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The 10 Books That Changed My Life
(most books are a waste of time – these aren’t):
Eric Hinman
March 06, 2025
read on: themovementmemo.com
read time: 6 minutes
Welcome to The Movement Memo, a bi-weekly newsletter where I share actionable tips to help you live your best day ever, every day.
Today's Programming
Movement: Burpees and rowing
Quote: Wolfgang on knowledge
Lesson: The 10 books that changed my life
Optimization: The most studied supplement on the market
Today's Movement
Complete for time:
30 burpee box jump overs
500-meter row
20 burpee box jump overs
1000-meter row
10 burpee box jump overs
1500-meter row
Crossfit Open: 25.1 with Wade
Today's Quote
“Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.”
Most people read and think they’ve learned something.
But knowledge without action is useless—just intellectual entertainment.
You don’t get fit by reading about push-ups.
You don’t get rich by studying money.
If you don’t apply what you read, you’ve just wasted your time.
Today's Lesson Learned
The 10 Books That Changed My Life:
Over the past 20 years, I have read over 100 books on business, psychology, and personal growth.
99% were one decent idea stretched across 300 pages.
They should have been blog posts.
Save yourself the time and just read these 10—but don’t just read them. Study them. Apply them. Live them.
Most people read books as an escape—an illusion of progress.
They highlight a passage, nod their head in agreement, and move on. But change only happens when knowledge turns into action (behavioral change).
Because reading without implementation reading is just entertainment.
1. The 5 Types of Wealth – Sahil Bloom
Most people start here: chasing money.
That was me too. I thought if I just earned more, everything else would fall into place.
But then I looked around at people who had “made it.” Some were rich but miserable. Others had time but no income. Some were physically fit but broke.
That’s when I realized: wealth isn’t just money—it’s five things.
Financial Wealth – Money and assets.
Social Wealth – Relationships and reputation.
Physical Wealth – Health and energy.
Mental Wealth – Knowledge and mindset.
Time Wealth – Freedom to do what you want.
Most people optimize for one and sacrifice the others. The truly successful? They balance all five. Not all the time, there are seasons to life – but on a macro level.
2. How to Win Friends and Influence People – Dale Carnegie
I used to think networking was about selling yourself—showing people how smart or valuable you were.
I couldn’t have been more wrong.
The most powerful people I’ve met are the quietest people in the room – they listen more than anyone else.
People love talking about themselves—let them.
Remember and use people’s names. It’s the cheapest way to make someone feel important.
The best way to win an argument? Avoid it.
If you can master relationships, you can master life.
The next time you meet someone, ask three follow-up questions before talking about yourself. Watch what happens.
3. Never Eat Alone – Keith Ferrazzi
Every major opportunity in my life came from a single conversation with the right person at the right time.
But those conversations only happened because I put myself in the room. Most people network transactionally—What can this person do for me? That’s the wrong approach.
Instead:
Play the long game. Relationships compound over decades.
Always give first. The best way to get value? Provide value first.
Follow up relentlessly. A single meeting is meaningless without continued effort.
The most successful people I know don’t network.
They build real friendships with interesting people.
Make a list of 10 people you admire. Send one a message today: “Hey, I’ve always appreciated your work. Hope you’re doing well.”
No ask. Just value.
4. The Four Agreements – Don Miguel Ruiz
Most of the stress and frustration in life is self-inflicted.
You take things personally. You assume the worst. You let one bad moment ruin your entire day.
I used to let one bad comment wreck my mindset. Then I read this book, and everything changed.
Four rules to live by:
Be impeccable with your word. Say what you mean, and mean what you say.
Don’t take things personally. 99% of what people do has nothing to do with you.
Don’t make assumptions. Ask. Clarify. Seek truth, not stories.
Always do your best. No one can take that away from you.
Life becomes lighter when you stop carrying unnecessary weight.
The next time something bothers you, pause and ask: “Is this actually about me? Or am I making assumptions?”
5. The 4-Hour Workweek – Tim Ferriss
I used to pride myself on outworking everyone.
4 AM wake-ups. Nonstop hustle. No breaks.
Then I hit a wall—physically, mentally, emotionally. My body was wrecked. My relationships were suffering. And I realized:
I wasn’t winning. I was just running in place.
