The title is so straightforward that it makes you want to laugh. The message is clear though, and after reading this book you will find that Dale Carnegie is not so crazy as his title pick makes him seem. This book is packed with simple snip-it’s of advice that are crucial for aspiring entrepreneurs who want to become effective business leaders.

The book is broken down into four sections: “Fundamental Techniques in Handling People”, “Six Ways to Make People Like You”, “How to Win People to Your Way of Thinking” and “Be A Leader”. This book teaches you how to manipulate people while simultaneously winning them over.

Some advice is as simple as “smile,” and, “remember, a person’s name to them is the sweetest sound in any language.” Other advice reaches deeper, is more psychological and takes practice to master. Regardless of how simple or complex Carnegie’s advice may seem, it will definitely give you an edge over your competition.

2. The Coming Jobs War by Jim Clifton

Written by the CEO of Gallup, this book outlines the major causes of our country’s current economic struggle, and what steps should be taken to revive it. According to Clifton, “virtually all the world’s most credible economics have China as a favorite by huge spreads to beat the United States over the next 30 years.” That means that unless our country has a massive economic overhaul, we will hand over the crown of de-facto world leader within the next three decades.

Nobody could have predicted the economic impact of the Internet in the 1990s; many people had never heard of the Internet until the latter part of the decade. The point of this book is that the United States desperately needs another Internet-like innovation, and it is up to the next generation of young entrepreneurs to make that happen.

3. The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists by Neil Strauss

Neil Strauss is a journalist who admits his early life was full of struggle when it came to seducing the ladies. Strauss stumbles upon a clandestine online-society of fellow geeks, who claim to have come up with proven formulas for picking up the most sought after women.

Who would think that a book about picking up babes could actually teach you something? Prepare to be dazzled by both Strauss’s insight and ability to enthrall you in his personal life.

This particular book prepares you more for social encounters – particularly with women. But it also teaches you how to assert yourself as the alpha male in any given situation. It is crucial for a man in power to show those around him that not only does he have command of his subordinates, but that he can also also charm women at will.

4. The Definitive Book of Body Language by Allan and Barbara Pease

This book actually appears as a suggested read from one of the main characters in the aforementioned book, The Game. The co-authors spent years conducting meticulous and extensive research, analyzing the human subconscious form of communication. According to the authors, a person’s body language can speak just as clearly as their words.

Imagine this scenario: You sit down at an interview for a prospective job. The man interviewing you asks you to tell him about a time you exhibited strong leadership. You tell the story of the time you were lifeguarding and an elderly woman had a stroke nearby. You begin to explain that you were the first respondent on the scene and that you proceeded to give the instructions that would later be credited to saving her life.

As you tell the story, you subconsciously touch your nose every ten seconds. Nose-touching is a tell-tale sign that you are not being honest. However, whether you were actually lying or you were just nervous, the signal was sent. Your possible future boss is conscious of body language and notices your tick. He now thinks you are lying to him. There goes the job.

This book teaches you how to correlate your body language with your spoken language, so that you are not giving mixed messages. It also teaches you how to detect when you are being lied to and how to notice when a female is subtly showing you signs of interest.

5. Freakanomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

Steven D. Levitt is a wildly creative academic. He earned his Bachelors degree at Harvard University and his Ph.D at MIT. As opposed to sitting mightily on his high horse and preaching to the masses condescendingly – which he could very well do with little objection from anyone – he took a new approach to studying the field of economics.

In Freakanomics, he uses his expertise to pose question like, “What do schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common?” and “How is the Ku Klux Klan like a group of real estate agents?” The reason this book is so essential to becoming successful in life is because of its moral: use your existing knowledge to think outside the box.

Textbooks can only teach you so much and take you so far. Someone once told me, “A students teach B students how to work for C students.” What that means is that if you spend all your time playing by the rules, you will only go as far as the existing system lets you.

The point of life is not to subside to a uniform type of thinking, but to exercise your own individual insight on whatever it is you are interested in. Levitt is the golden example that in order to make a name for yourself and become successful, you not only have to be smart but you must also be creative as Hell.

Josh Steinberg | Elite.
Want to hear more from Josh? You can e-mail him Joshua.steinberg1@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @Josh_Not_Tosh.