Maybe It’s Not That Kids Don’t Read

Maybe It’s That They Haven’t Been Given the Right Books

Author

Stephen Carter
November 18, 2024

 I’ve heard the same statistics as you–all in, kids have stopped reading. Somewhere along the line, students stop reading and rely instead on increasingly easy-to-get summaries and key thoughts to carry them through the educational process.

Trust me–I have been one who has bemoaned, loudly, this phenomenon. As a former English teacher, this cuts deeply. Especially given the quote from famous speaker Charlie “Tremendous” Jones: “Five years from today, you will be the same person that you are today, except for the books you read and the people you meet.”

If our kids aren’t reading, they are losing key opportunities to grow. They are losing key opportunities to embrace the entrepreneurial mindset. The entrepreneur must be a lifelong learner and there is no better way to access the wisdom of the ages than by reading (or listening if you prefer audiobooks). 

I’m tempted to argue that perhaps our students aren’t reading because they haven’t been given the right books. With the right book, and the right reason for reading it, our students will be on a path to flourishing. 

What follows is a list of books I have compiled that touch, in some way, on the attributes of the entrepreneurial mindset. The four attributes of the entrepreneurial mindset we teach include growth mindset, grit, redefining failure, and opportunity seeking—and as you look over this list, you’ll see many works specific to those topics. You’ll also see books that may seem unrelated but that are fundamental to many of the aspects required to think like an entrepreneur. In fact, many of these books are worth reading multiple times.

●  Mindset by Carol Dweck

●  The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth by John Maxwell

●  Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey

●  So Good They Can't Ignore you by Cal Newport

●  Atomic Habits by James Clear

●  The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson

●  Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins

●  The Five Major Pieces to the Life Puzzle by Jim Rohn

●  Grit by Angela Duckworth

●  Shoedog by Phil Knight

●  Four Disciplines of Execution by Chris McChesney

●  Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey

●  The Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz

●  Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

●  The Ideal Team Player by Patrick Lencioni

●  Start with Why by Simon Sinek

●  The 5 AM Club by Robin Sharma

●  Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara

●  Dare to Lead by Brené Brown

When we immerse ourselves in the entrepreneurial mindset, we can’t help but operate with a growth mindset, we can’t help but develop our grittiness, we can't help but redefine failure, and we can’t help but chase down opportunities.

Ready to launch an entrepreneurship program at your school? Let’s talk.

❝

Imagine your culture infused with growth mindset, grit, redefining failure, and opportunity seeking. Imagine your team acting and thinking like entrepreneurs.

Stephen Carter