Outstanding Performers are Lifelong Learners

Today is Wednesday, so this post is on outstanding performance.

Outstanding performers are lifelong learners.  The half life of knowledge is diminishing rapidly these days.  However, there are some pieces of advice that have stood the test of time.  Last week, I blogged about the relaunch of SUCCESS Magazine.  It’s a great print mag.  Anyone truly interested in becoming a career and life should subscribe at www.success.com.

One article in the April/May issue was called 25 Books for Success.  The editors of SUCCESS call them “25 must-read books for achievers.”  Here is the list.

• Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill
• How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie
• The Richest Man in Babylon, George S. Clason
• The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom, Suze Orman
• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey
• Who Moved My Cheese, Spencer Johnson
• The Power of Positive Thinking, Norman Vincent Peale
• The Magic of Thinking Big, David  Schwatrz
• The Way of the Peaceful Warrior, Dan Millman
• See You at the Top, Zig Ziglar
• Acres of Diamond, Russel Conwell
• Maximum Achievement, Brian Tracy
• As a Man Thinketh, James Allen
• The Laws of Success, Napoleon Hill
• The Seasons of Life, Jim Rohn and Ronald Reynolds
• The One Minute Manager, Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson
• The Automatic Millionaire, David Bach
• The Greatest Salesman in the World, Og Mandino
• The Sales Bible, Jeffrey Gitomer
• Chicken Soup for the Soul, Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen
• Success Through A Positive Mental Attitude, Napoleon Hill and W. Clement Stone
• Developing the Leader Within You, John Maxwell
• Good to Great, Jim Collins
• Rich Dad, Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki
• Awaken the Giant Within, Anthony Robbins

The editors also listed four books that they call “Today’s Bestsellers, Tomorrow’s Classics.”

• The Slight Edge, Jeff Olson
• The Secret, Rhonda Byrne
• Become a Better You, Joel Osteen
• Why Not You? 28 Days to Authentic Confidence, Valorie Burton

You can read the entire SUCCESS article by logging on to http://www.successmagazine.com/article?articleid=141&taxonomyid=15.

How many of these books have you read?  I’m ashamed to admit that I have read only ten of the 25 classics and one of Today’s Bestsellers – and I read a lot. 

I am thinking about starting a virtual book club using teleconference technology.  In this book club, we will all read one book a month, starting with “Think and Grow Rich” and then discuss over a conference call hookup.  I will facilitate the discussions and make the recordings available as pod casts. If you’re interested, please respond with a comment on this blog.  I am willing to begin this effort with as few as five people plus me.

The common sense point here is simple.  There is a lot of knowledge on career and life success available.  A lot of it is in the classic books identified by the editors of SUCCESS Magazine.  I’ve read 10 of the 25 classics.  I’m committing to reading the other 15 over the next 15 months.

That’s it for today.  Thanks for reading.  Log on to my website www.BudBilanich.com for more common sense. 

I’ll see you around the web and at Alex’s Lemonade Stand.

Bud
PS: Speaking of Alex’s Lemonade Stand, my fundraising page is still open.  Please go to www.FirstGiving.com/TheCommonSenseGuy to read Alex’s inspiring story and to donate if you can.