Keith Goodrum

Ryan Healy the other day listed on his blog The 12 Books That Changed My Life. He wrote that he loves to read and track each book he reads.

In fact, I began logging every book I finished starting in the 8th grade, and I’ve been doing it ever since. Every January, I close out the prior year, print my log, hole-punch it, and put it in my book log binder.

It’s nothing fancy, really. Just the book title, author, a few sentences about the book (including what I did or didn’t like), and a rating.

Wow, that’s impressive. I’m lucky if I can keep track of the bookmarker while reading a book.

Anyhow here are my choices of the books that changed my life.

1. Never Give In by Stephen Mansfield

This book is an excellent study in the leadership skills of Winston Churchill. Many of the leadership lessons I strive to follow.

2. The Wealthy Barber by David Chilton

The principles taught in this book are simple, yet effective. The story is entertaining, and a quick read. When I was done, I realized that the story had taught me the fundamentals of financial planning. Stuff I still to this day use.

3. The Tough-Minded Optimist by Norman Vincent Peale

I had been around people who practiced “positive thinking”. They would run around saying… everything’s great… Nothing was negative & the glass was always half-full. This attitude always seemed odd to me. It came across like you were suppose to stick your head in the sand, ignore the situation and everything would magically fix itself.

This book showed me that it was OK to recognize things for what they were. Then get tough, deal with it and move on. Changed my way of thinking.

4. Theodore Roosevelt An Autobiography

I like to read autobiographies of great leaders, and Theodore Roosevelt was one of our greatest leaders. Many people do not realize that he laid the foundation that made the US the superpower it is today. It was inspiring to see the obstacles he overcame to become president.

5. The Late Great Planet Earth by Hal Lindsey

This is the book that converted me to Christianity. I never understood the true meaning of salvation until I read this book. I could go on about this, but it’s as simple as the last 2 sentences.

6. The Ultimate Marketing Plan by Dan Kennedy

My Window cleaning business was slowly circling the drain until I picked up this book at Kinko’s. This book was a radical paradigm shift in my way of doing business. I can clearly point to this one book as the reason I built a profitable business.

7. The Bible

If I was stranded on a desert island & could only take one book, then this would be the one.

8. Plain Speaking: An Oral Biography of Harry S. Truman by Merle Miller

The one thing that got Harry Truman into so much trouble was he spoke his mind. Because of that trait he is probably one of the most under rated presidents of our time.

The buck stops here was on his desk while president. Taking responsibility was a strong theme throughout his life. That principle left a strong impression on me.

9. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

This Pulitzer Prize winning book was required reading in high school. It made a huge impression on me concerning race, and standing up for the right cause… no matter what others around you are saying.

Those are the books that greatly influenced me. I’m glad that Ryan wrote this post, and asked others to put up their list. It was fun to sit down and write about why these books influenced me. In fact I’ve decided to read the books on this list again. It will be interesting to see what I get out of them this time around.

OK, what about you? Make your list; post it on your blog, and link back to Ryan’s post. It will be interesting to see the books that have influenced you.

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