Why am I passionate about this?

I joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 2008 and by 2015 I was a Sergeant who had made all the same financial decisions most service members make…tattoos, alcohol, cars, chasing tail, etc., and had a negative net worth to show for it. Then I read Rich Dad Poor Dad and the light came on. I started buying houses, and by 2021 I exited the military as a financially free millionaire and spend my time helping service members and veterans learn how to build wealth. The military is one of the best places to set yourself up for success, and these books will help you get started on that journey!


I wrote

The No B.S. Guide to Military Life: How to build wealth, get promoted, and achieve greatness

By David Pere,

Book cover of The No B.S. Guide to Military Life: How to build wealth, get promoted, and achieve greatness

What is my book about?

Serve your country, and become financially free in the process!

If you’re considering joining the military, or already serve, and…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

The books I picked & why

Book cover of Rich Dad Poor Dad

David Pere Why did I love this book?

Rich Dad Poor Dad is the book that changed the trajectory of my life forever.

It is a parable that explains the difference between the traditional way of thinking “Go to school, get a good job, work hard, retire” with the entrepreneur mentality, and the concepts of utilizing passive income to replace your job at an earlier age.

I love this book because it takes the normally boring subject of finance and investing and breaks it down in a fun and easy way to learn so that you will actually finish the book and have the ability to experience that light-switch moment! 

Without a doubt this is the most commonly mentioned book that I hear referenced on podcasts as “the book that started it all”.

By Robert T. Kiyosaki,

Why should I read it?

11 authors picked Rich Dad Poor Dad as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

It's been nearly 25 years since Robert Kiyosaki's Rich Dad Poor Dad first made waves in the Personal Finance arena.
It has since become the #1 Personal Finance book of all time... translated into dozens of languages and sold around the world.

Rich Dad Poor Dad is Robert's story of growing up with two dads his real father and the father of his best friend, his rich dad and the ways in which both men shaped his thoughts about money and investing. The book explodes the myth that you need to earn a high income to be rich and explains…


Book cover of The 4 Disciplines of Execution: Achieving Your Wildly Important Goals

David Pere Why did I love this book?

Everybody knows that having goals is important, and yet so many of us are bad at achieving them.

The 4 Disciplines of Execution, or as it is commonly known “4DX” is a book that walks you through a simple framework to utilize when striving toward a goal in order to actually achieve it. 

This book taught me the difference between lead and lag measures—which showed me that I’d been keeping track of my goals all wrong—and helped me better understand leverage and the importance of accountability.

This is a great read to help you achieve more of the goals you set for yourself.

By Chris McChesney, Sean Covey, Jim Huling

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked The 4 Disciplines of Execution as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Fully revised and updated, the definitive guide for leaders on how to create lasting organisational change.

Do you remember the last major initiative you watched die in your organisation? Did it go down with a loud crash? Or was it slowly and quietly suffocated by other competing priorities? By the time it finally disappeared, it's quite likely noone even noticed.

Almost every company struggles with making change happen. The 4 Disciplines of Execution: Revised and Updated is meant to help you reach the goals you've always dreamed of with a simple, repeatable, and proven formula. In this updated edition of…


Book cover of The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich

David Pere Why did I love this book?

The 4-Hour Workweek should be mandatory reading for any wannabe entrepreneur, especially those coming from a salary job—even more so those from a government job like the military! 

This book teaches you how to become extremely efficient in everything that you do, which is a must when running your own business!

You see, in a salaried position—especially a government one it seems—it is all too easy to fall into the trap of getting as much work done as necessary so as not to get fired before the end of the work day. Whereas when you run your own business you need to figure out how to get the most work done in the least amount of time. Every. Single. Day!

By Timothy Ferriss,

Why should I read it?

12 authors picked The 4-Hour Workweek as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A new, updated and expanded edition of this New York Times bestseller on how to reconstruct your life so it's not all about work

Forget the old concept of retirement and the rest of the deferred-life plan - there is no need to wait and every reason not to, especially in unpredictable economic times. Whether your dream is escaping the rat race, experiencing high-end world travel, earning a monthly five-figure income with zero management, or just living more and working less, this book is the blueprint.

This step-by step guide to luxury lifestyle design teaches:

* How Tim went from…


Book cover of The House Hacking Strategy: How to Use Your Home to Achieve Financial Freedom

David Pere Why did I love this book?

Real estate investing is where I got started, and is still one of my favorite ways to build wealth.

Hands down my favorite real estate investing strategy is house hacking! This book was written by a friend of mine, and teaches you how to house hack, so I like it 😊. 

The largest expense for most Americans is where they live. House hacking is where you buy a duplex, triplex, fourplex, or large single-family home and you live in one unit and rent the other units out—or in the large SFH live in one room and rent to roommates—so that your tenants can cover a large portion, if not all, of your living expenses. Sometimes you may even get paid to live in the home!)

