People who Read Books make more Money

According to two recent studies done by the U.S. Department of Labor and Yahoo!, business people who read at least seven business books a year earn 2.3 times more than those who read only one book per year.

Just to be safe, I read eight books last month (pictured to the right).

While I cannot confirm that I'm making twice as much as my one book or less counterparts, I can confirm I learned at least one key thing from each of these books.

Resonate provides the building blocks for a memorable presentation or speech. She recommends using evocative visuals, emotive storytelling and brevity. Few people can name the speaker who gave a two hour speech preceding Lincoln at Gettysburg. Almost everyone remembers Lincoln's speech that consumed merely 278 words and two minutes.

Start-up Nation describes the reasons why Israel ... a 60 year old country of 7.1 million people ... produces more start-up companies than Japan, China, India, Korea, Canada or the U.K. The primary reason given is the disciplines learned from the mandatory military service required in Israel.

Living Your Strenths is an offshoot of the popular Strengths Finder and Now, Discover Your Stengths books. Instead of focusing on how to shore up people's weaknesses, this book describes why it is so important for ministries to identify the strenghts of members and connect those strengths with people in need of that type of help.

Portfolio Life describes retirement as a process, not an event. The authors recommend methods to transition from a 5 to 2 or 3 day work week. Harland Sanders created KFC at age 67, sold it at age 74 and died at age 90. It is not unusual to live to age 85 in the 21st century. Therefore, I am planning a third career for age 66.

Practical Wisdom is defined as combining knowledge with common sense. Practical wisdom considers the "rules" that exist, but places them in the context of the situation. The book is loaded with great stories and examples of practical wisdom. The story in chapter about the Texas's TAKS testing is depressing, because public schools lack practical wisdom.

Three Feet from Gold teaches the most common reason for failure is quitting. The authors say "You will be the same five years from now except for the people you meet and the books you read." Truett Cathey, founder of Chick-fil-A, says "Do not plan too much. It is more important to take action towards your goal." That's why I encourage entrepreneurs to Fail Fast, Fail Cheap & Get Smart.

Generous Justice is a book financial expert Dave Ramsey used in his men's Bible Study group. The author teaches the principle of Social Shalom, something that he says is modeled by Jimmy Stewart in the movie It's a Wonderful Life.

We are all Weird is Seth Godin's latest book. The ideas put forth support my vision to STAMP OUT NORMAL. I don't want to have the normal life, finances or stress of the average American. I want to be weird. "Weird" people are not a niche, they are a tribe.