5 Must-Read Books for an Abundant Life (Without the Financial Stress!)
Hey, what’s up? Jeremy Curran here with Village Redevelopment.
📖 I’ve been wanting to do this for a while… These are the 5 most influential books that have shaped my mindset on money, business, financial freedom, and creating a life of abundance—without being a slave to a job, paycheck, or someone else’s rules.
👀 What’s crazy? I constantly reference these books to friends, and so many people have “heard of them” but never actually read them. Maybe that’s you too?
Well, here’s your shortcut.
👉 I’m breaking down the 5 most impactful books I’ve read over the last 10–20 years and how I’ve used them to build my businesses, invest in real estate, and create more financial freedom.
Let’s dive in. 👇
📌 1. The 4-Hour Workweek – Tim Ferriss
💡 How to escape the 9-to-5 and design a business that works for YOU
If you’ve ever dreamed of:
✅ Making money without trading all your time for it
✅ Automating your business so you’re not tied to one location
✅ Taking “mini-retirements” instead of waiting until you’re 65
…then this book is a game-changer.
🔑 Biggest Takeaway: Leverage automation & outsourcing to create more income with less time spent working.
How I applied it?
💥 We’ve built virtual assistant teams overseas to run back-office tasks.
💥 We use automated marketing & AI to streamline sales.
💥 Our business is structured so that we can travel, invest, and live life—without being tied to an office.
👉 Bottom line: Your business should support your life—not the other way around.
📌 2. Rich Dad, Poor Dad – Robert Kiyosaki
💰 The book that changes how you think about money
This book is THE finance book everyone talks about—but so many never actually read it.
✅ Why? Because it flips traditional financial advice on its head.
🔑 Biggest Takeaway: Stop working for money. Make your money work for YOU.
👉 The 3 Wealth Stages:
1️⃣ Employee – Trading time for money 💼
2️⃣ Entrepreneur – Building a system to generate income ⚙️
3️⃣ Investor – Making money from money 📈
💥 How I applied it:
- I stopped chasing paychecks and started building income streams.
- Instead of just saving money, I invested in real estate to create passive income.
- Every business I start is designed to eventually run without me.
🚀 Key Lesson: If you’re only making money when you work, you’re trapped. Get out of the trap.
📌 3. The Education of Millionaires – Michael Ellsberg
📢 Why Sales & Marketing Skills Matter More Than a Degree
🎓 Newsflash: Your college degree is NOT what determines your success.
🔑 Biggest Takeaway:
👉 Sales & marketing skills are the #1 way to build wealth. Period.
✅ Don’t have a degree? No problem.
✅ Grew up without money? Doesn’t matter.
✅ Willing to hustle & learn sales? You can out-earn 99% of people.
💥 How I applied it:
- I mastered sales & marketing instead of chasing credentials.
- I built a logistics & real estate business with no formal background in either.
- I learned that if you can sell, you can always make money.
🚀 Key Lesson: If you know how to sell and market, NOTHING can stop you.
📌 4. Set for Life – Scott Trench
🏡 How to live below your means, invest wisely, and become financially free FAST
This book (from BiggerPockets) is about one thing:
👉 Keep your expenses low. Invest the difference. Get rich faster.
🔑 Biggest Takeaway:
✅ House hacking is the fastest way to financial freedom.
✅ If you can save 50% of your income, you can retire decades early.
✅ Your biggest expenses (housing & car) are what hold most people back.
💥 How I applied it:
- I bought a duplex, lived in one side, rented the other.
- Then I converted it into a 4-plex—so rent from 3 units pays for mine.
- Now, I live almost mortgage-free, saving and reinvesting the money.
🚀 Key Lesson: Live below your means NOW so you can enjoy financial freedom SOONER.
📌 5. The Art of Nonconformity – Chris Guillebeau
🎯 Build a business & life on your OWN terms
🔑 Biggest Takeaway:
✅ Make money doing what you love.
✅ Create multiple income streams from content, consulting, and products.
✅ A business should support your passion, NOT burn you out.
💥 How I applied it:
- Instead of chasing a corporate career, I built a business around my interests.
- I use content marketing (blogging, video, email) to create passive income.
- I structured my businesses so they fit MY lifestyle—not the other way around.
🚀 Key Lesson: Make money doing something you’d do for free anyway.
💡 Final Thoughts: APPLYING These Lessons to Build an Abundant Life
These 5 books completely changed the way I think about money, business, and life.
👉 I went from being a laid-off sales rep…
👉 …to building multiple businesses, investing in real estate, and creating financial freedom.
And YOU can too.
🚀 Here’s how I put these books into action:
✅ I built a logistics & warehousing business (Easy Logistics Management)
✅ I house-hacked my way into owning a 4-plex & living mortgage-free
✅ I run my businesses with automation & virtual teams
✅ I use content & digital marketing to create passive leads & sales
✅ I keep investing so my money works for me
💰 We’re still growing, still learning, and still optimizing—but these books are the foundation of it all.
📢 Your Turn!
🎯 Which of these books have you read? What’s your biggest takeaway?
📩 Let’s connect! Got questions? Want to collaborate? Hit me up:
📧 jeremy@villageredevelopment.com
📞 619-885-8188
🔥 Like, Subscribe, or Drop a Comment! Let’s build abundance & financial freedom—together. 🚀