Read by Charlie Munger, Jensen Huang, Steve Jobs and 3 others
What books does Codie Sanchez recommend?
Buy boring businesses and own your time is the contrarian gospel behind Codie Sanchez's following, and her book recommendations follow the same creed. The investor and entrepreneur has assembled 39 titles, pulled largely from her YouTube reading roundups, where she distills lists like 'I Read 200 Books on Money' down to the few she considers worth it, plus podcast interviews. The collection is squarely practical, concentrated on business and strategy, self-improvement, leadership and management, and psychology and human behavior. Her top picks include Andrew Grove's Only the Paranoid Survive, Sam Zell's memoir Am I Being Too Subtle?, and Jocko Willink and Leif Babin's Extreme Ownership, a lineup built around operators and dealmakers rather than theorists. Sanchez is the author of Main Street Millionaire, which extends the same acquisition-focused philosophy that runs through her recommendations.
Last updated July 2026 · Every recommendation cited to its original source.
Only the Paranoid Survive
How to Exploit the Crisis Points That Challenge Every Company
byAndrew S. Grove
1996224 Pages“How to see disruption before it destroys you. Success breeds complacency. Complacency kills companies. Strategic paranoia is the edge.”
— Codie Sanchez
Source: Codie Sanchez's YouTube video: 15 Books That Helped Make Me My First Million
Read by Codie Sanchez
Am I Being Too Subtle?
Straight Talk From a Business Rebel
bySam Zell
2017240 Pages“how to think, act and build when everyone else is scared.”
— Codie Sanchez
Source: Codie Sanchez's YouTube video: 15 Books That Helped Make Me My First Million
Read by Tim Ferriss, Marc Andreessen, Joe De Sena and 4 others
Extreme Ownership
How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win
byJocko Willink, Leif Babin
2015320 Pages“No excuses. No bad teams. Just leadership. Own everything and change your results.”
— Codie Sanchez
Source: Codie Sanchez's YouTube video: 15 Books That Helped Make Me My First Million
Read by Brian Chesky, Michael Bloomberg, Patrick Bet-David and 1 others
The Ride of a Lifetime
Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company
byRobert Iger
2019272 Pages“Inside Disney's biggest bets. Optimism, empathy, and decisive risk are CEO superpowers.”
— Codie Sanchez
Source: Codie Sanchez's YouTube video: 15 Books That Helped Make Me My First Million
Read by Tim Ferriss, John Collison, James Clear and 2 others
Poor Charlie's Almanack
The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger
byCharles T. Munger
2023532 Pages“A masterclass in thinking clearly. Use mental models. Avoid stupidity. Stay in your circle of competence.”
— Codie Sanchez
Source: Codie Sanchez's YouTube video: 15 Books That Helped Make Me My First Million
Read by Codie Sanchez
Let My People Go Surfing
The Education of a Reluctant Businessman
byYvon Chouinard
2016272 Pages“every time something goes wrong the answer is almost always to increase your quality... they built their entire company around a premise that you should not buy their clothes that in fact their clothes are such good quality you should keep it forever.”
— Codie Sanchez
Source: Codie Sanchez's YouTube video: Read these 10 books in 2024 to become a Millionaire
Read by Peter Thiel, Elon Musk, Steve Jobs and 8 others
byAyn Rand
19571168 Pages“not for the political tones that people talk about, but for the idea that there is such beauty in labor if you do the thing that you love to do.”
— Codie Sanchez
Source: City Lifestyle Interview: Codie's Contrarian Thinking
Read by Jordan Peterson, Bryan Johnson, Paul Graham and 2 others
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
An Inquiry into Values
byRobert M. Pirsig
1974540 Pages“an incredible book about Zen Buddhism told through a lens of a motorcycle trip”
— Codie Sanchez
Source: City Lifestyle Interview: Codie's Contrarian Thinking
Traction
Get a Grip on Your Business
byGino Wickman
2012246 Pages“take the traction methodology to any business”
— Codie Sanchez
Source: Flippa's The Exit Podcast
The Almanack of Naval Ravikant
A Guide to Wealth and Happiness
byEric Jorgenson
2020242 Pages“Build wealth with leverage, not labor. Use code, capital, and content so your mind works while you sleep.”
— Codie Sanchez
Source: Codie Sanchez's YouTube video: 15 Books That Helped Make Me My First Million
Read by Codie Sanchez
Maverick
The Success Story Behind the World's Most Unusual Workplace
byRicardo Semler
1995352 Pages“He empowered his team to have fun with their business; he empowered himself to live a dream life.”
— Codie Sanchez
Source: Codie Sanchez's YouTube video: Read these 10 books in 2024 to become a Millionaire
Read by Codie Sanchez
Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits!
4 Keys to Unlock Your Business Potential
byGreg Crabtree, Beverly Blair Harzog
2011200 Pages“This book is like hanging out with an accountant... lots of people make money, many people don't keep very much of the money that they make meaning they might have high revenue in a business... but this is going to make you a ton of money.”
