Fall is a natural time for learning. While this year may look different than any other, as summer winds down, your mind still tends to want to crack open a book – literally or figuratively, if you opt for an audio or electronic version.
It’s also a good time to focus on self-care and improvement. There are hundreds of options out there, but if you had to narrow your choice to five, you might want to read:
- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Steven R. Covey
Despite the title, this time-tested classic (the current publication is the 25th-anniversary edition) is about much more than just becoming effective. It’s based on Covey’s premise that to change any given situation, we must change ourselves, using seven steps:
- Be proactive.
- Begin with the end in mind.
- Put first things first.
- Think win-win.
- Seek first to understand, then to be understood.
- Synergize
- Sharpen the saw.
Each one is packed with more wisdom than the last.
- Think and Grow Rich: The Original 1937 Unedited Edition by Napoleon Hill
Napoleon Hill was a young magazine writer who studied more than 500 self-made millionaires to develop his Law of Success philosophy. There’s a reason it still works amazingly well after 83 years: It covers all the basics from planning, decision making, and persistence to more advanced techniques like transmutation and what we can learn from fear.
- Hint: Don’t cut corners and read an edited version. You might miss some of the magic.
- Failing Forward: Turning Mistakes into Stepping Stones for Success by John C. Maxwell
Everyone fails at one time or another. Maxwell, known nationally as an expert on leadership, has published more than two dozen books. Thee basis of this one is that the major difference between ordinary people and achieving people is their perception toward and way of reacting to failure. The secret lies in moving beyond it, learning from it, and treating it as a stepping stone to success.
- Simplify by Joshua Becker
Even the title is simple: Just a single word says it all. Becker, who inspires hundreds of thousands via his personal blog, offers a basic, rational and powerful approach to minimalism in life in just 42 pages. The book calls for the end of seeking and accumulating more things and the enjoyment of living with less. Read it in under an hour!
- Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends on It by Kamal Ravikant
Self-love is the fundamental basis of all true self-improvement. Ravikant professes that when you love yourself, life loves you back. He advocates the daily practice of repeating the phrase, “I love myself.” He notes that as he repeated and practiced his mantra, he surprised himself as he began to do it automatically. Even if you don’t believe it, you can still lay the foundation for it: connect the neurons, and your body and mind will respond.
Happy reading!
As you focus on self-help and building your future, let the career development experts at PrideStaff Fresno help you achieve your personal and professional goals. Read our related posts or contact us today to learn more.