 One day in the year 2007 I was in a library reading a book by David Schwartz. Somewhere in the middle of this book I felt like I had learned so much in a half hour reading the book more than I could ever learn in one year's schooling. If you're a reader I bet this has happened to you a few times in the past. You pick up a book, download it for free on the internet, read it for free in the library or borrow it from a friend without paying a dime. Yet such books end up being more valuable to your success in life than a year of schooling or even all the years you spend at university. Over the years I've read books which are far more valuable to me than degrees. What makes it even more crazy is that I was too poor to be able to afford a book at the time I read most of these books so I either borrowed them from friends, read them in the library or downloaded them for free on the internet. The list I'm about to recommend is my opinion based on who I am. The books I have read and the valuable things learnt from these books. I'm sure they will resonate with you. 1. Why you act the way you do by Tim Lehey By far the first and the most important assignment for every living being is to know who they are and can discover who other people are. Sun Tzu said if you know yourself and your enemy you can win 100% of your battle. It doesn't matter how much of physics, biology or law you know, if you don't know yourself you can't have fulfillment in life. And that's the reason I believe this book is more important than a university degree if you must choose one. Why you act the way you do is a comprehensive book about temperaments and you can get it for free at thearchive.org. 2. Positioning the battle for your mind by Al Reyes In sports every sports person has a position. Let's talk about soccer for example. Each of the 22 players on the field has their position and that's where they play from. In the business world most players don't know how to choose a strategic position and that makes them fail. You can't succeed in a football match playing the position of someone else. This is for those who want to build their own business. When you talk about business you can't succeed in business if you don't know how to choose a position and specialize in that position. I listened to the audio version of this book here on YouTube and as you know it's completely free. 3. Idea Virus by Seth Godin One of the fastest ways some dubious people become extremely rich is by creating some computer virus and then creating antivirus to sell. I don't know how true this is because I'm not a tech guy but that's what one of my tech savvy friends told me. Now there's a legitimate way to create a virus and sell antivirus in the business world and that's what Godin teaches in this book. Of course this book is entirely free just visit Seth Godin's blog or look for it on Google. 4. Scientific Advertising by Claude C. Hopkins If you want to read a book written in a simple language yet with ancient wisdom that can change your financial life here it is. While I am sure this book will help many people I would strongly recommend it for any entrepreneur out there. Claude C. Hopkins was one of the smartest money makers the world has ever seen and if you want to create a product that sells like crazy you will take time to read this book. This book is completely free on the web so you have nothing to lose. 5. Mastery by Robert Green While this book is not in the public domain almost every book is free these days you can sign up for Audible and you will have free access to this book. There's no doubt that the world we know today won't remain the same it's fast paced. Thus if every 17 year old were made to spend an entire year reading brainstorming and talking about this book before going to the university would have a world full of great minds that have been open to the world of endless possibilities and being hooked to the core. Robert Green shows in this book the great secret of all the masters the world has ever known. I would get my children to read this book than to spend four years in a university learning how to work a job that is not there if they must choose between the two. 6. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie This book turned me into a superstar at the age of 19. I read it at the time when I got admission to a polytechnic and applying the principle the book teaches I became one of the most influential guys in the whole of my campus. Some people may think but being famous doesn't pay bills. Well knowing how to deal with people and having a space in their heart is by far the most significant skill you can ever have. Forget anything and everything you were taught in school. If you don't understand the human relationship and how to influence people you can never succeed no matter how smart you think you are. The good news is that I got this book from a friend and it's a public domain book as we make this video meaning that nobody has a copyright on this book anymore and you can download it online for free. 7. The Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz At the beginning of this video I told you about a book I was reading at the library which taught me more in an hour than a year of schooling. Here is that book. The principle that David Schwartz explains here is extremely simple yet it works like magic. Here's the thing those who dream big achieve far more success than those who don't. I think this book is on archive.org for free. 8. The Purple Cow by Seth Godin Seth Godin is one of the few people I think every young entrepreneur should emulate. Godin is a marketing genius who doesn't just talk about marketing. He's an entrepreneur and I don't know many people on the planet that understand marketing like him. And The Purple Cow is a testimony to that. This book is on the web completely free. 9. Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill Without this book I probably would not be making this video. I read it in the year 2007 or there about and a single concept in it changed my life forever. Don't be carried away by my sweet words. Most of the books in this list will only leave you with a single concept even if they are 500 pages but that single idea is what you need. I read a lot. I read all the time. I buy books all the time and read every free book I can find. Yes, most books I've read only taught me one or two valuable things but those two valuable things are usually more relevant to my life than a university degree. I'm not anti-school but I think school has stolen the essence of education from most people in the world. 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