The 7 Best Personal Finance Audiobooks You Need To Own

If you have not heard these yet, you won’t be disappointed.  They are never far away in my MP3 or CD changer.  Each one you’re able to listen to over and again. If it seems silly to listen to the same audiobook over and over again, consider how many times in your life you’ve heard that song on the radio. Without further ado –
1.  Richest Man in Babylon, By George Clason – This is one that my Dad bought for me (the paperback, not the audio) 30 years ago, and it was already a classic at that time.
I was just a kid then, and while I didn’t fully understand all of the teachings – you might think that the lessons would be lost on an 8 year old, it turned out to be a more life altering book than, say… my X-Men comics that I liked so much. You know, Wolverine is cool too – but he’s no Arkad.
2.  Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…And Others Don’t, By Jim Collins – Jim Collins and his team of researchers poured their hearts into a 5 year project analyzing what makes a good company great.  Statistics. Logic. Analysis. I actually became sad half-way through the final disk because I knew it was almost over.  (It’s okay – I started it again!)
3.  The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, by Steven Covey – Taking initiative and working WITH people. Setting your goals.  Aligning your goals with your personal values.  Setting up mission statements for yourself, your family, and your business.  He discusses delegation, leadership, and Dr. Covey encourages personal growth that really helps to develop your professional skillset.
4.  Think BIG and Kick Ass in Business and Life, by Donald Trump – Donald Trump is the Gangsta Rap of Personal Development.  I say that because listening to him, it’s kind of like listening to a rap where the whole song is only about how amazing the rapper is – how much money, and fame, and women are constantly around and how much “bling” the rapper has and how everything he touches turns to gold.
That’s true for The Donald, much like it’s true for the rappers that sing it, and sing it, and sing it, until it becomes true.  Everyone loves a winner and in this book Donald tells it like it is – “Fake it until you make it”, and keep singing the song you want to come true.  Not bad advice, and he really opens your eyes to opportunities that you might have overlooked previously by having a too-limited view of possibilities.
5.  How to Win Friends & Influence People, by Dale Carnegie – What an incredible listen.  Not only is the information still completely relevant – it is just awesome listening to the stories of a man that interviewed Roosevelt, studied Lincoln the way Jim Collins studies corporations and developed the body of work on personal development and interpersonal relationships in a way that up until then had just not been done.
This is a true masterpiece.  This title should replace a book in our high school curriculum.  It should be required reading.
6.  Awaken The Giant Within, by Tony Robbins – Tony Robbins is larger than life.  The man is 6’7” and he has more energy than what can fit into that frame.  He is so fired up and his energy is contagious.
He challenges you to really dig deep – to get personal with yourself and to get very real.  What do you want out of your life – your relationships, your money, your work, and what do you decide to accept as your values?
7.  Rich Dad Poor Dad, by Robert Kiyosaki – Rich Dad, Poor Dad was so influential in my life, I just HAVE to pass it on.  Influential in more ways than you might suspect.  While all of the things that Robert Kiyosaki teaches are GREAT insight into money, cash flow, what is an asset versus what is a liability – it taught me more than that.
Robert Kiyosaki is rich by selling information that he got from his “Rich Dad” – and if the information came from “Rich Dad” but Kiyosaki can get rich selling it, than I can cetainly take information I bought from Kiyosaki and teach others about the information for free.

• What are you listening to that is worth mentioning?
• How many of these have you listened to?
• Have any of these audiobooks been a benefit to you?