Books
Not a long list. Just the ones that actually changed how I think, build, and make decisions. Each one earned its place.
I read a lot. Most books give you one or two good ideas buried in 300 pages of filler. These are the ones where I stopped highlighting because I'd be highlighting the whole thing. Each book below includes my one-line takeaway — the idea that stuck with me longest.
Thinking, Fast and Slow
Daniel KahnemanHuman Behavior
The foundation for understanding how people actually make decisions. If you read one book on human behavior, make it this one. Every chapter rewired something in my head.
People don't make rational decisions. They make fast, emotional ones and then rationalize them after the fact.
Influence
Robert CialdiniMarketing
The six principles of persuasion. Every marketer and founder needs this mental framework. I've used it in every business I've built.
Reciprocity, commitment, social proof, authority, liking, scarcity. That's the entire playbook.
The Hard Thing About Hard Things
Ben HorowitzFounder Lessons
The most honest book about what it actually feels like to run a company. No sugarcoating. No motivational fluff. Just the truth.
There's no formula for the hard parts. You just have to survive them and not lose your mind in the process.
Zero to One
Peter ThielBusiness
How to think about building something genuinely new. Changed how I think about competition. Specifically, why you should avoid it.
Competition is for losers. The best businesses create something so different that there's no one to compete with.
Poor Charlie's Almanack
Charlie MungerHuman Behavior
Mental models for thinking clearly about business, life, and everything in between. Dense, brilliant, and worth re-reading every year.
Invert, always invert. Instead of asking how to succeed, ask how to fail, then avoid those things.
Obviously Awesome
April DunfordMarketing
The best book on positioning. Short, practical, and immediately applicable to any product. I wish I'd read it five years earlier.
Your product isn't what you built. It's what your customer believes it is relative to the alternatives.
The Almanack of Naval Ravikant
Eric JorgensonBusiness
Wealth, leverage, and clear thinking distilled into something you can re-read every year. Free to read online, but worth owning.
Seek wealth, not money. Build something that earns while you sleep. Leverage code, media, and capital.
Shoe Dog
Phil KnightFounder Lessons
The Nike origin story. Raw, emotional, and a reminder that every great company almost died ten times before anyone noticed it existed.
Every overnight success took years of near-death experiences that nobody talks about afterward.
How I read
I don't read to finish books. I read to find ideas I can use. If a book gives me one idea that changes how I operate, it was worth the entire cover price. If it doesn't, I put it down. No guilt.
I could list fifty books, but that wouldn't help you. A long list is just a way of not choosing. These are the ones with the most impact on how I think and build. That's the only criteria that matters.