My Top 5 Books (Out of 38 Read This Year)

Welcome to the last and final episode for the year of 2025, and I am really excited today because I'm going to be going over my top 5 books for the whole year. And I read 38 books this year. And just to kind of remind you of the journey that we set on before, um, but the journey was that I would go on and read 24 books. And granted, I, I read a little bit here and there, um, in the last couple years I've read a little bit here and there, uh, and this all kicked off with reading the Elon Musk biography and really getting into the Founders podcast early, uh, late 2024. And then I had this idea of starting this podcast. And so in the last couple months, uh, 12 months to a year, um, and we're coming up on the 1-year anniversary of this podcast, it has been really exciting to see the journey. And so from listening to books, reading, really diving into just sitting down, reading, taking tons of notes. I'd be on airplanes, flights there and back to different places, just spending time reading, really marinating in all this information, just this year of information. And so I read 38 different books this year, and I'm really excited to just go through my top 5 because there is so many different things to learn from in And I'm really excited to really go over this because 38 books is a lot, especially for me coming from really nothing. I mean, I would read a couple books a year, but to really go over top 5 books of 38 different books— my goal was 24 books, just as a reminder, 24 books. And I can't wait to set a new goal for this next year. But I'm really excited and I'm glad that I was able to accomplish this. And I hope you guys are learning on this journey with me. And so I'm really excited and really grateful for the people listening. And I want to give back by giving my top 5 favorite books that I either learned a lot or have just really spoken to me, um, where I've just gotten invaluable information from. So I really want to go over these, and there's going to be 5, and I'll start with number 5, work down to number 1. So number 5 is How to Make a Few Billion Dollars by Brad Jacobs. And this was actually one of your guys' most favorite series, and we did 2 episodes. It's, uh, number 4 and 5, I believe, on my podcast. And, um, I did about 2 episodes on this, and really, I just love everything that Brad Jacobs talks about. The book is phenomenal. You should go get it. Use the link in the— in that description. Um, I can link to the episodes down below, episodes 4 and 5. Really amazing. And I love that Brad Jacobs, he has some really cool key ideas that are just amazing, from like having A-player teams, um, just really focusing on, uh, just when you read the book, there's actually little quotes and highlights that he picks out to make sure you really, you know it and you memorize it. So it's really easy to read and understand. He wants the best players And he has so many different ideas and lessons. He was the one that used the, the quote from Mike Tyson. When you get punched in your face, the quote is, everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face. And that was from Mike Tyson. And Brad Jacobs, Brad Jacobs used that in his book. So it's a really good book. I love the book. And he has built $7 or $8 billion companies now. And truly incredible what he's been able to accomplish. And the fact that he put into a book— it was recently published like 2 or 3 years ago— the fact that he did that, um, is amazing. And you should all go check it out because he has so many good business ideas, but not only business ideas, life ideas that could really apply to you. So that would be my number 5, um, How to Make a Few Billion Dollars by Brad Jacobs. Now my next book is actually The Almanac of Naval Ravikant, and this one's tough because Number 4 and 3. This is number 4. I go back and forth between this being number 3 or number 4, but I have to put this at number 4 because Naval is so good at what he does. And I love his wisdom. I love the little tidbits of wisdom. And I love that he talks about wealth and freedom, unlearning bad habits, building leverage, and having curiosity over hustle. And I really At the time that I was reading that, it really resonated with me and I really love it. It's one of my favorite books I read for the whole year, and I'm excited to read more by Eric Gorgenson. And I really love his writing and just the way he does it. Go read The Almanac of Naval Ravikant if you haven't. He has some really— Naval has some really good bits of wisdom that are just amazing, and you've got to read it. And also, I think I did like 3 or 4 episodes on this because it was just so good and so powerful. So That would be my number 4, um, book for the year. And now we go into number 3, and number 3 is Endurance by Alfred Lansing. And this is By Endurance We Conquer. This is Shackleton. And the reason why I want— I, I was going back and forth between 3 and 4 for this and Naval is because they're pretty much equal. But Endurance, there, there has this special, um, thing with just with it. With Shackleton, you see him with his beard, you see him um, just in this state where it's amazing. You see him and you're actually— you want to learn more about him. The fact that he saved all of the 28 men from Antarctic ice, um, by leading them like from literally a block of ice. They stood— they stayed on a block of ice. They could— their boat got smashed, then they were on there. It's just a memorable story and it's all real. And there's so many good lessons in there, um, where it's like leading, um, like how to lead and protect your crew. There's so many good lessons. So I loved learning about Shackleton, and I think the biggest thing that really stuck with me is, by endurance we conquer, you know. And Shackleton, he had that. It is by endurance that you can conquer. It's persevering through the pain. Um, there's so many good highlights And it's truly an entertaining and really fascinating story. I hope they make a movie on it. I don't know if they made a movie on it. I heard they were going to make a movie, uh, with Tom Hardy in the next couple years. I don't know if that's true or not, but that's truly incredible. And I just love the story of Shackleton and just what he did, because what he did is incredible and amazing. So I would go recommend that because it was one of my favorite books. And I think what really put that over Almanac of Naval is just that simple line of 'By endurance we conquer.' It's such a memorable phrase that captures the essence of Ernest Shackleton and his crew and how he kept every single guy alive. No guy died. It's a story about survival and grit, and I really love it. So the next one is Disney's Land. This is number 2, and this is by Richard Snow. This was the very first one. Oh, by the way, Endurance, I think I did like 3 or 4 episodes on it. I can link to those down below as well, but Disney's Land is number 2. That's by Richard