1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:05,759 Entrepreneurship is such a risk. Success most of the time it requires some kind 2 00:00:05,799 --> 00:00:10,039 of risk. There's never a guarantee that anything is going to work out the 3 00:00:10,039 --> 00:00:13,039 way you want it to, and we always have to weigh up that risk 4 00:00:13,279 --> 00:00:16,960 versus the reward, and I think in business it's more true than anywhere else. 5 00:00:17,519 --> 00:00:21,839 There's always going to be the risk that your new idea for an offer 6 00:00:22,239 --> 00:00:27,480 isn't going to sell, But then the potential upside is that it does sell 7 00:00:27,519 --> 00:00:31,480 and you help a bunch of people and it becomes really profitable. Welcome to 8 00:00:31,559 --> 00:00:35,479 Imperfect Action. I'm Steph Taylor. For years, I read all the books, 9 00:00:35,600 --> 00:00:39,679 downloaded all the freebies, and did all the courses, but it wasn't 10 00:00:39,759 --> 00:00:44,359 until I started taking imperfect action that my business had its first million dollar year. 11 00:00:45,679 --> 00:00:51,479 Imperfect action is about doing things before you're ready, prioritizing consistent action over 12 00:00:51,560 --> 00:00:55,960 perfect action, and moving forward even when you're not sure you're doing it right. 13 00:00:57,000 --> 00:01:00,600 On this show, you can expect mindset advice, actionable mark putting tips 14 00:01:00,799 --> 00:01:03,879 and strategies to build a business that brings you more profit, more freedom, 15 00:01:04,040 --> 00:01:10,439 and even more joy. Are you on the list to get my daily businesses 16 00:01:10,840 --> 00:01:14,159 every day? I'll send you a bite sized prompt designed to help you grow 17 00:01:14,200 --> 00:01:18,200 your business in a more intentional way. Sign up at Steph Taylor dot co, 18 00:01:18,519 --> 00:01:25,040 forward slash DBB, or at the link in the show notes. Hey, 19 00:01:25,239 --> 00:01:27,840 welcome back to Imperfect Action. This is episode six hundred and ninety eight. 20 00:01:29,400 --> 00:01:33,760 Today I'm sharing with you a couple of the books that I've read and 21 00:01:33,959 --> 00:01:37,000 loved this year that I've had a bit of an impact on my business, 22 00:01:37,480 --> 00:01:41,560 as well as a couple of the ones that are coming up next on my 23 00:01:41,680 --> 00:01:47,159 reading list. Most of the successful people that I have come across in business 24 00:01:47,159 --> 00:01:53,719 in life, they all spend a lot of time reading books. And what 25 00:01:53,760 --> 00:01:57,000 I've noticed is, I don't think it's so much about the actual strategies or 26 00:01:57,000 --> 00:02:01,599 the tactics that the books tell you about. It's more about the actual art 27 00:02:01,879 --> 00:02:07,840 of reading. It's the ideas that come up when you're in that meditative state 28 00:02:07,879 --> 00:02:12,599 of reading. It's the new perspectives and new ways of seeing the world that 29 00:02:12,639 --> 00:02:16,159 you might not have otherwise considered, but now you're seeing it through the author's 30 00:02:16,159 --> 00:02:21,840 perspective. And this is why I'm not a fan of those book summaries. 31 00:02:21,919 --> 00:02:24,800 Right, you know how you can buy like the spark Notes version basically of 32 00:02:24,919 --> 00:02:29,680 a lot of these books. But I'm not a fan of those because I 33 00:02:29,680 --> 00:02:32,439 don't think it allows you to have that meditative state. It doesn't allow you 34 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:38,719 allow you to be in the author's perspective and look at a new way of 35 00:02:38,719 --> 00:02:42,840 looking at the world. And personally, I don't love audiobooks. That's just 36 00:02:42,960 --> 00:02:49,199 how I struggle to consume information that way. But then I have a lot 37 00:02:49,240 --> 00:02:52,960 of friends who that's the only way that they can read. So if you 38 00:02:53,000 --> 00:02:55,599 know reading an audiobook is going to help you to read more, then do 39 00:02:55,639 --> 00:03:00,080 that. But for me, personally, I need to read the actual words 40 00:03:00,280 --> 00:03:05,039 on a page, whether that's a physical book or whether that's on my kindle. 