[May Book Share] Three Books You Should Read This Month

These are three great books that I am currently reading. I should be finished this week. There are just so many gems that I have gotten from each one that I think will make you a better and grow as a business woman, but most importantly as an individual. 

The Introvert Entrepreneur: Amplify Your Strengths and Create Success on Your Own Terms 

by Beth L. Buelow

Think you have to be loud and brash to be successful in business? Think again. The strengths and traits of the typical introvert lend themselves well to entrepreneurship, as well as “intrapreneurship” and a range of business roles. In The Introvert Entrepreneur, professional coach Beth Buelow shows readers how to harness their natural gifts (including curiosity, independence, and a love of research) and counteract their challenges (such as an aversion to networking and self-promotion). She addresses a wide range of topics --from managing fears and expectations and developing a growth mindset to networking, marketing, leadership skills, and community-building--informed by interviews with introverts who have created successful businesses without compromising their core personality. 

Filled with fresh insights and actionable advice, this essential guide will support anyone who’s striving to make a difference in a loud and chaotic world.

The Energy of Money: A Spiritual Guide to Financial and Personal Fulfillment

by Maria Nemeth, Ph.D

Thousands of people worldwide have learned how to build a powerful new relationship with their money and bring their dreams to fruition through Dr. Maria Nemeth's dynamic workshops. Now you can, too. In The Energy of Money, Dr. Nemeth--who received an Audio Publishers Award for her Sounds True series on which this book is based--draws upon her more than twenty years' experience in synthesizing spiritual and practical techniques for managing yourself and your work to create a revolutionary program that can free your financial energy and use it to achieve personal life goals and financial wealth. Combining a complete self-help and self-discovery regimen with proven methods of money management, this powerhouse guide to prosperity presents twelve principles that will help you to - 

• Uncover the hidden landscape of beliefs, patterns, and habits that underlie and sometimes subvert your everyday use of money and personal resources -
• Tame the dragons of driven behavior and busyholism 
• Defuse fears of deprivation and scarcity 
• Embrace and work through paradox and confusion 
• Consciously focus your money energy 
• Clear yourself to receive the energy and support of others and the universe 
• Develop and stay on your personal path to abundance 

Through easy-to-follow exercises and meditations, effective worksheets, and other interactive processes, Dr. Nemeth will guide you to financial success and help you manifest your special contribution to the world.

Briefcase Essentials: Discover Your 12 Natural Talents for Achieving Success in a Male Dominated Workplace 

by Susan T. Spencer

Women, you're unique. You lead differently from men, and that's a good thing--especially in the world of business! By reading Briefcase Essentials, you'll learn how to deal with men in business instead of trying to act like them. You--and your male colleagues--will discover that by using your natural talents in the business world, the power of your positive actions will change men's attitude from confrontational to cooperative--even in the most male-dominated environments. Susan Spencer's one-of-a-kind background has given her a fresh perspective on women in business. Her exciting saga and energizing guide roots for you to succeed and urges you to tackle business issues and situations by relying on your innate talents--explained as twelve ''Briefcase Essentials.'' Specifically, you'll learn: 

• How your ability to be flexible and adaptable in business will help you solve problems and handle workplace issues. 
• How using your knack of engaging people and putting them first will lead to business success.
• How and when you should stand your ground to achieve positive results and gain credibility.
• How your intuition can be trusted to help you make important decisions. 
• How your perceptive communication will drive sales and help your company grow. 
• How ''bandwagon men'' help women finance their businesses and support their growth. 

Susan's stories and examples are authentic, and her advice for women in business, who own companies, or who are thinking about starting a business is direct, practical, pioneering, and barrier breaking. You are persistent, adaptable, improvisational, and empathetic. When you unleash those and your eight other proven traits in the workplace, your success is inevitable.

All of these books can be found on Amazon for under $11. The first two, The Introvert Entrepreneur and The Energy of Money allow you to really dig deep into various areas of your life and complete exercises that will help you identify and improve. What I particularly love about Susan's book, Briefcase Essentials is that these are her stories from her experience owning several businesses from selling tennis dresses, to General Manager of the Philadelphia Eagles, to owner of Allied Steaks. You can learn a great deal in terms of taking chances and trusting your gut. It is often said, but to read about it in action is equivalent to having a priceless mentor in the palm of your hand.

Happy Reading!

[April Book Share] Three Books You Should Read This Month

This month all I'm going to tell you is this. Make sure Worth More Than Gold is at the top of your books you must own list. I've curated a treasure of affirmations that have helped me on this journey of entrepreneurship and I just want to pass on the wisdom and sanity reinforcement. 

Next, I want to highlight authors who are actually in the #100BusinessGirls network (and if you read this and I didn't include you, make sure you email me and I will highlight your work as well. You must have attended an event in the past to be mentioned.)

Ashley Coleman is an author and publisher of WriteLaughDream.com. Her latest book, Love on Purpose: Make your love intentional, deliberate, and on purpose "visits the most common relationship issues and how to work through them in love; from managing unrealistic expectations to improving communication." Ashley is also the author of Dear Love: A love letter to you, a collection of love notes and narratives that will change the way you think about love. Follow Ashley @writelaughdream

Tiffany Wilson is an inspirational speaker, spiritual leader, and the author of #GetEngaged with Yourself & Win: 12 Keys to Unlocking the Love and Life Your Desire . #GetEngaged is a manifesto for women everywhere who want to be more confident, spiritually connected, and continue to grow in their life and career. Follow Tiffany @tiffytalks and visit www.tiffytalks.com.

