“Don’t be afraid to fail, be afraid not to try.”
— Author Unknown
How can I improve myself as a person?
At some point or another in our lives, we all reach a point where we realize we need to take matters into our own hands if we want to change something in our personal circumstances. Perhaps you just came off a long-term relationship or you are feeling stuck at your current work. Whatever your personal situation, you will learn that you need to personally take the reigns. Once you do, you will find that teachers and support from unexpected places will appear to help you along on your personal journey. So how to do it?
Moving forward, taking the lead in your life.
The first step is to answer the following question: ” What would you like to improve about yourself?”. Is it your looks? Your health? Your income source(s)? Your personal relationships? There are many readily available (free or paid) sources online. As I progress through my own journey, I will create more posts to share these with you.
For now though, below is a list of recommended books I have read based on different categories of self-improvement. I have included a brief summary for each based on my personal takeaways of their content. I hope you find these books as helpful as they were to me.
Don’t forget. You just have to take that first step and get yourself out the door. Don’t underestimate yourself!
Til the next blog post,
CAREER SELF-IMPROVEMENT
Born for This: How to Find the Work You Were Meant to Do
Author: Chris Guillebeau / Bought: 06 August 2016
- Methodology from the author of The $100 Startup for finding your perfect career.
- Bought the hardcover (320 pages) and breezed right through given its conversational tone and numerous examples (i.e. case studies) that were easy to follow.
- Although not an in-depth analysis, it does provide some practical advice. I particularly liked his Joy-Money-Flow model to help you focus on how to win the career lottery.
- Near the end I found the book a bit superficial, but nevertheless overall there are many good insights and tidbits for personal digestion.
The 10% Entrepreneur: Live Your Startup Dream Without Quitting Your Day Job
Author: Patrick McGinnis / Bought: 06 August 2016
- Methodology for those who want the “stability of a traditional career and the upside of entrepreneurship”.
- Bought the hardcover (240 pages) and semi-breezed through it.
- Does a good job of showing how entrepreneurship is not all sunshine as most people depict it to be and how perhaps a better method is to keep your current job but dedicate 10% of your resources (e.g. time, money, etc) to create alternate income sources to get some of the benefits of entrepreneurship while avoiding the risk of going all in.
- Book provides practical examples that I will incorporate into my personal life.
MINDSET
Think Like a Freak: The Authors of Freakonomics Offer to Retrain Your Brain
Authors: Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner / Bought: 16 April 2016
- Methodology from the authors of Freakonomics for thinking a bit “more productively, more creatively, more rationally”.
- Bought the hardcover (304 pages) and breezed right through given the numerous easy-to-read examples.
- The concept of how “I don’t know” and its associated limitations are a recipe for disaster really hit home.
- I personally liked the story of Kobayashi’s path to becoming the greatest hot dog eater in the world simply because he thought differently about what was humanly possible.
Living with a Seal: 31 Days Training with the Toughest Man on the Planet
Author: Jesse Itzler / Bought: 09 September 2016
- Methodology for changing your mindset from a bold entrepreneur who felt he was going on autopilot and needed a jumpstart.
- Bought the Kindle edition (262 pages) and breezed right through in a couple of hours in one day given the great writing and funny stories. Couldn’t help to literally laugh out loud now and then.
- The main concept of this motivational book is “mind over matter”.
- Although this is not a workout book, it does include some examples and guides for the grueling workouts Jesse went through under Seal’s tutelage.