41 00:03:05,520 --> 00:03:09,560 Now this year, I haven't actually read a lot of purely business books, 42 00:03:09,879 --> 00:03:14,439 right. I haven't read a lot of the like tactical stuff because I 43 00:03:14,479 --> 00:03:19,439 actually I feel like I don't get that much out of them anymore. It's 44 00:03:19,439 --> 00:03:22,800 a lot of people just regurgitating the same stuff that we've heard over and over 45 00:03:22,879 --> 00:03:27,759 again. But the books that I have read that aren't business related have had 46 00:03:27,759 --> 00:03:31,400 a really big impact on my business. Now. These are five of them 47 00:03:31,439 --> 00:03:36,879 that I highly recommend getting onto your reading list because I enjoyed them so much. 48 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:40,919 Number one The Psychology of Money by Morgan Houseel. This was a really 49 00:03:40,960 --> 00:03:45,360 easy read. I got through about eighty percent of this book on a four 50 00:03:45,400 --> 00:03:50,639 hour plane flight, and basically the book dives deep into why we make the 51 00:03:50,680 --> 00:03:54,039 decisions that we make when it comes to money, making money, saving money, 52 00:03:54,080 --> 00:03:59,639 spending money, investing money. And I actually really love this quote from 53 00:03:59,680 --> 00:04:02,479 the book that I think we'll give you a great idea of why this book 54 00:04:02,879 --> 00:04:08,560 is relevant. So the court is every decision people make with money is justified 55 00:04:08,599 --> 00:04:12,960 by taking the information they have at the moment and plugging it into their unique 56 00:04:13,000 --> 00:04:16,160 mental model of how the world works. Those people can be misinformed, they 57 00:04:16,199 --> 00:04:20,000 can have incomplete information, They can be bad at math, they can be 58 00:04:20,040 --> 00:04:24,680 persuaded by rotten marketing. They can have no idea what they are doing. 59 00:04:25,079 --> 00:04:29,199 They can misjudge the consequences of their actions, Oh can they ever. But 60 00:04:29,319 --> 00:04:32,839 every financial decision a person makes makes sense to them in that moment and checks 61 00:04:32,879 --> 00:04:36,560 the boxes they need to check. They tell themselves a story about what they're 62 00:04:36,560 --> 00:04:41,000 doing and why they're doing it, and that story has been shaped by their 63 00:04:41,040 --> 00:04:46,600 own unique experiences. So that was a quote from this book, And this 64 00:04:46,639 --> 00:04:51,079 book looks at the reasoning behind why we make the decisions that we make. 65 00:04:51,560 --> 00:04:57,759 It's so fascinating, especially if you're somebody who thinks your relationship with money could 66 00:04:57,800 --> 00:05:00,879 be better, and maybe you feel a little of shame around your decisions that 67 00:05:00,879 --> 00:05:06,319 you've made around money. This book will shift that big time. Number two 68 00:05:06,759 --> 00:05:12,279 Find Your Red Thread by Tamson Webster. Now. I saw Tamson speak at 69 00:05:12,319 --> 00:05:15,920 Social Media Marketing World in twenty twenty two, and after I watched her keynote, 70 00:05:16,079 --> 00:05:19,319 I downloaded her book and then I didn't read it until this year. 71 00:05:19,319 --> 00:05:23,759 It's sat there in my Kindle library for way too long. And the key 72 00:05:23,839 --> 00:05:29,319 idea behind Tamson's book is that the best way to make your ideas irresistible is 73 00:05:29,360 --> 00:05:32,720 to build the stories that people will tell themselves about your idea. So, 74 00:05:32,759 --> 00:05:38,160 if you are trying to sell someone on any idea, whether that's something in 75 00:05:38,199 --> 00:05:42,959 your marketing, whether it's your offer, whether it's something in your sales processes, 76 00:05:43,360 --> 00:05:47,000 it's so much easier to build a story around it, and to build 77 00:05:47,040 --> 00:05:51,079 the story that people your audience are going to tell themselves about it. Because 78 00:05:51,399 --> 00:05:55,319 if you just tell somebody this is what it is. This is the way 79 00:05:55,319 --> 00:05:59,560 it is. You know you're wrong, this idea is right, They're probably 80 00:05:59,600 --> 00:06:03,360 gonna not pay attention, or they are going to be coming up with a 81 00:06:03,399 --> 00:06:10,480 million reasons why you're wrong and they are right. So instead Tamsen shares really 82 00:06:10,560 --> 00:06:15,040 actionable framework. This is probably the closest book to a business book in this 83 00:06:15,120 --> 00:06:20,800 list, and she shares this framework around how to build the story that people 84 00:06:20,800 --> 00:06:27,160 are going to tell themselves around your idea. Number three on the list is 85 00:06:27,480 --> 00:06:31,600 definitely not a business book, and it's QF thirty two by Richard Decrepping me. 86 00:06:31,839 --> 00:06:36,759 I really probably have not pronounced that well. It's one of the best 87 00:06:36,839 --> 00:06:42,319 leadership books that I've ever read, and it's about Quantist flight thirty two that 88 00:06:43,560 --> 00:06:48,680 in twenty ten had an engine explode shortly after takeoff out of Singapore's Changi Airport. 