3 Unconventional Books Every Entrepreneur Should Read

whatshot 114 snips

Jul 25, 2023

Discover three unconventional books that can transform your entrepreneurial mindset. Dive into the adventurous lessons of leadership from 'Undaunted Courage,' and explore the significance of discipline and clear planning through military insights. Learn how delegation and skill acquisition can empower your business journey, while historical entrepreneurs like John Rockefeller serve as a testament to balancing tenacity with courtesy. These reads promise to inspire innovative thinking and practical strategies for aspiring leaders.

21:41

forum

Ask episode

web_stories

AI Snips

view_agenda

Chapters

menu_book

Books

auto_awesome

Transcript

info_circle

Episode notes

volunteer_activism

ADVICE

Discipline Breeds Excellence

Enforce strict rules and punish those who break them, even if it seems harsh.
This creates discipline, sets clear boundaries, and establishes standards of excellence.

question_answer

ANECDOTE

Lewis and Clark's Discipline

Meriwether Lewis, leader of the Lewis and Clark expedition, severely punished a man for breaking a rule.
This demonstrated the importance of maintaining discipline and setting clear expectations.

insights

INSIGHT

Personal Product-Market Fit

Identify your personal product-market fit, just like you would for a business.
This involves understanding your strengths, passions, and how you can contribute to the world.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Discipline and Leadership: Lessons from History

03:48 • 6min

chevron_right

The Importance of Planning and Commander's Intent in Business

09:36 • 4min

chevron_right

The Power of Delegation and Skill Acquisition in Entrepreneurship

13:32 • 2min

chevron_right

Mastering Skills Through the Lives of Successful Entrepreneurs

In 'Mastery', Robert Greene argues that mastery is not an innate talent but a skill that can be developed through a rigorous process. The book outlines several key stages: finding your life's task, undergoing an ideal apprenticeship, finding the right mentor, acquiring social intelligence, and fusing intuitive with rational thinking. Greene draws on the lives of historical and contemporary masters such as Mozart, Einstein, and Temple Grandin to illustrate his points. He emphasizes the importance of deep practice, self-directed learning, and the ability to read and navigate social dynamics. The book challenges the conventional notion of genius as a genetic gift and offers practical steps for anyone to achieve mastery in their chosen field.

Undaunted Courage

Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West

Stephen E. Ambrose

This book chronicles the epic 1803-06 journey of Lewis and Clark across the continent and back, highlighting the roles of Thomas Jefferson, Meriwether Lewis, and William Clark. It combines high adventure, politics, suspense, drama, and diplomacy, providing a vivid backdrop of the expedition through previously unknown information about weather, terrain, and medical knowledge of the time. The narrative includes the interactions with Native American tribes, the scientific discoveries, and the personal tragedies that marked the journey. Ambrose's work brings alive the colorful characters and the historical context, making this scholarly work as engaging as a novel.

Titan

The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.

Ron Chernow

This biography by Ron Chernow provides an in-depth look at John D. Rockefeller, Sr., the founder of Standard Oil and one of the most influential figures in American history. Drawing on unprecedented access to Rockefeller’s private papers, Chernow reconstructs Rockefeller’s troubled origins, his single-minded pursuit of wealth, and his profound religiosity. The book also delves into Rockefeller’s philanthropic efforts, including his generous donations to the Rockefeller Foundation, the University of Chicago, and Rockefeller University. Chernow’s narrative synthesizes Rockefeller’s public and private lives, revealing a complex and multifaceted individual who was both a ruthless businessman and a devoted philanthropist. The book captures a pivotal moment in American history, documenting the post-Civil War shift from small businesses to giant corporations and featuring cameos by notable figures such as Ida Tarbell, Andrew Carnegie, and J.P. Morgan.

The Operator

Firing the Shots that Killed Osama bin Laden and My Years as a SEAL Team Warrior

Robert O'Neill

The Operator is a gripping memoir by Robert O'Neill, a former Navy SEAL, that provides an inside look into his life as a special operations soldier. The book recounts his involvement in over 400 missions, including the rescue of Captain Richard Phillips and the death of Osama bin Laden. It offers a firsthand account of the intense training, deployments, and the personal sacrifices made by SEALs.

Episode 478: Sam Parr (https://twitter.com/theSamParr) shares 3 non-obvious books that have helped him become a better entrepreneur and the major takeaways from each that anyone can implement today.

Want to see more MFM? Subscribe to the MFM YouTube channel here.

Check Out Shaan's Stuff:

• Try Shepherd

• Shaan's Personal Assistant System

• Power Writing Course

• Daily Newsletter

• Small Boy Newsletter

Check Out Sam's Stuff:

• Hampton

• Ideation Bootcamp

• Copy That

-----

Show Notes:

(00:00) Intro

(1:30) Book #1 - Undaunted Courage by Stephen E. Ambrose

(8:30) Book #2 - The Operator by Robert O'Neill

(12:05) Book #3 - Titan by Ron Chernow

------

Links:

• Undaunted Courage - https://shorturl.at/hBO24

• The Operator - https://shorturl.at/noB14

• Titan - https://shorturl.at/fltCS

Do you love MFM and want to see Sam and Shaan's smiling faces? Subscribe to our Youtube channel.

------

Past guests on My First Million include Rob Dyrdek, Hasan Minhaj, Balaji Srinivasan, Jake Paul, Dr. Andrew Huberman, Gary Vee, Lance Armstrong, Sophia Amoruso, Ariel Helwani, Ramit Sethi, Stanley Druckenmiller, Peter Diamandis, Dharmesh Shah, Brian Halligan, Marc Lore, Jason Calacanis, Andrew Wilkinson, Julian Shapiro, Kat Cole, Codie Sanchez, Nader Al-Naji, Steph Smith, Trung Phan, Nick Huber, Anthony Pompliano, Ben Askren, Ramon Van Meer, Brianne Kimmel, Andrew Gazdecki, Scott Belsky, Moiz Ali, Dan Held, Elaine Zelby, Michael Saylor, Ryan Begelman, Jack Butcher, Reed Duchscher, Tai Lopez, Harley Finkelstein, Alexa von Tobel, Noah Kagan, Nick Bare, Greg Isenberg, James Altucher, Randy Hetrick and more.

-----

Additional episodes you might enjoy:

• #224 Rob Dyrdek - How Tracking Every Second of His Life Took Rob Drydek from 0 to $405M in Exits

• #209 Gary Vaynerchuk - Why NFTS Are the Future

• #178 Balaji Srinivasan - Balaji on How to Fix the Media, Cloud Cities & Crypto

• #169 - How One Man Started 5, Billion Dollar Companies, Dan Gilbert's Empire, & Talking With Warren Buffett

• #218 - Why You Should Take a Think Week Like Bill Gates

• Dave Portnoy vs The World, Extreme Body Monitoring, The Future of Apparel Retail, "How Much is Anthony Pompliano Worth?", and More

• How Mr Beast Got 100M Views in Less Than 4 Days, The $25M Chrome Extension, and More

Home Top podcasts Popular guests