Some of my Favorite Resources

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I frequently get asked what resources I would recommend to those who would like to learn more about getting into real estate or rental property.  There is SO much info out there that it can be difficult to know where to start.  Below are some great resources that have served me well over the years. I hope they help you in your own rental property endeavors! 

Must-Reads: 

Overall, I am a pretty big fan of Robert Kiyosaki, and I think Rich Dad Poor Dad is one of his several books that you should absolutelyread. 

Rich Dad Poor Dad is a fictional account of Robert Kiyosaki’s poor dad juxtaposed to a friend’s rich dad and is one of the most influential books I’ve read in my life. Through the story, Kiyosaki explains the difference between a poor mindset and a rich mindset and how each affects your perspective on life. A big purpose of the book is to increase your financial IQ and to help you move from being a consumer to being an investor. While I disagree with some of his principles on debt (which aren’t discussed in this book), I really enjoy his overall outlook and I couldn’t recommend this book enough. It really is a cornerstone type book to build from. 

Without spoiling too much, let me tell you some of my greatest takeaways from the book: 

  1. The greatest investment you’ll ever make is in yourself. Be diligent about increasing your financial IQ. 
  2. An asset can be defined as something that produces cash, while a liability can be defined as something that takes away cash. Most people invest in liabilities, but people who get rich are those who invest in assets.
  3. This book helps you catch a personal vision for how to start your investment journey and grow your portfolio.
  • Accounting for Dummies by John A. Tracy

Hands down, this is the best book on accounting that I have ever read. While it’s not super interesting or exciting, it makes understanding accounting principles extremely easy. I think it’s an essential read for anyone who wants to own a business. I’ve read this book literally four or five times, just to absorb the different areas of accounting that I needed to learn about. Every time I’ve gone through this book, I’ve picked up several nuggets that I previously didn’t understand, and it’s helped me increase my accounting IQ significantly. Tracy really does break down complex accounting principles into very simple language that anyone can understand. 

This book runs through the overall picture of how to build wealth through real estate. If you want an overview of real estate investment, this is a great book to introduce you to a lot of the basics. While this isn’t my favorite book on real estate investing, it is definitely a must-read for anyone who’s interested in this topic.








Additional Reads: 

In this book, Kiyosaki explains that all of us will earn money in one of four ways. He explains that we’re either employees, self-employed, business owners, or investors. As employees and when we’re self-employed, we’re essentially trading money for time. As business owners, our employees exchange money for time and the business stands even in our absence. As investors, we have passive income coming in and our money makes us more money. Kiyosaki goes on to explain the pros and cons of each sector.

Another book by Robert Kiyosaki that I would recommend is Rich Dad’s Guide to Investing.

This book is an absolutely fantastic take on economics, especially for the average person. Something I love in this book is Sowell’s explanation of an economy. He says that an economy exists because scarcity exists. Sowell goes on to unpack some pretty complex principles about economics using common sense language and relatable anecdotes. I would highly recommend this read! 

Some other books by Sowell that I think are great are Economic Facts and Fallacies, Marxism, The Thomas Sowell Reader, and Wealth, Poverty and Politics. 

Acemoglu and Robinson introduce the term “extractive” when explaining how governments take advantage of their people. I think this is a great book to read in order to understand the risk of certain government principles. If you’re a fan of economics and history, this book is an absolute wealth of lessons to learn from. In the end, I might disagree with the authors’ politics, but I can’t disagree with the hard work and insights presented. I think this book clearly illustrates why we are so fortunate in the West and especially why the United States is so exceptional as a place to do business. 

In this book, Nieuwhof explains how to balance life, work, and stress in order to prevent burnout. He lists 7 key obstacles that snuck up on him later in life and how you can avoid them in your own life. I wish I had read this book 10 years earlier because there are a lot of valuable insights that would have saved me a lot of heartache and stress.

Kiyosaki writes this book to an audience of women, but it’s really a great read for anyone. Within it, she explains that oftentimes women are marginalized and don’t see themselves as investors, and she offers advice on how to correct this perspective and find success. In some respects, I think this book is a better narrative on how to start from scratch on a real estate investment journey than her husband’s book. She offers very practical insights from her own successes and failures in real estate. 

This book explains how to maximize profit within a small business and how to better understand your small business’s financial dynamics. 

I think this book does a great job talking about economics, life, and economic forces in the microcosm of rural Appalachia. The lessons he shares of personal growth and discipline transcend location and address the payoff of hard work and sacrifice. Having grown up in the same region as Vance, I can personally relate to many of the lessons he shares. 

