In this motivational YouTube video, Dan Willis, the "Millennial Motivator," addresses viewers under 25 who are considering entrepreneurship or small‑business ownership. He presents a concise reading roadmap of three core books that he believes will help young people decide if the entrepreneurial lifestyle is right for them and equip them with the mindset and tools to succeed. The first recommendation, Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris, is framed as a short, high‑energy primer that challenges conventional life scripts and tests the viewer’s commitment. The second, Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss, is described as a “buffet” of productivity hacks, habits, and mental models drawn from successful entrepreneurs, mentors, and high‑performers. The third, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fck by Mark Manson, is suggested as an Audible experience that reinforces a resilient, no‑excuse mindset, helping listeners ignore unproductive opinions and stay focused on their goals. Willis also mentions two supplemental reads: Gary Vaynerchuk’s Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook for social‑media engagement tactics, and his own book Who Cares? which teaches passion‑driven branding. The video concludes with a call‑to‑action asking viewers to suggest additional books and promising more entrepreneurial content in future videos.
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So, are you under 25 and you're looking to break into the entrepreneur world? Sit tight, I got 3 books that you have to read before you get the ball rolling. Welcome back guys, I'm Dan, the Millennial Motivator, and this is a channel for those that want to create, engage, and inspire as entrepreneurs, small or small business. Welcome back, guys. Today we're going to talk to you young entrepreneurs, people that are, you know, just out of high school or maybe still in high school and working their way up into and through college. Lots of hype around entrepreneurs right now, guys, and people are trying to figure out whether or not they want to head that direction or it's something completely off base for them and they want the 9 to 5. Now, there are lots of great channels out there, great video content out there, a lot of Twitter content, a lot of podcasts. That can help you process this. But for me, there are 3 books that are gonna help you process this real quick, and I wanted to make sure that you had a chance to grab them, read them, and process them as you're coming to a decision about whether or not to enter into the entrepreneur lifestyle or the small business lifestyle. So let's hit it. Alright guys, first book up, Do Hard Things. This is not one that you see on a lot of lists, but these guys here, Alex and Brett Harris, Bunch of— couple of young guys there, good-looking young guys. Those young men took a summer when they were young guys, read a stack of books yay high, took the time to process all that information and went, hey, you know, the world is saying that we're only capable of doing this, you know, be a high school student, then go to college, then get a 9-to-5 job, then retire, then die. That's how it works. And they went, well, that's not how it's gonna work for us. That's not how we like to do it. Let's challenge things. Let's shake things up. Let's do— What people think is impossible. This book is a required read if you are going to consider stepping into a small business or an entrepreneur world. Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris is a crucial read. First thing it's going to do for you guys, it's going to motivate you. It's going to be a massive motivation for you. It's got great case studies of a bunch of different young people that went out there, challenged the world, challenged the preconceived notions of what people could and could not do and said, listen, this is what's possible if you put your mind to it, you ignore the chatter, set your own targets, set your own goals, know what you're capable of, and go hit it. Now, you will know as soon as you finish this book whether or not the entrepreneur small business lifestyle is for you because this will either get you pumped and running or you're just gonna go, that, this is nuts. This is insanity. It's not for me. So, at the very least, it will paint a black and white picture for you. And just for fun, I think it's the one that's got the foreword from Mr. Chuck Norris, I believe. Yep. Yeah, this is the one that's got the foreword from Chuck Norris in there. So good old Chuck— oh, there it is down at the bottom. Foreword by Chuck Norris. Great read, guys. Highly recommend it. If you are trying to consider things and you are a young entrepreneur or you want to be a young entrepreneur, you've got to hit this one first, okay? Great start, small read, easy to pump out in a day. Hit it up. So, you finished Two Hard Things and now you're wondering, okay, what's next? What's next, Dan? What do I hit next? Big book. You had a little book, time for a big book. Tools of Titans. Now, don't be too intimidated by this book, guys. Tim Ferriss, author of The 4-Hour Workweek, 4-Hour Body, yada yada yada. Tribe of Mentors is another one that he just had come out, but Tools of Titans for me is his best, I think. And you don't have to be super intimidated by this, this guy here. Don't be intimidated at all. The reality is this book here is like a buffet. You hit it up smorgasbord style. So you just crack it open wherever you want, bam! Now we're learning about productivity tricks for the neurotic, manic depressive, and crazy like me. Anyways, inside here guys is a ton of great tips, tricks, and just mindframes, mindsets. From