Have you ever read a book that sang to your soul, or gave your brain a jolt or tugged at your heart? I have many times. I am a professional speaker, and book author and people are always asking me for book recommendations. If you want to feed your soul, then pick one of these, and go outside and read under your favorite tree. I think these books may sing to your soul too.
1.The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari- Robin Sharma. In this remarkable book, Robin spins a tale of a fictional attorney who is a workaholic and then has a heart attack at a young age. He then takes a sabbatical and decides to spend time with Shaman’s who change his life and the way he thinks.
2.The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People- Stephen Covey. When people ask what this book is about- I say: “it’s about the habits of highly effective people.” This book gets people to think about the lives in a very profound way. The book is full of meaningful stories and suggested tools for being a highly effective person but also a good human being.
3. The Pursuit of Happyness- Howard Gardner. The real-life story about a father and son who became homeless. The father’s fantastic grit and determination lead to getting hired on Wall Street and becoming a very successful entrepreneur. This book will make you laugh and cry and realize you don’t have any limitations.
4. Year of Yes- Shonda Rhimes. This book is written by the creator of Grey’s Anatomy and many other famous television shows. In this hilarious and inspiring book, she decides she is unhappy and as a result chooses to say yes to everything for one year. The decisions to say yes leads to some challenging situations like doing live TV interviews. This book will get you to think about saying yes more to opportunities in life.
5. Life is Good- Bert and John Jacobs. This book is about two crazy brothers who started selling shirts out of the back of their van and ended up creating a mega brand called Life is Good. This book is a mix of biography motivation and community all mixed up in one remarkable book.
6. The Book of Joy- Dalia Lama, Desmond Tutu and Douglas Abrams. This book was given to me by a friend, and it is very thought-provoking. Two spiritual leaders meet for five days and have in-depth discussions about the nature of pure joy. They talk about how to live a life of joy, and their wisdom is brilliant and timeless.
7. You Are a Badass- Jen Sincero. In this wickedly funny and Jen tells her story about being a broke forty years old and how she turned her life around by changing her thinking. She says that we are encouraged to think we can do anything as a child but then discouraged by people if we think that way as an adult. She asks “why can’t you be a rock star? This book is all about giving yourself the permission to think you are awesome and the impact it can have on your thinking.
8. Think and Grow Rich- Napoleon Hill. This book was written in 1939 but is still powerfully relevant today. Hill interviewed and studied many incredibly successful and wealthy people and was able to capture how they think to achieve results. This book is a classic that everyone should read. Many people I know read it once a year.
If you read some of these books your life just may be changed, and your soul will thank you.