Five Books That Shaped How I Lead and How I Live

Early in my career, I thought success came from outworking everyone. Longer hours, more effort, more pressure. Over time, I learned the problem wasn’t effort. It was how I was thinking. Progress didn’t come from doing more. It came from seeing differently.

These books changed how I see leadership, time, and what matters. They sit beneath much of what I write about discipline, delegation, and living well. With the holidays here and a new year ahead, this felt like the right moment to share them.

10x Is Easier Than 2x

Dan Sullivan and Benjamin Hardy

This book challenged one of my longest held assumptions about growth. Like many leaders, I believed progress came from pushing harder and squeezing more out of the same approach. Sullivan and Hardy make a counterintuitive case: trying to grow incrementally often keeps you trapped in existing constraints, while aiming for a much bigger outcome forces you to rethink what actually matters. The real insight is not about ambition for ambition’s sake. It is about changing how you frame problems, decisions, and tradeoffs.

Key takeaway:
This book changed how I think about growth. Instead of asking how to do more, I started asking what to stop doing. Ten times thinking creates clarity because it demands focus, elimination, and courage. Meaningful progress comes less from intensity and far more from seeing the problem differently.

Good to Great and Built to Last

Jim Collins

These two books shaped how I think about building organizations that endure. Collins’ research makes a clear case that great companies are not built on charisma, momentum, or one big idea. They are built through disciplined people, disciplined thought, and disciplined action. A common criticism is that some of the companies studied later struggled or fell. That does not invalidate the ideas. In many cases, it proves the point. The principles did not stop working. Leaders stopped practicing them.

Key takeaway:
These books taught me that sustainable success is about systems, not heroics. Protect the core, including your values, purpose, and niche, while stimulating progress in whatever way the moment demands. This way of thinking sits beneath much of my work with leadership teams. Alignment and discipline compound over time. If you are choosing just one to start with, read Good to Great. It is the most accessible entry point.

Deep Work

Cal Newport

This book reinforced something I had begun to feel but had not fully articulated. In a world of constant noise, distraction, and urgency, the ability to focus deeply has become rare and valuable. Newport makes the case that sustained, uninterrupted thinking is not a luxury or a preference. It is a competitive advantage, especially for leaders whose job is to see clearly, make decisions, and set direction.

Key takeaway:
This book influenced how I protect time to think and write. I became far more intentional about carving out uninterrupted blocks to reflect, plan, and work through complex problems. Clarity does not come from more meetings or more inputs. It comes from giving your mind the space to do its real work. For leaders, making time to think is not optional. It is part of the job.

Die With Zero

Bill Perkins

This book challenged how I thought about money, success, and timing. The core idea is simple but uncomfortable. Money is not just something to accumulate. It is a tool meant to be converted into experiences, memories, and meaning, and the timing of those experiences matters. Waiting too long often means trading the best years of your life for a sense of security you may not actually need.

Key takeaway:
This book changed how I think about postponing life. I became far more aware of how often leaders, myself included, push meaningful experiences into an undefined future. Someday travel. Someday time. Someday freedom. For me, that included someday returning to my roots as a musician and making music again. It reminded me that time, health, and energy are nonrenewable. Being intentional about when you live matters just as much as how hard you work.

Outlive

Peter Attia

This book reframed how I think about health and longevity. Attia makes a clear distinction between lifespan and healthspan, not just how long you live, but how well you live. While the book can get technical at times, the message is practical and grounded. His podcast is also exceptional, and both serve as models for the kind of thoughtful, long-term leadership platform I aspire to build. There are no shortcuts or magic fixes. Health is built through consistent habits over decades, and the quality of those years matters far more than the number.

Key takeaway:
This book changed how I think about health, not as optimization, but as stewardship. My old mindset was that I would sleep when I was dead. Reading this helped me realize that without sleep and attention to the basics of nutrition, exercise, and recovery, that day comes sooner than it should. The biggest levers for a long and healthy life are simple and unglamorous. Without attention to those fundamentals, everything else suffers. You cannot show up at your best when you are running on empty. Like the oxygen mask on a plane, you have to take care of yourself first so you can be there for others.

These five books have shaped not only how I lead, but how I live. If there’s one book that fundamentally changed how you lead or live, I’d love to hear it.