What are you reading? Are you reading?

Most entrepreneurs are autodidacts. That puts the responsibility for our education about our skills, expertise, and industry squarely on our own shoulders.

Going to business school could be interesting although, truth be told, I think I have a business school’s worth of business books on my office shelf right now. No, I haven’t read them all yet but I have a new plan.

Did you know that if you read just 15 minutes a day — every day, for one year — you can complete 20 books? That’s impressive progress on your ‘education’.

Even the busiest entrepreneur has 15 minutes a day to spare. Heck, spend 15 minutes a day LESS on your emails or Facebook. If you’ve got emails nailed and you’re anti-Facebook, try reading with your morning latte or listen to Audible on your morning run or the drive to your next client.

To jumpstart the next 6 months of ready, here’s the list of 10 books I’ve compiled from the books recently recommended to me by some amazing and successful business owners. Here’s the first half of my list, “The 15-Minutes-A-Day Book List Every Entrepreneur Should Read This Year.”

1. Start With Why - by Simon Sinek. Understanding why, at the root of everything, you do what you do and the real why behind your clients buying from you are the power in your business. For a sneak peek, check out his TED talk called “How great leaders inspire action.”
2. The Art of Explanation - by Lee LeFever, with the subtitle “Making your ideas, products, and services, easier to understand.”
3. Speak to Sell - by Dan S. Kennedy. Read about mastering the art of public speaking to sell for profit. “Persuade, Influence, And Establish Authority & Promote Your Products, Services, Practice, Business, or Cause.”
4. Extreme Ownership - by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin. Two Navy SEALs share powerful combat stories that “translate into lessons for business and life.”
5. Turn the Ship Around - by L. David Marquet, with foreword by Stephen R. Covey. This book is also written by a Navy veteran officer who pushed for leadership at every level in the submarine he commanded, instead of the traditional Navy leader-follower approach, to turn followers into leaders.
6. Skill With People - by Les Giblin. Written in 1968, this is touted as a timeless classic about communicating with impact and listening with sensitivity at home, at work, and in business. 4½ stars at Amazon.com - not bad for 1968.
7. Getting Everything You Can Out of All You’ve Got - by Jay Abraham. Subtitle: What To Do When Times Are Tough. This collection of business growth ideas will “enable everyone to identify the hidden assets, overlooked opportunities and untapped resources.”
8. The 90-Minute Book - by Dean Jackson. A business colleague of ours used this book to write his first book. It’s all about leveraging your specialized knowledge in a clear, organized process of book writing.
9. Give and Take - by Adam M. Grant. “Why Helping Others Drives Our Success,” and why our interactions with others hold the key to success.
10. The Go-Giver - by Bob Burg. This metaphorical story is about an ambitious young man named Joe. He’s a go-getter who learns the power of giving to get.

See you in 6 months with the next 10 books. In the meantime, let me know what you think. If you have other books to recommend, I’d love it if you’d share them in your comment on this article.