people who have read books like this, dove in, become entrepreneurs, mentors, solopreneurs, they're out there on their own, and now they're doing amazing things. And The Tools of Titans breaks down how they're living the lifestyles that they do, what habits they have, how they're pumping it out, and it's an invaluable tool if you're considering actually making the dive after Do Hard Things. Read it, check it out, don't be intimidated. It's a great book, great read. Tim Ferriss just nailed it in this one. Okay guys, so you've read the little book, you're in. Mindset's there, you're ready to do hard things, blow people away, make it something special, your own, just break off all those notions of a 9-to-5 desk job. You're not gonna go that way, you're going somewhere else. Awesome. Tools of the Titans, you devoured the whole buffet, you know it all, you know how the mentors and billionaires and millionaires, all those who have succeeded have gone out, just rocked it and you're ready to apply it. Great. What do you need next? What's the next book that you've gotta grab and read? And I'm not opposed to you guys just reading these bit pieces and then heading out and doing things and coming back. The next one, guys, and I can't say the title 'cause I don't want this to get, you know, bleep. So, uh, Subtle Art of Not Giving a— You guys get it. You're sharp. Anyway, this book, guys, is an amazing, amazing book, but you don't wanna read the book, okay? And I know, you're like, well, this is a video about reading books. Get the Audible. I'm gonna put the Audible clip down there, guys. If you don't have Audible, it's a great, great tool. I use it while I'm working just because I'm able to listen while I'm typing and doing things. So this one, though, the reason why I recommend this on Audible as opposed to the print version is the guy reading the Audible does an amazing job. Just about the— his intonation and inflection as he's reading the book, he nails it. He understands where the author's going with this. He loves the concept. He's just into it, and it really drives you to get it as well. But the book is what it says. It gives you this guy's realization that other people's opinions, if they're not going to be productive to where you're going, what your passions are, what's pushing you, get rid of that. You don't need that in your life. That book, if you read that, you're having a down day, something didn't work, something failed, you started this entrepreneur journey, And it's driving you nuts, it's just driving you nuts, this is the book that you throw on Audible, 'cause it's gonna make you go, the world doesn't know what I can do until I do it. It's a powerful book, guys. You use it as a motivational tool, you read it when you need to get rolling, that's the way you want to go, okay? So, the reality is this, these 3 books are powerful in and of themselves. If you start with do hard things, you will know whether or not the small business or entrepreneur lifestyle is for you because it will ask the hard questions about are you ready to challenge your preconceived notions of what the world says is possible and isn't possible? And the reality is, if you say yes, I can do the hard things, I can do the impossible things the world says I cannot do, doesn't matter if I'm 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, all the way up to 80, right? Doesn't matter. If you have the passion and drive and push to do hard things, that is a great read. It will drive you and it will get you going. Tools of Titans is gonna pump you up, rev you up, and get you ready to go with the great habits that all the major successful people in the world are using, whether it's meditation or food or whatever. And then you throw on top of it The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck, and it just gets your mind in this frame of, I'm gonna go, nothing's getting in my way, nothing's gonna stop me, and I'm confident and ready to roll. Now, I hate to leave you without a couple extra little things here and there. So, next up, 2 more that I'm gonna recommend just as side reads. They're not mandatory before you get going, but they are recommended side reads. Okay guys, once you've got these books down, top 3, read 'em, burn through 'em, love them, ready to roll, great. Next up, you're gonna be looking to get started, okay? And there's lots of videos out there about how to get started. I'll put one at the end of this video on the end screen for you guys to check out. About how to get started in that process, but you wanna grab Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook by Gary Vee. I have to recommend it. It's gonna give you the right mindset as you get started on your journey about how to engage with people. I'm also gonna recommend you check the description below and grab my book that came out over Black Friday, Who Cares? It, that's the name of the book, I'm not saying who cares. The name of the book is Who Cares? And it's gonna teach you guys how to actually create a brand that is about a passion, Rather than a brand that's about a product or service. And that passion-driven concept is going to help you to build and grow and engage quickly as an entrepreneur or small business. That's it for today though, guys. Question of the day is, what books would you add to this list? If you're going to reach out to a young entrepreneur or a young person that's considering becoming an entrepreneur or a small business owner, what books do you give them? What resources would you say, you have to read this, this is the direction you got to go? That's it though, guys. We'll catch you again tomorrow for another great video. Catch you later. Catch you later.
