Raise your hand if you’re ready to make 2024 your best year yet as an entrepreneur! Congratulations on taking the first step to achieving your goals and dreams. The start of a new year can be the perfect time to reflect on your journey, set new intentions, and get inspired. Don’t let the daily grind hold you back from pursuing your passion and reaching new heights. Remember, every great success story starts with a small step forward. So let’s make this year one to remember and take action towards our biggest aspirations!
“Igniting your entrepreneurial growth is like giving your business a rocket booster fueled by fire-breathing dragons of awesomeness.”
The Wisdom Vault
We have selected five books that are gateways to innovation, resilience, and personal growth. These books are packed with practical insights and transformative perspectives for the critical first quarter.
You can’t find your voice if you don’t use it” ― Austin Kleon.
Show Your Work: Austin Kleon:
“There are several myths about creativity, but the most dangerous one is the “lone genius” myth. While the book “Steal Like an Artist” focuses on taking inspiration from others, this book teaches you how to influence others by allowing them to take inspiration from you. Imagine converting a new client without even having to pitch to them, just because your work is already well-known and understood. In this book, Austin shares how you can take the next step on your creative journey by becoming findable and using your network to your advantage. It is not about self-promotion, but about self-discovery – by letting others into your process and allowing them to learn from you. “Show Your Work!” contains illustrations, quotes, stories, and examples, and presents ten transformative rules for being open, generous, brave, productive, and how to create an ecology of talent.”
People don't buy what you do; they buy why you do it, - Simon Sinek.
Find Your Why: Simon Sinek
Find Your Why picks up where Start With Why left off. Achieving that fulfillment starts with understanding exactly WHY we do what we do. Whether you’ve just started your first job, are leading a team, or are the CEO of your own company, the exercises in this book will help guide you on a path to long-term success and fulfillment, for both you and your colleagues. “People and organizations who know their WHY enjoy greater, long-term success, command greater trust and loyalty among employees and customers, and are more forward-thinking and innovative than their competition.
As you embark on the Find Your Why journey, rest assured that you will have the opportunity to take notes along the way and document your progress with confidence. You can fill in the blanks, dog-ear the pages, and highlight as you go. Do not be precious about it. “Think of this book as the gun that fires at the beginning of the race. That bang fills you with excitement and energy as you set off. But it is the lessons you will learn as you run the race—as you learn to live your WHY—that will inspire you and show you what you are capable of.”
Remember the most important lesson: the goal is not just for you to cross the finish line, but to see how many people you can encourage to run with you. Your ‘Why‘ is the purpose, cause, or belief that inspires you to do what you do.
Until you try to get to know someone or something, you don’t know anything ― Ben Horowitz.
The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Ben Horowitz
What’s the secret to being a successful CEO?” Sadly, there is no secret, but if there is one skill that stands out, it is the ability to focus and make the best move when there are no good moves. “The hard thing isn’t setting a big, hairy, audacious goal. The hard thing is laying people off when you miss the big goal. The hard thing isn’t hiring great people. The hard thing is when those “great people” feel entitled and start demanding unreasonable things. Without a doubt, Ben’s book is the ultimate guide to successfully navigating the challenges of entrepreneurship. It offers invaluable advice from someone who’s been through the trenches and is not afraid to tackle the tough aspects of building a business. Circumstances may differ, but the deeper patterns and the lessons keep resonating. There’s no recipe for really complicated, hard, and dynamic situations.
Remix, repurpose, and create something new ― Austin Kleon.
Steal like an artist: Austin Kleon
Everything is up for grabs. If you don’t find something worth stealing today, you might find it worth stealing tomorrow a month or a year from now. Immersing yourself in this book is as fine an investment in the life of your mind as you can hope to make. This is a crash course to boost your creativity. In this book, Austin debunks the myth of originality and encourages entrepreneurs to embrace influence and ideas from everywhere. It’s a refreshing take on creativity and innovation, perfect for anyone looking to spark new ideas.
Creativity is not about originality, it’s about remixing and reimagining. Kleon’s playful guide encourages you to draw inspiration from others, build upon their work, and create something uniquely your own.
Remix, repurpose, and create something new ― Austin Kleon.
This is marketing: Seth Godin
A story-driven, human approach to entrepreneurship that prioritizes long-term success. A must-read for every entrepreneur. Seth Godin’s marketing wisdom is presented in a concise and accessible way in this book. It teaches you how to create work that you can be proud of, whether you’re running a tech startup, a small business, or part of a large corporation. Regardless of your product or service, this book will help you reframe your approach to presenting it to the world, so you can connect with those who want it. Seth uses his unique blend of insight, observation, and memorable examples to teach the following: how to gain trust and permission from your target market, the art of positioning your product or service, deciding who it’s for and who it’s not for, why the best way to achieve your goals is to help others become who they want to be, why the old approaches to advertising and branding no longer work, the surprising role of tension in any decision to buy (or not), and how marketing is fundamentally about the stories we tell ourselves about our social status. This book shows you how you can make a difference for people who care.
“The true magic lies in applying these nuggets of wisdom to your own entrepreneurial journey.”
The Wisdom Vault
Bonus tip: Don’t go it alone! Share your learnings with fellow entrepreneurs. Happy hustling!
