15 Books To Change Your Life

Saturday, November 4, 2023

Want a shortcut? My upcoming course, Hitting Refresh, hits on many strategies outlined in the books below. I've done the reading and I can give you the tools I picked up along the way. Click here to learn more.

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Through many a life transition or crisis - I've engaged in what I've called Bookstore Therapy.

Bookstore Therapy involved going to the ACTUAL, PHYSICAL book store (remember those?) and sitting my butt down in either the career, or self help, or parenting section (depended on the crisis!) and spending a few hours skimming as many expert takes as I could on how to solve my problem.

And I usually went home with a book or two -- but by the end of my session, I usually had a game plan - something to try - and I returned home more empowered and hopeful and ready. As well as caffeinated and out between $10 and $40.

After a few decades with that habit -- and more than one successful transition under my belt - these are the 15 books that have been most effective at providing the research and evidence as well as practical "hows" that when integrated thoughtfully WILL give you everything you need to make changes and create a life that FEELS GOOD and DOES GOOD>

1. Atomic Habits by James Clear

Learn how to build good habits and break bad ones

2. The Upside of Stress by Kelly McGonigal

Learn how to build good habits and break bad ones

Learn Why Stress is Good For You and How to Get Good At It

3. Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily and Amelia Nagoski

Learn what you can do to complete the biological stress cycle and return to a state of relaxation. Checkout my blog summarizing how.

4. The Deepest Well by Nadine Burke Harris

Learn the biological and long lasting impact of childhood adversity and well as tools to heal ourselves and our children.

5. The Body Keeps the Score by Besser Van Der Kolk

Learn how trauma literally reshapes the body and brain as well as innovative therapies.

6. Designing Your Work Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans

Learn how to use design thinking to navigate disruption and build your way forward toward new possibilities.

7. The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

Learn how to create your own happiness project with small actionable steps

8. The Happiness Hypothesis by Jonathan Haight

Learn the 10 principles where modern science and ancient wisdom converge to present the way forward toward a life of happiness and meaning.

9. The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown

Learn the 10 Guideposts to Wholehearted Living

10. Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself by Dr. Joe Dispenza

Bridging science and spirituality, learn step by step tools for making measurable change in any area of your life.

11. What Happened To You by Bruce Perry and Oprah Winfrey

Learn scientific and emotional insights into behavioral patterns that you struggle to understand.

12. Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

Learn how to cope with sufferings, find meaning it in, and move forward with renewed purpose from a Holocaust survivor and psychiatrist.

13. Emotional Agility By Susan Cain

Learn how to better navigate your inner world of thoughts, feelings, and self talk to get unstuck, embrace change, and thrive in work and life.

14. Drive by Daniel Pink

Learn the secrets to high performance and success at work.

15. Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

Learn about the two systems in our brains that drive the way we think and act and learn to take advantage of the strengths of both as well as avoid common pitfalls.

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