In the blink of an eye we are already approaching May. For those who have been working diligently with their heads down, you will wonder - where has all the time gone?

With summer around the corner, we want to share a summer reading list that can put on the path to doubling your sales. Don’t believe it? I have personally achieved these results implementing key principles from these books. Imagine what you could accomplish if you apply the learnings from these educational pieces.

THINK AND GROW RICH

This is a one that is tried and true. When we anticipate a big presentation or any other important event that makes us nervous, it’s important to be able to picture how success would look like. The concept doesn’t mean that those who think will achieve greatness simply by thinking of doing great things; it is picturing how they will achieve a task, and then setting out to live out the scenario in real life. The idea is that in order to reach your goal, your mind must first BELIEVE IT.

Do you believe in yourself? Learn how to acquire this skill in the book Think and Grow Rich by Napolean Hill.

THE MAGIC OF THINKING BIG

You will find that a lot of books targeted at business growth dedicates a significant amount of time to build up the strength of your mind and your belief in your own capabilities to attain results. This book by expert motivator David Schwartz promises to help you achieve everything you have always wanted. Now, if you have the discipline to follow the teachings of each of these books and applying them with machine-like precision, you will do this and more. Check out The Magic of Thinking Big on Amazon.

THE COMPOUND EFFECT

For a full month and more after I finished reading this book, I was essentially on a high, raving about the book to whoever would listen. The favourite concept I took away from this book was the compounding effect of our daily efforts and how the results generate explosive results over time. It taught me to think of my business much like how a swimmer or runner would think about their lap time. Daily practice helps to improve our performance bit by bit, and a small improvement in performance each week can take your company on a dramatically different trajectory - it can make the difference between mediocrity and success.

View the other rave reviews on The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy.

THE ULTIMATE SALES MACHINE

This book sat on my bookshelf for the longest time before I finally dusted it off to read it. I wish I had prioritized it as a top business read because of the detailed methods the author illustrates to turn your business into the ultimate sales machine. Some of the strategies and tactics will be tough and intimidating to execute, but that is precisely the difference between those who are successful and those who are not; those who are successful are willing to do anything in their power to succeed. Are you?

Get a preview of what the teachings in this book jam-packed with useful sales and business strategy here.

SHOE DOG

A great read that brings into the life of Nike’s Founder, Phil Knight, and the brand’s humble beginnings. I admire Knight’s perseverance and the trust between the key team members. It is a great read because everyone wants to be a Founder or a CEO nowadays, without the slightest notion of the years of hard work required to build a business from scratch. As you join Knight on his entrepreneurial journey you will come to appreciate his inclusion of the human elements behind the business - someone such as Knight, who built the Nike empire, has had his bad days, his share of life and death, and poor business decisions.

A great read for entrepreneurs struggling to see light at the end of the tunnel, you can buy the book here.

THE SNOWBALL

Warren Buffet, hailed as one of the greatest investors of our time, shares his path in this book. While the book is a long read, it reminds you of some key things we subconsciously forget about ‘successful people’ - they make mistakes too. In Buffet’s case, his involvement with the Solomon Brothers entangled him in the firm’s scandals, threatening his carefully built reputation in the business world. Reading books about such successful people will also show you how they each have their own set of characteristic habits of ‘doing business’ - there is comfort in knowing that there is no one size fits all.

Gain insight into Warren Buffet’s business philosophy by reading The Snowball.

While everyone else is spending time on the beach and taking a break from work, you will be the one getting ahead by preparing yourself and your business by reading these books (also while you are on the beach). It’s the habits you develop that will change the course of your life, so let’s start reading!