EQ of Wealth Reading List
10 books to get started
My small section of the universe is creating a culture where families are closer, legacies are stronger, and the world is better.
That’s the EQ of Wealth. It’s work based on everything I know and have learned, and it's informed and inspired by a lot of work that’s already out there!
There are lots of books in existence about the IQ of Wealth, which is any book about financial literacy or decision-making about money. The EQ of Wealth is relational — whether that be in relationship with ourselves or in relationship with others — and therefore, many of the below books are focused on relationships.
Each of the below books have been foundational to the development of my EQ of Wealth work — dive in and get ready for your own growth and legacy magic to start taking shape.
The EQ of Wealth Reading List
1) Fight Right by Drs. John & Julie Gottman
This book is the best book I’ve found on how to transform confrontation to connection. It’s a must read because fighting isn’t bad, but how are we fight can be. Anything I create is truly in homage to the groundbreaking work of Drs. John and Julie Gottman over the last 50 years on the science of love and relationships..
2) Hidden Potential by Adam Grant
Adam Grant does it again with his book “Hidden Potential” on what it takes to reach new heights in our lives. His work on the misconception on soft skills or what he calls “character skills” is illuminating. It also informed this blog post.
3) The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk
The EQ of Wealth is focused on families, and some of our most profound sources of our personal hurt and healing comes from there. This seminal work demonstrates how our that history of health, healing and hurt are inherently connected. It’s not a light read, but the hard lessons of this book unlock profound insights.
4) Marriage: A History: How Love Conquered Marriage by Stephanie Coontz
This book is breath of fresh air if you grew up in America because we can hold the institution of marriage to impossible standards (see Esther Perel’s work). However, if you go far back enough, everything about marriage has changed, so why not make your own rules? And for that matter, why not make your own rules in all relationships?
5) Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life by Hector Garcia and Francesc Miralles
An ikigai framework is how everyone can find their own reason for living. It was this framework that was a direct inspiration for finding my legacy magic, and my legacy magic framework.
6) The Big Leap: Conquer your Fear and Take Life to the Next Level by Gay Hendricks
Gay Hendricks’ descriptions of the zones of incompetence, competence, excellence, and genius will give you a new lens to look at your life, and also the courage to go after your greatest legacy. When I was picking up the pieces of a “phoenix moment,” this book inspired me to keep going with the EQ of Wealth because it’s My Zone of Genius. It had a tangible and positive impact on my life almost immediately after I read it!
7) The Generosity Network: New Transformational Tools for Successful Fundraising by Jennifer McCrea, Jeffrey Walker, and Karl Weber
Jennifer is one of my professional mentors and I had the chance to work with her directly for two years in my twenties. She taught me how fundraising doesn’t need to be transactional, but transformational and how impact is always better when it’s done collaboratively. I’m a stew of my best teachers, so I have to recommend this book.
8) The Intentional Family: Simple Rituals to Strengthen Family Ties by William Doherty
I discovered this book through training with the Gottman Institute. I love this book because what’s so true from the research is that trust is built in the small moments. This book gives you ideas on how to make those small moments, which really are the big moments, matter the most.
9) The Psychology of Money: Timeless Lessons of Wealth, Greed, and Happiness by Morgan Housel
I created the EQ of Wealth because my relationship to money and money making decisions were so intense and straight up stress response. This book brought those complicated emotions out, which is why I think it’s important. This is the only book I can remember where I got so overwhelmed in the middle of reading that I had to stop, put it down, and come back to it 8 months later. It’s not a heavy read. In fact, it’s quite enjoyable, engaging, and factual. I also realized after returning to the book 8-months later and genuinely enjoying it, I knew my journey with money and wealth were healed. Now if that’s not an important book — what is?
10) Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers: The Acclaimed Guide to Stress, Stress-related Diseases, and Coping by Robert M. Sapolsky
This book is also one of the science-heavy books that’s also fun to read! It really dives into how to manage and cope with stress (aka - nervous system regulation) — the physical tenet of the EQ of Wealth. I say again and again that the people we love the most will rock our nervous system the hardest and the fastest. This is why conversations with our family (especially in the realms of wealth and work) become confrontational so quickly. This book helps us get a handle on that.
I hope these books get your neurons firing and ideas flowing, like they did for me!
If you manage to get through all these books, I commend you and I welcome your outreach for further recommendations. I’m sure by then, I’ll have another 10 books to share. Aren’t relationships so fun and forever interesting?
