My favorite books that help you learn how to make honest money online—and keep it

Why am I passionate about this?

I've been scammed several times. Even getting out of one and then being suckered into another. So after the last time, I just quit buying stuff until I'd gotten how and why I could get flim-flammed to begin with. So people could wise themselves up and get their freedom back. It only took a couple of years of my life, but I was able to use all my experiences of being scammed, so the research technically started many years earlier. I've got several degrees including a doctorate, and have published hundreds of titles from the research I've done in various fields. Even one on how to research.


I wrote...

Get Your Self Scam Free

By Robert C. Worstell,

Book cover of Get Your Self Scam Free

What is my book about?

A deep study into how scammers pose as Internet Marketers and work to take your hard-earned money while you are trying to learn how to earn an extra income online.

How to discover and avoid these scammers is covered, which means you also learn how to find the decent companies meanwhile.

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

The books I picked & why

Book cover of Think and Grow Rich

Robert C. Worstell Why did I love this book?

The all-time best-selling classic of how to make yourself rich just by changing your habitual thinking. Almost everyone you know has read this—and most of them have a copy on their shelves. Most of the best-known successes credit reading this to their success. He studied the 500 top money-makers of his day and distilled what they considered made their own success into a single set of just over a dozen principles. Yes, my own copy is dogeared, tabbed, highlighted, and underlined.

By Napoleon Hill,

Why should I read it?

12 authors picked Think and Grow Rich as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill is one of the bestselling motivational books of all-time. Inspired by a suggestion from industrialist Andrew Carnegie, Hill explains the philosophy that helped the wealthiest and most accomplished members of society succeed.


Book cover of If You Can Count to Four: How to Get Everything You Want Out of Life!

Robert C. Worstell Why did I love this book?

Inspired by Napoleon Hill, Jones researched thoroughly to come up with a simple four-step approach that can help a person get everything they want out of life. Once he found his research completed, he then determined to test it—and wound up with a national company with representatives in every state, plus an 8-figure income in 5 years (starting in the early 1950s). I use this four-step formula dailyfor everything.

By James Breckenridge Jones,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked If You Can Count to Four as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

If You Can Count to Four, Here's How to Get Everything You Want Out of Life!

Yes, anyone who will, in the spirit of humility and sincere desire, study and learn how to use the ideas contained in this book, can enjoy a full measure of happiness, health and prosperity according to his individuality.

There is an infinite abundance in this universe. Not only is there an infinite abundance of happiness, faith, love, courage, joy, humility, wisdom, generosity, peace, gentleness, meekness, patience, kindness, and all such qualities one could ever desire to express habitually, but there is an infinite abundance…


Book cover of Get Rich In Spite of Yourself

Robert C. Worstell Why did I love this book?

This is a rare book, but in spite of the 1945 language, the author breaks down the principles of financial success. It tells what can motivate you to succeed, and what will be your ruin. When I reviewed this again recently, I was surprised how many of these key principles were common in other success and “make money” books. Well worth getting your own copy if you can find it.

By Louis M. Grafe,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Get Rich In Spite of Yourself as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"Many rich and successful men and women," declares the author of this helpful book, "have no more brains or energy than anyone else. They are usually driven to success. "Frequently they are so helpless they can't stop moving ahead even when they want to. Their money is made in spite of themselves!" Louis M. Grafe, who made his own fortune, lost it, and then went on to earn another fortune, presents an astonishingly simple formula for wealth and success. He has tested it in his own experience and has found that it has brought wealth not only to him but…


Book cover of The Science of Getting Rich: By Wallace D. Wattles 1910 Book Annotated to a New Workbook to Share the Secret of the Science of Getting Rich

Robert C. Worstell Why did I love this book?

Sure, this book is easily found online, since it's been downloaded almost since the Internet was createdand spread by xeroxed copy before that. If you only read the last chapter, it tells you a very simple (one-page) set of key principles that makes money find you. (I memorized that last page to have it handy all the time.)

