Hi Contrarians,
Fastest way to become a millionaire? Copy other millionaires. Easiest thing to copy? Their reading lists.
Simply put, “A lot of the most successful people read a lot of books.”
That’s from our friend Noah Kagan, CEO of software deal site AppSumo (on track to do $80-$85 million this year). Before AppSumo, he was employee #30 at Facebook, and #4 at Mint.
Noah recently dropped by the office to talk through his favorite books and how you can put them to use…
Today in 5 minutes or less, you’ll learn:
1. The Artists Way — Julia Cameron
Noah’s take: “I thought when the aliens came down from space, all I’d be able to do is help them buy and sell things. I never thought I was a creative person. This made me feel that I can be a creative person, too.”
“This is one that broke me out of my shell,” Noah says. “I thought it was going to be woo-woo… [but] there’s a lot of actionable items.”
Actionable takeaways:
- “A huge takeaway in this book is called Morning Pages. Every single morning, you wake up and you just write. You just start writing anything, and don’t let it limit you, don’t let it stop what you’re thinking, and just go unedited.”
- Noah says to ask yourself, “What are different ways that you can practice being creative, whether it’s writing, whether it’s your sales processes, and have fun with this business stuff?”
Real-world use: On AppSumo’s website, for instance, they don’t have a 5-star rating system, they have a 5-taco rating system.
Yup, taco. Like this: 🌮🌮🌮🌮🌮
They mean the same thing as stars, but one will actually leave an imprint on your brain.
2. The Ultimate Sales Machine — Chet Holmes
Noah’s take: “I know for myself and a lot of the people out there, we’re looking for the book that has the secret.” And as we all know, no book will. “So what I’d recommend,” he says, “is find the books that you already know are good and read them twice. Go back to what works.”
For Noah, this is one of those books.
“It’s literally like a full business course in one book… Just a lot of really nice nuanced things about how to truly run a full business.”
Actionable takeaway: “Gifting. I’m a huge business gifter. That’s one of my love languages — I have all five — but [in business]… It’s like the cheapest way to meet cool people and build a fun relationship,” says Noah.
3. Maverick — Ricardo Semler
As Noah put it, this is an old-school autobiography from one of his idols of business leadership.
Semler grew and ran one of Brazil’s largest industrial conglomerates, but he’s most famous for how he managed it.
The company is “best known for its radical form of industrial democracy and corporate re-engineering,” as Wikipedia puts it.
In English?
Semler found ways to treat his employees like adults, let them run their own schedules, set their own business unit goals, and share profits across the board.
“This is how I run AppSumo,” Noah says.
“This guy empowered his team to have fun with their business, he empowered himself to live a dream life, and I really like how he shows it through his own story… by double-checking all the rules of business.”
4. Bringing Up Bébé — Pamela Druckerman
“Going to throw a curveball in here,” says Noah. “This is probably my newest favorite book.”
It’s a curveball because this book isn’t about entrepreneurship, management, or scaling businesses… at all.
It’s about an American mother discovering the wisdom of French parenting.
Huh?
“You may say, ‘Noah why are you airing a French parenting book?’ Cause I am neither French nor a mom. But I’m about to be a parent and there are a few things here that I think are super important for [business] people.”
Actionable takeaways: “Some of my best business ideas have come outside of business.” For instance…
- The Million Dollar Weekend book launch party was modeled after baby shower ideas the team saw on Instagram.
- Plus, at AppSumo, one of the first real inflection points for the business came after they saw a women’s blog offer a giveaway in the form of a trip to Italy.
It inspired them to launch a marketing stunt where they offered to give away software in the form of a lifetime subscription to Dropbox.
… And it was a HUGE hit.
5. (Our pick) Million Dollar Weekend
Yup, this one was written by the man himself.
Inside, Noah shares everything he’s learned from starting eight $1M+ businesses (most in a single weekend).
It’s a step-by-step guide that opens you up to thinking through not just how to get started on a business idea, but how to get started right now.
… And it’s freaking awesome. Noah has literally flown people out to live at his house to put this book to the test.
Actionable takeaways:
- The $1 Challenge: Everyone wants to make their first million on their own, but most have yet to make their first… one (hence the challenge). In the book, Noah even includes his Venmo so readers can request $1 from him personally as they start businesses.
- Asking is an unlock: “Everything in business and life is an ask. The skill of asking is a developable skill. The more that you get better at it and you practice it… You realize when you get rejected it’s never as bad as it seems and there’s more out there that you can actually get — if you ask for it.”
Also, we’re a bit biased because we found Codie in the book. (The number is outdated by about 5 million, by the way.)
“Look what page,” Noah joked.
SO not boring…
📗 Want 5 more: Watch the full convo with Noah for another 5 book recs
💰 Inside scoop: Here’s Codie breaking down last year’s investments…
