What Life-changing Books Should A Man In Their Early 20's Read?

A common question ambitious men in their 20’s ask me is, “What life-changing books should I read?”
Asking any question about books, especially life-changing books, is a tough one to answer.
That’s because I read a lot more books than the average person. Therefore, it can be like asking a musician what their favorite song is. But here are my top ten suggestions for now. If you in your 20’s these are a must-read:

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1.Top 5 Regrets of the Dying
Life is more than about just making money. In fact, I have found a lot of rich people are still unhappy or unfulfilled. Therefore, this book does a great job addressing other life concerns.
The author saw hundreds of people pass because she worked in a retirement home.
I have definitely changed how I live my life and what I want to do because of the book. My priorities have shifted.
Biggest takeaways: Do more things that you wouldn’t do out of fear of failure. Our biggest regrets are often out of fear or trying to please others. Don’t live someone’s dream life or job if it’s not your own. You can be happy in the most mundane or simple times.
The author of the book has some great stories that taught me about life as well.
She was quite happy despite living a modest life. She was thankful for every moment because she survived cancer. She counseled many elderly men and women, some rich, some poor, some bitter at the world, some angry, and some depressed. One of my favorite stories was one where a rich but bitter woman was angry and confused as to how she could be so happy all the time.
One of my favorite stories was one where a rich but bitter woman was angry and confused as to how she could be so happy all the time.
2. The Millionaire Next Door
Want to get the surprise of your life? This book unveils some common trends of millionaires after studying thousands that go against the stereotype. For example, the most common car they own is a pick-up truck and they usually live modest lives.
I still remember this book after many years! I listened to it on audiobook while playing Batman Arkham City and Battlefield.
Nonetheless, it left a deep impression on me about personal finance and wealth creation. It lead me down a whirlwind path of improving my finances and understanding how wealth is made.
Biggest takeaway: you can get rich slowly over time even with a modest salary if you budget, save, and invest. Most millionaires live very modestly and have modest cars/houses/items. They spend on what they enjoy on and got there through being frugal and smart. They’re not like stereotypical millionaires you would image with fancy mansions.
Having said that, there’re tons of takeaways and I will be reading this again.
3. Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
The biggest lesson from this one was that IQ and natural genetic intelligence definitely don’t guarantee success. And if you’re good enough, what matters a lot is how much more time you put into practicing compared to the next guy, not how much more naturally gifted you are.
In the book, there was a reference to a study that tracked thousands of the nation’s highest IQ children over their lifetime. As adults, they were shockingly no more successful than a randomly selected control group. Some were garbage men!
How did this occur? Clearly, there’s more to success than just IQ. Social and emotional intelligence are big players in a world that where you have to deal with politics, social interaction, managing people,