At ARIVL, we believe success in real estate doesn’t just happen — it’s built through consistent learning, resilience, and curiosity. The most productive REALTORS® aren’t just working in their business… they’re growing it.
That’s where this list comes in.
The ARIVL Reading List is your one-stop resource for the best books to sharpen your mindset, systems, and leadership skills at every stage of your real estate journey. From your first deal to running a thriving brokerage, these reads will challenge how you think, lead, and live.
📅 Last Updated: October 2025
Bookmark this page — we’ll update it often as new must-reads join our shelf.
🥇 1. Getting Started: Foundation for New Agents
If you’re just launching your real estate career, start here. These books build your habits, confidence, and sales foundation — fast.
Core Picks:
📘 Atomic Habits — James Clear
📗 The Millionaire Real Estate Agent — Gary Keller
📙 SHIFT — Gary Keller
📕 Fanatical Prospecting — Jeb Blount
📗 Never Split the Difference — Chris Voss
📘 The ONE Thing — Gary Keller & Jay Papasan
More to Explore:
- Your First Year in Real Estate — Dirk Zeller
- Sell It Like Serhant — Ryan Serhant
- The Miracle Morning for Real Estate Agents — Hal Elrod
- Grit — Angela Duckworth
- How to Win Friends & Influence People — Dale Carnegie
- It’s Your Ship — D. Michael Abrashoff
💡 ARIVL Tip: “If you’re still waiting on your licence — start with Atomic Habits and The ONE Thing. You’ll be miles ahead when you hit the ground running.”
🧠 2. Mindset, Psychology & Personal Performance
Real estate rewards persistence and emotional balance. These reads build focus, grit, and the ability to manage stress in a high-energy industry.
Core Picks:
📘 The Mountain Is You — Brianna Wiest
📙 Essentialism — Greg McKeown
📗 The Power of Now — Eckhart Tolle
📕 The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fck* — Mark Manson
📘 The Book of Boundaries — Melissa Urban
📙 Getting to Yes with Yourself — William Ury
More to Explore:
- The Happiness Advantage — Shawn Achor
- You Are a Badass — Jen Sincero
- The Champion’s Mind — Jim Afremow
- Emotional Intelligence 2.0 — Travis Bradberry
- Crucial Conversations — Joseph Grenny et al.
- The Power of Vulnerability — Brené Brown
💭 Mindset is your foundation. Everything else — scripts, marketing, listings — builds on it.
💬 3. Communication, Persuasion & Negotiation
This is where deals are won. Learn how to read people, connect deeply, and negotiate like a pro.
Core Picks:
📘 Never Split the Difference — Chris Voss
📗 Influence + Pre-Suasion — Robert Cialdini
📙 SPIN Selling — Neil Rackham
📕 Supercommunicators — Charles Duhigg
📗 Getting to Yes — Fisher & Ury
📘 Magic Words — Jonah Berger
More to Explore:
- The Conversion Code — Chris Smith
- Sales EQ — Jeb Blount
- The Like Switch — Jack Schafer
- Pitch Anything — Oren Klaff
🗝 ARIVL Tip: “Your ability to communicate clearly under pressure is your highest-value skill. Practice daily.”
📈 4. Sales, Lead Gen & Marketing
These books help you build a pipeline that doesn’t run dry and a brand clients remember.
Core Picks:
📘 Fanatical Prospecting — Jeb Blount
📙 The Conversion Code — Chris Smith
📗 The Sell: The Secrets of Selling Anything to Anyone — Fredrik Eklund
📕 Content Inc. — Joe Pulizzi
📘 Guerrilla Marketing — Jay Conrad Levinson
📙 Unreasonable Hospitality — Will Guidara
📗 Evergreen — Noah Fleming
More to Explore:
- UnSelling — Scott Stratten
- The Thank You Economy — Gary Vaynerchuk
- The Ultimate Sales Machine — Chet Holmes
💡 ARIVL Tip: “Marketing builds awareness. Consistency builds trust. Follow-up builds your business.”
💰 5. Financial Intelligence & Wealth Building
You’re not an employee — you’re an entrepreneur. These books help you master cash flow, profits, and smart investing.
