Entrepreneurship
12 Best Books Recommended By Mark Cuban – Entrepreneur Motivation
Mark Cuban is one of the best entrepreneurs who love reading. He attributes his current success to the reading culture. Some of his key recommendations are in this Mark Cuban book list. However, it is good to learn more about this entrepreneur come author before looking at his suggested readings.
Who Is Mark Cuban?
Are you a basketball fan? If yes, Mark Cuban is the name after the Dallas Mavericks team. He also makes a significant part of several renowned corporations that makes him a multi-billionaire with a net worth of 4.1 billion dollars.
When you hear about this name, you can easily think about success and big money. However, the life of Mark Cuban’s has always not been easy. Mark was born in a working-class family that was trying to meet his needs before he attained billionaire status. His mum suggested to him to understand carpet making with great hopes that it will give him a bright future.
However, this did not stop him from stopping his dreams to become an entrepreneur. He had a hustler mentality that motivated him to begin his own company named MicroSolutions. In April 2000, he managed to successfully close a $5.7 billion worth deal of Yahoo stocks with Yahoo.
One thing you will appreciate about Mark Cuban is the truth that he loves reading books. The Mark Cuban book list below has 12 suggestions that are a must-read for entrepreneurs.
1. The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
There is a good reason as to why this book comes first on our Mark Cuban book list. Cuban read the above book by Ayn Rand three complete times and an untold number of little segments and snippets. He revealed this information on March 26th, 2006 during an interview. This shows you that it is one of the books that he found to be highly resourceful.
Mark Cuban read this book for the first time when he was at high school. The book taught him that it does not matter what all the other people around you think. It is what your own dreams are and how you view yourself that matters most.
On Slate.com, on Nov 15th Nov, 2005, Mark Cuban said that this book was incredible motivation to him. That is why it comes top on this Mark Cuban book list. It encouraged him to think as an individual, take responsibility for his failures and success, and risk to reach his goals in life. Mark Cuban acknowledges the fact that he truly loves this book. He even went to the extent of naming his yacht ‘Fountainhead.’
This book is also recommended by Steve Jobs and Evan Williams. Ayn Rand is renowned for her Atlas Shrugged and impressive tone. It is a short novel that is an easy introduction to the provocative blend of capitalism and individualism of the author. The tale of Howard Roark, an architect, and the battle he had against conformist powers in the society can be viewed as autobiographical.
Roark struggles against rejection in order to maintain the individual outlook on architecture. Similarly, Rand struggled to publish this book after getting rejections from 12 publishers. Business Insider added this book to their top 15 great entrepreneurs’ books in 2010.
2. The Lean Startup by Eric Ries
The subject that the Lean Startup tackles is the reason why most startups end up failing. It is a great resource for anyone who is planning to start a new business. If you are struggling to make your new venture to break even, you will also discover that this book is a great resource.
As a reader, it will suggest to you the best ways to test your vision through the procedure of creating a new business. Ries is both an author of the famous blog Startup Lessons Learnt and an entrepreneur. The book is a great resource especially for the beginner enterprisers.
3. The Gospel of Wealth by Andrew Carnegie
This book was basically a reading assignment for an MBA entrepreneurship class that he came across at Indiana University. The bottom line is that getting rich and paying your taxes are among the patriotic things that you should do as an individual.
Even though Carnegie has not published as many books as the Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, some of the principles are the same. Smith looks at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution and wealth origins.
Carnegie, on the other hand, pays more attention with the continuity of the benefits and administration of the Industrial Revolution. Several biographies have been published about the philanthropy or Avarice of Andrew Carnegie and also the industrial wars that he participated in.
The book details the personal concerns of Carnegie about the existing gaps between the poor and rich. It also looks at the necessity of rich men leading lives of self-denial and virtue on behalf of the less fortunate.
4. The Self-Made Success by Shaan Patel
This is yet another great publication on the Mark Cuban book list. Cuban at some point referred to Patel as a ‘Young Tony Robbins’ by making. As Patel was applying to go to college, he prepared for the SAT on his own and raised his scores from an average one to perfect.
Later on, he secured an investment of $250,000 on the Shark Tank of ABC. The self-made success is basically a story on how he managed to climb to the top. It has great inspiration especially for the young entrepreneurs.
5. Rework by Jason Fried
Mark Cuban states that if he is given the opportunity of investing in an MBA or reading the Rework book by Jason Fried, he will choose reading this book all the time. According to him, this is a book that all entrepreneurs must read.
The book has also been recommended by Chris Anderson. Diane Danielson of Enterprenur.com and Tribes author Seth Godin enthusiastically endorse this book as a reading list additive. From the need for speed in setting priorities to guesswork of business plans, Hansson and Fried have written a book that is appealing to managers and startups alike.
Most of the research and development issues are similar. However, some business managers may be surprised by subjects that authors urge the readers to say no to including business escape plans and third-party investors. If you boil down this book to a phrase, it heavily promotes the necessity of focus and rejection of multi-tasking.
6. The Only Game in Town by Mohammed El-Erian
This is one of the best sellers and it gives the readers a look at the financial and economic future of the world. It has practical advice on how the world can avoid the next financial crisis. It is a book that is recommended for all entrepreneurs to read. The author of this book is the chief economic advisor and a former CEO. You will really love the stories that are stipulated in this book for the readers. It has so much that you can learn especially if you are a young entrepreneur.
