The Five Best Books For Online Entrepreneurs To Read This Summer

This is not your typical entrepreneur book recommendation list. You will not find these in the business section of your local bookstore. But they have profoundly and positively affected me as both a copywriter and a business owner. Because sometimes you need to see from a different perspective - one that is not typical business advice that you’ve heard a million times before at this point. You’ll be pleasantly surprised by this unusual book list for business owners to read.

I’ve got a book for when you need to: 

• just sit down and write, 
• write but you don’t have time, 
• Be reminded of the Big Picture importance of copywriting from a neuropsychology perspective
• Develop the most important copywriting skill in a fun and relaxed way

I’ve thoughtfully curated the five best books for online entrepreneurs to read this summer. So add them to your GoodReads, request them from your local library, or treat yourself to time at your favorite bookstore to pick up these books. 

0:08:04 - Key lessons on the writing process. 
0:10:25 - Encouragement for mothers to prioritize creative work.
0:11:23 - Advocating for intentional digital minimalism.
0:12:24 - Countering busyness and the myth of not having enough time.
0:13:43 - Benefits of reading fiction.

EPISODES AND LINKS MENTIONED:

• Links to all book recommendations can be found here.
• Big Think shares it in a way that is easier to digest. They said that “Modern research suggests that reading fiction helps you neurologically relate to other people’s experiences. It also correlates with improved social interactions and the ability to read the room.” 
• Here is the actual scholarly article from NCBI. 
• Research suggests that reading literary fiction improves one’s theory of mind and emotional intelligence.
• Reese’s Book Club

