Income: Library
- personal995
- May 17, 2024
- 12 min read
Updated: Dec 4, 2025
Index
Purpose
Income: Library is a section of Income.
This page and section exists to provide a curated reading list for learning more about Income.
“In my whole life, I have known no wise people (over a broad subject matter area) who didn’t read all the time—none. Zero."
Charlie Munger
Introduction
If we have referenced, or found a book, text or article to be foundational and useful, it will be listed throughout this section and also categorised for your reference below.
For your efficiency, the library provides a brief on why each book is included and why and for who it may prove to be of interest or useful.
The Wealth of Nations
by Adam Smith
Overview: The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith is a seminal work in the field of economics, offering groundbreaking insights into the principles of capitalism, free markets, and the division of labor.
Key points: Smith explores the mechanisms of economic growth, productivity, and wealth creation, arguing that individuals pursuing their self-interest within a free market system ultimately contribute to the overall prosperity of society. He discusses the role of competition, specialization, and the invisible hand of the market in allocating resources and promoting economic efficiency.
Interest: This book is essential for economists, policymakers, and anyone interested in understanding the foundational principles of modern economics. Smith's ideas continue to shape economic theory and inform debates about the role of government, regulation, and globalization in fostering economic growth and prosperity.
The Wealth and Poverty of Nations
by David S. Landes
Overview: The Wealth and Poverty of Nations by David S. Landes is a sweeping historical analysis that examines the factors contributing to the economic success or failure of nations throughout history.
Key points: Landes explores a wide range of factors that have shaped the economic development of nations, including geography, culture, institutions, technology, and leadership. He argues that while some nations have been able to harness these factors to achieve prosperity and progress, others have struggled due to various forms of stagnation, exploitation, and institutional failure.
Interest: This book is essential for historians, economists, and policymakers seeking to understand the complex dynamics of economic development and global inequality. Landes' interdisciplinary approach and engaging narrative shed light on the diverse paths that different nations have taken on their journey toward prosperity and offer valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities facing countries in the modern era.
Skin in the Game
by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Overview: Skin in the Game by Nassim Nicholas Taleb is a thought-provoking exploration of the concept of "skin in the game" and its implications for decision-making, ethics, and accountability in various domains of life.
Key points: Taleb argues that individuals and institutions should bear the consequences of their actions and decisions, rather than relying on others to bear the risks. He discusses how having "skin in the game" incentivizes responsible behavior, promotes transparency, and reduces the likelihood of moral hazard and systemic fragility.
Interest: This book is essential for policymakers, business leaders, and anyone interested in understanding the importance of accountability and personal responsibility in decision-making processes. Taleb's insights challenge conventional wisdom and offer a compelling framework for evaluating risk, reward, and ethical behavior in a wide range of contexts, from finance and politics to everyday life.
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion
by Robert B. Cialdini
Overview: Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini is a seminal work that explores the psychological principles behind why people say "yes" and how individuals can influence others' behavior through persuasive techniques.
Key points: Cialdini identifies six key principles of influence: reciprocity, commitment and consistency, social proof, authority, liking, and scarcity. He examines how these principles are used by marketers, salespeople, and others to persuade and influence people's decisions and behaviors.
Interest: This book is essential for marketers, sales professionals, and anyone interested in understanding the psychology of persuasion and how to effectively influence others. Cialdini's insights offer practical strategies for increasing compliance, building rapport, and achieving desired outcomes in various personal and professional contexts.
Mindset: The New Psychology of Success
by Carol S. Dweck
Overview: Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck is a transformative exploration of the power of mindset in shaping our attitudes, behaviors, and achievements.
Key points: Dweck introduces the concept of "growth mindset" versus "fixed mindset," arguing that individuals who believe their abilities can be developed through dedication and effort (growth mindset) tend to achieve more than those who believe their abilities are innate and unchangeable (fixed mindset). She discusses the impact of mindset on learning, resilience, motivation, and interpersonal relationships.
