8 Books That Will Change Your Life Forever
Last year, I read 50 life-changing books about marketing, sales, money, mindset, investments, and building a successful (online) business. Some of these books were so thought-provoking and eye-opening that they changed my life forever.
In this article, I wanted to share eight books that will change your life forever. I hope reading and re-reading them over and over again will inspire you as much as they have inspired me!
Table of contents:
1. Show Your Work!: 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered
When marketing yourself and your (creative) abilities, I long thought I had to send lots of introduction emails, do many posts on my social media outlets, and go to endless network meetings and events. But this old-school approach was incredibly time-consuming, had zero job guarantees, and never felt right to me.
I discovered that the real downside of this approach was that, in the end, people only care about themselves.
The most important person to the other person is themselves. They generally didn't really care about what I had to offer them.
I more or less felt like a handyman knocking on as many doors as possible, just in case someone needed my help to fix things in the distant future.
Of course, if you knock on enough doors, it becomes a numbers game, and there will always be someone who might need your help.
But it takes a long time to find those opportunities, and all your hard work comes with zero guaranteed outcome.
And then, suddenly, I came across this video from YouTuber Ali Abdaal talking about another approach he learned from the creative business book 'Show Your Work!: 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered' by Austin Kleon.
In short, this approach is called content marketing. You share your creative journey and knowledge with the world via your online outlets, like your website, to build an audience and get customers to come to you instead of the other way around.
I absolutely loved this thought-provoking book, which is one of the main reasons I started writing these blog articles.
If you work in the creative industry, please do yourself a favor and try this book. It's super easy to read, and you'll complete it in a few hours, but the amount of insights is life-changing!
Ps. I also highly recommend reading 'Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative' and 'Keep Going: 10 Ways to Stay Creative in Good Times and Bad' from the same writer!
2. The Win Without Pitching Manifesto
When you encounter a problem in life, you probably want to find the best possible expert to help you solve it. Guess what? It works the same for filmmaking!
Imagine you can specialize yourself or your video production company in a particular niche market.
In that case, it's way easier for new clients to find you and label you as the best possible expert to help them solve their problems—bringing their ideas visually to life in the most stunning way possible!
I never approached working in the film and video creation industry this way until I read 'The Win Without Pitching Manifesto' by Blair Enns.
This creative business book successfully highlights the pain points of working in the creative industry and how you can turn the tide by growing into a position whereby clients award you the job without constantly needing to pitch for opportunities.
Although some of this business book wisdom is written in tough manifesto language, which sometimes made me read the same page several times to grasp what was being said, I think this business book needs to be on the bookshelves of every creative freelancer and small business owner.
It helps you think differently about your marketing, sales, and business success and eventually become an authority in your field of work!
3. Sell Like Crazy: How to Get as Many Clients, Customers, and Sales as You Can Possibly Handle
In 2021 I started selling digital products in my webshop to diversify my income stream and turn my freelance business into an online business. Along the way, I learned that creating your own products and setting up an online store is actually quite simple.
The hardest part of having your own products is reaching an audience to sell your products to in the incredibly noisy world called 'The Internet.'
When I started searching online on how to market an e-commerce (selling stuff online) business and get more clients, I came across the YouTube channel of Sabri Suby.
A marketing expert from Australia running a digital marketing agency that helped make more than 1.4 billion dollars in revenue for his clients.
After watching a few of his videos, I really liked the insane amount of knowledge and value he was sharing for free, and I decided to buy his business book: 'SELL LIKE CRAZY: How to Get As Many Clients, Customers, and Sales As You Can Possibly Handle.'
In short, I absolutely loved it! This business book includes lots of actionable advice, new ideas, and a step-by-step guide for boosting sales via different marketing channels.
Since reading this self-help book, I have used many of Sabri Suby’s marketing and sales techniques that have helped me boost my numbers!
So, suppose you want to know how to market your online business and become a successful entrepreneur.
In that case, especially if you are selling digital products for filmmakers (like I do), I believe this is obligatory reading material for you!
4. Superfans: The Easy Way to Stand Out, Grow Your Tribe, and Build a Successful Business
Before dropping my first digital product in the summer of 2021, I reached out to hyperlapse specialist Matthew Vandeputte a.k.a. Matjoez, for advice regarding selling digital products on my website.
Besides some sales and marketing advice, Matthew also recommended reading the business book 'Superfans: The Easy Way to Stand Out, Grow Your Tribe, and Build a Successful Business' by Pat Flynn.
In today's world, where everything is about a person's following online and how many people they can reach with their content, Superfans beautifully outlines that it's not about building a following, gaining more subscribers, or having a huge customer base.