By Wallace D. Wattles,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Science of Getting Rich as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace Wattles. The classic book updated for the modern day. Full and complete with added notes and exercises, you can write directly in the book!The added exercises help you to implement the work and gain mastery over the material. Have you even read a book and by the time you got to the end forgot the advice from the beginning of the book? This book solves that problem! The Right to be Rich We are all destined to great thing if and when we put our mind to it. Discover the age old principle…


Book cover of Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion

Robert C. Worstell Why did I love this book?

This was an early work that defined my own studies into recognising scams. Cialdini spent considerable time studying why he was getting “persuaded” to buy more stuffeven when he was trying to just return what he didn't want. It took him several years to compile the data. And oddly, it was certain scammers that recommend reading his book to be able to increase their sales. Once I read it, I kept referring to it as I dug out from my own expensive victimhood. It's been reprinted in several editionsso you should definitely have a copy to hand.

By Robert B. Cialdini,

Why should I read it?

22 authors picked Influence as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The foundational and wildly popular go-to resource for influence and persuasion-a renowned international bestseller, with over 5 million copies sold-now revised adding: new research, new insights, new examples, and online applications.

In the new edition of this highly acclaimed bestseller, Robert Cialdini-New York Times bestselling author of Pre-Suasion and the seminal expert in the fields of influence and persuasion-explains the psychology of why people say yes and how to apply these insights ethically in business and everyday settings. Using memorable stories and relatable examples, Cialdini makes this crucially important subject surprisingly easy. With Cialdini as a guide, you don't have…


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Traumatization and Its Aftermath: A Systemic Approach to Understanding and Treating Trauma Disorders

By Antonieta Contreras,

Book cover of Traumatization and Its Aftermath: A Systemic Approach to Understanding and Treating Trauma Disorders

Antonieta Contreras Author Of Traumatization and Its Aftermath: A Systemic Approach to Understanding and Treating Trauma Disorders

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

As a trauma therapist and dedicated researcher, I love uncovering valuable insights within lesser-known books. There are hidden gems, free from the pressure of commercial success, crafted by authors deeply committed to research, understanding, and the art of writing itself. Their dedication resonates with me, as I believe in the profound value of information and the power of critical thinking. Through my own book, Traumatization and Its Aftermath, I aim to emphasize that psychological concepts often lose their depth in translation and my mission is spreading awareness and fostering a deeper understanding of trauma and its intricate facets. With that idea in mind, I chose these five titles. 

Antonieta's book list on uncovering the human experience and exploring the depths of trauma

What is my book about?

A fresh take on the difference between trauma and hardship in order to help accurately spot the difference and avoid over-generalizations.

The book integrates the latest findings in brain science, child development, psycho-social context, theory, and clinical experiences to make the case that trauma is much more than a cluster of symptoms to be tamed, but instead best understood as development gone off course, away from growth and towards (only) survival.

This book prompts a profound shift in perception, inviting to view trauma as an intricate and diverse experience, a point of view that ultimately leads to sharper treatment and, hopefully, more healing. It encourages a transition from asking, "What happened to you?" to the deeper question, "What is your relationship with what happened to you?"

Traumatization and Its Aftermath: A Systemic Approach to Understanding and Treating Trauma Disorders

By Antonieta Contreras,

What is this book about?

The book is comprehensive, bold, and practical-a much-needed resource for the assessment and treatment of trauma. Instead of the traditional focus on the overall importance of healing, Traumatization and its Aftermath decodes why some people don't heal as easily as others, analyzes the various failures of diagnosis, and explains how to make therapeutic interventions truly effective.

This book offers a systemic deep dive into traumatization that clarifies myths and misinformation about the entire spectrum of trauma and provides both clinicians and non-clinicians with the right level of validation, preventive measures, conceptualization methodology, assessment tools, and healing facts that have not…


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in persuasion, wealth, and Napoleon Bonaparte?

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