“Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.” — Joseph Addison

With all of the hype surrounding network marketing, some positive, some negative, some downright unbelievable, it can be easy to lose sight of the fact that networking marketing is a profession much like any other.

Success as a network marketer requires passion, hard work, and knowledge.  Here are my Top Five, Must-Read Books for the network marketer and small business owner. (You’ll notice that only the first book in this list applies directly to network marketing.)

Your First Year in Network Marketing

Network marketing is one of the most fun and rewarding businesses in the world . . .

According to Amazon, I’ve owned Your First Year in Network Marketing since June of 2005.  It’s been an invaluable resource as a reference and a training tool, both for myself and the people on my team.  If you only purchase one book on network marketing, this is the one to buy.

Think & Grow Rich

Most great people have attained their greatest success just one step beyond their greatest failure. –Napoleon Hill

Think & Grow Rich was first published in 1937, the result of more than 20 years of research into what makes hugely wealthy people so successful.  When I first heard about Think & Grow Rich, I was skeptical it would contain anything other than pop-psychology drivel aimed at the get rich quick market.  I couldn’t have been more wrong.

There are many avenues to great wealth, and the wildly successful all have their own stories, but there’s not a single one of them that will tell you they’ve achieved their success without a definite purpose, big goals, and a burning desire to be successful.  If you’d like to follow in their footsteps, I would recommend studying this book.

As A Man Thinketh

A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts. –James Allen

As A Man Thinketh is the one book on this list that I would recommend to anyone and everyone, regardless of their aspirations for success in small business.  I have learned more from this little book about the power of thought and its impact on my life than any other book I have read.  If you study this short essay closely, you’ll find that it’s source material for many of the most popular positive thinking books that follow, including Think & Grow Rich and the recent, wildly popular book and movie The Secret.  While I’ve enjoyed reading other books on this same topic, I’ve not found a single book I value more highly.

How to Win Friends and Influence People

Remember that a person’s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language. –Dale Carnegie

How to Win Friends and Influence People is another book that I avoided for many years, assuming that it would teach me how to manipulate people into liking me just long enough for me to profit financially from the relationship.  Boy was I wrong! Reading this book has been influential in my development as a person, as a friend, and as a successful marketer.

One of the most important lessons to learn in network marketing is that people aren’t interested in buying into your business, they’re interested in buying into you! Practical application of the principles learned in this book will help you become the kind of person that people want to invest in.

Lower Your Taxes Big Time

Tax evasion is illegal.  Tax avoidance is the American way of life. –Claiborne Ferguson

One of the very best reasons to start a small business, any small business, is the ability to save on your taxes every year.  One of the biggest hurdles to making sure you’re reaping all of the tax benefits that you’re due are the incredibly difficult to understand tax rules and regulations.  Lower Your Taxes Big Time breaks down the confusing tax code into small, easy to understand sections that make doing your taxes at the end of the year much easier and highly profitable.  I’ve gotten a lot of mileage out of these books over the years (they’re updated each year), and I’d recommend them highly to any small business owner who’s interested in learning more about the tax advantages of owning their own business.

What books would you add to your Top 5 List?

Learn more about the Blu Frog Opportunity.

What is Twitter? What in the world is micro-blogging? Is it worth my time to invest in yet another social media tool? Can I really grow my business using Twitter?

Twitter Revolution: How Social Media and Mobile Marketing Is Changing the Way We Do Business & Market Online answers all of these questions and more. As soon as I got my hands on a copy (thanks to @CharlyRambin!) , I dove in and read the book cover-to-cover.  What a fantastic learning experience!

The back cover of Twitter Revolution promises to teach the reader:

• How to attract a flood of Followers/Fans/Clients
• How to make yourself Follow-Worthy
• Time saving applications to increase your Twitter efficiency and improve your user experience
• How to market, brand yourself and increase your influence using social media as a free PR tool

Twitter Revolution accomplishes these goals in a mere 250 pages of social networking goodness.  Twitter Revolution is not only an invaluable handbook, but also a quick read that is fun and engaging. It’s invaluable as a Twitter reference – you’ll find yourself referring to Twitter Revolution time and time again. This isn’t a book you want to borrow from a friend, so make sure to get your own copy!

Twitter Revolution is the brainchild of authors Deborah Micek and Warren Whitlock, a social media dynamic-duo who bring their considerable expertise to the topic of the Twitter phenomenon. Perhaps the coolest fact about Twitter Revolution is how the authors engaged the Twitter community and allowed their fellow twitizens to make significant contributions to the book.

Twitter Revolution was especially important to me as an internet marketer.  My temptation as a new Twitter user was to tweet endlessly about my product and my brand without considering whether anyone really cared.  The sheer volume of my tweets would make them care!  I learned how my initial instinct was the absolute worst way to achieve success on Twitter. Twitter is a great place to gain new clients and build a brand, but my initial concept of how to accomplish success was not only misguided, but extremely counterproductive!

Twitter Revolution taught me the most important factor in growing my business on Twitter is building solid relationships with the Twitter community.  It taught me to bring value to my followers, to engage with the community, and to build lasting relationships with my fellow twitizens.  Attracting new clients, building my brand, and converting followers into loyal customers and product evangelists is a side effect of the relationships I cultivate, and not the result of endless 140 character “BUY MY PRODUCT NOW IT’S THE BEST YOU CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT IT” tweets. Admit it, you’ve done that. Don’t feel too bad, so have I, more than I care to admit.

What else will you learn from Twitter Revolution? If you haven’t gotten involved yet, Twitter Revolution will answer the question, “What the heck is Twitter?” and teach you how to get started (it’s really easy to get started on Twitter!).  The chapter “Ten Steps to Attract a Flood of Followers” teaches you how to grow your Twitter network the right way. Confused about all the Twitter jargon?  Make sure to dive into the “Glossary of terms for Twitter” chapter.  Having problems with jerks on Twitter?  You need to read the advice in “21 Tips to Terminating Twitter Trolls.”

Twitter Revolution is an invaluable resource for the both the Twitter novice and the Twitter expert. No matter how little or how much you know, you’ll find some nuggets of wisdom you’ll wonder how you ever lived without. A fast, engaging read, Twitter Revolution entertains and teaches at the same time. Twitter Revolution was especially useful to me as an internet marketer, teaching me how to build my network and my business the right way. What are you waiting for? Pick up your copy of Twitter revolution today!

About the Authors

Warren Whitlock is a #1 best selling author and entrepreneur.  You can find him online at http://WarrenWhitlock.com.  Follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/WarrenWhitlock.

Deborah Micek is an author, columnist, speaker, and all around social media guru.  Find her online at http://DeborahMicek.com.  Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/CoachDeb.

Let’s Connect!

With all this talk about Twitter success and building relationships, I’d be honored if you’d consider joining me on Twitter.  I’m @GimmeBluFrog, and I’d love to meet you.  See you in the Twitterverse!

Connect with Others!

Looking for another great way to connect on Twitter? Make sure to get involved in my favorite Twitter day, “follow Friday!“