Real Deal REInvestor Network

Every couple of months I like to take some time to share with others any books I've read that are particularly great, or helped change me for the better...

It might surprise you, but I don't only read just books on real estate and investing, marketing and internet marketing, but a lot of what I DO read gets filtered through those glasses- searching for ways to incorporate what I've learned into my life and business. These are some recent books I think you, too, should check out if you’ve got a business of your own or plan to have one some day.

Recently I read Mitch Albom's “Tuesdays with Morrie”, AGAIN. This slight little book is one that could fit in your hip pocket, but packs an emotional punch that'll hit you right in the gut. We truly do not have forever to live, and that can be a humbling thought. More humbling still, is how little what most people do will last beyond their own passing. This book shows how much influence just ONE person you touch can have on the world, taking what you yourself hoped to accomplish in life and rocketing it off into the stratosphere. It really makes you keep yourself aware of opportunities to help OTHER people grow, in addition to looking out for yourself.

Tony Robbins' “Awaken the Giant Within” is also a great journey between pages. Tony Robbins didn't invent the self-help genre, he just branded it his own. While I don't know him personally or particularly agree with all the values he seems to espouse, he definitely knows what he's talking about when it comes to developing your own personal power. Each of us has within ourselves a tremendous capacity to achieve the results we dream about- are you ready to unleash it? This book can help you change yourself, and change is what it’s all about for those seeking to increase or improve.

Robert Cialdini's “Influence: The Science and Practice of Persuasion” is book is a must have for anyone who wants to learn how we as human beings respond to the influence of others around us. If you can’t figure a business application or fifty for that kind of knowledge than I just can’t help you! Cialdini talks about how and why we make decisions, what automatic mechanisms control us in the increasingly fast-paced world where decisions are made on the fly and most (to a VERY high degree) are made beneath a conscious level by our subconscious because there simply isn't enough time in the day to consciously stop and make all the little decisions we need to make to move through our day. Of course, he shares a number of strategies on how we can develop our own selves through channeling the power of communication to influence and persuade others. The more I get out there into the business world, the more I see how tantamount this skill is-- of enlisting the aid, cooperation, or blessing of others is to our pursuit of success.

Conrad Hilton's “Be My Guest” is another excellent book. That is a man with a dream that wouldn't quit. I may write an entire article on this one alone. If you have real estate interests, just go read it and thank me later!

If there is a book that has touched your life in some way, visit one of my websites and contact our offices to tell me about it. I'll check it out and share the results with all our friends and the tens of thousands of members of Real Deal Community, our free social network for Real Estate Investors. For now, be blessed and remember: when you read something that means something, do something about it and it'll mean even more.

 

If you haven't read "Influence" by Cialdini, you're missing much of your marketing boat.  After you read it, you'll be amazed at how many of the principles are being used on you in sales letters, webinars, indeed almost everywhere where there is something to be sold.  This is truly a must read book.  I am a voracious reader and have read dozens of books on marketing, yes, even those not required by my college courses, and this was a huge eye-opener.

Robert Cialdini is actually a professor of Psychology at Arizona State University, so he has spent a long time studying and analyzing social influence.  The book is engaging (on purpose - they were trying to make it a best seller, not just a textbook) and fascinating. 

 Chapter 1 talks about "Weapons of Influence."   He uses an example of how mother turkeys have a built in recognition system of a sound to recognize their babies and how they will embrace any creature who makes that sound.  It's a study in subconscious patterns of recognition.

Chapter 2 is called "Reciprocation:  The Old Give and Take... and Take."  It explains the theory of reciprocation, how you can use it to influence others and how you can fight it when it's used against you.

Chapter 3 is about "Commitment and Consistency:  Hobgoblins of the Mind."  It explains that we look for patterns, much like the turkeys mentioned in chapter 1 and how once we make a commitment we look for reasons to justify it.  Again he talks about both ways to use it and ways to defend against it when it's used against you.

I'm sure that almost every reading this got a ton of the "scarcity principle" with Preston Ely's release of Freedom$oft!  This is covered in chapter 7.

While I'm not going to bore you by going through every single chapter, suffice it to say that this book has entirely changed my thinking.  If you're interested in marketing, which of course you are, you need to read this book. 

 Influence: Science and Practice by Robert Cialdini

This book is a flat-out phenomenal addition to your success books library.

Did you ever wonder why you act in a certain, automatic way when presented with a certain set of information or circumstances— almost without thinking? Did you ever wonder why and how we are influenced and the factors that we can use to influence others? The answers are simple and Cialdini explains them in a very entertaining and at times academic style that leaves you in no doubt he is the pre-eminent authority on influence to ever reveal the secrets of the laboratory and of real world situations.

When you read this book pay special attention to the 11 principles of influence and also Cialdini’s "Click…Whirr" theory that explains why you (and I, and every other human being on this planet) make 99% of our decisions and take 99% of our actions each and every minute of every single day alive.

And more importantly, how we can guard ourselves against these automatic thoughts and actions that can make us the targets of those who would try to manipulate us.

As entrepreneurs, this information is a must-read!