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I’ve found that there are a handful of books, videos and websites that I am constantly quoting, referencing, re-reading or thinking about.

These are the concepts, ideas and people that have shaped and molded me the most.

I thought I’d put them together in one place just for the sake of convenience.

I hope you get something from one or more of these resources. I think they are all incredible. I hope you agree.

In no particular order, here are these resources (note that not all of these things are real-estate-specific, but I nonetheless have included them because they are applicable to ANY industry because they are so powerful):

General

• “Socialnomics” by Eric Qualman (@Equalman) | This is the best resource for understanding the power and potential of Social Media, which is one of my primary passions. Qualman lays out the facts, the stats and the exploding trends that made getting involved in Social Media a no-brainer for me.
• “Crush It” by Gary Vaynerchuk (@GaryVee) | Vaynerchuk is the poster-boy of leveraging Social Media into a cottage industry of its own. He is a dynamic, high-voltage speaker who spawned the “Crush” movement of which I am a mega-disciple.
• “The 4-Hour Work-week” by Timothy Ferriss (@tferriss) | I’ve consulted this book so many times I’ve nearly destroyed it (see image below). I have no idea how Ferriss came up with so many great ideas in one book, but, thank God for all of us, he did. Read this book. Read it 20 times. There’s that much in this thing.
• “Trust Agents” by Chris Brogan (@ChrisBrogan) | Brogan is a giant in Social Media, and this book is one of the primary reasons why. He talks about how relationships are built and based on trust, and how anyone can leverage this idea to create lasting success. We thought so much of it we created an entirely new community outreach program based on a blog post he wrote. And it’s creating great results for us already.
• “Start With Why” by Simon Sinek | This book (video summary below) changed literally EVERYTHING we do at our company. I threw SIX YEARS worth of marketing  strategy out the window and started over because he made us realize we were NOT “starting with why” (actually, we were, but you’d never know it from our marketing, which was entirely “features and benefits” driven, ergo, we had “commoditized” ourselves into looking exactly like our competition, which we are not).

Real Estate-Specific

• Inman News | Inman is the number one portal for real estate news and information. I visit this site at least once a day and I find that I get more quality, practical content from this source than probably any other.
• MyTechOpinion.com by Reggie Niclolay (@ReggieRPR), Nicole Nicolay (@Nik_Nik)  & Chad Johnson (@ChadAJohnson) | This is a treasure trove of great resources for real estate professionals, with particular emphasis on technology and the whats, whys and hows of integrating Social Media into real estate. A super dynamic blog from super dynamic people. Also check out the next iteration of their work at AgentEvolution.com.
• 1000WattConsulting.com by Marc Davison (@1000WattMarc), Brian Boero (@1000WattBrian) & Joel Burslem (@JBurslem) | From a branding/strategic perspective, 1000Watt Consulting is the ultimate brain trust in the real estate game. They are the the seers, the visionaries, the “we know what’s next” guys that tower over all the others. I read everything they write…because they’re always right. As their slogan says, “Turn On.” Indeed!
• TechSavvyAgent.com by Chris Smith (@TechSavvyAgent) | I had the pleasure of meeting Smith at Agent Reboot Seattle, and was blown away by the depth and breadth of his knowledge. Check out the site and start elevating your tech-knowledge-y.
• 365 Things To Do In Vancouver, WA and Clark County Real Estate Guide by Dale Chumbley (@DaleChumbley) | Chumbley has taken the “Chris Brogan Plan” and proven its legitimacy by virtue of this great site that is creating mega-buzz not only in his local real estate market but nationally within the real estate industry itself.
• Real Estate Trends Report by Stefan Swanepoel (@Swanepoel) | Swanepoel is real estate’s ultimate observer, commentator and educator. His annual Trends Report is the most widely anticipated, read and quoted publication of its kind in the industry. When Swanepoel talks, I listen…always!
• Social Media Report by Stefan Swanepoel | Swanepoel published this book early in 2010, and it is the gold standard in terms of an authoritative, comprehensive road map for Social Media and real estate.

Video

• “What Motivates Us” by Daniel Pink

• “Start With Why” by Simon Sinek

• “Social Media Revolution” by Erik Qualman

• “Social Media Socialnomics” by Erik Qualman