Buying something using the retail links below may help the blog with a small commission at no additional cost to you.
Hey everyone, this week I want to go speak to the best 5 books that I read last year. While these cover several topics, they’re extremely relevant to what I’ve written about here on FIThinking. Some are even the inspiration for some of my posts.
These were really tough to rank and are all fantastic, so keep in mind that the “Top 5” are really just my favorites. All of them are worth your time, regardless of their ranking. And if you don’t think you’re a reader, give this article a look – I didn’t think I was either.
Let’s get into it!
Number 5: The Millionaire Mind by Thomas J. Stanley
The Millionaire Mind is a follow up to the equally-amazing “Think Like a Millionaire” by Thomas J. Stanley, which I also recommend. “The Millionaire Mind” dives into the lifestyle, habits, and routines of over 1,000 millionaires all over America.
Millionaire in this sense speaks to the household net worth, not income. This means that a wide range of people were included: millionaires, multi-millionaires, and deca-millionaires. The findings were fascinating. To call out a few:
- The majority of millionaires won’t buy vehicles that are newer than 3 years old and buy the vehicles in cash
- The majority of millionaires live in older houses that have appreciated in value, located in good suburban neighborhoods
- Millionaire status was not reserved for those that were privileged or had extremely high-paying jobs. There were many teachers and laborers included in the survey as well.
- The main things they all had in common? Spend less than you make, invest as much as you can, and be generous.
If you’re curious about how real millionaires built their wealth, the routines they follow, and the way they view money and time, this book is a home run.
Number 4: The 4 Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss
You’ve probably heard about The 4 Hour Work Week, and for good reason. Tim’s thoughts on making work more manageable resonate with many people today. In this book you’ll learn how to reduce the amount of mundane, tedious work that burdens so many positions. You’ll also learn how to create and manage a business while keeping the focus on what matters: living your life the way you want to.
This book has guidance for everyone. If you’re an entrepreneur, this book will show you how to reduce your workload to free up time for what’s important to you. If you’re an employee and just want to find out how to reduce your workload to get your life back, this book will give you insight into the mindset of high performers that are able to live life to the fullest without letting work take over.
Number 3: The $100 Start Up by Chris Guillebeau
The $100 Start Up is a book that I found in a list of recommendations online. If you have an interest in starting a business but, like most, assume that it’s just too expensive and not for you, then this book will be your bible. It goes into detail about the successes of people that felt the same but were able to get successful businesses off the ground at an extremely low cost. The main criteria required for Chris’ consideration were:
- Extremely low start up costs ($0-$100)
- A minimum of $50,000-$60,000 per year in annual income
The book reviews how different people may want different things from their business. Some may want it to stay small and have no employees, while others may want to scale and increase responsibility and impact. Neither is the “correct” way; instead, both are viable and attainable if you just go about it correctly.
If you have an entrepreneurial bone in your body, this book is a must-read. I even wrote a review of the book that you can find here.
Number 2: Atomic Habits by James Clear
Ah, Atomic Habits. This book is an incredible read for everyone, no matter where you are in life or what your goals are. James Clear spells out how to break old habits, and build new habits, with such clarity that you feel silly for not thinking of it yourself.
Habits require consistency to be built into a routine. But everyone knows that, right? Well, James goes into detail on just how the brain works when building a habit, with supporting data to boot. Nearly anything can be built into a positive habit, you just need to give yourself the incentive while creating systems to support your goals.
The book also looks at the science of breaking bad habits – and yes, they’re incredibly hard to get rid of. But armed with the insight of James’ research, you’ll find that your bad habits can be broken as long as you set yourself up for success.
Need to get up earlier in the morning? Want to have a healthier diet? Need to knuckle down and get your fitness in check? Atomic Habits will provide you with the foundation you’ll need to get on the path to success with anything you want to achieve.
If this were required reading in high school we’d have a much happier, more productive society. I’d recommend this book to anyone, no matter where you are in life or what your goals are.
Number 1: Eat Smarter by Shawn Stevenson
Eat Smarter. Man, this book is full of information on how the body and mind react to your food! Shawn Stevenson does an incredible job of making nutrition not only enjoyable to learn about with a great sense of humor, but factually significant as well. I went through this book with a highlighter to call out the most important parts of each chapter and, no joke, have run several highlighters out of ink.
Every chapter has actionable information that you can take and incorporate into your day to day life. Shawn makes sure to credit the research that supports his conclusions so you know exactly where to look if you want more detail (but you won’t need it!). Let’s look at some examples that have been life-changing for me as I’ve put them to the test in my own lifestyle:
- Carbohydrate timing can optimize your metabolism to lose weight and improve energy levels without changing your diet
- MCT oil can improve mental clarity, boost your metabolism, and curb hunger
- Consuming healthy fats can improve mental clarity while also staving off cognitive disorders like Alzheimer’s down the road
- Focusing on appropriate macronutrients in your diet can help you lose weight without changing up the calories you eat
There are so many steps that can be taken to just be healthier. They don’t have to be costly, and they don’t require you to give up the things you love. What they will do is open your eyes to the importance of quality nutrition and the impact it has on everything in your life, from energy levels to sex drive to mental clarity to weight loss.
This book is my personal favorite of 2022 because literally everyone can benefit from it. Give it a read and you’ll find your perspective on food transformed with the understanding of how your food impacts everything in your life.
Conclusion
All right, the Top 5 from 2022 are in the bag. I’ll plan on writing one of these each year to make sure that I pass along the most beneficial information I find to you.
If you don’t think you’re a a “reader”, give this post a look. I didn’t think I was either, but following the quick and simple steps that I outline in that post helped me to change that. I’m now actively learning and find it so satisfying to dive into a new book to learn as much as I can.