89 00:06:49,319 --> 00:06:54,360 And after the engine exploded, all of the things started going wrong, 90 00:06:54,519 --> 00:06:58,040 right, all of the different systems in the plane started going wrong, and 91 00:06:58,759 --> 00:07:01,519 the author was the captain of the flight, and he and his crew had 92 00:07:01,560 --> 00:07:06,720 to basically, you know, they had to go into crisis management mode and 93 00:07:08,360 --> 00:07:12,120 land this plane safely. With four hundred and sixty nine people on board. 94 00:07:12,519 --> 00:07:16,000 And why it's such a great leadership book is because it looks at how the 95 00:07:16,079 --> 00:07:23,920 captain the author managed to keep his team from panicking and also managed to keep 96 00:07:24,120 --> 00:07:30,600 the flight attendants and all of the passengers from panicking when they could literally look 97 00:07:30,600 --> 00:07:33,519 out of the window and see that there was, you know, there were 98 00:07:33,519 --> 00:07:40,319 holes in the wing like it didn't it didn't look great. So it's a 99 00:07:40,360 --> 00:07:45,240 great book on that. It's also really just fascinating and weirdly, it's made 100 00:07:45,279 --> 00:07:47,839 me feel a lot safer flying. I don't know why, but it just 101 00:07:47,959 --> 00:07:51,360 happens. Made me realize the planes don't just fall out of the sky. 102 00:07:53,160 --> 00:07:57,920 Number four is also not a business book by any means, and it is 103 00:07:58,000 --> 00:08:01,759 called Against All Odds by Craig Challen and doctor Richard Harris. So these are 104 00:08:01,759 --> 00:08:07,680 the two Aussies who helped to rescue the kids that were trapped in a flooded 105 00:08:07,800 --> 00:08:11,959 cave in Thailand a couple of years ago. This is such a great book 106 00:08:11,959 --> 00:08:16,360 about leadership and about risk. So even though it's not a business book, 107 00:08:16,000 --> 00:08:22,920 it was really interesting to look at how they both displayed leadership skills and how 108 00:08:22,959 --> 00:08:28,399 they weighed up the risk of sedating and diving these kids out of the flooded 109 00:08:28,439 --> 00:08:33,200 cave versus the inevitability that the kids were going to die if they didn't get 110 00:08:33,240 --> 00:08:37,919 rescued. I'm also currently reading doctor Richard Harris's next book. His most recent 111 00:08:37,960 --> 00:08:43,320 book called The Art of Risk, which is very relevant to anyone who has 112 00:08:43,399 --> 00:08:48,720 started their own business, because starting a business is a huge risk. Entrepreneurship 113 00:08:48,879 --> 00:08:54,080 is such a risk. Success most of the time it requires some kind of 114 00:08:54,200 --> 00:08:58,440 risk. There's never a guarantee that anything is going to work out the way 115 00:08:58,440 --> 00:09:01,799 you want it to, and we all have to weigh up that risk versus 116 00:09:01,840 --> 00:09:05,159 the reward. And I think in business it's more true than anywhere else. 117 00:09:05,720 --> 00:09:09,679 There's always going to be the risk that your new idea for an offer isn't 118 00:09:09,720 --> 00:09:15,799 going to sell, But then the potential upside is that it does sell and 119 00:09:15,840 --> 00:09:20,279 you help a bunch of people and it becomes really profitable. So there's always 120 00:09:20,600 --> 00:09:24,360 the risk versus that reward. And I think any books where we're looking at 121 00:09:24,799 --> 00:09:30,519 risks that people have taken, it can be such a great reminder that risk 122 00:09:30,720 --> 00:09:35,080 is a very normal part of life, and it's a very normal required part 123 00:09:35,200 --> 00:09:39,120 of success. Okay, and then number five, the Catalyst, How to 124 00:09:39,240 --> 00:09:45,759 Change Anyone's Mind by Jonah Berger. If you are a coach, course creator, 125 00:09:45,919 --> 00:09:50,720 marketer, you are in the business of behavior change, and helping someone 126 00:09:50,720 --> 00:09:56,559 to change their behavior is really really challenging because humans are wired to keep doing 127 00:09:56,600 --> 00:10:00,960 the same things over and