7. The Only Investment Guide You’ll Ever Need by Andrews Tobias
According to Mark Cuban, this is the only investment book that he has read that makes a lot of sense. It is a great contribution to this Mark Cuban book list. Its bottom line is that readers can take a risk bottom line on the 5000 dollars that they invest with an attempt of earning 10% in the stock market while hoping that it won’t disappear because of an individual who purchased so many yen derivatives.
You can also save 15 percent on the 5000 dollars every year that you spend on the replenishable items, from cereal to toilet paper to who knows what, and deposit it in the bank to add to the original 5000 dollars, easily earn 5% accrued plus interest on total and sleep peacefully at night.
Tobias guides his readers on how to make money in this Mark Cuban book list. He has put in so many additions since the book was published for the first time in the late 1970’s from the 401(k) retirement fund tips to advice on updated tax.
The core element of this book is saving on the inessentials like impressive luxuries so as to invest in the retirement essentials and this remains to be true to the original publication. Households who would like to prove that they can build wealth through Costco discounts will get validation when they add this to their reading list.
If you are a stock analyst, you will be intrigued by the enthusiasm that Tobias has for index funds. The book has a little bit of something for all the readers.
8. Kid Start Up: How You Can Become an Entrepreneur
Aim towards children with the goal of becoming an entrepreneur at a young age. This book creates entrepreneurial thinking among the children. It is a good thing to generate the mindset at such a tender age.
The publication explores the benefits of thinking like an entrepreneur at such a young age. Mark Cuban is the author of this book and he explains the role of parents in the success of their children. As a parent, you will know how to offer advice and support to your kids so that they can grow into entrepreneurs.
9. How to Win at the Sport of Business by Mark Cuban
It may sound strange if this Mark Cuban book list does not have a book that is written by himself. It may sound as if he does not have trust in his own work. That is why he also recommends his own book to serve as a motivation to the young entrepreneurs. One of his top picks was unsurprisingly penned by himself.
In this book, Mark Cuban shared the key business lessons from the entrepreneurs’ blog as it is written by the mind of young professionals. Most entrepreneurs find this book to be a great motivation indeed.
10. Cold Calling Techniques by Stephan Schiffman
Every CEO needs to read this book as is recommended by Mark Cuban. You cannot survive unless you sell. If you can sell or if you can know how to make your customers happy and open doors, you will always be able to know how to put a roof over your head and eat and also flourish in any entrepreneurial or corporate environment.
Cold calling could be out of vogue in this era of social media. Schiffman also provides valuable advice on why you need to create a conversation with prospects and plan for the rejection inevitability before buy-in.
Web designers may wish to go through this business classic for tips on how to overcome the disinclination to change by prospects, sell the concept of doing better and affirm the competition. This could be the reason why US News included the work of Schiffman on its business book list for the 50 top enduring works. Mark Cuban looks at this book as a crucial entrepreneurial tool.
11. The Innovator’s Dilemma by Clayton M. Christensen
Mark Cuban states that this book helped him to make sense on why things worked or did not work in the technology industry. The other scholars who have recommended this book include Guy Kawasaki, Andrew Grove, Malcolm Gladwell, Evan Williams, and Steve Jobs.
From the Harvard Business School Press, this publication is now a must read on the business book list. Christensen explains why changes in technology can pull back established companies.
He explains the strengths of the companies that utilize the best practices of management (aggressively investing on customer demands, listening) but become side-swiped with paradigm shifts that inevitably take place once disruptive technologies come up.
The simpler and cheaper the disk technology drives, for instance, get increasingly more convenient to clients, who in turn demanded enough to set up that technology in the market place and above the competition.
12. Call Me Ted by Ted Turner
Mark Cuban States that he enjoys reading the biographies of successful individuals. He says that the biography of Ted Turner has always been big to him because he played hard and worked hard. As an individual, Turner has not led a boring life in any way. He created CNN in his wake and got married to Jane Fondo.
This is in addition to becoming the winner for the American Cup for sailing, purchasing up real estate to rival Donald Trump, and also owning a baseball team.
He attributes all these achievements to his classic virtues of early hour, hard work and advertising. It is an excellent book for anyone who owns a business or is aspiring to start a business. You cannot finish the Mark Cuban book list and leave out this great publication.
It also has great stories on the self-made man. The informal headline matches the open and informal style of the book. Turner discusses everything in his book from getting fired by AOL/Time Warner and marrying three times but his primary focus is on action. It is among the best books that are recommended by Mark Cuban.
Conclusion
Reading is one of the habits that helped Mark Cuban to get to where he is right now. It is one of the best habits that you can develop in life. He knows the books that made him what he is now and that is why he recommends them. His success story that is presented in this publication “Living the American Dream” attributes his success to this simple habit.
This Mark Cuban book list presents 12 of his top recommendations on entrepreneur motivation. The message here is very clear, learning does never come to an end. Even after graduating from college and are confident that you have the right skills, you should not stop learning new things through reading. When you do so, it will keep you competitive, confident, and always on top of the game.
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