1. Think and Grow Rich - by Napolean Hill

2. Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story - by Arnold Schwarzenegger

3. The Motivation Hacker - by Nick Winter.

There seems to be a trend... Schwarzenegger's Total Recall, Nick Cage's Next, Matt Damon's The Adjustment Bureau, etc. are all based on Philip K. Dick stories. But fortunately some adaptations have turned quite good: Blade Runner, A Scanner Darkly, Minority Report, The Man in the High Castle...

Some great books have already been mentioned but those which were the most personally influential which haven't yet been mentioned:

- Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story by Arnold Schwarzenegger

- Elon Musk by Ashlee Vance

- Bad Blood by John Carreyrou

- Kochland by Christopher Leonard

- Masters of Doom by David Kushner

I read a lot of "business consultant" books and began to be annoyed with them since many of them can be summed up by the title and the first couple of chapters.

I like the books above because they presented factual events that allow you to draw your own conclusions.

I especially like Schwarzenegger's book and Bad Blood because of their depth. It was interesting to hear about Schwarzenegger's crazy business ideas like how he became a millionaire before becoming an actor and how he bought a 747.

I found the audiobook "Master's of Doom" (book is 2003 but audiobook is newer) to be really entertaining as it was read by actor Wil Wheaton who did a great job.

My Sivers, I've been reading about you for years. I love your story about how you scaled CD Baby with People instead of Algorithms. I think its of greater advice now in a startup world where every thought of every startup is that everything has to operate with a robot brain.

I lost my value in most books in 2010, We have lots of reads in common 2010 and my feeling about books is that lots fall under motivational porn and they provide instant gratification then things you can apply.

Seeing your list now I want to read Arnold Schwarzenegger book Total Recall and tempted to read Zero to One.

I would love to aspire to your level of success you had with CD Baby.

Kind of like Capitol Bells? http://capitolbells.com/#about-the-app

I recall the creator talking about this at length on reddit or somesuch in recent months.

Also Direct Democracy is a nightmare. See: California. Arnold Schwarzenegger outlines why his attempt at making most of his major issues ballot initiatives in his first term was a disaster in his book Total Recall.

1. A Guide to the Good Life by William Irvine

-my first introduction to stoicism.

2. Mastery by Robert Greene

-stories about the lives of luminaries such as Henry Ford, Michael Faraday, and Da Vinci on what it takes to be successful.

3. Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story by Arnold Schwarzenegger

-for providing me a new mental framework on building discipline and confidence.

4. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain

-for giving me a paradigm shift on how to think about myself and others.

5. Seeking Wisdom From Darwin to Munger by Peter Bevelin

-a compendium of cognitive biases and mental models.

Addiction is a lack of discipline?

Really?

I suppose you believe advertising doesn't work and the billions spent on it are unjustified?

Look at how brains work. Stimulus response. Reward pathways. Millions of years of biology and chemistry.

Or just read a book on positive dog training. I recommend "Total Recall" by Pippa Mattison as it explains how tiny little reward lead to behaviour that is utterly fixed no matter what distractions come along. ('The power of habit' by Charles Duhigg is the equivalent book for humans)