5 books that will guide you through the FI path

1.                     5 books that will guide you through the FI path

                             “The secret to getting ahead is to get started.”

On my FI (Financial Independence) Journey I have realized how important books are to me. Before I discovered Bigger Pockets and FI, I wasn’t into reading. I would always make excuses about not reading. I would always say things like “I can’t focus enough to read”, or “I don’t have to read a book to learn something”. Books have been by far one of the most important factors during my path to FI. At the beginning of my journey, I read books to understand what real estate is in a very general view. Now I read books that give me actionable steps I can take. Regardless of where I was or where I am now in my FI path, books have played a major role. Out of all the books that I have read, five books stand alone. The first book that really introduced me to the idea of FI was Rich Dad Poor Dad. The second book that really impacted my FI journey was The E Myth. The third book that really got me thinking about what I want was The One thing. The fourth book that I strongly recommend is The richest man in Babylon. The last book I would recommend would be The Four Hour Work Week. Each of these books continue to help me tremendously throughout my FI Journey.

                               1.Rich Dad Poor Dad By Robert Kiyosaki

                                      “Winners are not afraid of losing”

Rich Dad poor Dad has been one of the best books I have ever read. When I began listening to the Bigger Pockets Podcasts, I realized that a lot of the people that were invited to speak in the podcast were constantly recommending this book. If successful real estate people are reading this book then I figured I should read it as well. This book changes your mind set and your relationship with money. It helps you understand the difference between a liability and an asset. I now read this book once a year to help me keep me on track with my goals.

                                  2.The E Myth By Michael E. Gerber

“The basic difference between an ordinary man and a warrior is that a warrior takes everything as a challenge while an ordinary man takes everything either as a blessing or a curse”

One of the best books I have ever read was The E Myth. The author, Michael Gerber does a great job of using his story telling skills to explain why most people who start a business have the wrong mind set. This is a book that I read annually just to be reminded of the many lessons the book teaches you. One of my favorites lessons taught in this book is the idea that if you want to scale your business you must learn to work on your business and not in your business. Even though I don’t have a business yet, I still like to consider the way I treat my finances a business so my mind is always looking for ways for me to scale my finances and goals.

                                      3.The One Thing By Gary Keller

                      “A different result requires doing something different”

The One thing is a fantastic book. It is an entertaining read. The book is well written and that isn’t even the best part about the book. The best part of the book is its content. Life tends to throw more stuff at you as you get older and if you don’t stop for a second and realize what is most important to you, you will lose yourself and one day realize that you never had a chance to achieve your goals. The book focuses on how, the more you are able to focus on one thing, the higher chance you have of being successful. I strongly recommend this book because it doesn’t matter in what stage of life you are in, you can still learn something from this book.

                        4.The Richest man in Babylon By George S. Clason

                               “Our acts can be no wiser than our thoughts.”

This book was written in 1926. A book that was written in 1926 based on personal finance is still relate-able till this day. That is amazing in itself. The book teaches certain principals about personal finance that are still relevant today. It is a very entertaining book with lots of golden nuggets. Another good thing about the book is that you can read the whole thing in 1-2 days. I recommend this book to all my friends to get started because it is so short and to the point. The author also uses stories to get the points across which makes it easier for the reader to stay locked in.

                                5.The 4 hour work week By Timothy Ferris

                 “What we fear doing most is usually what we most need to do.”

The title might turn some people off but this is a great book to read no matter what you are trying to do in the future. For those who don’t know Tim Ferris, he is basically our generations Napoleon Hill. He interviews and studies all kinds of people who excel at a specific thing. He then creates data based on it and writes it out for people to see it in books or hear it in his podcast which I also recommend. The 4 hour work week focuses on how to help people see everyday things outside the box. His main goal is to show you how to be as efficient as possible with everything you do whether it is in your personal life, or professional life. This is a must read and even if you don’t agree with his methods, it is still an entertaining read so you won’t regret it.

There are many other books I could have chosen for this list. I have personally read 36 books in the last two years and counting. I would have had more but I also listen to a lot of podcasts. For anyone starting out on their FI journey, these 5 books will definitely help you get started. I hope this helps and if you have any questions or if you need more recommendations for more books, please don’t hesitate to contact me.