Interest: This book is essential for educators, parents, coaches, and anyone interested in personal development and fostering a culture of growth and resilience. Dweck's research-based insights offer practical strategies for cultivating a growth mindset in oneself and others, unlocking potential, and achieving success in various areas of life.
How to Win Friends and Influence People
by Dale Carnegie
Overview: How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie is a timeless classic that offers practical advice on building relationships, enhancing communication skills, and achieving success in both personal and professional life.
Key points: Carnegie outlines fundamental principles for interacting with others effectively, including techniques for showing genuine interest in people, fostering goodwill, and resolving conflicts amicably. He emphasizes the importance of empathy, understanding others' perspectives, and using persuasion rather than coercion to influence behavior positively.
Interest: This book is essential for anyone looking to improve their interpersonal skills and build meaningful connections with others. Carnegie's principles, backed by real-life examples and anecdotes, offer actionable strategies for enhancing social intelligence, building rapport, and earning the respect and cooperation of others, making it a must-read for anyone seeking personal and professional growth.
The Outsiders
by William N. Thorndike
Overview: The Outsiders by William N. Thorndike is a compelling exploration of unconventional leadership principles and the success of eight exceptional CEOs who defied conventional wisdom to achieve outstanding results.
Key points: Thorndike examines the leadership philosophies and strategies of eight CEOs who delivered exceptional returns for their shareholders over the long term. He identifies common traits and practices among these "outsider" CEOs, including a focus on capital allocation, decentralized decision-making, and a long-term orientation.
Interest: This book is essential for business leaders, investors, and anyone interested in understanding what sets extraordinary CEOs apart from their peers. Thorndike's insights challenge traditional management wisdom and offer valuable lessons on leadership, strategy, and value creation in the corporate world.
Principles: Life and Work
by Ray Dalio
Overview: Principles: Life and Work by Ray Dalio is a comprehensive guide to personal and professional success, offering a set of principles and philosophies that Dalio has developed over decades of experience as an investor, entrepreneur, and business leader.
Key points: Dalio shares his unique approach to decision-making, problem-solving, and achieving meaningful goals, both in life and in business. He outlines a set of principles that he believes are essential for success, including radical transparency, embracing failure as a learning opportunity, and seeking truth through open-minded debate.
Interest: This book is essential for aspiring leaders, entrepreneurs, and anyone seeking to improve their decision-making skills and achieve their full potential. Dalio's principles offer a practical framework for navigating the complexities of modern life and work, empowering readers to create their own path to success and fulfillment.
Linchpin
by Seth Godin
Overview: Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? by Seth Godin is a provocative exploration of what it means to be a linchpin—an individual who brings unique value to their work and is indispensable to their organization.
Key points: Godin challenges readers to embrace their creativity, passion, and authenticity in order to become indispensable in their roles. He argues that traditional notions of work and success are outdated, and that the key to thriving in the modern economy lies in becoming indispensable through innovation, generosity, and emotional labor.
Interest: This book is essential for anyone looking to make a meaningful impact in their career and become indispensable in their organization. Godin's insights offer a fresh perspective on work, creativity, and personal fulfillment, inspiring readers to unleash their full potential and become linchpins in their own lives and careers.
Essential Essays: The Minimalists
by Ryan Nicodemus and Joshua Fields Millburn
Overview: Essential Essays: The Minimalists by Ryan Nicodemus and Joshua Fields Millburn is a collection of thought-provoking essays that explore the principles and benefits of minimalist living.
Key points: Nicodemus and Millburn delve into various aspects of minimalist philosophy, including decluttering, intentional living, and prioritizing experiences over possessions. They share personal anecdotes, practical tips, and insights on how embracing minimalism can lead to greater freedom, happiness, and fulfillment.
Interest: This book is essential for anyone seeking to simplify their life, reduce stress, and focus on what truly matters. Nicodemus and Millburn's essays offer valuable perspectives and actionable advice for adopting a minimalist mindset and creating a more meaningful and intentional lifestyle.
