Recommendations based on Growth Hacker Marketing: A Primer on the Future of PR, Marketing, and Advertisingby Ryan Holiday

* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans

  1. The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph

    by Ryan Holiday
    A practical guide on using adversity to achieve success.

    “The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.” — Marcus Aurelius We are stuck, stymied, frustrated. But it needn’t be this way. There is a formula for success ... (Goodreads)

  2. Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future

    by Peter Thiel
    A guide to launching a startup, exploring the power of entrepreneurship.

    If you want to build a better future, you must believe in secrets. The great secret of our time is that there are still uncharted frontiers to explore and new inventions to create. In Zero to One, ... (Goodreads)

  3. Rework

    by Jason Fried
    A guide to starting and running a successful business with unconventional advice and practical tips.

    Most business books give you the same old advice: Write a business plan, study the competition, seek investors, yadda yadda. If you're looking for a book like that, put this one back on the shelf. ... (Goodreads)

  4. Business Model Generation

    by Alexander Osterwalder
    A guide to crafting business models and creating new sources of value.

    Business Model Generation is a practical, inspiring handbook for anyone striving to improve a business model or craft a new one. 1) Change the way you think about business models Business Model ... (Goodreads)

  5. Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products

    by Nir Eyal
    A guide to creating products that form habits, using psychology and technology to keep users coming back.

    How do successful companies create products people can’t put down? Why do some products capture widespread attention while others flop? What makes us engage with certain products out of sheer habit? ... (Goodreads)

  6. Ego Is the Enemy

    by Ryan Holiday
    Exploring the destructive power of ego and how to overcome it.

    “While the history books are filled with tales of obsessive, visionary geniuses who remade the world in their image with sheer, almost irrational force, I’ve found that history is also made by ... (Goodreads)

  7. Trust Me, I'm Lying: Confessions of a Media Manipulator

    by Ryan Holiday
    A former media strategist exposes the corrupt practices of the modern media and how they manipulate the public for profit and power.

    You've seen it all before. A malicious online rumor costs a company millions. A political sideshow derails the national news cycle and destroys a candidate. Some product or celebrity zooms from total ... (Goodreads)

  8. The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon

    by Brad Stone
    The story of Amazon and its founder Jeff Bezos, from its humble beginnings to becoming one of the world's largest companies.

    The definitive story of Amazon.com, one of the most successful companies in the world, and of its driven, brilliant founder, Jeff Bezos. Amazon.com started off delivering books through the mail. But ... (Goodreads)

  9. The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses

    by Eric Ries
    Systematic approach to launching and managing successful businesses in an ever-changing market.

    Most startups fail. But many of those failures are preventable. The Lean Startup is a new approach being adopted across the globe, changing the way companies are built and new products are launched. ... (Goodreads)

  10. The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It

    by Michael E. Gerber
    A guide to harnessing the power of entrepreneurial thinking to create a thriving small business.

    E-Myth \ 'e-,'mith\ n 1: the entrepreneurial myth: the myth that most people who start small businesses are entrepreneurs 2: the fatal assumption that an individual who understands the technical work ... (Goodreads)

  11. Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose

    by Tony Hsieh
    A business leader's journey from success to significance, showing how to build a corporate culture of happiness.

    You want to learn about the path that we took at Zappos to get to over $1 billion in gross merchandise sales in less than ten years. You want to learn about the path I took that eventually led me to ... (Goodreads)

  12. The 4-Hour Workweek

    by Timothy Ferriss
    A guide to creating a lifestyle of financial and personal freedom by optimizing work and lifestyle.

    What do you do? Tim Ferriss has trouble answering the question. Depending on when you ask this controversial Princeton University guest lecturer, he might answer: "I race motorcycles in Europe." "I ... (Goodreads)

  13. Rich Dad, Poor Dad

    by Robert T. Kiyosaki
    A financial literacy guide that explores the power of financial education and investment.

    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 ... (Goodreads)

  14. Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions

    by Dan Ariely
    An exploration of why humans make irrational decisions, and how to overcome them.

    Why do our headaches persist after taking a one-cent aspirin but disappear when we take a 50-cent aspirin? Why does recalling the Ten Commandments reduce our tendency to lie, even when we couldn't ... (Goodreads)

  15. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion

    by Robert B. Cialdini
    An analysis of the psychology of persuasion and how to use it to influence people.

    Influence, the classic book on persuasion, explains the psychology of why people say "yes"—and how to apply these understandings. Dr. Robert Cialdini is the seminal expert in the rapidly expanding ... (Goodreads)

  16. The Power of Your Subconscious Mind

    by Joseph Murphy
    Guide to unlocking power of the mind, harnessing it for personal growth and success.

