Your Next Chapter Starts Here: Your reading list for October through December to inspire bigger goals, build better habits, and get you excited for 2027
You can fill in every box of a business plan and still arrive in January wondering how to work differently. If you’ve ever felt that way, try turning to a good book to interrupt the pattern! A fresh perspective can help you rethink the way you work and get excited about what you want to build next.
To get you started, we’ve curated a reading list for October through December, with two options each month so you can choose the book that speaks to you.
October’s selections will help you think through your bigger goals, while November’s focus on making habits stick. In December, pick up an inspiring read to carry that excitement into 2027.
OCTOBER
Choose what you're building toward
If you want to become known for something: Read The Long Game by Dorie Clark. Real estate can keep you responding to what's urgent: the showing request, the inspection issue, the post that needs to go up today.
Clark makes a persuasive case for protecting time for work whose payoff isn't immediate. For an agent, that might mean learning a neighborhood deeply, developing a distinctive listing specialty, or building relationships that compound over several years. You'll come away with a better question for your 2027 plan: Which parts of the business I want in three years require me to start now, even if they won't produce a closing next month?
If the production number is clear but its purpose isn't: Read The Art of Spending Money by Morgan Housel. Housel explores why more money doesn't automatically create more satisfaction and how our expectations and comparisons shape the choices we make with it.
For an agent with an ambitious income goal, the book is an invitation to get specific about what that income would change: hiring help, investing in the business, creating options for your family, or buying back a little freedom in your schedule. You'll have a more personal reason to pursue the number and a clearer sense of which rewards are actually yours.
Whichever you choose, finish this sentence before you set your final target: “In 2027, I want my business to make it possible to…” The answer gives your production goal a job to do.
NOVEMBER
Make it part of your week
If your best work keeps losing to everyone else's requests: Read Make Time by Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky. Their daily framework asks you to identify what matters most today and then adjust your environment so you can actually give it attention.
For an agent, that could be preparing thoroughly for a listing appointment, calling the people you promised to follow up with, or filming one useful local video before the inbox claims the morning. The book offers many small experiments, so you can try what fits an appointment-driven week instead of adopting a rigid schedule.
If you start strong and then lose momentum: Read Tiny Habits by BJ Fogg. Fogg's approach starts with a behavior so small you can do it even on a day full of showings and surprises, then connects it to something you already do. Picture opening your CRM after your morning coffee and sending one thoughtful check-in, or writing down one Reel idea after a neighborhood tour.
The point is to make starting easy enough to repeat; once the action belongs to your day, you can build on it. This is a useful read if your 2027 plan depends on consistent follow-through more than a dramatic January reset.
As you read, ask: What will I do on an ordinary Tuesday that supports the goal I chose in October? If the answer requires a perfectly calm week, make the action smaller or give it a protected place in the day.
DECEMBER
Remember why the work matters
If you're ending the year thinking about everything you didn't do: Read The Gap and The Gain by Benjamin Hardy and Dan Sullivan. Ambitious agents can close more business than they once thought possible and still feel behind because the next target keeps moving.
This book invites you to measure the distance you've traveled from where you began instead of judging yourself only against an ideal you haven't reached yet. Think about the conversations you handle with more confidence, the customers you helped, and the business you've learned to win. You'll head into 2027 able to appreciate your progress while still being excited to grow.
If you want to feel excited about what's ahead: Read The Greatness Mindset by Lewis Howes.
Through personal stories and conversations about purpose, ambition, and self-belief, Howes asks readers to picture a bigger version of their future and believe they can grow into it. For an agent, that might mean finally pursuing the market you've wanted to serve, letting your personality show up in your marketing, or allowing yourself to want a bigger business and a fuller life. This is a book to read when you want to close the year feeling energized by possibility, with a clearer sense of why your next goal matters to you.
Before the year ends, ask: What am I excited to build, and what kind of agent do I want to be while building it? December's book can help you return to January's numbers with renewed conviction, without turning every page into another task.
Bring your October answer and your November Tuesday action to a planning conversation with your broker. Together, you can connect the life you want, the work you'll repeat, and the production goal that will help make it possible. Start with one book this month; by January, you'll have more than a reading list behind you.
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-Gus Grizzard, Broker/Owner, GGrizzard@ERAGrizzard.com