10 Books That Changed the Game for Me in Sales & Leadership the Last 2 Years

(And Why Every Seller, Leader, and Legacy-Builder Should Read Them)

Over the last two years, my career and life have gone through a transformation.

To evolve, I had to unlearn, rethink, and rebuild from the inside out.

These 10 books weren’t just good reads—they were wake-up calls. Course correctors. Catalysts. If you’re serious about scaling your influence, building something that matters, and becoming the leader your people deserve, these are the books I believe in with every fiber of my being.

1. The JOLT Effect – By Matthew Dixon & Ted McKenna

This changed the way I look at closing deals—forever. It’s not about beating the competition anymore. It’s about beating indecision. This book taught me how to guide customers through fear, not push them past it. I now equip my teams with JOLT so they don’t just sell—they lead buyers forward, especially when the stakes are highest.

Game-Changing Insight: Customers aren’t afraid of the wrong decision. They’re afraid of any decision.

2. Leaders Eat Last – By Simon Sinek

This one stopped me in my tracks. It made me examine whether I was building a culture that empowered people… or exhausted them. It reminded me that leadership is not about being in charge. It’s about taking care of those in your charge. I started listening more. Celebrating more. Coaching more intentionally. My team got stronger, and so did I.

Game-Changing Insight: The best leaders build circles of safety. And they protect them at all costs.

3. WINNING – By Tim Grover

Grover pulls no punches, and neither should we. This is not a book for people who want balance—it’s for people who want to be elite. WINNING showed me that victory has a cost, and that staying on top takes obsession, not motivation. It validated the way I work—but also made me reflect on the toll. And it’s helped me channel the fire in healthier, more sustainable ways.

Game-Changing Insight: Winning is everything they say it is… but also nothing like they say it is.

4. Relentless – Also by Tim Grover

This one doesn’t just describe elite performers—it defines them. Reading this book, I saw every trait of my past self as a closer and my present self as a leader. The pursuit of excellence is lonely, uncomfortable, and unrelenting—but it’s also liberating. Grover helped me own the mindset of a Cleaner and teach others how to find that version of themselves.

Game-Changing Insight: Be unapologetically obsessed with greatness—and teach others to want it for themselves.

5. Eleven Rings – By Phil Jackson

Phil coached Jordan and Kobe—and still let them be themselves. This book helped me drop the need to control every outcome and instead trust the team. Phil’s blend of Zen philosophy and competitive grit became my blueprint for how to lead high-performers: with patience, humility, and purpose.

Game-Changing Insight: The best leaders create the conditions for greatness… and then get out of the way.

6. The Sales Acceleration Formula – By Mark Roberge

If you’re building a modern sales org, this is required reading. Roberge made me re-think hiring, enablement, and forecasting—scientifically. It helped me transform my instincts into repeatable systems. This book gave me the blueprint to scale with precision, while still leaving room for passion and people.

Game-Changing Insight: Sales success isn’t magic. It’s math—multiplied by culture.

7. Can’t Hurt Me – By David Goggins

Goggins taught me that the real battle is in the mind. I read this during a time when I needed resilience, not rah-rah. Sobriety. Discipline. Reinvention. I lived these words. This isn’t a book—it’s a mirror. It forced me to confront my limits—and blow past them.

Game-Changing Insight: Most people quit at 40%. You have more to give—a lot more.

8. The Infinite Game – By Simon Sinek

This is one I revisit often. Especially in the nonprofit world, it reminded me that the mission is bigger than the scoreboard. Short-term wins are fine, but infinite players build legacies. I started measuring success differently: less about deals closed, more about people elevated, missions supported, impact multiplied.

Game-Changing Insight: Great leaders don’t play to win. They play to keep playing—with purpose.

9. Atomic Habits – By James Clear

This is the operating system for change. While everyone else is focused on goals, Atomic Habits taught me to focus on identity. Who do I want to become? What do I need to do daily to embody that? From fitness to focus to how I run meetings—this book helped me build habits that actually stick.

Game-Changing Insight: You don’t rise to your goals. You fall to your systems.

10. Solve for Happy – By Mo Gawdat

This book recalibrated my entire mindset. Mo was a Google exec who lost his son—and still found peace. Reading this book helped me detach from outcomes, embrace presence, and focus on what truly matters. It’s deeply personal. And it’s been one of the most powerful tools in my leadership toolkit.

Game-Changing Insight: Happiness is not a destination—it’s a design problem. And it can be solved.

I didn’t just read these books. I let them change me.

They’ve influenced how I build teams, show up for my family, create value for customers, and pour into the mission.

Whether you’re a nonprofit leader, a quota-carrying seller, or an executive trying to leave a legacy, this list will transform you—if you let it.

Your turn: What’s the book that redefined your mindset the last 2 years? Drop it below—I want to hear what changed your game.

#SalesLeadership #GameChangerBooks #PersonalGrowth #ModernSelling #LeadershipDevelopment #ReadingList #WinningMindset #Goggins #SimonSinek #AtomicHabits #SalesAcceleration #RelentlessPursuit #LegacyBuilders #TheShowMustGoOn