For me, reading is not a hobby, nor is it just a way to get information. It is a full on obsession. It defines me. I read, therefore I am. It is a book/a week habit (not mentioning the countless magazine and online articles) that borders on addiction without the life threatening consequences. My partner just rolls his eyes when he sees yet another book parcel has arrived.
The titles run a gamut from serious psychology volumes and dry leadership and management tomes to lighter in content but sometimes very clever and insightful self-help books.
I would like to justify my addiction by sharing with you the titles that I found personally very helpful or were found useful by my clients. The titles that, I believe, will help you. I divided them into categories and *starred my all time favorites.
Here are some of my recommendations:
CAREER
*Reid Hoffman and Ben Casnosha. The Start-up of You. New York: Crown Business, 2012. The strategies in this book will help you “to become the CEO of your career” and take control of your life and your future!
Marshall Goldsmith. What Got You Here Won’t Get You There. New York: Hyperoin, 2007. A very practical guide on going up the career ladder.
Marci Alboher. One Person/Multiple careers: A New Model for Work/Life Success. New York: Warner Business Books, 2007. This book’s references for resources might be a bit outdated but the topic is hotter than ever and the author’s ideas on how to balance multiple careers are very convincing.
Chris Guillebeau. The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do what You Love and create a new Future. New York: Crown Business, 2012. A very pragmatic, valuable guide for people who want to start a business but not sure how.
CREATIVITY
*Ann Lamott. Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life. New York: Anchor books, 1995. This is an absolutely indispensable book for writers, who are finding their way. Wonderfully witty!
Twyla Tharp. The Creative Habit: Learn It and use it for life. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2009. How to make creativity a habit? This book seems to have an answer.
FEAR
*Susan Jeffers, Ph.D. Feel the Fear… and Do It Anyway. New York: Ballantine Books, 2007. I can’t summarize the wisdom of the book better than what is says on the cover: “dynamic techniques for turning fear, indecision, and anger into power, action, and love”.
Rick Carson. Taming Your Gremlin: A Surprisingly Simple Method for getting Out of Your Own Way. New York: Harper Collins, 2003. We are our own worst enemies. This powerful method teaches how to simply notice the monster within and “play with the options” of taming him in order to break free.
HABITS (the cornerstone of any change!)
*Marshall Goldsmith. Triggers. New York: Crown Business, 2015. One of my new favorites on how to make changes we want in our lives to last which is the most difficult task of all.
Stephen R. Covey. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. New York: Free Press, 2004. Written in 1989, a bit dry but still one of the best! Mr. Covey is truly a pioneer of the genre, and he bases his approach on principals of fairness, integrity and service. Following it will make all those newly acquired habits a bit easier to maintain, and Habit #2 will help you with it!
HAPPINESS
*Gretchen Rubin. The Happiness Project. New York: Harper Collins, 2009. The author test-drives “the wisdom of the ages, current scientific research, and lessons from popular culture about how to be happier.
Martin E.P. Seligman, Ph.D. Authentic Happiness. New York: Atria, 2002. Drawing on groundbreaking scientific research, Seligman shows how Positive Psychology is shifting profession’s paradigm away from focus on pathology, victimology and mental illness to positive emotion and mental health.
HOME
*Marie Kondo. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. New York: Crown Publishing, 2014. Simply genius! It did change my life in many unexpected ways! I recommend it to all my clients!
LEADERSHIP
*Dave Logan, John King and Halee Fisher-wright. Tribal Leadership: Leveraging Natural Groups to Build a Thriving Organization. New York: Harper Collins, 2011. A different way to build a successful business: from inside out. A great company culture will help building a strong brand. Zappos is an example. Any level manager will find something to learn.
Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman. First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently. NYC: Simon &Schuster, 1999. Based on interviews by The Gallup Organization (a leader in the measurement and analysis of human attitudes, opinions, and behavior). Contains loads of practical material.
LIFE
*According to Laotzu. The Way of Life. Translated by Witter Bynner. London: The Lyrebird Press, 1972. Ideas of this contemporary of Confucius are still relevant after thousands of years.
PARENTING
*Bruce Feiler. The Secrets of Happy Families. New York: William Morrow, 2013. Great practical guide to parent/child relationships based on the cutting–edge research. Parents, buy it, read it, and pass it on! You might want to keep it, though!
RELASHIONSHIPS
*John Grey. Mars and Venus on a Date. New York: Harper Collins, 1997. An oldie but goodie - a must read for everyone who is looking for a mate.
*Harville Hendrix, Ph.D. and Helen LaKelly Hunt, Ph.D. Making Marriage Simple: 10 Truths for changing the relationship you have into the one you want. New York: Harmony Books, 2013. This book with tons of with great practical advice is a road map to building a good marriage. I have read it twice. ;)
SELF
*Brene Brown. The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are. Minnesota: Hazelden, 2010. Dr. Brene Brown shares her ten “guideposts” of Wholehearted living- a way of engaging with the world from a place of worthiness.
SUCCESS
*Chade-Meng Tan. Search Inside Yourself: The Unexpected Path to Achieving Success, Happiness (and World Peace). New York: Harper One, 2012. Jolly Good Fellow Tan created this program as a personal growth tool for the employees of Google. This is a very easy to read book and has a very easy to follow approach to finding success and happiness, a practical guide to emotional intelligence.
Daniel Coleman. Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More than IQ. New York: Bantam Books, 2006. In this groundbreaking work Daniel Coleman talks about 5 skills of emotional intelligence and how they determine our success in every area of our lives.
WEALTH
Tony Robbins. Money Master the Game: 7 Simple Steps to Financial Freedom. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2014. The most complex financial concepts made simple. Though too lengthy, it is a one stop shop for all things financial.