Someone I'm not sure I know wrote me and asked if I'd take a look at an article and possibly share it with others. I don't often do this, but I love looking at intriguing things, so I followed the link and found this article titled 10 Famous Inspirational Leaders And Their Favorite Books.

The list is interesting to me for a couple of reasons. One, as you look at this list, you realize that the books the inspiration leaders read didn't necessarily have anything to do with where they ended up in life. For instance, President Barack Obama's favorite book is Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison, which is a fictional story of a black man growing up from childhood to adulthood in Michigan. It has nothing to do with leadership or motivation, just a story that he liked and mentioned. That's a much different type of thing than Warren Buffett's favorite book, Essays in Persuasion by John Maynard Keynes, which fits Buffett's financial background perfectly.

Two, it makes me wonder if true leaders necessarily have to have a favorite book or not. I can't say I have a favorite book, for instance. I have read a great number of books throughout my life that have either entertained me or inspired me in some fashion, but how does one go about naming one book that supersedes all others? If I put down Go Dog Go by Dr. Seuss, the first book I really remember reading and memorizing at the time, which I still have, would that sound profound or weird? If I said it was Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, would that sound motivational or geeky? If I said Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Eker, would that make me sound greedy or spacey?

Still, I love lists posts like the one I linked to, and I think it's interesting enough for you to check out. While you're at it, I have one that I'd love for you to check out, one I wrote on my other blog, My Top Five Presentations In My History. It's an idea I'm still surprised no one else has ever done, but I'm hoping to start a revolution of some type. I hope you check it out and enjoy it as well.