    The Power of Your Subconscious Mind, has been a bestseller since its first publication in 1963, selling many millions of copies since its original publication. It is one of the most brilliant and ... (Goodreads)

  17. Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future

    by Ashlee Vance
    A revealing look into the life and accomplishments of tech innovator Elon Musk.

    Elon Musk, the entrepreneur and innovator behind SpaceX, Tesla, and SolarCity, sold one of his internet companies, PayPal, for $1.5 billion. Ashlee Vance captures the full spectacle and arc of the ... (Goodreads)

  18. The Art of the Start: The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything

    by Guy Kawasaki
    A comprehensive guide to successfully launching a business or venture.

    A new product, a new service, a new company, a new division, a new organization, a new anything—where there’s a will, here’s the way. It begins with a dream that just won’t quit, the ... (Goodreads)

  19. Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't

    by James C. Collins
    A guide to building a successful company, examining the practices and values of leading organizations.

    To find the keys to greatness, Collins's 21-person research team read and coded 6,000 articles, generated more than 2,000 pages of interview transcripts and created 384 megabytes of computer data in ... (Goodreads)

  20. The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit

    by Seth Godin
    A guide to help readers identify when to quit and when to persevere in their pursuits, in order to achieve success.

    A, New York Times,, USA Today, and, Wall Street Journal, bestseller In this iconic bestseller, popular business blogger and bestselling author Seth Godin proves that winners are really just the best ... (Barnes & Noble)

  21. The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers

    by Ben Horowitz
    A practical guide to navigating the challenges of building and leading a successful business, with insights from a seasoned entrepreneur.

    Ben Horowitz, cofounder of Andreessen Horowitz and one of Silicon Valley's most respected and experienced entrepreneurs, offers essential advice on building and running a startup—practical wisdom for ... (Barnes & Noble)

  22. Letters from a Stoic

    by Seneca
    A collection of Stoic philosophies and advice on living a meaningful life.

    The power and wealth which Seneca the Younger (c.4 B.C. - A.D. 65) acquired as Nero's minister were in conflict with his Stoic beliefs. Nevertheless he was the outstanding figure of his age. The ... (Goodreads)

  23. The War of Art: Winning the Inner Creative Battle

    by Steven Pressfield
    A guide to overcoming procrastination and other inner obstacles to unleash creativity.

    A succinct, engaging, and practical guide for succeeding in any creative sphere,, The War of, Art, is nothing less than Sun-Tzu for the soul. What keeps so many of us from doing what we long to do? ... (Barnes & Noble)

  24. Managing Oneself

    by Peter F. Drucker
    A guide to understanding one's strengths, weaknesses, and values to achieve personal and professional success.

    We live in an age of unprecedented opportunity: with ambition, drive, and talent, you can rise to the top of your chosen profession regardless of where you started out. But with opportunity comes ... (Goodreads)

  25. Choose Yourself: Be Happy, Make Millions, Live the Dream

    by James Altucher
    A guide to taking back control of one's life, using unconventional wisdom and personal power.

    The world is changing. Markets have crashed. Jobs have disappeared. Industries have been disrupted and are being remade before our eyes. Everything we aspired to for “security,” everything we thought ... (Goodreads)

  26. Killing Yourself to Live: 85% of a True Story

    by Chuck Klosterman
    An exploration of life and death, featuring road trips to music-related death sites.

    Building on the national bestselling success of, Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs, preeminent pop culture writer Chuck Klosterman unleashes his best book yet—the story of his cross-country tour of sites ... (Goodreads)

  27. Screw It, Let's Do It: Lessons In Life

    by Richard Branson
    A guide to success, outlining the life lessons and business strategies of an entrepreneur.

    RICHARD BRANSON , one of the world's most famous and admired business leaders, argues that it's time to turn capitalism upside down-to shift our values from an exclusive focus on profit to also ... (Barnes & Noble)

  28. The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves

    by Matt Ridley
    Examining the history of human progress, the book argues that human civilizations can only thrive with the exchange of ideas.

    Life is getting better—and at an accelerating rate. Food availability, income, and life span are up; disease, child mortality, and violence are down — all across the globe. Though the world is far ... (Goodreads)

  29. Turning Pro

    by Steven Pressfield
    An exploration of the psychological and spiritual journey of transitioning from amateur to professional.

    The follow-up to his bestseller The War of Art, Turning Pro navigates the passage from the amateur life to a professional practice. "You don't need to take a course or buy a product. All you have to ... (Barnes & Noble)

  30. Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman

    by Yvon Chouinard
    Reflections on the journey of an environmentally conscious businessman, and the lessons learned along the way.

    In his long-awaited memoir, Yvon Chouinard-legendary climber, businessman, environmentalist, and founder of Patagonia, Inc.-shares the persistence and courage that have gone into being head of one of ... (Goodreads)