over again because it keeps us safe. If we 128 00:10:01,000 --> 00:10:03,799 can predict how something is going to turn out, then we are going to 129 00:10:03,879 --> 00:10:07,679 stay alive because we know we've done this before, it's worked out, and 130 00:10:07,840 --> 00:10:13,399 it's safe. Our brains are wired to keep us safe. Now, this 131 00:10:13,559 --> 00:10:20,360 book walks you through Jonah's framework for removing the barriers and the roadblocks to change 132 00:10:20,720 --> 00:10:24,720 and creating the catalyst for someone to change. And this actually might be the 133 00:10:24,759 --> 00:10:28,519 most useful marketing book that I've read this year. Even though it's not technically 134 00:10:28,519 --> 00:10:33,399 a marketing book or even a business book, it's really useful because so much 135 00:10:33,519 --> 00:10:39,919 of marketing sales, and then obviously working with my students in my courses, 136 00:10:39,519 --> 00:10:46,240 so much of that requires taking them along this journey of change. And like 137 00:10:46,279 --> 00:10:50,559 I said, if you're a coach, course creator, a marketer, any 138 00:10:50,600 --> 00:10:54,080 kind of digital product creator, you are in the business of behavior change. 139 00:10:54,159 --> 00:10:56,480 You will find this book really useful. Okay. And then I have three 140 00:10:56,519 --> 00:11:01,240 books that are coming up next on my reading list. Number one is four 141 00:11:01,279 --> 00:11:07,039 thousand Weeks Time and How to Use It by Oliver Berkman. I actually listened 142 00:11:07,120 --> 00:11:13,360 to Oliver on The Imperfect podcast recently and it was such an interesting episode, 143 00:11:13,480 --> 00:11:18,559 such an interesting interview around how we manage our time. And I want to 144 00:11:18,600 --> 00:11:24,200 read this book because I'm so guilty of saying yes to everything and thinking that 145 00:11:24,240 --> 00:11:28,480 I have endless time to get all of the things done, when in reality 146 00:11:28,519 --> 00:11:31,000 I need to be a little bit more selective with what I say yes to 147 00:11:31,480 --> 00:11:35,759 and a little bit more intentional with the time that I do have. The 148 00:11:35,840 --> 00:11:39,200 next one on the list is Alchemy The Surprising Power of Ideas that Don't Make 149 00:11:39,240 --> 00:11:46,320 Sense by Rory Sutherland. This book is a book about ideas, about being 150 00:11:46,440 --> 00:11:50,759 less logical, about thinking outside of the box. And I'm excited to read 151 00:11:50,759 --> 00:11:54,120 this one because I am such an ideas person. I love reading about ideas, 152 00:11:54,159 --> 00:11:58,440 where they come from, what we do with them, and I don't 153 00:11:58,440 --> 00:12:05,600 know, I'm interested to hear just a different perspective on ideas that work and 154 00:12:05,639 --> 00:12:11,399 don't work. And then the final one is The Surrender Experiment by Michael singer, 155 00:12:11,559 --> 00:12:16,519 because I, like most of us, spend way too much time trying 156 00:12:16,519 --> 00:12:22,480 to change and control the things that I can't actually change or control, when 157 00:12:22,159 --> 00:12:26,159 it would be so much easier to just accept these things and stop wasting my 158 00:12:26,279 --> 00:12:30,480 energy trying to change or control them, and instead focus on the things that 159 00:12:30,519 --> 00:12:33,960 I actually can control. So there you have it. That's eight books to 160 00:12:35,039 --> 00:12:37,799 add to your reading list if you're a fan of reading. If you're not 161 00:12:37,840 --> 00:12:41,200 a fan of reading, it might be a new habit to try to get 162 00:12:41,240 --> 00:12:45,440 into. It's one of the best habits that I've got into for sure, 163 00:12:46,039 --> 00:12:50,600 and I know it's it can be really time consuming, but it's so much 164 00:12:50,600 --> 00:12:54,639 more valuable than flopping on the couch and watching Netflix in the evening. Now, 165 00:12:54,679 --> 00:12:58,919 if you've learned anything from any of the episodes on this show, I 166 00:12:58,960 --> 00:13:01,919 would really appreciate it if you could take just thirty seconds to leave a quick 167 00:13:03,000 --> 00:13:05,639 rating and a review. I read every single one of them. It means 168 00:13:05,639 --> 00:13:09,879 so much to me when you do take the time to do that. And 169 00:13:09,120 --> 00:13:13,039 that is it for today's episode. So thank you so much for listening. 170 00:13:13,120 --> 00:13:13,879 Catch you next time.