The Cashflow Quadrant
by Robert Kiyosaki
Overview: The Cashflow Quadrant by Robert Kiyosaki is a compelling exploration of financial literacy and wealth creation, focusing on the different paths to financial independence outlined in his "Cashflow Quadrant" model.
Key points: Kiyosaki introduces readers to four distinct quadrants—Employee, Self-Employed, Business Owner, and Investor—and explains the unique opportunities and challenges associated with each. He emphasizes the importance of transitioning from the left side of the quadrant (Employee and Self-Employed) to the right side (Business Owner and Investor) in order to achieve true financial freedom.
Interest: This book is essential for anyone looking to gain a deeper understanding of personal finance and build wealth over the long term. Kiyosaki's insights challenge conventional wisdom about money and provide a roadmap for shifting mindset and behaviors to achieve financial independence and abundance.
The 4-Hour Workweek
by Tim Ferriss
Overview: The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss is a revolutionary guide to escaping the 9-5 grind, achieving financial freedom, and living life on your own terms through lifestyle design and entrepreneurship.
Key points: Ferriss shares his strategies for outsourcing, automating, and delegating tasks to create more time for leisure, travel, and personal pursuits. He challenges the traditional notion of retirement and advocates for a "new rich" lifestyle characterized by mini-retirements, passive income streams, and location independence.
Interest: This book is essential for anyone seeking to break free from the constraints of traditional employment and design a lifestyle aligned with their values and passions. Ferriss' unconventional approach to work and life offers practical tips, inspiring stories, and mindset shifts for creating a life of abundance, fulfillment, and adventure.
The $100 Startup
by Chris Guillebeau
Overview: The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau is a practical guide that explores the world of entrepreneurship and offers strategies for starting a business with minimal resources.
Key points: Guillebeau shares stories of individuals who have successfully launched their own businesses with little to no startup capital, emphasizing the importance of creativity, resourcefulness, and taking action. He provides insights into identifying profitable business ideas, testing them quickly and inexpensively, and building a sustainable venture that aligns with personal values and goals.
Interest: This book is essential for aspiring entrepreneurs, freelancers, and anyone interested in starting a business on a shoestring budget. Guillebeau's approachable writing style and real-world examples offer inspiration and actionable advice for turning passion into profit and achieving financial independence through entrepreneurship.
How to Get Rich (podcast)
by Naval Ravikant
Overview: The How to Get Rich podcast by Naval Ravikant is an enlightening exploration of wealth, success, and happiness, offering timeless wisdom and practical advice on achieving financial abundance and personal fulfillment.
Key points: Ravikant shares insights drawn from his own experiences as an entrepreneur and investor, as well as from his deep understanding of philosophy, psychology, and spirituality. He discusses the importance of mindset, skill acquisition, leverage, and luck in the pursuit of wealth, as well as the value of cultivating happiness and gratitude along the way.
Interest: This podcast is essential for aspiring entrepreneurs, investors, and anyone interested in personal development and wealth creation. Ravikant's candid and insightful discussions provide actionable strategies, thought-provoking perspectives, and profound truths that can inspire listeners to pursue their own paths to success and fulfillment.
Andrew Carnegie
by David Nasaw
Overview: Andrew Carnegie by David Nasaw is a comprehensive biography that offers a detailed and nuanced portrait of one of the most influential industrialists and philanthropists in American history.
Key points: Nasaw delves into Carnegie's remarkable life journey, from his humble beginnings as a Scottish immigrant to his rise as a titan of the steel industry. He explores Carnegie's business acumen, innovative practices, and strategic partnerships that propelled him to immense wealth and power. Additionally, Nasaw examines Carnegie's philanthropic endeavors, including his establishment of libraries, universities, and charitable foundations, and their lasting impact on society.
