As a long-time member of the book industry and as publisher of Bard Press, Todd Sattersten has been involved in many top-selling books intended to give readers fresh perspectives like The ONE Thing and Rookie Real Estate Agent.

Todd recently put his own experiences down on paper when he wrote 100 Best Books for Work & Life. This book takes Todd’s 20 years of reading and experience and condensed it down into one book that lays out how to apply a variety of business and personal development books to this current moment in time. 

Todd isn’t trying to list the most popular titles in his book. Rather, he wanted to highlight the ones that stick. Each book in his collection earned its place because it meets three criteria:

1. It’s timeless.
   It’s still relevant 10 years later.
2. It’s useful.
   It’s full of frameworks you can actually apply.
3. It’s transformational.
   It changes the way you see the world.

How to Use 100 Best Books

Todd has written 100 Best Books for Work & Life for readers who want to take what they learn from the pages and apply it to their own personal and business worlds. And to do this, he dives into the core message of each book as well as its practical takeaways.  

As he shares, the best way to use the book is to find the chapters themes that most interest you. Figure out what challenges you, search for that particular topic, and then find the books Todd has determined can help you. Whether you’re looking for books to help you explore the topic further or get new perspectives you didn’t have before, Todd has a book or two to recommend for you.

Take the following four topics as examples of what you can explore within the pages:

• Chapter Topic: Key Habits

This chapter covers books relating to how to form a habit and the processes that can make you successful. Whether the books relate to personal development habits or goal-focused habits, these books help you succeed at a higher level and get better at the activities in your life.

• Chapter Topic: Focus

This chapter helps the reader to determine what to read to help them to build the right habits and focus on the things that matter. As Todd says, we live in a world full of many distractions. Each of these books look at focus from a different perspective so that we can prepare to take on the flood of things coming our way and building mechanisms to help us manage these distractions and protect ourselves.

• Chapter Topic: Starting

The books within this chapter can help the reader to take on experiences effectively, whether it relates to starting your day, a new position, a new business, or a new idea. It provides a starting point or launching pad for the experiences you are having challenges with.

• Chapter Topic: Goals

Todd says that goals can be purposeful, meaningful, and emotional. In this chapter, the various recommended books all look at goals from different perspectives and show you how to make them something that you can measure and control. 

Getting Started with 100 Best Books

Whether you hope to solve a problem or get inspired, chances are Todd has a book to recommend for you.

You just need to know how to start.

Todd recommends being honest with yourself about the challenges you’re having and where you need to spend more time. You don’t need to spend time reading a chapter where you’ve already dedicated a lot of time. Rather, go to a chapter that interests you, find a book that resonates with what you’re looking to learn more about.

Likewise, get inspiration in a simplified way. The book recommendations in each chapter are short so you can use it as a daily reader. Find out about a new book each day. Then, once you find one that piques your interest, you can go deeper and read it in its entirety.

Grow your library in a simplified way. Go to a chapter, find a book that resonates with them that

Todd’s spent decades studying business books and helping authors turn their big ideas into bestsellers. Use his deep knowledge to create your own “continuing education stack” either for your business or life. As he says, every hour you spend reading the right book is an hour you save making the same mistakes someone else has already figured out. So, zero in on the books that interest you the most and can change how you think, work, and lead. Choose a book that helps you solve your next big challenge and go!