As the holiday season approaches, what better way to unwind and expand your knowledge than diving into a good book? We’ve picked the brains of seasoned property expert, John Pidgeon, to bring you a curated list of his top book picks for the holidays. Whether you’re a seasoned investor, a first-time homebuyer, or simply looking for some insightful reading, John’s recommendations are sure to add value to your literary repertoire. Get ready to explore the world of real estate, gain valuable insights, and perhaps find the perfect gift for that property aficionado in your life.
Books to help motivate and educate
Here are some of my favourite educational and motivational reads:
Cashflow Quadrant – by Robert T. Kiyosaki
Rich Dad’s CASHFLOW Quadrant is a guide to financial freedom. It’s the second book in the Rich Dad Series and reveals how some people work less, earn more, pay less in taxes, and learn to become financially free.
CASHFLOW Quadrant was written for those who are ready to move beyond job security and enter the world of financial freedom. It’s for those who want to make significant changes in their lives and take control of their financial future.
Robert believes that the reason most people struggle financially is because they’ve spent years in school but were never taught about money. Robert’s rich dad taught him that this lack of financial education is why so many people work so hard all their lives for money…instead of learning how to make money work for them.
This book will change the way you think about jobs, careers, and owning your own business and inspire you to learn the rules of money that the rich use to build and grow their wealth.
Rich Dad Poor Dad is Robert’s story of growing up with two dads — his real father and the father of his best friend, his rich dad — and the ways in which both men shaped his thoughts about money and investing. The book explodes the myth that you need to earn a high income to be rich and explains the difference between working for money and having your money work for you.
20 Years… 20/20 Hindsight
In the 20th Anniversary Edition of this classic, Robert offers an update on what we’ve seen over the past 20 years related to money, investing, and the global economy. Sidebars throughout the book will take readers “fast forward” — from 1997 to today — as Robert assesses how the principles taught by his rich dad have stood the test of time.
In many ways, the messages of Rich Dad Poor Dad, messages that were criticized and challenged two decades ago, are more meaningful, relevant and important today than they were 20 years ago.
- Explodes the myth that you need to earn a high income to become rich
- Challenges the belief that your house is an asset
- Shows parents why they can’t rely on the school system to teach their kids about money
- Defines once and for all an asset and a liability
- Teaches you what to teach your kids about money for their future financial success
One of the best-known motivational guides in history, Dale Carnegie’s groundbreaking publication has sold tens of millions of copies, been translated into almost every known written language, and has helped countless people succeed.
Carnegie’s rock-solid, experience-tested advice has remained relevant for generations because he addresses timeless questions about the art of getting along with people. How to Win Friends and Influence People teaches you:
- How to communicate effectively
- How to make people like you
- How to increase your ability to get things done
- How to get others to see your side
- How to become a more effective leader
- How to successfully navigate almost any social situation
The essence and success of The Tao of Coaching has always been its focus on the practical tips and techniques for making work more rewarding through the habit of coaching – and this philosophy continues to underpin this brand new edition.
The book’s premise is simple: that to become an effective coach, managers and leaders need master only a few techniques, even though mastery obviously requires practice. Each chapter focuses on a specific technique – or Golden Rule – of coaching to help practice make perfect. Tried and tested by generations within and beyond the workplace, this succinct and engaging book gives readers the tools to:
* create more time for themselves, by delegating well * build, and enjoy working with, effective teams * achieve better results * enhance their interpersonal skills.
It demonstrates that coaching is not simply a matter of helping others and improving performance, but is also a powerful force for self-development and personal fulfilment.
First published in 1959, David J Schwartz’s classic teachings are as powerful today as they were then. Practical, empowering and hugely engaging, this book will not only inspire you, it will give you the tools to change your life for the better – starting from now. His step-by-step approach will show you how to:
– Defeat disbelief and the negative power it creates
– Make your mind produce positive thoughts
– Plan a concrete success-building programme
– Do more and do it better by turning on your creative power
– Capitalise on the power of NOW
Updated for the 21st century, this is your go-to guide to a better life, starting with the way you think.
