Think Rich: The Best 5 Books for Building Your Money Mindset

Discover five book recommendations to transform your money mindset, because your money-making journey is about more than your career - it’s the mindset that builds your real wealth. 

I can’t have a blog that talks about all things personal branding, business, marketing and development without talking money. Because if you don’t value your skills, assets and resources, how can you expect anyone else to?

If you follow my blog, you might know I’m an avid reader, and one of my favourite tips for making reading a regular habit is having reading themes. For me personally, it has created a simple framework to deep dive into a topic: Identifying trends, opposing points of view and setting the foundations to form my own opinions.

The first ever theme I had was dedicating a year to reading a new finance or money mindset book every week. My favourite reads and new finds have remained on the rotating roster of my reading list ever since, so I’ve likely read closer to 100 now.

With so many options out there, it’s hard to know where to start, so in this blog, I’m sharing my top recommendations specifically for building your money mindset. These aren’t just about your spreadsheets; they talk to the emotions and behaviours that drive your ultimate bottom line.

1. The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel

In The Psychology of Money, Morgan Housel dives into the emotions and behaviours that influence your financial decision-making. The best-seller is a reminder that personal finance is personal. Your relationship with money — your beliefs and decision-making around it — is shaped by your unique background and experiences. You behave differently toward money due to your background. Someone else’s decisions are based on their background.

‘Real Wealth’

Housel highlights that real wealth, meaning that which isn’t displayed, is hidden — it can’t be easily identified by others.

With humility a key theme in the book, Housel promotes that one of the most powerful ways to increase your savings isn’t to raise your income. It’s to raise your humility.

Applied to personal branding, it’s a potent reminder that the outward expression of yourself should be visceral to you and never simply to impress others:

“Wealth is what you don’t see…Wealth is the nice cars not purchased. The watches not worn, the clothes forgone, and the first-class upgrade declined. Wealth is financial assets that haven’t yet been converted into the stuff you see.”

2. Happy Money by Ken Honda

Happy Money, by Japan’s “Zen Millionaire” Ken Honda, will have you seeing your money in a whole new way. Is your money smiling or crying? Is it happy or unhappy?

Honda highlights that money is energy, and it can be either:

• Happy Money, e.g. the 10-year-old boy using his money to buy his mum flowers, or

• Unhappy Money, e.g. begrudgingly paying your rent, bills and taxes

Happy Money proposes that it’s not how much money you make or have, but whether your money is happy or unhappy that matters. It’s about the energy that was received and given. Applying this to your career, business or professional brand in general, it sheds a new light on how you felt earning the money you did. If you love what you do, for example, you’re charging the money you earn from it with positive energy.

Learning to ‘Maro up’

In Japanese, Maro is short for magokoro, meaning “true or sincere heart”. A very wealthy (and happy) businessman and mentor told Honda that those in touch with Maro always create win-win situations for themselves and those around them. With a pure and sincere heart, the universe will support you. So, when you “Maro up”, you attract miracles into your life.

To simplify some of this concept, Honda proposes you:

• Become magnetic, both emitting and attracting positive energy

• Become passionate and energised to do the things you care about most and are most intuitive about

• Express more gratitude, and this becomes contagious

3. Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

100+ years on, Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich remains a regular on must-read book lists for a reason. It thinks differently — quite literally. The book’s main idea is that all achievements and earned riches have their beginnings in an idea. It’s the idea that creates the riches.

From a ‘Burning Desire’ to Riches

The book proposes riches begin with a ‘BURNING DESIRE’:

“When a man really desires a thing so deeply that he is willing to stake his entire future on a single turn of the wheel in order to get it, he is sure to win.”

It is the thought that counts.

Psychologists have said,

“When one is truly ready for a thing, it puts in its appearance.”

It’s knowing what you want and having the determination to stand by that desire until it’s realised:

“There is a difference between wishing for a thing and being ready to receive it. No one is ready for a thing until he believes he can acquire it.”

4. The Automatic Millionaire by David Bach

In The Automatic Millionaire, David Bach’s central premise is crystal clear — automate everything. Why does it matter for mindset? Because Bach argues that financial discipline and willpower will never work, as they fail to take into account emotions, which have more control over us than our black and white financial plans would like to think. When you set up automated systems, you take more emotion out of your equations.

If you aren’t familiar with the book, you might know Bach’s global sensation, The Latte Factor. The concept was first introduced in The Automatic Millionaire.

‘The Latte Factor’

When challenged by an audience member once about how she could apply his financial advice to her already lean budget, Bach assesses her daily finances with a fine-tooth comb. Among other things, her daily latte habit was a standout. And his calculations showed the long-term impact on her wealth of even such a seemingly insignificant purchase. As much as the idea is revered, abundance-mindset advocates and other financial experts criticise the concept for stealing daily joys or not focusing on the bigger wins. But Bach’s numbers speak for themselves. Small daily purchases add up to an eye-watering long-term opportunity cost. You’re in control of how you want to spend your money, but it pays to understand the real cost.

5. Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki

I can’t wrap up a list for books about money without rounding it off with the ultimate classic, Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki. The main premise of the book is to educate yourself to ensure you are financially literate. A key highlight is also that, contrary to what you are led to believe when following a conventional path, the rich don’t work for money; they have their money work for them.

By highlighting the opposing experiences of “Rich Dad” and “Poor Dad” in the book, Kiyosaki shows how following the path less travelled can pay off — literally. However, the reason more people don’t stray from tradition is because they don’t want to go against the masses.

The Fear of Ostracism

In a thought-provoking analogy for the financial sector, Kiyosaki reminds us of the fear of public speaking. However, it likely needs no reminder, as he highlights that research shows public speaking is the number one fear for most people, greater than death.

Psychologists believe that the fear of public speaking is caused by the fear of ostracism. A fear of standing out, of criticism, of ridicule and of being an outcast. Kiyosaki believes it’s what prevents people from seeking new ways to solve their problems. We conform, not question and accept common opinions and trends. The easier path, despite its short-term gain, can have more long-term pain. Taking the path less travelled takes bravery in the face of fear.

Money is more than numbers.

Money is the energy and mindset that shape how you value yourself and your work and your money once it flows to you. If you don’t honour your skills, assets, and resources, no one else will.

These recommendations for books to read about money aren’t about financial advice; it’s a toolkit to cultivate confidence, clarity and purpose in a career and money-making journey.

Invest in your money mindset with the same passion you invest in your brand. Your true wealth begins with you.