This book saved Backstage Capital founder Arlan Hamilton’s life

1. Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell

Learning the origin stories of so many successful white men made me understand that success for myself was attainable. If they could do it, I certainly could.

2. This Naked Mind, Annie Grace

I’d struggled with an addiction to alcohol for 15 years when I came across this book and decided to give it a chance. I haven’t had a drink since finishing the book five days later. It may have saved my life.

3. What I Know for Sure, Oprah Winfrey

Oprah is such an inspiration and a living legend, and if this book doesn’t get you ready to face the day, I don’t know what will.

4. Losing My Virginity, Richard Branson

I’ve been a Branson fan since I was 15. He always seems to be enjoying the hell out of life while lifting others and making a fortune.

5. Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston

In the eighth grade, a teacher handed me this book. She thought it would spark something in me. It opened me up to a new way of seeing myself.