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Transcript

Unknown: 0:46

trustee, You This is not your typical entrepreneur book recommendation list. You will not find these, any of these books in the business section of your local bookstore, but they have profoundly and positively affected me, both as a copywriter and a business owner, because sometimes you need to see from a different perspective, one that is not necessarily typical business advice that you've heard a million times before at this point, so I hope that you'll be pleasantly surprised by this unusual book list for business owners to read this summer. I've got a book for when you need to just sit down and write, for when you want to write, but you just don't have the time when you need to be reminded of the big picture importance of copywriting from a neuropsychological perspective and to develop the most important copywriting skill in a fun and relaxed way. And I think the last book recommendation might make you wonder, What was she thinking at first glance, but it's going to make so much sense once you hear my research backed reasoning for it, I have thoughtfully created the five best books for online entrepreneurs to read this summer. So add them to your Goodreads. Request them from your local library, or treat yourself to time at your favorite bookstore to pick up these books. You won't regret it. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have. So let's dive in. Number one is Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. This is a classic for writers. Anne lamott's Bird by Bird is a beloved guide on writing and life filled with practical advice, humor and so much wisdom, Lamotte shares her insights on the writing process, emphasizing the importance of taking it step by step, much like her father's advice to her brother when overwhelmed by a school project, how this is how her book got his name. He said, Bird by Bird, buddy, just take it Bird by Bird. It was her brother was doing this project on a biology project in school on birds, and he was so overwhelmed by, like, all these birds he had to research. And he was like, just take it one at a time. So similar. How in business, we say eat the frog. Like, how do you do it? It's just one bite at a time, and this book gets so real into the emotional and psychological challenges writers face. It offers encouragement and empathy through the personal anecdotes and candid reflections. She's also hilarious. It is so funny with just the realness, you're like, Oh yeah, I've felt that. And Lamotte inspires writers to embrace their unique voices and persist through the inevitable difficulties of the creative journey. It is profound, hilarious, wise and self deprecating all at once when her students ask her, but how do you actually do it? How do you actually write? She gives practical, practical advice, like, you sit down. You sit down at approximately the same time every day, and this is how you train your unconscious to kick in for you creatively. Because anyone who has written a book or even a batch of emails knows that keeping your butt in the chair to write is often the part is hardest part, right? Like you know that during the time you've blocked off for writing, that's when laundry becomes like the most urgent and every speck of your house needs to be cleaned. We've all been there, and even in the face of all the distractions vying for your attention, you clear a space for the writing voice hacking away at others with machetes, and you begin to compose sentences. We are often immobilized by the hugeness of the task ahead. As business owners, you want to batch all of your emails for the month, your social media captions, and you should really update your welcoming mail sequence too while you're at it, all the things, right? But as you wrestle your thoughts onto the page, you see that the big, sloppy, imperfect messes have value that first draft, it never comes out perfectly the right the first try. This is normal, and it is a part of the process. I could probably do a whole episode on what I've learned about writing from Anne Lamott and how I've applied it to copywriting as a business owner, the book makes you think like a writer, and even though she's famous for writing books and that may or may not be on your radar, it is the skills and the disciplines for productivity that are totally transferable and highly helpful as you do your copywriting. Book number two on my list is create anyway, by Ashley Gadd. This is an inspiring book that encourages creatives to pursue their passions despite the chaos of everyday life. Ashley is a mom to three, a podcast host, author of two books and founder of coffee and crumbs, a community that has been making mothers feel safe, known, encouraged and loved since 2014 she wrote this very literally in the margins of motherhood during covid While home with her three children. I mean, most of us just tried to survive covid. Actually, Mother three kids, did her job and wrote an entire book during that season. So I'd say she is up there as one of the most qualified people to speak on this subject. When you feel like you don't have enough time to write, there's too much else going on and you're so busy. In her book, she shares her own experiences of balancing motherhood with creative work, offering practical advice and heartfelt encouragement. The book is filled with personalities reflections and actionable tips to help readers prioritize their creative creative endeavors, whether that is viewing writing emails to your list as creative work, which, by the way, is a lot more fulfilling than having to try to have ai do it for you, or if you need a creative hobby, to stop thinking about business, this book will motivate you to find joy and fulfillment in your creative pursuits, regardless of your circumstances. Mom entrepreneurs who are only working during naptime hours and or on very limited or minimal child care, and this one is definitely for you and everyone else. What are you even doing with all your free time? Just kidding, but also kind of serious. Anyways, I love this perspective shift that Ashley offers us a quote from her book, what if we stopped viewing creativity as something that takes away from our families, and viewed it as something that breathes life into our families instead what? Instead of deeming creativity as trivial or selfish, we viewed our personal creativity as a gift, an offering, a contribution capable of blessing everyone around us. It is with that perspective that you need to write your emails and your sales pages and all of the other copy on your to do list. The process of writing it is truly fulfilling, not the money or the validation or anything else, because, as Ashley writes, When we believe creativity is worthy of taking up space, we'll find a way. Book number three on my list of the five best books for online entrepreneurs to read this summer is digital minimalism, by Cal Newport. Again, this is not a new book out there, but it is a foundational one that I find myself continually coming back to, and it's such a good one to reread and remind yourself over and over again. He advocates for a more intentional approach to technology use, encouraging readers to focus on what truly matters. He presents a philosophy that prioritizes meaningful and value driven digital interactions over mindless consumption. He provides practical strategies for decluttering digitally, such as taking a 30 day digital detox, which highly recommend if you have not done it, especially as an online business owner, and then reintroducing only the most essential tools and habits, guys, this is a game changer. I love that he also provides case studies and research to demonstrate how this digital minimalism can enhance productivity, personal, well being and overall life satisfaction. In the final chapter, Newport describes the attention economy as the business sector that makes money gathering consumers' attention and then repackaging and selling it to advertisers. This idea is not new, but it has become one of the most powerful forces in our economy with the onset of the iPhone and