Snow, and this was about Walt Disney building Disneyland. And this was the first, uh, 2 episodes or 3 episodes I did on the podcast. You guys love this series. You also love Naval, but Disney's Land resonated with you guys so much. And I think it was because— and it really resonated with me— and it's number 2 because, one, first book of the podcast ever, and I love it so much. There's so many good parts. I remember There was actually this time where I was in the midst of a sports season and I, my family all went skiing and I, I stayed in the lodge just to sit down and read this. And I got like 70 or 80, 70 or 80 pages just reading it all at once. And it was truly incredible. There's something about this book that is literally super special, and I don't know why that is. I don't know if it's because the first, um, it's the first book of the podcast, or because I really love Disneyland a lot, um, but it's truly incredible just looking at Walt Disney and how he, like, he looked at every single, um, just granular detail, and he was incredible at it. And just like the way he built it and the way he did things, um, just perseverance again. And then details, focus on the details and the willing to take risk, the willingness to take risk and chances and keep going even when everyone else says it's a bad idea. He believed in it and now it's hundreds of millions of dollars worth of revenue for the Disney Company and his family. So there's so many good things and the amount of hype there was for it when it opened. There's just amazing, incredible things in this story. And there's something that this book really has in my, uh, in my heart where it's super special to me. So I really love it. That would be number 2. But for number 1, it would have to be Four Seasons by Isidore Sharp. And the reason why I say this is because Isidore Sharp is probably my favorite founder in the world that is still alive. I think he's in his 90s. He's like 93 or 94. I've visited a couple Four Seasons since reading that book and every— just by reading that book, I have gained a lot of respect for Isidor Sharp as a person, but also just the brand he's built. Four Seasons, arguably after reading this book, is the best hotel chain and best hotel in the world. Just I love their quote, excellence is the capacity to take pain. He started in a motel. In Toronto, in Canada, in the 1980s or '60s. And then he basically just built from there and he forced a global standard of excellence everywhere. He treated employees like family. That's where the Golden Rule came from. He focused on things that never happened before. So like the— I'm forgetting it— where the guy comes out, valet. They invented that, um, actually in Washington, D.C. They had Presidents' Day at their place. There's so many cool things about that story, and it is one of my most favorite books I've ever read of all time because of just how good it is. And I've almost become obsessed with Four Seasons just because of how good the hotel is. After reading that, I've gained a lot of respect, and so now it's like one of my dreams to just go visit a Four Seasons hotel and stay there. I haven't actually stayed there But we visited it in Maui, just seen it. We've ate, we've had food at the restaurants there. They treat you so nice. Some of the employees have met Isidore Sharp. They're really on top of their A-game there. And I just love it. The, the, the personal, like, just everything is customized right to you. If you don't like this pillow, they'll take that pillow out and give you a new one if you want. I was reading from the book. If you like your certain drink in a can, they'll put it in a can. If you don't and you want it with ice in a glass, they'll do that. And they'll have a personalized system so that way when you keep doing— when you keep coming back, they'll keep it more personalized to you. So they have all that data about you in there. So that way it's optimized towards your behaviors. And they have premium restaurants trying to get the best of the best. So I have a lot of respect for Four Seasons and Isidoro Sharp. And if only I could meet him, it would be a dream. But excellence is the capacity to take pain. And I think that has been the quote that has stood with me throughout the whole year. And it's going to be one that is going to keep going into the years in the future. So excellence is the capacity to take pain. And he didn't just build hotels. He really made the global standard for every hotel in the world. And he treated his employees like family. And so there's so many good lessons in that book, probably more than I've ever seen. So Four Seasons is a great book, um, that would be number 1. Disneyland by Richard Snow is number 2. Endurance by Alfred Lansing is number 3. The Almanac of Naval Ravikant by Eric Gorgenson is number 4. And How to Make a Few Billion Dollars by Brad Jacobs is number 5. And I'll link to all these books, um, Well, not only all the books, but also I'll just link to all the episodes so that way you guys can kind of access just everything that I've gone through in terms of, or just look at the episode feed. If you look at the RSS feed in your RSS player or your podcast player, you should see all these episodes. I started with Disneyland is number 1. I did like 2 episodes or 3 episodes on that. Went to How to Make a Few Billion Dollars, did 2 episodes on that. Almanac of Naval Revolt did 3 or 4 on that. Endurance, I did about 4 or 5, and then Four Seasons did about 4 or 5. So these books have really made up all the episodes I've done for the year, um, but I really appreciate just, um, all these books, and I've learned so much. So I am very grateful for these books. I can't wait to learn more from other people, and I'm currently reading Ernest Hemingway, uh, Writer, Sailor, Soldier, Spy: His Secret Adventures from 1935 into the 1960s. And I'm really excited for that book. I think I want that to be the first book of the year for 2026, but we'll see. And I'm so excited. I'm just beyond blessed to have you join me in this journey. And thank you for listening to all the episodes. And we will— I will keep going forward with this podcast. I love this podcast. I love doing all this, and I love reading. Reading is one of my favorite things, and I need to do more of it, frankly. But thank you guys for the support. If you want to leave a comment down below, that would be very— I'd be very grateful for that. Share this with your friends if you want to, if you find this helpful. I've really distilled these 38 books down to 5 books, and all the podcast episodes are also distilling down that information that would take you 10 to 20 hours to read the book into, you know, 20, 30 minutes of a podcast episode. And this podcast episode's only 15 minutes to get my top books that I've read out of like 40 or 38 different books. So I really appreciate that, um, if you would go ahead and share the podcast. And I will talk to you guys again soon. Thank you.