When you eventually move out of that property it will cash flow, and you can rinse and repeat several times. All while saving the money you would have been spending on your housing expenses to reinvest. Talk about a way to exponentially increase the trajectory in which you achieve financial freedom!

By Craig Curelop,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The House Hacking Strategy as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Learn to harness the ultimate recession-proof real estate investing strategy―house hacking offers lower-income housing options with incredibly low vacancy rates.

House Hacking 101: Don’t pay for your home―hack it and live for free!

Savvy investors have been using a clever strategy in real estate for decades―and now, you will learn exactly how to perfect this trade secret! When mastered, house hacking can save thousands of dollars in monthly expenses, build tens of thousands in equity each year, and provide the financial means to retire early. In fact, the average house hacker can turn a single-family home or small multifamily property…


Book cover of Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine

David Pere Why did I love this book?

Profit First is a banking system that accounts for the inevitable human error of “ooh, there is money in my account, I can afford that”.

This book helped me set my businesses up so that I was actually able to keep some of the income that was coming in from them, rather than continually getting to the end of the month and wondering where the revenue I had generated went. 

This is a must read for self-employed and small business owners, and a solid read for personal finances too!

By Mike Michalowicz,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Profit First as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Author of cult classics The Pumpkin Plan and The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur offers a simple, counterintuitive cash management solution that will help small businesses break out of the doom spiral and achieve instant profitability.

Conventional accounting uses the logical (albeit, flawed) formula: Sales - Expenses = Profit. The problem is, businesses are run by humans, and humans aren't always logical. Serial entrepreneur Mike Michalowicz has developed a behavioral approach to accounting to flip the formula: Sales - Profit = Expenses. Just as the most effective weight loss strategy is to limit portions by using smaller plates, Michalowicz shows that by…


Explore my book 😀

The No B.S. Guide to Military Life: How to build wealth, get promoted, and achieve greatness

By David Pere,

Book cover of The No B.S. Guide to Military Life: How to build wealth, get promoted, and achieve greatness

What is my book about?

Serve your country, and become financially free in the process!

If you’re considering joining the military, or already serve, and want to make the most out of your career while building passive income after your service ends, this audiobook is a must-listen. With in-depth advice, The No B.S. Guide to Military Life is the audiobook I wish existed when I joined the military. The tools and tactics in this audiobook can literally earn you millions of dollars, and help you build enough passive income to retire, without ever having to work again!

Book cover of Rich Dad Poor Dad
Book cover of The 4 Disciplines of Execution: Achieving Your Wildly Important Goals
Book cover of The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich

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Raising an Entrepreneur: How to Help Your Children Achieve Their Dreams - 99 Stories from Families Who Did

By Margot Machol Bisnow,

Book cover of Raising an Entrepreneur: How to Help Your Children Achieve Their Dreams - 99 Stories from Families Who Did

Margot Machol Bisnow Author Of Raising an Entrepreneur: How to Help Your Children Achieve Their Dreams - 99 Stories from Families Who Did

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve become passionate about telling parents how to raise happy, resilient, creative, confident, entrepreneurial children who are doing something that gives them joy. So many young people are unhappy; parents don’t understand how to help. They think their children should follow their path, but that no longer works for many. For the last 10 years, I’ve been speaking to parent groups; I was an Advisor to EQ Generation, an after-school program that gives children the skills to succeed; on the Advisory Board of MUSE School, preparing young people with passion-based learning; and on the Board of Spark the Journey, mentoring low-income high school students to achieve college and career success. 

Margot's book list on learn how to raise confident children

What is my book about?

This book shakes longstanding assumptions of parenting.

Through 99 stories of people who are now changing the world, it shows how to raise creative, confident, resilient children who are filled with joy and purpose. Based on interviews with top entrepreneurs and their parents, it guides you to help your children identify their passion and figure out how they can spend their professional lives doing something they love. 

Parents' well-intentioned efforts often boomerang. By ignoring their children’s skills and interests, parents can inadvertently create pressure and anxiety, thwarting their children's ability to excel and find happiness. Too often, following your heart…

Raising an Entrepreneur: How to Help Your Children Achieve Their Dreams - 99 Stories from Families Who Did

By Margot Machol Bisnow,

What is this book about?

Learn how successful entrepreneurs were raised! Could your children start a company that disrupts existing industries? Or a non-profit that helps people around the world? Or follow their passion as an artist or activist? And most important, lead a life of joy and purpose, to be happy and fulfilled? Margot Machol Bisnow, mother of two thriving entrepreneurs, reveals how to raise creative, confident, resilient, fearless kids who achieve their dreams, through 99 stories of families who did it.

Read stories from 70 families who raised true game changers. See family photos of these thriving entrepreneurs, both when they were young…


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in small business, quality of life, and personal finance?

Small Business 32 books
Quality Of Life 28 books
Personal Finance 90 books