Take a seat and learn the secrets of business management – and life!
It was a chance meeting. A retired teacher stopping for a breather while out for his walk, and an overstressed young executive escaping from office chaos and politics. There on a green park bench they begin a dialogue that
dramatically changes the young man’s view of leadership. With this stranger he feels the freedom to ask the really important questions: Why must I pretend to know everything? Why can’t I see the real problems, not just the
surface issues? Is change the beginning or the end for me? How can I keep from getting stuck? And what can I do to motivate people to learn and change?
If you’ve asked these same questions, listen in. The old teacher’s stories give stunning insights into the chaotic, constantly changing world of 21st century business management. After a while on The Green Bench, you too will learn how to learn, how to lead, how to take risks and how to maintain a sense of peace and stability through it all.
Leadership and the One Minute Manager goes straight to the heart of management as it describes the effective, adaptive styles of Situational Leadership.
In clear and simple terms it teaches how to become a flexible and successful leader, fitting your style to the needs of the individual and to the situation at hand, and using the One Minute Manager techniques to enhance the motivation of others.
Start living the life you’ve always wanted
It could be that you’ve figured everything out on your own and have ended up acing your career, meeting and marrying your perfect partner, producing three wonderful kids, owning a holiday home in Mustique and having a drop-dead gorgeous life. In which case, we applaud you.
If, on the other hand, you need the cheat codes, then this book will give you a nudge.
Written in a matter-of-fact style perfect for anyone who just wants to know what works for them, you’ll also learn about:
- Realistic ways to increase your income and help balance your budget
- The methods that lead to a safer, more stable financial future
- The smart way to invest in real estate and purchase a home or investment property
- How to understand the share market, ethical investing, and your superannuation
- Getting out of debt and getting the most out of your life
Ideal for anyone trying to get a handle on their personal finances and get started building a portfolio, Sort Your Money Out is a one-of-a-kind must-read book filled with practical and entertaining financial help to make sense of an intimidating, but crucial, part of everyone’s lives.
The Power in the Land – by Fred Harrison
The major industrial nations enter the 1990s in the midst of land booms offering riches for a few but unemployment for many.
- Banks in TEXAS were bankrupted by massive speculation in real estate. Even embassies had to abandon their offices because they could not afford the rents in TOKYO.
- In BRITAIN, the spoils from housing – the direct result of the way the land market operates – enriched owner-occupiers but crippled the flow of workers into regions where entrepreneurs wanted to invest and lead the economy back to full-employment.
Fred Harrison’s thesis is that land speculation is the major cause of depressions. He shows how the land market functions as a junction box which regulates the power flowing between Labour and Capital. And how land speculation periodically throws the switches on the productive power of men and machines, causing economic stagnation.
This theory was acknowledged by philosophers such as Adam Smith and Karl Marx, and social reformers ranging from Winston Churchill to Leo Tolstoy, but it has been forgotten by today’s economists and policy-makers. The hypothesis is tested against the historical facts and the recent booms and slumps, and is found to offer a powerful explanation for postwar trends in unemployment and the distribution of income.
The Power in the Land challenges the pessimistic belief, nurtured by the depressions of the last two decades, that unemployment is now a permanent feature of late 20th century society. The author elaborates policies, based on a radical reform of the tax system, which would banish involuntary unemployment and generate continuous economic growth.
Boom Bust – by Fred Harrison
Using the United Kingdom as a case study, this well-researched account shows how, for more than 200 years, a remarkably regular 18-year cycle of boom and bust can be traced to the peaks and troughs in land prices. This exploration reveals how governments, during the upswing of the cycle, are complicit in encouraging a belief that property prices will continue upwards indefinitely because of their skilled management of the economy and attributes the current crises to public policy on both sides of the Atlantic. An alternative plan to neutralize the next boom–one that would lead to a more stable and environmentally friendly economy with a more equitable distribution of wealth–is also presented.