Most days, I start at my local coffee shop.

I order my drink, and the friendliest people greet me.

Just thinking about their kindness now puts a smile on my face.

Then I sit down, pull my computer out of my backpack, and start to pound away at the keyboard.

I’ve engaged in this daily ritual of writing for many months now.

Writing is a solitary existence where I sit down and put words on a blank screen.

Some people run into writer’s block, which fortunately for me, that hasn’t happened yet.

Maybe I’ve not encountered writer’s block yet because I’ve not spent enough time writing.

In about six weeks, I’ll be embarking on a new journey that will be the springboard for the next phase of my life.

I’m writing a book that will transform the lives of those who read it.

The core message of my book is – Build your ideal life through profitable business ownership.

As I was sharing my book idea with a prominent author, she asked me a few questions to learn about why I wanted to write this book.

As I answered the questions, it revealed to me how deep this writing process will be at sharing my life and my philosophy with people.

The final question she asked me, “Damon, what are your top three books?”

I thought about that question, and here are the top three books I’ve read:

• Man’s Search For Meaning by Victor Frankl
• Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
• The Richest Man in Babylon by George S Clason

Think about the impact that a good book has had on your life.

A good book contains magic within it.

A good book transforms your life.

A good book has a life of its own.

A good book contains wisdom for the ages.

Now, I’ll share with you why my top three books are my top three.

Man’s Search For Meaning

Victor Frankl wrote this book sharing his experiences of living in Nazi concentration camps during World War II.

The one passage I remember most from the book is the following:

“But one thing I beg of you”; he continued, “shave daily, if at all possible, even if you have to use a piece of glass to do it … even if you have to give your last piece of bread for it. You will look younger and the scraping will make your cheeks look ruddier. If you want to stay alive, there is only one way: look fit for work. If you even limp, because, let us say, you have a small blister on your heel, and an SS man spots this, he will wave you aside and the next day you are sure to be gassed. Do you know what we mean by a ‘Moslem’? A man who looks miserable, down and out, sick and emaciated, and who cannot manage hard physical labor any longer . . . that is a ‘Moslem.’ Sooner or later, usually sooner, every ‘Moslem’ goes to the gas chambers. Therefore, remember: shave, stand and walk smartly; then you need not be afraid of gas. All of you standing here, even if you have only been here twenty-four hours, you need not fear’ gas, except perhaps you.” And then he pointed to me and said, “I hope you don’t mind my telling you frankly.” To the others he repeated, “Of all of you he is the only one who must fear the next selection. So, don’t worry!”

Such simple advice to shave daily.

I still don’t know why that passage affected me so much.

Victor Frankl concludes in his book that we find the meaning of life during every moment of living.

Life never ceases to have meaning, even when we suffer.

Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

There’s a special place in my heart for Stephen Covey’s masterpiece.

It was the summer of my twenty-first year when I first read this book.

I had never read the word paradigm before this book.

Stephen Covey illustrated the idea of a paradigm shift where everything we thought we knew changes, and we see life with a new perspective.

The most impactful passage I read from Seven Habits of Highly Effective People is the following:

I remember a mini-Paradigm Shift I experienced one Sunday morning on a subway in New York. People were sitting quietly –some reading newspapers, some lost in thought, some resting with their eyes closed. It was a calm, peaceful scene.

Then suddenly, a man and his children entered the subway car. The children were so loud and rambunctious that instantly the whole climate changed.

The man sat down next to me and closed his eyes, apparently oblivious to the situation. The children were yelling back and forth, throwing things, even grabbing people’s papers. It was very disturbing. And yet, the man sitting next to me did nothing.

It was difficult not to feel irritated. I could not believe that he could be so insensitive to let his children run wild like that and do nothing about it, taking no responsibility at all. It was easy to see that everyone else on the subway felt irritated, too. So finally, with what I felt was unusual patience and restraint, I turned to him and said, “Sir, your children are really disturbing a lot of people. I wonder if you couldn’t control them a little more?”

The man lifted his gaze as if to come to a consciousness of the situation for the first time and said softly, “Oh, you’re right. I guess I should do something about it. We just came from the hospital where their mother died about an hour ago. I don’t know what to think, and I guess they don’t know how to handle it either.”

In five short paragraphs, my mind opened to giving other people the benefit of the doubt.

The Richest Man in Babylon

I learned everything I ever needed to know about money from George S Clason’s book.

This book should be required reading for every person in America.

We live in a country that is so obsessed with money and wealth.

Yet, so many people struggle with poverty and debt and the misery that ensues from them.

Somehow, during my teen years, I got the notion that anyone could be financially rich in life.

There’s not a lack of money in America.

There’s a lack of correct use of money.

Money’s a tool that we either use, abuse, or waste.

The passage I love most from The Richest Man in Babylon is the following:

A part of everything I earn is mine to keep.

I came to realize that the key to gaining control over money was to save a little bit every time I got paid.

Small steps lead to great action.

There you have my top three books and what I love most about each book.

Take a moment and share with me your top three books in the comments below.

I’m always looking for a great book to read.

Before I end this article, I wanted to ask you if you’re looking to grow your business profits and having more cash in the bank, send me an email at damon@idealmoneylife.com with “PROFIT” in the subject line… tell me a little about your business and what you’d like to work on together, and I’ll get you all the details!