One of the side benefits of the 20+ hour commute to the US from my home in Asia is buying stuff which costs much more when I buy it at home. Take for example, the Windows 7 operating system. It costs $179.99 for the home premium edition from Amazon, while buying it here costs about $280. Since Singapore’s average per capita income is $51,600 (2008 estimates, CIA WorldFactbook), compared to $47,500 for the US, I don’t see why there should be such a fat premium involved. So you can be sure I contribute to the US economy by buying a bunch of stuff from Buy.com, Overstock,com, Amazon, Geeks.com when I head over.

I probably get one of the highest returns in expertise investing in books and courses to help grow my business and this coming trip is no exception. If you see a guy with a big box of books at LAX or Las Vegas’ McCurran Airport, that’s probably me.

Here are some of my top picks this trip:

Think Like a Champion: An Informal Education In Business and Life by Donald Trump: You might not be interested in real estate, you might even think the Donald is pretty arrogant and possibly wear a hairpiece. But there’s no denying that he’s among the top businessmen who ruthlessly and efficiently promote their business (Richard Branson and Steve Jobs are also among the top for me). I’ve made it a point to get ahold of every book by the Donald and this book which came out last year is no exception. The best way to get value out of this week is not to read it and expect some secret to pop into your head. Instead, if you read the book, and figure out the reasons/motives/motivations behind what gets the Donald fired up, you’re halfway there already. If you can’t figure it out, then you’re fired![Amazon is current running a $7.02 promo on the book, usual retail price $24.95]

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Uncensored Sales Strategies: A Radical New Approach to Selling Your Customers What They Really Want – No Matter What Business You’re In By Sydney Biddle Barrows and Dan Kennedy: Sydney Barrows might not be a familiar name, unless you’ve read her 1989 book, Mayflower Madam, which was one of Fortune magazine’s best business books of the year. She’s known for applying business management principles to the world’s oldest profession, having run Cachet, New York’s most elite, premium escort service, catering to rich, powerful and prominent men. Dan Kennedy is one of the thought leaders in direct marketing and copywriting circles. Put the two together and it’s an instant add to my shopping cart.

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Secrets of the Millionaire Mind: Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth By T. Harv Eker: This is motivational/self-improvement expert T. Harv Eker’s seminal book on rewiring your mindset to set yourself up for success and wealth building. Comparing him against his nearest peers Robert Kiyiosaki and Anthony Robbins, I feel that Harv has more depth and more actionable strategies, especially when it comes to planning for a successful business and building your wealth. This book is coming to 4 years since it was first published. But if you don’t already have a copy, it should occupy a place in your library to give you some business building ideas.

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Although none of these books make the promise to grow my business, I expect that like in the past, getting a couple of ideas from each book to implement in my lead generation, sales funnel or conversion process can easily grow the business by another 10%. Compound the effect of continually refining the business system and you can make your business work for you.