Ever since I was a little girl, one of my all time favorite places was the library. I grew up in there. In fact, I was just as excited to use the computer in the library for free as I was to read twenty different books while I was in there.
My mom had three kids, and we would take trips to the library all the time. Now that I have my own son, I realize that she was probably just trying to get out of the house since she stayed at home full time with us. Hindsight is 20/20!
Growing up, I read everything that I could get my hands on. It really didn’t matter the subject or the content, I just loved reading and learning. I read a ton of fiction books, just to imagine myself in another world. I knew from a young age that one day I would write a book.
It wasn’t until I was working full time that I really discovered the self help world. I had never heard of people like Rachel Hollis or Tony Robbins, and really didn’t even know what a podcast was. My tiny ignorant heart just knew that people wrote books, and their words inspired me. I didn’t even know that people wrote books in order to motivate or inspire other people to take actions or better themselves.
Since then, I have read every self development book that my budget can take on, slowly and surely. I listen to Audible Audio books in the car, read in the evenings, and even on the weekends.
Today, I wanted to share some of my favorite books with you all. The best ones I have found came by recommendation from a friend, and I thought that I would return the favor in the hopes that it might help someone else on their journey.
Without further ado, here are my all time favorite self development books that I totally recommend you go get TODAY. Grab your favorite book before the weekend hits as a Mother’s Day treat! Treat yourself!
10: You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero
The book that started it all for me, this book is the mother of all self helpery. In this book, Jen makes you laugh, contemplate life, and also realize that there is so much more to life than a cubicle! I love the stories that she tells, and it’s hard not to love her!
She also wrote a second book entirely about the beliefs behind Money. Start with this one, and then go get your money badass ness on!
9: The Happiness Equation by Neil Pasricha
I was feeling pretty down in the dumps when my boss suggested I read this one. I thought that happiness was a feeling and that when I was doing something, it would make me happy. After I read this book, I realize that happiness is totally not a feeling. It’s more a conscious choice, and an important one too!
8: Daring Greatly by Brene Brown
This book was an amazing read as a mom, but also in trying to understand myself a little bit better. Brene is a researcher and studies shame and vulnerability for a living (I know!). While it may seem odd, how we perceive and understand shame and fear is actually how most of us live our lives. In addition, it helped me to realize a few things about parenting too!
7: How to Stop Feeling Like Sh*t by Andrea Owen
This book is an awesome resource for discovering all the little things that make you who you are! Ladies, this one is big. We self sabotage all day long, and it really is one of the hardest habits for us to break. This book is by far one of the best beginnings to doing just that and living a more present, happier life!
6: Take Control of Your Life by Mel Robbins
This is an audio book (sorry fellow paper lovers) but it is totally worth it. This book dives deep into the things that make us tick – How our fears show up in our every day lives and how it holds back. It also provides with some really tangible advice about how to move past those fears too!
5: High Performance Habits by Brendan Bouchard
I can’t even begin to explain how awesome this one is y’all. I thought I was doing well in my sales job, and couldn’t quite understand why there were some people that just stood out above the rest, especially in sales. This book isn’t just about getting to the next level in business though. It actually helps you to get to that next level in life -Being more energized and being able to get more done in your day – at work and especially at home.
4: The 4 Disciplines of Execution by Sean Covey
So this book is a bit more business/leadership oriented, but the biggest thing that I took away from this book is the narrowed focus that it helped me to have, especially in my business. If you are ready to cut out the stuff that takes up more of your time and see real progress and success, this is by far, the book to get.
3: Goals by Brian Tracy
This was a fun book that a mentor of mine told me to read right at the beginning of my sales career. If you don’t know where you are going, you probably won’t be able to make it there. This was huge for me and my family. This book helped me create the vision of my life and help me understand what I really wanted in my life. It’s awesome!
2: Principles by Ray Dalio
This book is thick – it’s best for your 15 minutes every day and in small chunks. The best part is, it’s all about the principles and non-emotional things that help you to be successful. The book tells it in a story like manner, which makes it really easy to stay along with it. I love the meat and potatoes of this book. There is no fluff, just good old fashioned principled advice that will help you change your life.
1: Girl Stop Apologizing by Rachel Hollis
Yup. I went there. This woman blows my mind with all of the knowledge that she was able to pack into this book. Rachel takes the first book, Girl Wash Your Face and turns it into tangible, how to get where you want to go advice and it’s life changing. I could go on and on, but of ALL the books here, if there was only one that I could recommend to you Mama, it’s this one. Go get it. Treat yourself.
Boom!
Have you read any of these before? What are some of your favorite books to read in the self-development world? Join the conversation in our members only Facebook group and stay up to date on the latest in our weekly newsletters. Stay tuned for some really awesome things coming this summer to help you transform your business, even if you are starting from zero.
XO
SJ