August was a busy travel month as we wrapped up our month-long trip to Europe. This was our third trip like this, and I can’t recommend it enough. My August reading list included three audiobooks and one physical book. I’ve learned that audiobooks make it easier to read while traveling, although I still prefer having a physical book in hand.
This month’s four books were The Leadership Secrets of Nick Saban, Anything You Want: 40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur, Driven, and How I Built This: The Unexpected Paths to Success from the World’s Most Inspiring Entrepreneurs. For more recommendations, check out my previous reading lists.
The Leadership Secrets of Nick Saban
“Mediocre people don’t like high achievers and high achievers don’t like mediocre people.” — Nick Saban
Nick Saban’s career looked dead on arrival in the NFL. His stint with the Miami Dolphins wasn’t just a failure; it was a catastrophe. So he escaped to Tuscaloosa. What followed wasn’t just a comeback. It was a systematic, decade-long demolition of college football that cemented him as the GOAT.
In The Leadership Secrets of Nick Saban, the curtain is pulled back on the relentless, unglamorous machine that kept him at the top of Mount Rushmore.
Key principles that I can’t stop thinking about:
- Focus on executing small tasks daily rather than worrying about the outcome.
- Block out the external noise around success that can trick you into complacency.
- Plan for every possible scenario so the pressure doesn’t catch you off guard when the stakes are high.
- A great leader empowers others by building a strong framework where assistants and team members lead from within.
- Constantly evaluate what is and isn’t working and be willing to change your approach when old habits stop working.
- Use staff changes and natural turnover as an opportunity to bring in fresh perspectives and upgrades to your overall system.
📚 The Leadership Secrets of Nick Saban: How Alabama’s Coach Became the Greatest Ever
Anything You Want: 40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur
“If you’re not saying ‘HELL YEAH!’ about something, say no.” — Derek Sivers
Derek Sivers didn’t set out to build a big company.
He started CD Baby because he wanted to sell his own music online. Then other musicians asked if he could sell theirs.
He said yes.
That small decision eventually became CD Baby, which grew into one of the largest online sellers of independent music. Sivers sold the company in 2008 for $22 million and put the proceeds into a charitable trust for music education.
In Anything You Want, he shares lessons and mistakes from building the business.
The ideas are simple, but difficult to practice:
- Build a company that reflects what you want rather than what other people expect.
- Treat your business as a creative outlet.
- If you’re happy, your customers are happy, and you’re profitable, that may be enough.
- If an opportunity isn’t a “hell yes,” turn it down.
- Constraints can force you to focus on creating value rather than chasing external validation.
- Obsess over your customers and make their lives easier.
- Build a business that gives you freedom rather than one that owns you.
Sivers’s story is a useful reminder that more isn’t always better.
To go deeper on Sivers, his entrepreneurial journey, and decision-making, read:
📚 Anything You Want: 40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur
Driven
“I dared to be different, I want to inspire others to do the same.” — Susie Wolff
Driven offers an insider’s view of Formula One from former racing driver and trailblazer Susie Wolff.
She dreamed of racing in Formula One from a young age. At the time, women were rare in top-level motorsport. They still are. Along the way, Wolff confronted a question that has followed women in racing for decades: could they compete with men on the track?
After years of ups and downs, Wolff rose through the ranks, eventually leading a Formula E team before becoming managing director of F1 Academy in 2023. Its mission is to develop and prepare the next generation of female drivers to progress to higher levels of competition.
Wolff’s story is about perseverance, reinvention, and continuing to move forward when the obvious path isn’t clear.
My core takeaways from the book:
- Focus on being the best you can be and let the results speak for themselves.
- Authenticity is a strength. Use it as leverage.
- Recognize when you’ve maxed out your current opportunity, then pursue opportunities that fit your interests and skills.
- True success means helping the people who follow you move the ball farther than you did.
- Channel the fearless version of yourself from childhood into your next adventure.
📚 Driven
How I Built This: The Unexpected Paths to Success from the World’s Most Inspiring Entrepreneurs
“Everybody has the capacity to do it.” — Guy Raz
How I Built This shares lessons from successful entrepreneurs on how they turned ideas into enduring businesses.
The book is full of stories. Lots of them. Raz interviewed more than 200 successful entrepreneurs to learn about their journeys.
How did they come up with their idea? What’s the best way to raise money and recruit people to join you? How do you fend off competitors? And when do you start paying yourself?
These are the questions the book answers.
Core lessons from the book I can’t stop thinking about:
- Successful founders research and test their ideas before fully committing.
- Study other founders’ mistakes to find shortcuts and avoid mistakes of your own.
- True resilience requires shedding your ego when a crisis hits.
- Standing out requires storytelling and creative product positioning.
- Lean on mentors, friends, and family for advice and support.
- Purpose-driven businesses that solve real problems create lasting value.
For more on Raz, entrepreneurship, and learning from successful founders, read:
📚 How I Built This: The Unexpected Paths to Success from the World’s Most Inspiring Entrepreneurs
August Reading List
Across these four books, five themes stood out: success, change, creativity, opportunity costs, and creating value.
Success requires avoiding complacency and focusing on what you can control. Change means recognizing when something isn’t working and being willing to try something new. Creativity means thinking differently and building something that reflects your interests. Opportunity costs remind us that saying no can be just as important as saying yes. Creating value means solving real problems for others rather than chasing recognition.
The biggest takeaway for me is that success isn’t always about doing more. Sometimes it’s about knowing what matters, being willing to change, and focusing on creating something valuable.