Core Picks:
📘 The Psychology of Money — Morgan Housel
📙 Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits! — Greg Crabtree
📗 Profit First — Mike Michalowicz
📕 The Book on Rental Property Investing — Brandon Turner
📘 Rich Dad Poor Dad — Robert Kiyosaki
More to Explore:
- The Millionaire Fastlane — MJ DeMarco
- The Intelligent Investor — Benjamin Graham
- The Snowball — Alice Schroeder
💵 ARIVL Tip: “Track your income like a CFO. It’s not about what you make — it’s about what you keep.”
🏗 6. Building a Real Estate Business
These are your systems and scaling playbooks — the tools that turn chaos into consistency.
Core Picks:
📘 The E-Myth Revisited — Michael Gerber
📙 The ONE Thing — Keller & Papasan
📗 Good to Great — Jim Collins
📕 Getting Things Done — David Allen
📘 Traction — Gino Wickman
📙 Essentialism — Greg McKeown
More to Explore:
- 12-Week Year — Moran & Lennington
- Extreme Ownership — Jocko Willink
- The Culture Code — Daniel Coyle
- Dare to Lead — Brené Brown
- Leaders Eat Last — Simon Sinek
⚙️ ARIVL Tip: “Think like a CEO, not just a salesperson. Build repeatable systems — then scale.”
🚀 7. Entrepreneurship & Innovation
For agents who see beyond the transaction — and into the world of building something bigger.
Core Picks:
📘 Zero to One — Peter Thiel
📙 Running Lean / Scaling Lean — Ash Maurya
📗 The Lean Startup — Eric Ries
📕 The Hard Thing About Hard Things — Ben Horowitz
📘 Blue Ocean Strategy — W. Chan Kim & Renée Mauborgne
📙 Your Next Five Moves — Patrick Bet-David
More to Explore:
- Start-Up Nation — Dan Senor
- Super Founders — Ali Tamaseb
- The Passion Economy — Adam Davidson
- The Art of the Start 2.0 — Guy Kawasaki
💼 ARIVL Tip: “Think like a founder — every agent is a business owner in disguise.”
🧭 8. Leadership, Culture & Influence
For those growing teams, mentoring agents, or building culture. Learn how to lead people, not just manage them.
Core Picks:
📘 Leaders Eat Last — Simon Sinek
📙 Start With Why — Simon Sinek
📗 Dare to Lead — Brené Brown
📕 Extreme Ownership — Jocko Willink
📘 The Virgin Way — Richard Branson
More to Explore:
- Lean In — Sheryl Sandberg
- Team of Teams — Gen. Stanley McChrystal
- Creativity, Inc. — Ed Catmull
- Unreasonable Hospitality — Will Guidara (yes, again — it belongs here too)
🧩 ARIVL Tip: “True leadership isn’t about control — it’s about clarity, trust, and care.”
🌍 9. Perspective Expanders
These aren’t real estate books — they’re worldview builders. They’ll make you wiser, more empathetic, and better at understanding people.
Core Picks:
📘 The Choice — Dr. Edith Eva Eger
📙 Quiet — Susan Cain
📗 Principles — Ray Dalio
📕 The Tipping Point — Malcolm Gladwell
📘 Why Nations Fail — Daron Acemoglu
📙 Becoming — Michelle Obama
More to Explore:
- A Promised Land — Barack Obama
- The Power of Vulnerability — Brené Brown
- The Fourth Turning — Strauss & Howe
- The Silk Roads — Peter Frankopan
- Restaurant Man — Joe Bastianich
🌟 ARIVL Tip: “Great REALTORS® understand people first, properties second. Perspective changes everything.”
✨ Where to Go From Here
If you’re ready to dive deeper, explore our continuously updated Suggested Book List for topic-based recommendations that grow with your career — covering mindset, marketing, leadership, and wealth building.
“Each book you read shapes your next conversation, your next deal, your next breakthrough.”
📬 Let’s Grow Together
Have a book we should add? We want to hear from you!
📩 Email hq@arivl.ca or tag us on Instagram at @ARIVL.hq.
And if you’re ready to build your own adventure in real estate — with mentorship, marketing systems, and real business growth — explore The ARIVL Difference.
ARIVL: Your Real Estate Adventure Awaits!