Interest: This book is essential for history enthusiasts, business scholars, and anyone intrigued by the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, and philanthropy. Nasaw's meticulous research and engaging narrative provide readers with a rich understanding of Carnegie's complex personality, his contributions to American industry and culture, and his enduring legacy as a pioneering industrialist and philanthropist.
My Life in France
by Julia Child
Overview: My Life in France by Julia Child is a delightful memoir that chronicles the culinary icon's adventures in discovering and mastering French cuisine, as well as her love affair with France itself.
Key points: Child recounts her experiences living in France with her husband Paul, where she fell in love with the country's food, culture, and way of life. She shares anecdotes from her culinary education at Le Cordon Bleu and the writing process behind her groundbreaking cookbook, "Mastering the Art of French Cooking," which introduced French cuisine to American home cooks.
Interest: This book is essential for food enthusiasts, aspiring chefs, and fans of Julia Child's cooking shows and cookbooks. Child's infectious enthusiasm, witty anecdotes, and passion for food shine through in her memoir, offering readers a charming and intimate glimpse into her remarkable life and culinary journey in France.
George Lucas: A Life
by Brian Jay Jones
Overview: George Lucas: A Life by Brian Jay Jones is a comprehensive biography that delves into the life and career of the legendary filmmaker behind the "Star Wars" and "Indiana Jones" franchises.
Key points: Jones explores Lucas's upbringing, his early passion for filmmaking, and his journey to becoming one of the most influential figures in the entertainment industry. He examines Lucas's creative vision, groundbreaking work in special effects, and the cultural impact of his iconic films, as well as his business ventures and philanthropic endeavors.
Interest: This book is essential for film buffs, pop culture enthusiasts, and anyone interested in the creative process and behind-the-scenes stories of Hollywood's most iconic films. Jones' meticulous research and engaging narrative provide readers with a fascinating look at the life and legacy of George Lucas, offering insights into his creative genius, entrepreneurial spirit, and lasting impact on popular culture.
A Disposition to Be Rich
by Geoffrey C. Ward
Overview: A Disposition to Be Rich by Geoffrey C. Ward is a captivating biography that chronicles the life of Ferdinand Ward, one of the most infamous swindlers of the Gilded Age.
Key points: Ward's book explores the rise and fall of Ferdinand Ward, a charismatic and cunning figure who orchestrated one of the largest financial frauds in American history. Ward delves into Ward's early years, his meteoric ascent in the world of finance, and the scandal that ultimately led to his downfall and imprisonment.
Interest: This book is essential for history enthusiasts, students of finance, and anyone intrigued by tales of financial fraud and deception. Ward's meticulously researched narrative offers a fascinating glimpse into the excesses and scandals of the Gilded Age, as well as the psychology of greed and ambition.
Van Gogh: The Life
by Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith
Overview: Van Gogh: The Life by Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith is an exhaustive biography that offers a comprehensive examination of the life, art, and struggles of Vincent van Gogh, one of the most celebrated artists in history.
Key points: Naifeh and Smith delve into van Gogh's tumultuous life, exploring his artistic genius, mental health challenges, and the personal and professional obstacles he faced. They provide insights into his creative process, relationships, and the cultural and societal context in which he lived and worked.
Interest: This book is essential for art enthusiasts, historians, and anyone fascinated by the life and work of Vincent van Gogh, offering a richly detailed portrait of the artist and his enduring impact on the world of art.
By reading the texts above you absorb over time the many wise, experienced and learned humans have come before us. There is no need to re live all their lessons ourselves. Take what they have learnt, their accumulated years of wisdom and efficiently use it to leverage the quality of your life and work.
Output Checklist
Completed Strategic Review Worksheet from The Workbook for approaching any Income related opportunities or challenges, guided by all key learnings from this section.
Next Steps
If you feel you have key learnings to takeaway, return to Income: Main to integrate into your Output Checklist.
With your Income now better understood and with plans in place move on to Financial Management.
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