author Francis S. Collins
21. The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by author Steven Pressfield
22. What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions From the creator of the wildly popular webcomic xkcd, author Randall Munroe
23. The Social Animal The “aficionado to assemble the evidence for a certain conception of the human mind”, author Elliot Aronson
24. Never Eat Alone, Expanded and Updated: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time A #1 New York Times bestselling author, Keith Ferrazzi
25. Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds A New York Times bestseller by author David Goggins
26. Unmentionable: The Victorian Lady’s Guide to Sex, Marriage, and Manners A New York Times bestseller by author Therese Oneill (the description alone already had me cracking up and excited for this one)
27. Slow Sex: The Art and Craft of the Female Orgasm By author Nicole Daedone, and recommended by Tim Ferris (New York Times bestselling author from above) so it must be good
28. In the Company of Women: Inspiration and Advice from over 100 Makers, Artists, and Entrepreneurs A New York Times bestseller by author Grace Bonney

[BONUS]

I want to add a book I’ve actually already read but think is crucial in today’s climate and a desperately needed discussion about the racial divide in our country and around the world. It’s a book called The Third Option: Hope for a Racially Divided Nation by Miles McPherson, founder of The Rock Church in San Diego, a motivational speaker, and a former NFL football player. If you start with any of these books listed, start with this one.

And you know what, just for fun let’s throw in a second bonus! Because, in the words of one of my amazing friends, “WHY NOT?”, let’s also add this multi-million-copy New York Times bestseller The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene into the mix as well.

So now you have 30 incredible books for you to devour in the coming 28 weeks of 2020. You have no excuse now to not get your intellectual fix. I’ve already ordered and received about a third of the books on the list to get started and I’ve already begun.

Which book are you beginning with? Let me know in the comments below.

*I may be eligible to earn from these recommendations when purchasing through the above links