The people truly winning weren’t working harder. They were working better.
Automate or delegate everything that doesn’t require your expertise.
Focus on outputs, not inputs—busy work is a trap.
Time expands to fill the space you give it—set hard constraints.
Write down three things you did yesterday that someone else could do for you.
Delegate or eliminate one.
6. The Obstacle Is the Way – Ryan Holiday
Every challenge you face is a choice—a roadblock or a stepping stone.
I could have let injuries, failures, or setbacks define me.
Instead, I used them as fuel.
You can’t control what happens.
You can only control how you respond.
The harder the path, the stronger you become.
Resilience isn’t avoiding pain. It’s learning how to use it.
Identify one challenge in your life. Instead of complaining about it, ask: “How can I use this to get better?”
7. Traction – Gino Wickman
Most businesses don’t fail because of bad ideas.
They fail because they never get traction.
Set a clear vision—you can’t hit a target you can’t see.
Hire the right people in the right seats—people are the only real arbitrage.
Measure what actually matters—if you don’t track it, you’re guessing.
A bad plan executed is better than a perfect plan never started.
Write down the #1 bottleneck slowing you down. Take one step to fix it today.
8. $100M Leads – Alex Hormozi
Attention is currency.
You could have the best product in the world, but if no one knows about it, you don’t have a business.
Traffic is king. More eyeballs = more opportunities.
Make your offer so good, people feel dumb saying no.
You don’t need more leads—you need better conversion.
If you’re invisible, you’re losing.
Share something valuable online—an insight, a lesson, or an offer. Attention doesn’t come to you; you have to earn it.
9. $100M Offers – Alex Hormozi
People don’t buy products.
They buy outcomes.
Price is a reflection of value. Raise the value, raise the price.
If people aren’t buying, your offer isn’t good enough.
Make your offer so compelling, it sells itself.
If you’re selling something, ask: “How can I make this 10x more valuable?” Then do it.
10. Buy Back Your Time – Dan Martell
Most people act like time is infinite.
It’s not.
If you don’t value your time, no one else will.
Write down one thing you’re doing that’s wasting time. Stop doing it.
The biggest lesson I wish I knew earlier is that reading alone is a trap.
You get caught in this cycle of fake productivity – where you think you are making progress because you are readying. But growth isn’t correlated to knowledge. To move forward you have to change your behavior.
Don’t Just Read—Apply. Change. Live.
Every book you read should change something about you. (If it doesn’t, you are just wasting time).
Pick one book from this list. Read it today – and change one aspect of your behavior.
Today's Optimization
I’ve been taking creatine every day for years, and recently, I started taking Try Create Gummies.
In case you missed it… they are now NSF-certified. (And they are the only creatine gummy on the market with this certification!)
What does that mean? NSF for Sport ensures that dietary supplements are free from banned substances, verified for content accuracy, and meet strict safety and quality standards for athletes.
We've said it countless times: creatine is one of the most researched and proven supplements on the market.
Most of the research shows positive results for all age groups – young and old(er) alike.
We dug through the research on all the studies to be able to provide you with insights on one of the most beneficial supplements out there: Creatine.
Today, we want to highlight key findings from a few studies:
Study #1: “Heads up” for Creatine Supplementation and its Potential Applications for Brain Health and Function
Key Takeaways:
Long-term high-dosage creatine supplementation increases brain creatine stores.
Creatine supplementation can improve cognition and memory, especially in older adults during times of metabolic stress.
Creatine supplementation improves aspects of recovery from traumatic brain injury in children and has the potential to reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety.
Study #2: Use of creatine in the elderly and evidence for effects on cognitive function in young and old
Key Takeaways:
The well-documented benefits of creatine supplementation in young adults, including increased lean body mass, increased strength, and enhanced fatigue resistance are particularly important to older adults.
Subsequent studies have demonstrated that cognitive processing… can be improved with creatine supplementation.
Key Takeaways:
The purpose was to examine the effects of creatine supplementation during resistance training sessions on skeletal muscle mass and exercise performance in physically active young adults…
The study found that “creatine ingestion during resistance training sessions is a viable strategy for improving muscle strength and some indices of muscle endurance in physically active young adults.”
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Publisher: Eric Hinman
Editor-in-chief: Bobby Ryan