the other smartphones, because now a smartphone in our pocket can deliver advertisements to us users at all, at all points during the day, as well as to help services gather data from those users us to target those advertisements with unprecedented precision. We look at our smartphones a lot. Have you checked your screen time recently on your iPhone? Or do you casually, just like not want to look and not want to know, go ahead and swipe over to screen time right now and be appalled at how much time you spend waste looking at that thing. This is why companies like Google and meta are significantly more lucrative than extracting oil. Hear me out. Google's market cap at the time of this recording is 2.2 trillion with a T, meta is right behind at 1.3 trillion with a T, wow. Just for comparison, person, comparison persons, exon is 490, 7 billion with a B, which, yes, is still a lot, but it's not even in the same ballpark. And this is why our integrity in marketing matters so much, not just because it's the right thing to do, though, that, in itself, is a good enough reason, but copywriting is ultimately stewarding people's attention. That's how I see it. And I would argue that our greatest asset is not money, and it's not even our time, our greatest asset is our attention, because that because what has our attention likely also has our time and our money and, most importantly, our heart. That is why copywriting matters so much. That is why copywriting is so so powerful. Diving into book number four is the ruthless elimination of hurry. By John Mark comer. This is a transformative guide that addresses the pervasive issue of busyness in our modern life. The author draws from his personal experiences and spiritual insights to advocate for a slower, more intentional way of living. He explores the detrimental effects of constant hurry on mental, emotional and spiritual well being, offering practical advice to cultivate a life of rest and presence. I feel like I'm saying practical advice to describe a lot of these books, but I love it because it's not just like, advice or telling you what to do, but like, it truly is practical, like you can actually do it and implement it in your real life, and not just like, well, it theoretically sounds nice, but I can't do anything with that, right? I want this to change you. So comer encourages his readers to adopt practices such as simplicity, solitude and Sabbath to counteract the relentless pace of contemporary life. The radical belief shift I have from this book is that the solution to being over busy is not having more time in your day. Let's think this through, because it sounds counterintuitive, but it actually makes sense. So if you catch yourself saying, like, if only I had a few more hours in the day, or only if I had more childcare to support to, like, give me more hours in a day, the logic there is actually flawed, because if you could alter the structure of the universe to get 10 more hours in a day, what would you do with them? You would do the same thing most people would do right fill those hours with more things, even if you're filling them up with good and noble pursuits like picking up, painting again, going to the gym more, going out in nature, walking, getting fresh air, spending more time with your kids, even doing all those good things you would end up inevitably, even more exhausted than you are now. John Mark writes that the solution to an over busy life is not more time. The solution is to slow down and simplify our lives around what really matters. So what really matters to you, what is essential to your life, what is essential to your business. How do you want to show up for your potential clients, in terms of copywriting? Is the copywriting fulfilling for you? Is it doing something to you? Is it changing you and your heart and your heart towards your business. Or would you rather spend your limited and precious time doing what you do best in your zone of genius? Does it make more sense for you to outside outsource the copywriting right now so that you can either do more of what you love or get actual, real high quality rest and leisure and joy back into your life. There are so many options. There's not a blanket statement. One Size Fits All right, choice for you. But I know that, as I'm talking about that something is pulling at your heart right now, of like, oh, rest, yeah, I actually really need that right now, and that would actually be most productive for me right now. I need to fill up the tank. And maybe hiring a copywriter will allow you to do that better. Or maybe you're in a state of like, I'm really excited to like, be figuring out my voice again. Maybe it's evolved, and you want to get back into it and write really does helps shape you and shape your offers. And like, that's part of the way you think. And like, maybe DIY copywriting is is really right for you right now. So whatever it is for you, own that decision so that you can move forward with it with full satisfaction and confidence. Okay? And then we're taking a turn here for Book number five. And which, these are in no particular order, but this just happens to be number five, as I was writing them out. Was so this one is called the last thing he told me, by Laura, Dave. And yes, this is a fiction book, and I read it in 48 hours, which for someone, mom of two little kids, you know that that is hard to do. I did not want to put it down. This book makes it on my list, not because of the content, though. It is a gripping thriller and the plot is so good, but this book makes it on my list of Best Books for online entrepreneurs to read this summer, because reading fiction books actually influences empathy, and empathy is the greatest skill that a copywriter can have. Big Think shares it in the way that it's easy to easier to digest. They said that modern research suggests that reading fiction helps you neurologically to relate to other people's experiences. It also correlates with improved social interactions and the ability to read the room, very powerful as a business owner, I will link that article and also the actual scholarly article from NCBI in the show notes for you to look at if that is of interest to you. So when you are reading your next fiction book at the beach this summer, by the lake or in the pool. Remember that research suggests that reading literary fiction actually improves one's theory of mind and emotional intelligence. So my recommendation for you, now that you know all these benefits of reading good fiction books, is Laura Dave's the last thing he told me it is so good. It's about the main character is Hannah Hall, whose husband, Owen disappears after leaving behind a cryptic note saying, protect her as she struggles to uncover the truth behind her husband's disappearance, she forms an unexpected bond with her stepdaughter, reluctant stepdaughter, Bailey, who holds the key to unraveling this mysterious past. The novel explores themes of trust, love and resilience, keeping readers on the edge with its twists and revelations. It is a masterful blend of suspense with emotional depth, crafting a compelling narrative about the lengths one will go to protect their loved ones. I really appreciated this one. It's one of the few books I can say I read so quickly. And I love, really, almost any fiction book from Reese's book club. That is my cup of tea when it comes to books. I also really loved Magic Hour by Kristen Hannah. I know there's a lot of Kristin Hannah fans out there. The four wins, oh my gosh, depressing, but also so great. I could go on. But truly, this episode was so fun to put together, grabbing my favorite books, sharing all my underlines with you, and remembering how they have shaped me as a writer, a copywriter, a business owner and a human So which of these five best books for entrepreneurs. Have you read? Do you recognize any of these titles? Or do you have other books that you would add to this unconventional entrepreneur book list? If you do, I would love to hear about it. Get on my email list, and let's have a mini book club session about it. I would love to chat all things books with you. So