Ultimately, it's about creating a following of superfans—people who function as lifetime ambassadors for your brand. A revelating theory!
While reading this self-help book book, I suddenly realized how all the big brands and radically successful businesses on this planet create their communities of superfans.
These successful businesses provide people with a unique customer journey while selling them a product or service that improves their lives. Next, those customers become loyal for life and promote the company and its products as their mission!
A must-read after you've read the first book recommendation, Show Your Work!
5. Building A Story Brand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen
Another fantastic book and obligatory reading material for entrepreneurs who want to build a better brand and boost their revenue is 'Building A Story Brand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen' by Donald Miller.
This book taught me that people generally don't care about what you sell. They only care about why you sell it and how their lives will change if they buy a product or a service from you.
Donald explains in his book that the client is the hero in their own story.
Therefore, it’s not about branding yourself or your company as the hero in someone’s story, but about branding yourself or your company as a guide, someone who knows how to help others in their story.
To become successful, you must brand yourself or your company like a Gandalf character in the Lord of the rings movie. A guide who knows the way and is willing to help others achieve their goals.
‘Building A Story Brand’ has taught me to approach the sales process for my products and filmmaking services from the client's perspective instead of my artistic filmmaker's perspective.
Combined with the other five books, everything outlined in this book has helped me shape my webshop, copywriting, and email marketing campaigns with massive improvements in Google Analytics statistics!
6. $100M Offers: How to Make Offers So Good People Feel Stupid Saying No
Starting your own business as a filmmaker means you will have to wear many different hats.
But besides the creative and artistic side, you'll also have to deal with the business side.
Something a lot of us don't enjoy. I didn't enjoy the entrepreneurial side of being a filmmaker for a long time, mainly because I didn't know how to do that.
Until I started doing my research and reading books about entrepreneurship!
And just like I accidentally came across Sarbi Suby and his business book 'Sell Like Crazy,' YouTube also recommended the videos of Alex Hormozi, the bestselling author of '$100M Offers: How to Make Offers So Good People Feel Stupid Saying No.'
After watching a few of his information-packed videos where he explains how he made more money than he knew what to do with, I immediately bought his business books, which can only be summarized as a goldmine of knowledge!
In my opinion, this guy has one of the most innovative approaches ever to sales.
If you, like me, want to know how to run an online business successfully by becoming better at selling yourself and what you have to offer, this life-changing book should be one of your main go-to sources for learning how to do so!
For the down-to-earth Europeans, it might read a little over the top American from time to time, but try to ignore that. This business book contains an amount of value you'll hardly find anywhere else!
7. Company Of One: Why Staying Small Is the Next Big Thing for Business
For a long time, I believed I had to start my own video production company if I wanted to get my hands on the biggest projects. And at some point, I even had one video production company with a proper office, trainees, editors, and lots of expensive equipment so I could facilitate as many clients as possible.
But having all this stuff also came with a price tag. I was working for the business all the time instead of working on the business.
At some point, I realized that this was not my idea of happiness and success. The focus was no longer really on quality but more on quantity.
In this business book, “Company of One,” Paul Jarvis discusses a refreshing approach to running an online business for small business owners focused on getting better rather than getting bigger.
Ever since reading this gem, I’ve started implementing these lessons into my online business and feel I’m on a path that eventually will lead to a more meaningful life without facing the headaches of the day-to-day grind of a traditional growth-orientated business!
A must-read business book for every creative entrepreneur looking for ways to diversify their income streams and new business ideas!
8. Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!
Like many people on this planet, I was raised by my parents with the idea to get good grades at school so I could go to university, get a good job, work my ass off for 45 years and retire successfully at the end of the road.
At age 19, I started my own video production company without a degree, so I never followed that path. But what I never really understood so far was the money game.
I could work harder and acquire more work, but it never felt like I would achieve real wealth. I thought I was working in the wrong industry and would never be able to achieve financial freedom.
But reading the New York Times bestseller Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not by Robert Kiyosaki completely changed my perspective on this topic.
In this business book, intelligent investor Robert describes how he mastered the money game throughout his life and built an incredible empire of wealth starting from scratch.
In a story-driven, very entertaining way, he describes how to start building extreme wealth by taking a different approach to buying stuff.
Instead of acquiring shiny objects like cars and homes, a.k.a. liabilities (things that cost you money), he explains how to get assets (stuff that makes you money).
It was one of the most revelating life-changing books regarding money and financial literacy, and it helped me better understand how to create a financially free future for myself.
It is a business book I would recommend every person on earth to read at least once throughout their lifetime.
If you don’t want to read the book, you can listen to it for free here on YouTube.
