Books Recommended by James Murphy

Habit 2 of Stephen Covey’s “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” states “Begin with the end in mind.” This helped me immensely and immediately on a macro level in terms of motivating me to clarify exactly where I want to be and what I want to be doing in 10-20-30 years. However, it also helped me on a micro level when starting a new project or venture. Starting anything, be it a hobby, business, sport, etc. can be daunting and I believe we often hide by getting caught up in minutiae which takes our eyes off the big “scary” goal (ex. what font should I use on the website?, what putter should I buy?, what programming language should I learn first?). By beginning with the end in mind, I force myself to clearly spell out what success looks like for a particular undertaking and anything trivial that disrupts me from arriving at said goal is tabled.

By FAR the book that had the biggest impact on me from the recommended reading was Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon. The reason this book is so important to me is because it details something I have talked circles around for years which is the concept that nobody’s work is ever completely original. In some way, shape, or form we are always building on something that came before...and that is a good thing! Of course the book does not at all recommend any type of plagiarism but it talks about how creative work is everywhere around us and we need to notice it. Taking inspiration from what is around us and already out in the world can only help in furthering our own endeavors. The entire world is open source.

Dave Ramsey’s EntreLeadership book has had a huge impact on me because after reading it there was no excuse to not be a great leader. This book spells it out for the reader and I love the concise message it delivers. It has not changed my career path per se but it really opened my eyes as to what it takes to build and strengthen a great team.

No One Here Gets Out Alive (biography of Jim Morrison) because I have been fascinated by Jim Morrison and The Doors since I was a young kid. Jim’s level of and commitment to artistry is so rare and I wanted to understand what made him tick. This book gives a lot of insight into not only his creative genius but the events in his life that shaped him.

Options Volatility Trading by Adam Warner also had a major impact on me because I have always been into investing and until this book I never quite understood the specific strategies behind making money when the market goes up OR down. I was familiar with short selling but wanted to explore option contracts so right after college a good friend gave me this book. I read it immediately and began putting what I learned into practice.

I am also reading Subscription Marketing: Strategies for Nurturing Customers in a World of Churn by Anne Janzer. With the success of many SaaS based companies I think it’s very important for marketers of all industries to understand the strategies behind not only acquiring new subscription customers but keeping your currently subscribed customers happy. In reading this book, I hope to gain insight on how the subscription based model can segue into markets which may not currently consider it an option.