Books.
“Reading is essential for those who seek to rise above the ordinary.”
Jim Rohn
I love books. I love physical books and being able to turn the pages and underline phrases and place those little page flags that look like a cute kitty is peering out at you.
There is a reason why they say “Readers are Leaders”…after all, people distill their entire life’s work and body of knowledge into their books.
I’ve read a whole bunch of really valuable books, but I swear by these.
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#1: MINDSET by Carol Dweck Ph.D.
This is the #1 book I recommend, and the book that seriously changed my life.
Here’s how it got on my radar: years ago, my son was struggling at the plate in baseball. Everyone assured me it wasn’t a physical problem, it was “all in his head”.
I thought I could fix the problem, and I figured a good place to start would be with a book called “Mindset”. Little did I know that the problem was actually me!
This is the book that’ll have you looking inward and examining your beliefs, many of which may be holding you back from your greatness.
I’ll bet you discover ways that your own fixed mindset manifests itself in your day-to-day, and just being aware of it is the first step! This book will help you embrace failure (which is a certainty when you run your own business) as feedback, process over results, and the power of a small but mighty three-letter word….YET.
This is another heavyweight. The book on influence is, well, super influential and has real-life implications for our work and play. You’ll learn the six automatic “weapons” of influence and how to use them for good and not evil (LOL). Knowing and ethically applying these six tenets in the right situations can help you with your marketing and negotiations.
Another life-changing book. This book introduced me to the time management quadrant system, and since I learned it, I’ve never looked back. As a mom with a 9-5, a business, and two kids, it was imperative that I figure out a way to manage the limited time I had. Learning how to effectively prioritize my time, and putting what’s important to me first resonated in a big way.
I didn’t want to throw myself into building my business if it meant not spending time with my kids, and this book helped me get my life in order. If you feel like time is slipping away and you’re not accomplishing the important things in your life, this is a must-read. Caveat: it’s not the easiest read in the world…you’ll really have to focus.
But when you do, you’ll be left with a concrete way to organize your days, weeks, and months so that the things that are important to you don’t slip through the cracks. Isn’t that worth it?
The book opens with a Russian proverb: “If you chase two rabbits, you will not catch either one.”
The premise is simple—focus on one thing. For someone who grew up in a world that revered multi-tasking, this was news to me. But Gary and Jay let me in on an open secret—multi-tasking is terribly inefficient and as the saying above illustrates, when you try to do two things at once, you accomplish neither. And if you happen to squeak by and get both things done, it’s certainly not with the quality that would have resulted from a singular focus.
Aside from the singular focus thing, what blew my mind was this idea of “counterbalance”. As a Gen X-er who came of age with women, experts, and Corporate touting “work-life balance”, this was a relief. I’m not a failure after all! The whole idea of striving for balance at all times simply sets you up for failure from the start. Read it. You won’t regret it.
This book seriously blew my mind. Many of us still subscribe to the old-school theory of offering a bribe in exchange for a desired behavior (at least it was for me!).
I got this book initially (no surprises here) to help me motivate my kids to do the things I wanted them to do. Everyone around me was “bribing” their kids— “I’ll buy you a Nintendo DS if you get all A’s”, or “I’ll buy you Madden 2020 if you get a hit in this game”. Somehow this all seemed wrong to me and I sought out this book to help. And it did.
Rethink everything you know about motivation with this book—it’ll give you some real food for thought on how to crack the code to motivate your kids (or co-workers or members of your Team) intrinsically…from the inside out.
#6. THE SUCCESS PRINCIPLES by Jack Canfield
This book may be just the shot of motivation you need after a long and hard day, when you may not have had time to do anything for your business.
The book is split up into short, manageable chapters that give you one gold nugget at a time. Get this book and put it on your bedside table. Spend just a few minutes every day to get your mind right. He’ll guide you through short lessons, like reminding you to believe in yourself and that it’s never too late.