— Codie Sanchez
Source: Codie Sanchez's YouTube video: Read these 10 books in 2024 to become a Millionaire
Read by Codie Sanchez
Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself
How to Lose Your Mind and Create a New One
byJoe Dispenza
2013360 Pages“Rewire your brain. Break emotional patterns. Design the identity you actually want.”
— Codie Sanchez
Source: Codie Sanchez's YouTube video: 15 Books That Helped Make Me My First Million
Illusions
The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah
byRichard Bach
1989144 Pages“Most limits are imagined. Reality bends when your beliefs do.”
— Codie Sanchez
Source: Codie Sanchez's YouTube video: 15 Books That Helped Make Me My First Million
Read by Codie Sanchez
Setting the Table
The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business
byDanny Meyer
2006336 Pages“Hospitality is strategy. Put people first and profits follow.”
— Codie Sanchez
Source: Codie Sanchez's YouTube video: 15 Books That Helped Make Me My First Million
Read by Patrick Bet-David, Craig Groeschel, Rory Sutherland and 1 others
Unreasonable Hospitality
The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect
byWill Guidara
2022288 Pages“Care more than necessary. Small surprises create massive loyalty.”
— Codie Sanchez
Source: Codie Sanchez's YouTube video: 15 Books That Helped Make Me My First Million
Read by Warren Buffett, Alex Hormozi, Chip Wilson and 11 others
byDale Carnegie
1936291 Pages“The original influence playbook. Listen well. Make people feel important.”
— Codie Sanchez
Source: Codie Sanchez's YouTube video: 15 Books That Helped Make Me My First Million
Your Money or Your Life
9 Steps to Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence
byVicki Robin, Joe Dominguez
2018384 PagesSource: Codie Sanchez's YouTube video: 15 Books That Helped Make Me My First Million
Built from Scratch
How a Couple of Regular Guys Grew The Home Depot from Nothing to $30 Billion
byBernie Marcus, Arthur Blank, Bob Andelman
1999352 PagesSource: Codie Sanchez's YouTube video: These Are The Best Business Books To Read (7 Billionaire Books)
Read by Ray Dalio, Brian Chesky, Gary Vaynerchuk and 2 others
byWalter Isaacson
2011656 PagesSource: Codie Sanchez's YouTube video: These Are The Best Business Books To Read (7 Billionaire Books)
byWalter Isaacson
2023688 PagesSource: Codie Sanchez's YouTube video: These Are The Best Business Books To Read (7 Billionaire Books)
Sam Walton: Made in America
My Story
bySam Walton, John Huey
1992368 PagesSource: Codie Sanchez's YouTube video: These Are The Best Business Books To Read (7 Billionaire Books)
The Artist's Way
A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity
byJulia Cameron
1992272 Pages“every single morning you wake up and you just write... and you start realizing like 'Wow I'm creative there's more things out there.'”
— Codie Sanchez
Source: Codie Sanchez's YouTube video: Read these 10 books in 2024 to become a Millionaire
Read by Codie Sanchez
A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
What I Learned While Editing My Life
byDonald Miller
2009255 Pages“This is my most gifted book ever. The reason I've read this book so often, the reason I've gifted it so often is that... you're the character of your story.”
— Codie Sanchez
Source: Codie Sanchez's YouTube video: Read these 10 books in 2024 to become a Millionaire
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Frequently asked questions
What books does Codie Sanchez recommend?
Her 39 recommendations include Only the Paranoid Survive by Andrew Grove, Am I Being Too Subtle? by Sam Zell, and Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin, a list focused tightly on business, ownership, and dealmaking.
What is Codie Sanchez's top book pick?
She flags Andrew Grove's Only the Paranoid Survive as a top pick, a book she frames around the idea that success breeds complacency and that complacency is ultimately what kills companies and careers alike.
Where do Codie Sanchez book recommendations come from?
Mostly from her YouTube videos rounding up the best money and business books, including her review of 200 books on money, alongside interviews such as Flippa's The Exit Podcast and other business shows.
Has Codie Sanchez written a book?
Yes. She is the author of Main Street Millionaire, which lays out her contrarian playbook for acquiring small, cash-flowing 'boring' businesses instead of chasing startups or traditional investments.
What genres does Codie Sanchez read most?
Her recommendations concentrate on business and strategy, self-improvement, leadership and management, and psychology and human behavior. The list carries a clear bias toward practical, operator-level advice from people who have actually built and bought companies rather than academics.
All 39 Books Codie Sanchez Has Recommended
- Only the Paranoid Survive · Andrew S. Grove
- Am I Being Too Subtle? · Sam Zell
- Extreme Ownership · Jocko Willink
- The Ride of a Lifetime · Robert Iger
- Poor Charlie's Almanack · Charles T. Munger
- Let My People Go Surfing · Yvon Chouinard
- Atlas Shrugged · Ayn Rand
- Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance · Robert M. Pirsig
- Traction · Gino Wickman
- The Almanack of Naval Ravikant · Eric Jorgenson
- Maverick · Ricardo Semler
- Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits! · Greg Crabtree
- Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself · Joe Dispenza
- Illusions · Richard Bach
- Setting the Table · Danny Meyer
- Unreasonable Hospitality · Will Guidara
- How to Win Friends and Influence People · Dale Carnegie
- Your Money or Your Life · Vicki Robin
- Built from Scratch · Bernie Marcus
- Steve Jobs · Walter Isaacson
- Elon Musk · Walter Isaacson
- Sam Walton: Made in America · Sam Walton
- The Artist's Way · Julia Cameron
- A Million Miles in a Thousand Years · Donald Miller
- Million Dollar Weekend · Noah Kagan
- The Ultimate Sales Machine · Chet Holmes
- Mindset: The New Psychology of Success · Carol S. Dweck
- Principles: Life and Work · Ray Dalio
- MONEY Master the Game · Tony Robbins
- Economic Facts and Fallacies · Thomas Sowell
- Rich Dad Poor Dad · Robert T. Kiyosaki
- The $100 Startup · Chris Guillebeau
- The 48 Laws of Power · Robert Greene
- $100M Offers · Alex Hormozi
- Never Split the Difference · Chris Voss
- Mastering the VC Game · Jeffrey Bussgang
- Good to Great · Jim Collins
- Man's Search for Meaning · Viktor E. Frankl
- Andrew Carnegie · David Nasaw