Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing.

Actually, I read The Law on the plane trips between Phoenix and Colorado Springs last week, but I’m counting it as reading now because I finished it so recently. I’ll finish Digital Gold before I start Shackleton, but I’m counting Shackleton as reading now because it’s sitting on my nightstand in the on-deck circle.

2.

Atlas Shrugged: My college roommate gave it to me as a graduation gift from the Air Force Academy. I read over 600 pages of it in one sitting. It was the first time I had ever really considered the impact of social philosophy on how human beings organize themselves. Previously, I had studied philosophy from a purely academic viewpoint (Plato, Kant, Hume, Locke, etc.), but until I saw an author’s philosophy told in the form of a story, I didn’t really understand what it all meant to me and the people around me.

Rich Dad, Poor Dad: I picked this up at the airport as I was flying to Seattle for a job interview. It was the first time in my life I had considered that I could do something other than working for someone else for a paycheck. It was the reason Bizzy and I got into real estate investing (and probably why I turned down the job offer in Seattle).

His Excellency: George Washington: Bizzy gave me this book for Christmas a few years ago. It was the first time I had read any American history outside of a textbook as part of a class. Like Atlas Shrugged, it framed history for me in a more story-like fashion. I loved it so much, I went on a history binge in which I burned through about one book every two weeks. I loved learning about historical figures as human beings versus the two-dimensional representations we were all taught in school.

3.

I’m going to cheat this question by providing a list:

I reference ALL of these books regularly. Many of them, I use as citations for content. Some of them I use as inspirations for how to construct a coherent story across 200 pages.

If I had to pick one author who is my primary inspiration, I’d choose Malcolm Gladwell. If I’m forced to choose one of his books, I’d say The Tipping Point. I love how Gladwell presents his research as story and how those stories relate to and refer to one another. I also love how his books always present information in new and counter-intuitive ways. I’m drawn to the counter-intuitive, and I like to think I’m not the only one, which is why I strive to present my content in the same way.

4.

Honorable Mention: Things to Pack When You’re Bound for Baghdad by Jason Armagost Jason (aka Brigadier General Armagost), is a dear friend, former fighter squadronmate, and USAFA Class of ’92 classmate. His son is a swim and dive teammate of Erik’s in the USAFA class of ’21.  Jason was one of the few, maybe five or six, English majors in my Academy class. He reads the classics like other people read magazines from the checkout stands, but at the same time, he can be the biggest goof you’ve ever seen and he is a consummate outdoorsman and elite athlete. The piece I linked is so beautiful, it actually brings tears to my eyes. I’m jealous that I’ll never be able to write something so artful.

1.

Buyer Personas by Adele Revella

2.

What business book had an enormous impact on me? Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss. His overall theme and real examples show that you can win big and get fair results without being an aggressive jerk. Even with criminals who are willing to kill hostages, it still works to treat them like humans, understand what they REALLY want, exercise a bit of humility, and still end up getting the outcome you were hoping for, which included the ultimate important thing…someone’s life. Also, I like how he shares his and other’s mistakes and how they analyzed blunders and changed things in the future for the better.

No Time for Goodbyes saved my ass once upon a time, but it’s not a business book.

My Stroke of Insight. Best biographical book I’ve read and best science-y book.

Interesting thing about the two above books is that they were incredibly short and incredibly “sticky” in terms of their impact (for me). I think that’s a good thing to take away when trying to create our own books.

How Yoga Works by Geshe Michael Roach made a huge impact on me and my approach to business, management style, and other interpersonal interactions. Great example of using a made-up and interesting story to teach BIG lessons.

Which novel made the biggest impact is a whole different story. One for another day.

3.

I continually look at Never Split the Difference. I like the content, but the chapter structure is a good fit for the way I think and process information for my book. (I’m sure that’s why you shared it 😀)

1.

Real Love by Sharon Salzberg. She writes with such a kind and open voice. She’s wonderful

2.

The Alchemist by Paul Coehlo. Widely read and super famous book, but no less impactful and amazing

1.

The ONE Thing:  The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan

2.

Loving What Is by Byron Katie has had the most impact on me because she showed me how my thoughts are creating my reality, and that by questioning my thoughts, I can create a more peaceful world to live in.

1.

Your Self Confident Baby: How to Encourage Your Child’s Natural Abilities – From The Very Start by Magda Gerber and Allison Johnson

I also picked up How To Sell A Crapload Of Books (at your recommendation), but haven’t started it yet.

2.

This is a difficult one for me… so many books. I’m going to go with Conversations with God. This book resonated so deeply for me. I felt like I was remembering things I had long understood, but had never articulated. Things I didn’t know I knew, but had always known somehow.  Nothing was new and everything was new, like a part of my subconsciousness was suddenly conscious.

Author of What Matters Most: A Young Adult’s Roadmap For Life .Recognizing that a child leaving home is a transitional event for both family and child, this roadmap is a compilation of many conversations with his children and a few he wishes he’d had. Believing your young adult years, your twenties, are filled with choices and decisions that will form the foundation for the rest of your life, A. J. provides a framework to better understand the choices that will increase your chances of discovering who you are and finding enduring happiness and satisfaction.

1.

Lead Yourself First, which is about how people need solitude to be good leaders and make good decisions.  Finding a pause and blocking out noise helps a person figure out some positive choices.

2.

The Jim Collins books, Beyond Entrepreneurship and Good to Great, have influenced me a lot and I have read them many times.  Explicitly written as business books, there are themes in there that apply to individuals and life in general.

 

Author of Smiling On The Outside: Secrets, Sex, Shame And The Search For Self-Love.  Picking up the pieces after the emotional and financial devastation, Ann Peck revisits the hidden stories that shaped her self-concept and self-doubt. Anxiety, rape, domestic violence, a husband’s sex addiction, failed relationships, codependency, resentments, and sexual shame, they’re all there in her unblinking search for empowerment and self-love.

1.

Living, Loving, and Learning by Leo Busgaglia. I received this book from my dad more than 25 years ago and didn’t start reading it until Father’s Day last month!

2.

The Artist’s Way. Writing my morning pages (and this is a response to both 2. and 3.)  and even just writing in my journal allowed me to get the crap out of my head that was interfering with my ability to focus on my own book. My journal gave me a safe space to write about how I felt about what I was writing in my book, without carrying over those feelings into my book writing.

3.

 I would often refer to Circle of Stones and the quote I have on my website (below) to get centered. I still refer to that quote. 🙂 Go to… www.annpeck.com/resources to read what I say about the books (in 2 & 3 above as well as other books I love).