Daniil's Book List

[LIST UPDATED MARCH 2019] *New books are marked with “[New]”

Reading is very important to me.

I can trace some of the most impactful decisions and “pivot points” in my life  to a few books that I happened to read.

Some of these books caused a huge light bulb to go off in my head and led to MAJOR shifts in my life and business(es).

Others simply enticed me to some seemingly minor, but (in hindsight) very important “pivots”.

Below are just some of the the books that influenced me or ones that I have found really insightful.  Feel free to add your book suggestions for investors in the comments section at the bottom!  I’ll keep adding great real estate investing books to this list as I come across them.

These are the books that have had the most impact – must read for anyone!

“Rich Dad Poor Dad” – Robert Kiyosaki

I read this book for the first time around 2003 and this is what originally got me really interested in real estate.

The premise of the book is so simple yet so profound, that it eludes most of our country’s population (because of poor financial education):  The wealthy in this country get wealthy by buying ASSETS (houses, bonds, stocks, etc) while all the poor worker bees and chumps chase around liabilities (cars, personal residences, credit card debts, etc).

4 Hour Work Week”- Tim Ferriss – inspired me to create an online business and gave me a different perspective on entrepreneurship.

 “Free – The Future of a Radical Price” – Chris Anderson  Chris is the editor of Wired Magazine and one smart dude when it comes to the future of E-commerce.  This book is responsible for me deciding to give away free software instead of selling it, which in turn resulted in me earning far far more money.  Very insightful book when it comes to various pricing models and where online commerce is headed.

“Atlas Shrugged” – Ayn Rand  No commentary needed here.  If you haven’t read this book, GO NOW and read it!

“What Every Real Estate Investor Needs to Know About Cash Flow… And 36 Other Key Financial Measures” – Frank Gallinelli.   

If you call yourself a real estate investor, you should understand most of the concepts in Frank’s book.  Not an exciting read, but essential to anyone who wants to make money in real estate.

Great Real Estate and Negotiation Books:

“Landlording on Autopilot”Mike Butler.   Awesome book if you’re buying rentals and want to manage them correctly to maximize cashflow and minimize vacancies and headaches.

“Trump Style Negotiation”George H. Ross.  George Ross has been Trump’s right-hand man for decades and is one sharp deal-maker.

“Powerhouse Principles:  The Billionaire Bluprint for Real Estate Success”Jorge Perez.  A lot of great real estate insights on development and negotiation here.

“Never Make the First Offer (Except When You Should)”Donald Dell.

“Start with No”Jim Camp

“Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It” – Chris Voss

“Rich Dad’s Cashflow Quadrant”Robert Kiyosaki

“Negotiating With Giants:  Get What You Want Against the Odds” – Peter D. Johnston

Great Personal Development, Health and Wellness Books:

“The Miracle Morning” – Hal Elrod

If you read reviews of this book, it has literally changed thousands of lives in a very profound manner.  The most pivotal part of your day – the part that dictates how the rest of it will go – is your morning routine.

Change your morning routine = change your day = change your life

“The Power of Habit – Why WE Do What We do in Life and Business” – Charles Duhigg

“Essentialism – The Disciplined Pursuit of Less” – Greg McKeown

“War of Art” – Steven Pressfield. We all struggle with “resistance”, which blocks our creativity and ability to produce our best work effectively.  This book defines this invisible “resistance” and shows you how to overcome it.

[new]  “Head Strong: The bulletproof plan to activate untapped brain energy to work smarter and think faster – in just two week” – Dave Asprey.  This book has been a gamechanger for me.  From doing away with food in the morning and only sticking to bulletproof coffee, to taking cold showers in the morning, to changing how I eat and sleep, the takeaways from this book are many.  I’ve literally doubled my productivity and energy levels each day since implementing what I’ve read here.

[new] Ego is the Enemy – Ryan Holiday.  Ton of behavioral and mindset wisdom distilled from countless historical figures over multiple centuries.

[new] “Tribe of Mentors” – Tim Ferriss.  Tim interviewed a group of top achievers in their fields and asked them the same very specific questions.  Result is a pretty thick book of mindset and performance wisdom and tips from a very diverse group of people.

[new]  “10% Happier” – Dan Harris.  If you ever wondered about meditation, then you’ll like this book.  Dan was a huge skeptic that over course of time, research and practice became a die-hard convert.  Meditation is a “secret tool” that almost every top performer in every field uses to achieve more inner calm, peace and higher productivity.

