5 Recommended Books, Podcasts & Resources for Bloggers ...

This post is a little different than our standard post.

Instead of covering one topic related to blogging, I?d like to share a few resources I?ve found that can help you take your business and your blog to the next level.

These are resources that?ve had a big impact for me personally. If you end up just reading one of these books and getting something from it, this post will have done its job.

Mastery by George Leonard

Instead of just learning a specific skill, such as writing blog posts or generating traffic, Mastery focuses on the process of actually getting good at that skill.

George Leonard talks about what the typical learning curve is like. A lot of people think it?s like a straight line going upwards.

In reality, it?s more like a long plateau, followed by a steep incline, followed by a small dip.

If you?re learning Spanish, you might feel like you don?t improve for the longest time. Then one day, it ?clicks? and suddenly you?re doing a lot better. But then you spend weeks or months again feeling like you?re not improving.

He also talks about the different kinds of approaches people take to mastering a skill and the different results each of those approaches bring.

It?s not about any skill in particular; but I found the thought process highly conducive to everything related to internet business.

http://www.amazon.com/Mastery-Keys-Success-Long-Term-Fulfillment/dp/0452267560

?Crush It? ? Gary Vaynerchuk

I consider this book to be one of the best outlines of how to think about social media.

Vaynerchuk clearly illustrates the thought process behind how he built his multi-million dollar business? audience.

It?s very clear how he?s focused on building a connection and establishing credibility. It?s also clear how he?s not trying to sell his audience.

Highly recommended in general for anyone who uses social media or video. Much of what he talks about can be applied to blogging.

http://www.amazon.com/Crush-It-Time-Cash-Passion/dp/0061914177

NPR?s ?Planet Money? and ?Foreign Dispatch?

These may or may not relate to you. If you do business online and have an international customer base, these two podcasts will help you stay up to date on what?s going on in the world at large.

How will the euro crisis affect your business? What about the high rate of unemployment in Britain? Are there markets, even in the information marketing world that are opening up globally?

If you think internationally, which you can since you?re on the internet, these two podcasts can help keep you informed.

One Small Step Can Change Your Life

This book is one of the most powerful books I?ve ever read on creating lasting change. It?s the opposite of the ?I?m going to work 10 hours a day and be really successful? mindset.

Instead, the author recommends a very, very slow process for deeply changing any ingrained habit.

If you?re battling procrastination, write one sentence. Or even just one word. Give yourself very tiny victories and move step by step, inch by inch towards your goals.

It?s hard to describe how powerful this method is. I?ve always had trouble making changes stick, because I?m a decisive person. I tend to want to make huge changes in my life. Yet often I snap back to where I started, because those changes weren?t sustainable.

This book gives a different model on how to approach change, both in your own life and how you approach your business.

http://www.amazon.com/Small-Step-Change-Your-Life/dp/0761129235

Mixergy Podcast

Five days a week, Andrew Warner interviews successful internet entrepreneurs and has them tell their story on how they built their company.

Interviewees include super successful internet figures like the founder of Wikipedia, Zappos, Groupon and so on. However, more importantly, he interviews a lot of smaller successes too.

He interviews bloggers. He interviews people who do videos. He interviews podcasters. He interviews social media experts. I learn something from just about every interview I listen to, whether they?re a big success or a small one.

The podcast itself is free, you can get something like the most recent 10 to 20 episodes in iTunes. Access to older stuff is $25 a month. A deal in my book.

Bonus: Millionaire Fastlane

There was a point in time when I considered ?Rich Dad Poor Dad? the best overall wealth book out there. Then, a few years later, I thought the ?Four Hour Work Week? was the best overall wealth book.

Today, if I had a friend who was frustrated with money and wanted to do something about it, this is the book I?d give him.

It outlines what it really means to succeed and the true price of success better than any book I?ve seen.

It talks about focusing on offering value rather than trying to make money. It talks about how to pick a market based on what?s needed. It talks about both mindsets and actionable steps.

I put this as a bonus, as it?s more of a broad level book not dealing with blogging or internet marketing specifically. However, if you?re interested in expanding your thinking around money or business in general, I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Millionaire-Fastlane-Wealth-Lifetime/dp/0984358102

Audiobooks

One last thing. I rarely have the time to sit down and read a book. But I?m a huge, huge fan of audiobooks. I can read 4-6 books a month thanks to audiobooks. Just put them on when I?m on the train, eating alone, walking, etc. There?s a ton of down time you can turn into educational time by using audiobooks.

I get mine from Audible.

No affiliate links in this article. Just pure recommendations, one blogger to another.

Feedback? Comments? Your own recommendations?

- Derek

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About the Author

Derek Pankaew has been building internet businesses for over 5 years. He?s helped businesses go from startup to over $1 million per year, has built successful marketing campaigns in 4 different countries and has gotten new sites to over 30,000 visitors a month in under 60 days. His specialties include SEO, content marketing and increasing conversions.

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