Lorenza Tanya Brown is an author and business consultant that helps entrepreneurs launch their fashion line. Her book, How to Create the Fashion Designs of Your Dreams, is a DIY guide for any aspiring fashion designer and/or fashion entrepreneur filled with all the proper information and resources necessary to go from idea to execution, no technical skills required. Follow Lorenza @lorenzabrownconsulting

[March Book Share] Three Books You Should Read This Month

I kicked off the new year with these books and there were plenty of gems I took from each one. If you check them out let me know what you think.

Overcoming Underearning by Barbara Stanny

When it comes to money, are you controlled by fear?
Do you underestimate your worth?
Are you ready to go to the next level, but can't seem to get there?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may be an underearner. Underearners are self-saboteurs who don't live up to their earnings potential, says Barbara Stanny, a financial educator, motivational speaker, and career counselor. Whether they make $10 an hour or six figures a year, they tend to live paycheck to paycheck, are often in debt, and have a high tolerance for low pay. Ironically, many work incredibly hard. The good news is that underearning is a self-imposed condition. By focusing on overcoming it, underearners will not only earn what they deserve, but live a richer life. With techniques and exercises that have helped thousands of people, Stanny teaches five essential steps to financial independence and brings a message of empowerment to all those who chronically undervalue themselves.

The 80/20 Principle by Richard Koch
Did you know, for example, that 20 percent of customers account for 80 percent of revenues? That 20 percent of our time accounts for 80 percent of the work we accomplish? The 80/20 Principle shows how we can achieve much more with much less effort, time, and resources, simply by identifying and focusing our efforts on the 20 percent that really counts.



The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fu*k by Mark Manson
There are only so many things we can give a f**k about so we need to figure out which ones really matter, Manson makes clear. While money is nice, caring about what you do with your life is better, because true wealth is about experience. A much-needed grab-you-by-the-shoulders-and-look-you-in-the-eye moment of real-talk, filled with entertaining stories and profane, ruthless humor, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F**k is a refreshing slap for a generation to help them lead contented, grounded lives.

New Book Alert: Worth More Than Gold

[February Book Share] Three Books You Should Read This Month

I often get asked to recommend books so here are three gems that I highly suggest. [Click for full post.]

Forty Million Dollar Slaves by William C. Rhoden
Due to recent news in the sports world, this is a great read that would provide some much needed insight. 

From Jackie Robinson to Muhammad Ali and Arthur Ashe, African American athletes have been at the center of modern culture, their on-the-field heroics admired and stratospheric earnings envied. But for all their money, fame, and achievement, says New York Times columnist William C. Rhoden, black athletes still find themselves on the periphery of true power in the multibillion-dollar industry their talent built.

Provocative and controversial, Rhoden’s $40 Million Slaves weaves a compelling narrative of black athletes in the United States, from the plantation to their beginnings in nineteenth-century boxing rings to the history-making accomplishments of notable figures such as Jesse Owens, Althea Gibson, and Willie Mays. Rhoden reveals that black athletes’ “evolution” has merely been a journey from literal plantations—where sports were introduced as diversions to quell revolutionary stirrings—to today’s figurative ones, in the form of collegiate and professional sports programs. He details the “conveyor belt” that brings kids from inner cities and small towns to big-time programs, where they’re cut off from their roots and exploited by team owners, sports agents, and the media. He also sets his sights on athletes like Michael Jordan, who he says have abdicated their responsibility to the community with an apathy that borders on treason. 

The power black athletes have today is as limited as when masters forced their slaves to race and fight. The primary difference is, today’s shackles are often the athletes’ own making.

Our Kind of People: Inside America's Black Upper Class by Lawrence Otis Graham

Debutante cotillions. Million-dollar homes. Summers in Martha's Vineyard. Membership in the Links, Jack & Jill, Deltas, Boule, and AKAs. An obsession with the right schools, families, social clubs, and skin complexion. This is the world of the black upper class and the focus of the first book written about the black elite by a member of this hard-to-penetrate group.

Author and TV commentator Lawrence Otis Graham, one of the nation's most prominent spokesmen on race and class, spent six years interviewing the wealthiest black families in America. He includes historical photos of a people that made their first millions in the 1870s. Graham tells who's in and who's not in the group today with separate chapters on the elite in New York, Los Angeles, Washington, Chicago, Detroit, Memphis, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Nashville, and New Orleans. A new Introduction explains the controversy that the book elicited from both the black and white communities.

The Debt: What America Owes to Blacks by Randall Robinson

In this powerful and controversial book, distinguished African-American political leader and thinker Randall Robinson argues for the restoration of the rich history that slavery and segregation severed. Drawing from research and personal experience, he shows that only by reclaiming their lost past and proud heritage can blacks lay the foundation for their future. And white Americans can make reparations for slavery and the century of racial discrimination that followed with monetary restitution, educational programs, and the kinds of equal opportunities that will ensure the social and economic success of all its citizens.

In a book that is both an unflinching indictment of past wrongs and an impassioned call to our nation to educate all Americans about the history of Africa and its people, Robinson makes a persuasive case for the debt white America owes blacks, and the debt blacks owe themselves.

If you get a chance to read one or all three, let me know your thoughts!