[new]  “Discipline Equals Freedom” – Jocko Willink.  Jocko is a badass ex-Navy Seal who now basically will shame you into waking up at 4am and crushing the entire day like you never have before, while making ZERO excuses and doing ZERO bitching.  No mind-blowing insights here but great for mindset and improving your performance daily.

[new] “The Obstacle is the Way” – Ryan Holiday.  First and foremost, this is a book about resilience and about having the right attitude in the face of any problem, issue, setback or obstacle.  Ryan is basically the Robert Greene of our generation.  He distills hundreds of years of philosophy, historical figures and their wisdom, and various teachings into easy to digest and easy to internalize principles that everyone can apply to improve themselves. Great, easy read.

Great Business, Marketing, Sales and Ecommerce Books:

[new]  “Expert Secrets” – Russell Brunson.  If you want to sell online, you MUST read this book.  If you want to sell from stage, you MUST read this book.  If you want to create a following of loyal, hungry clients, you MUST read this book!

[new] “No Lie: Truth is the Ultimate Sales Tool” – Barry Maher  The “Skeleton Protocol” will show you how to make your skeletons dance and sell for you.  Instead of trying to hide your perceived weaknesses, use them to your advantage, increase trust in your and your product, and increase your sales!

[new] “The Tall Lady With Iceberg: The Power of Metaphors to sell, persuade, & explain anything to anyone” – Anne Miller.  Title explains itself.  Very useful book.

[new] “Leaders Eat Last” – Simon Sinek.  Very good book not just on leadership specifically, but on managing people and employees effectively.  There is a very big takeaway here that I haven’t seen anywhere else central to the book and has made me make some big shifts in my management style. But I won’t spoil it for you!

“Story Wars – Why those who tell and live the best stories will rule the future.”  – Jonah Sachs.  Good book on marketing and brand building.

“YOUtility – why smart marketing is about HELP not HYPE”.  – Jay Baer

“Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die” – Chip Heath and Dan Heath

“The E-Myth Revisited”Michael Gerber.  ** If you only read one book on this list, other than Rich Dad Poor Dad or Atlast Shrugged, read this one.

“The Medici Effect – Breakthrough Insights at the Intersection of Ideas, Concepts & Cultures”Frans Johansson

“Business Model Generation”Alexander Osterwalder & Yves Pigneur.  Your head will explode from reading this.

“Never Eat Alone” –  Keith Ferrazzi.  Keith is the man when it comes to relationship-building.

“Guerrilla Marketing” Jay Conrad Levinson.  This speaks for itself.

“Happiness at Work”Srikumar S. Rao.  Great book for getting a better handle on your emotions, time, etc.

“Hypnotic Writing”Joe Vitale.  Great copyrighting book.

“The Pumpkin Plan”Mike Michalowicz.  Excellent book on “going deeper” rather than “wider” in business-building.

“The Laws of Subtraction”Matthew E. May.

“Delivering Happiness – A Path to Profits, Passion and Purpose”Tony Hsieh

“The Thank You Economy”Gary Vaynerchuk

“Getting Real”37 Signals

“ReWork”Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson (37 Signals)

“Get Rich Click – The Ultimate Guide to Making Money on the Internet”Marc Ostrofsky

“Made in America” –  Sam Walton.

“No B.S. Wealth Attraction in the New Economy” –  Dan Kennedy

 “Finish Big:  How Great Entrepreneurs Exit Their Companies on Top” – Bo Burlingham.

Other/Various:

[new] “The Lessons of History” – Will and Ariel Durant  Highly recommend this book, especially if you’re a student of trends, cycles, and historical patterns repeating themselves (which they always do).

[new] “What Would the Rockerfellers Do” – Garrett Gunderson.  Ok, so this book is basically a disguised, “backdoor” sales pitch for whole life insurance.  BUT, 1) It got me to let my guard down and actually learn about life insurance and 2) MUCH more importantly, it opened my eyes to a new way of estate planning that will ensure that my assets do not get divided among my heirs, do not create “trust fund babies” out of my kids, and rather preserve my legacy and create opportunities for empowerment for my descendants many generations into the future.  See next book recommendation for more:

[new] “Entrusted: Building a Legacy that Lasts” – David York and Andrew Howell. This book came as a result of reading the book I recommended above.  This is a completely different take on estate planning.  Honestly, my mind has been totally blown by the idea of creating a Rockerfeller style trust that stays strong and grows generation to generation, empowering my heirs to be productive and thriving members of society rather than a bunch of rich spoiled fucks, which many childred and grandchildren of the wealthy typically become. If you plan on leaving behind at least a decent chunk of wealth to your heirs, READ THIS!