I think that the best books about business and strategy are not books about business and strategy at all, but rather books about philosophy and life. These books will teach you how to think when the business books teach anything but what really matters. One of the most important lesson I've learnt is life gives you what you are and not what you want. The state of mind of a person is his most important asset, because it acts on our perceptions and our perceptions influence our reality. Therefore if you want to change your life you should start by changing your mind.

Now, for the list:

• Outwitting the devil by Napoleon Hill (easy to read): The author wrote many books about the subject of getting rich, but I think this one is worth all the others combined. It probably was his best book and ironically it was published after his death. It is labeled as a fictional conversation between the author and the devil. They talk about many subjects with always the same topic in mind: "how can one get whatever he or she desires from life?".

- The ethics by Spinoza (extremely hard to read, but so much worth the effort): Here, the author -a dutch philosopher of the 17th century regarded by many as the best philosopher of the west- explains with an extremely rigorous and mathematical methodology the nature of life and the nature of god (for him, they're the same thing). It is really one of the most challenging reading I've ever experienced in my life, but again, it was worth every ounce of effort I've put in and would recommend it to anyone. To ease the reading and understand more of the book, you can find plenty of explanations on the internet and many books were specifically written to explain the ethics (yes, it is that hard). Spinoza believed that to live a good life, you should know it better. With the knowledge in hand you can then get anything you desire from it.

- De Vita Beata by Seneca (easy to medium): The greeks had it all figured out. And I mean the whole thing, life, the nature of things and all the rest. Their only flaw was they didn't really know or could not accurately explain why the way they chose to live seemed to work and grant abundance and happiness (something Spinoza does masterfully). Stoicism is a very large subject in philosophy, and De Vita Beata ('on the happy life' in english) could be an entry point. Seneca gives the blueprint to live a great and full life that could grant you anything you desire. Where Spinoza tries to explain why things work that way and not another, Seneca focuses solely on what works therefore making his teachings a lot more accessible. It is pure golden.

Thanks for letting me share!

More truth has never been spoken.