Back in July 2018, my life looked very different. I had just finished national service. I had no job, no money, no skills and no business. I was simply volunteering to teach remedial classes for SHS students.
But one evening, I picked up a book I had bought years earlier and that simple decision changed everything. That first book opened my eyes to powerful principles that transformed my mindset, my productivity and eventually, my finances.
Since then, I’ve read hundreds of books, but five stand out as life-changing. If you take time to read and apply the lessons from these five books, your life can change too just like mine did.
- Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy
This book taught me that hard work alone doesn’t make people successful but strategic hard work does.
The biggest takeaway? The 80/20 principle: 20% of your efforts create 80% of your results. Instead of trying to do everything, focus on the high-value tasks that move the needle.
I also learned how to write to-do lists, prioritize tasks and start each day knowing exactly what to tackle first. This boosted my productivity instantly.
- The Millionaire Fastlane by MJ DeMarco
MJ explains that there are three “lanes” to wealth: The Sidewalk/Hit-Hiker Lane – gambling, betting and hoping luck will change your life.
The Slow Lane – working hard for 40–60 years, saving slowly, only to retire too old to enjoy the money.
The Fast Lane – building scalable businesses or systems that can create wealth in 5–10 years.
The lesson? The fastest way to wealth is entrepreneurship, not gambling or waiting until retirement.
- Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
This classic taught me that traditional schooling does not guarantee financial success.
Kiyosaki contrasts his two “dads”:
His biological father, highly educated but poor.
His rich dad, an entrepreneur who understood money and became wealthy.
The key lesson: True success comes from financial education, learning about investments, assets, taxes, and passive income. Money should work for you, not the other way around.
- Achieving Your Greatest Dreams by David Asaana
This is my own book, written from years of research and personal experience.
It helps you:
Discover your true purpose in life.
Break the mental barriers that hold you back.
Set and achieve ambitious goals.
Move from where you are to where you truly want to be.
I poured into this book the wisdom I’ve learned from successful entrepreneurs, history’s greatest thinkers, and the Fortune 500 leaders.
If you want to unlock your potential and create a life of freedom and success, get your copy here:
Achieving Your Greatest Dreams
- Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
Often called the “father” of personal development, this book made me believe that everything is possible if you truly desire it.
Napoleon Hill interviewed the most successful people of his time and concluded:
Desire is the starting point of all achievement.
A strong, burning desire fuels persistence and action.
If you can dream it, believe it, and act on it. You can achieve it.
It also teaches how to harness the power of the subconscious mind to create success.
Inconclusion,
These five books completely reshaped my mindset, finances and future. I went from being broke and jobless to becoming financially free all because I read, applied and kept learning.
If you’re serious about changing your life, start with these books and especially grab my book Achieving Your Greatest Dreams.
It will give you the exact blueprint I used to move from struggling to success.
Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy — teaches productivity and focus.
The Millionaire Fastlane by MJ DeMarco — reveals the fastest path to wealth.
Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki — focuses on financial education.
Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill — builds belief and persistence.
Achieving Your Greatest Dreams by David Asaana — provides a complete roadmap for personal and financial freedom.
Reading helped me discover proven success principles from productivity to entrepreneurship and mindset. By applying lessons like the 80/20 rule, financial education and goal setting, I moved from having no income to building a life of financial independence. Books became my virtual mentors and completely reshaped my thinking and actions.
If you’re aiming for financial freedom, start with The Millionaire Fastlane by MJ DeMarco. It explains how to escape the “slow lane” of traditional employment and create wealth through scalable businesses. Then, read Achieving Your Greatest Dreams by David Asaana to learn practical steps to turn those financial goals into reality.
The main lesson from Eat That Frog is to prioritize your most important tasks first each day, the ones that bring the biggest results. Using the 80/20 principle, focus on the 20% of tasks that create 80% of your success. This strategy instantly boosts productivity and helps you achieve more with less effort.
You should read Achieving Your Greatest Dreams if you want a step-by-step blueprint for success based on real-life experience. The book helps you:
Discover your life purpose
Overcome fear and self-doubt
Set and achieve meaningful goals
Create a mindset of freedom and abundance
David Asaana is a Digital Marketer, Author and Entrepreneur with over five years of experience. He has worked with 4,000+ clients across Ghana, the USA, the UK, and beyond. And his YouTube channel where he shares step-by-step tutorials on digital marketing and business growth has reached more than 1.8 million views.