I think this is the best book on leadership and life that I’ve ever read. It does a great job explaining how to take ownership and responsibility of all things, but especially bad things. This style of servant leadership (where the leader is ultimately responsible) is so powerful to unlock moving yourself and your organization forward. In light of today’s culture, where being the “victim” is all too common, Willink and Babin’s book teaches to embrace our own failures, personalize them, and move forward. I think every leader should read this book.

Lencioni is probably my all-time favorite business writer. I’ve been thinking about getting a tattoo of his face on my shoulder. I absolutely love his work, and I think that his lessons are key competencies for leaders. I’ve read some of his books as many as a dozen times just to try and soak in all the included principles. I’ve found that listening to his books (like on Audible) is a great way to absorb them because they aren’t very long, and they are easily listened to over and over again. His work has challenged me personally and professionally to be a better leader. Some of his essential writings are The Ideal Team Player, The 5 Temptations of a CEO, The 4 Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive, Getting Naked, The Three Signs of a Miserable Job, and The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team.


Both of these books are about real estate sales and how to approach success with a servant-hearted attitude. Shore does a great job explaining how to create value for your customer and for your organization so that everybody wins. While I’ve never been a realtor, these books have helped me better understand real estate and the privilege of serving people through having good core values. These books really illustrate a win-win mentality and the power of cooperatively seeking to serve others rather than treating customers like money-making projects.   

I love Ken McElroy, and I think he is incredibly fair-minded when it comes to business and economics. McElroy’s resume distinguishes him as a true expert on housing in America, and he shares from his vast experience of owning about 10,000 front doors. He understands multi-family as well as single-family real estate investing. He also has many lessons to share on forming partnerships and all the nuts and bolts of operating a real estate company. He is definitely one of my go-to guys when I have any question about real estate subject matter. I’ve found that McElroy is a strong capitalist who finds the best of any situation, regardless of which way the political winds are blowing. This attitude has helped him maximize his opportunities and build a real estate empire. You’ll be a better investor for checking out his work. 

I think anything Jim Collins writes is a great read, but these are two that I would highly recommend! These are classic business books that anyone seeking to have a credible knowledge of business should read. Jim Collins’ arduous research and careful writing challenges us to build businesses that are distinctive. I strongly recommend spending the time to get to know his work. One of the things I love most about his work is his careful research and real-life examples of so many businesses. The lessons he draws are timeless and applicable to businesses of any size. 

On my other shoulder, I’m getting a Ken Blanchard tattoo. I absolutely love his work, and he has so many amazing business lessons to share. It would be a shame for any person to not read his work. He’s had a phenomenal impact on me as a writer and speaker and as a college student, I sought to emulate all of his lessons and to put them into practice in my work environment. I have no doubt he’s impacted thousands of others just like me. His books are among the easiest business books to understand, but share some of the greatest truths of leadership. A few to check out would be The New One Minute Manager, Raving Fans, Gung Ho!, andLeadership by the Book. 

This book is a great take on leadership and thinking outside of the box. Like me, Richard Branson has dyslexia, and it was very insightful to see how he views it as an asset rather than a liability. Branson came from a pretty average family and is now one of the richest men in the world, and this book details his journey. By his own admission, he was a bit of a troublemaker as a young person (which I relate to), and he recounts his journey of learning to be successful in business and life. Branson is one of those guys that challenges all the norms. Reading his life story likewise challenged me to think about areas where I’ve settled for “normal” where I probably should have expected more. The reason this is so important for businesspeople is we are lulled to sleep by “normal” thinking all the time, and it’s critical to see business and life from another viewpoint. 

Great Watches: 

  • Ken McElroy’s YouTube Channel

Ken McElroy works with Robert Kiyosaki, and I think he has some of the best takes on real estate that I’ve ever seen. To check out his YouTube channel, click here. 

  • Hoover Institution YouTube Channel

The Hoover Institution is a conservative think tank headquartered out of Stanford University. I think their channel presents high-quality material on economic policy, foreign policy, and other areas of politics (with lots of scholarship). Check out their channel here. 

  • Thomas Sowell’s YouTube Channel

Thomas Sowell grew up in Harlem in the 1930s and 40s and has a pretty amazing viewpoint on life. Sowell has so many practical lessons about life and economics, it would be impossible for me to recount them all. He is absolutely a national treasure, and you would be a better person for being a student of his work. Check out his channel here. 

Great Listens:

  • Real Estate Strategies with Ken McElroy 

To listen to McElroy’s awesome podcast on real estate matters, click here. 

  • The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast

Peterson’s podcast is fascinating and talks a lot about life, economics, and social trends. Check it out here. 

  • Rich Dad Radio Show

This is Robert Kiyosaki’s podcast and is a great listen. Check it out here. 

  • EntreLeadership

This is a podcast on Dave Ramsey’s network and is hosted by Daniel Hardy. Click here to listen.