Whether you’re new to the trucking business or you’ve been at it for years, you’ll find something of interest here in this top 10 list of books. Get tips on running your company. Read inspiring stories. Open yourself up to a whole new world of professional and personal change.
TRUCKING
1 – How to Setup Your Big Small Business
Author: Spencer Jensen
Publication Date: 2014
Summary
How to Setup Your Big Small Business is the fifth book in the Big Rig eBooks series. Jensen walks you through everything you need to know about getting started as an owner operator of your own trucking company.
2 – The Long Haul: American Trucking Companies
Author: Ron Adams
Publication Date: 2008
Summary
The Long Haul: American Trucking Companies traces the history of the U.S. trucking business, including company-specific details, truck line maps, and photos.
3 – The Long Haul: A Trucker’s Tales of Life on the Road
Author: Finn Murphy
Publication Date: 2018
Summary
The Long Haul: A Trucker’s Tales of Life on the Road offers a candid glimpse into more than 30 years and a million miles of personal experiences on the road as a long haul trucker.
Excerpt
“Take US 50 west from Kansas City to Sacramento or US 6 from Chicago to California and you’ll see a couple thousand miles of corn, soybeans, and terminally ill towns. It looks like a scene from The Walking Dead. If there’s such a thing as the American Heartland, it has a stake through it.”
4 – On Thin Ice: Breakdowns, Whiteouts, and Survivals on the World’s Deadliest Roads
Author: Hugh Rowland
Publication Date: 2010
Summary
On Thin Ice is the personal account of Hugh Rowland who you know from the History Channel’s famed “Ice Road Truckers” series. The book includes Rowland’s detailed stories, as well as the history of ice road trucking.
GENERAL BUSINESS
5 – Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don’t
Author: Jim Collins
Publication Date: 2001
Summary
Good to Great is based on a study of 28 companies. Some made the leap from good to great, others didn’t. Collins and his team of researchers break down a wide range of differentiating factors between them, from leadership style to technology.
Excerpt
“Good is the enemy of great. And that is one of the key reasons why we have so little that becomes great. We don’t have great schools, principally because we have good schools. We don’t have great government, principally because we have good government. Few people attain great lives, in large part because it is just so easy to settle for a good life.”
6 – The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
Author: Malcolm Gladwell
Publication Date: 2002
Summary
The Tipping Point explains the three “rules of epidemics” that turn an idea into a cultural phenomenon – the law of the few, the stickiness factor, and the power of context.
Excerpt
“Look at the world around you. It may seem like an immovable, implacable place. It is not. With the slightest push—in just the right place—it can be tipped.”
SELF-IMPROVEMENT
7 – The Miracle Morning for Entrepreneurs: Elevate Your SELF to Elevate Your BUSINESS
Author: Hal Elrod
Publication Date: 2016
Summary
The Miracle Morning for Entrepreneurs informs and inspires you to make the most of your every day by harnessing the power of discipline and routine.
Excerpt
“Taking responsibility is not the same thing as accepting blame. While blame determines who is at fault for something, responsibility determines who is committed to improving a situation. It rarely matters who is at fault. All that matters is that you are committed to improving your situation.”
8 – Clutch: Excel Under Pressure
Author: Paul Sullivan
Publication Date: 2012
Summary
Clutch shares stories of people in high-stress jobs forced to perform in “clutch” situations. New York Times columnist Paul Sullivan includes interviews with those at the highest level of their professions, from sports to business.
9 – The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change
Author: Stephen R. Covey
Publication Date: 1989
Summary
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is a must-read classic that countless readers have called life-changing. Covey covers the importance of 1) being proactive, 2) beginning with the end in mind, 3) putting first things first, 4) thinking win-win, 5) seeking first to understand then to be understood, 6) synergy and 7) continual improvement.
Excerpt
“Show me someone who is humble enough to accept and take responsibility for his or her circumstances and courageous enough to take whatever initiative is necessary to creatively work his or her through or around these challenges, and I’ll show you the supreme power of choice.”
Author: Robert T. Kiyosaki
Publication: 1997
Summary
Rich Dad, Poor Dad compares the financial lessons Kiyosaki learned from two dads – his biological father and the father of his best friend.
Excerpt
“I am concerned that too many people are focused too much on money and not on their greatest wealth, which is their education. If people are prepared to be flexible, keep an open mind and learn, they will grow richer and richer through the changes. If they think money will solve the problems, I am afraid those people will have a rough ride. Intelligence solves problems and produces money. Money without financial intelligence is money soon gone.”
Explore New Territory
Some books on this list will be more obvious choices for you than others, but don’t stop there. Pick up at least one title you normally never would. There are some powerful books on this list; one of them could surprise you and open a whole new world for you.
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