Regardless of your area of expertise, your personal development is an area of life which is very important. This post will provide the 5 books which continue to help me both professionally and in my personal life. I will give you an overview of them and a snapshot of what I’ve taken away.
1. Think and Grow Rich. By Napoleon Hill 
About the book
This personal development book was first written in 1937 by Napoleon Hill.I read a later edition which is very relevant in today’s world. In fact, Think and Grow Rich sold over 100+ million copies by the end of 2015. The author Napoleon Hill was an American self-help author during the great depression selling books on principles of success. He teaches the 13 steps to riches, he claims are the secret to building wealth and success.
Main message
The book is not just about getting financially rich. It’s more about the philosophy of achievement and how to focus on long-term aspirations you may have in life. The book focuses on 13 steps to overcoming negative thoughts and the importance of Desire, Faith, Persistence and vital of setting goals and the value of a mastermind alliance.
What did you learn from the book?
This book has helped me to be more organized, decisive and persistent in my everyday tasks. Further to that, to take full advantage of my knowledge and use it to collaborate more. I’ve started with contributing as a writer with inspirEnrich and building the website for Krokodilfashion.
2. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
About the book
This international bestselling book from Dale Carnegie offers practical advice and techniques to help make your life more rewarding. Dale Carnegie was a pioneer of personal development, business skills, and self-confidence techniques.
Main message
The book gives you advice which has been proven over time and it will improve:
- Your interactions with everyone in your life.
- Make friends quickly and easily, increase popularity.
- Persuade people to follow your way of thinking.
- Become a better speaker and boost eagerness amongst your colleagues.
- It will also win new clients and customers for your own business or the company you work for.
What did you learn from the book?
This book is an absolute classic for me! Let me give you some insight, this book literally got me through university – I was quite a shy and quiet guy. I used Dale Carnegie’s fundamental techniques in handling people, to help me be successful in working on projects and make friends for life.
Furthermore, it still comes in handy in my corporate professional workplace in networking. The key is just knowing when and where to apply the skills!
3. How Successful People Grow: 15 Ways to Get Ahead in Life by John C Maxwell
About the book
John Maxwell is very successful and proven successor of personal development who studied over 50 years to concise the principles which are proven to be the most effective catalysts for growth principles.
Main message
This book teaches you self-awareness, broadens your prospects, and allows you to motivate others to your positive influence. Joined with discipline and determination, making you a life-long learner whose potential will keep increasing.
What did you learn from the book?
This book really did open my eyes. It made me be more self-aware and see the value in myself and reflect on my growth. It also made me want to grow more successful because it gave me a lifelong lesson that my potential can always increase and I should never let it be used up. Lesson to put apply; Be disciplined on a daily basis, change my perspective and to continue the pursuit of success and never stop striving for more.
True success is measured in growth, or as John Maxwell puts it, “If you focus on goals, you may hit goals—but that doesn’t guarantee growth.” Let that sink in a bit. Success is not in the number of items you’ve checked off but rather your personal growth.
4. Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T Kiyosaki
About the book
This is a great book which was recommended to me by my uncle in law. This book is a mixture of financial management and personal development.
Main message
This book explores:
1.The myth that you need to earn a high income to become rich
2.The reliance school system as a core means of income
3.The true definitions of assets and liabilities
What did you learn from the book?
You can read the blog post on which I wrote on lessons learned here. It’s was a great starting point for me and would be for anyone looking to take charge of their future financial goals and objectives.
5. The Obstacle is the Way: The Ancient Art of Turning Adversity to Advantage by Ryan Holiday
About the book
In life, we all have obstacles that stand in our way to get what we want or achieve our goal. Ryan Holiday talks about stoicism; focusing lives of Marcus Aurelius, Thomas Edison, Ghandi, Amelia Earhart, John D Rockefeller and Steve Jobs. The book is broken down into three parts;
Part 1: Perception.
Part 2: Action.
Part 3: Will.
Main message
The book tells you how you can turn your obstacles into opportunities. Ryan Holiday’s ideas enable you to think differently, control your emotions and look from at issue from different perspectives.
What did you learn from the book?
Last year, I was planning my engagement and wedding whilst going through unusual circumstances at work. I was traveling from Bristol to London on a weekly basis, working on a big project. So, it wasn’t easy doing both at once.
However, I had to change my perceptions of the whole situation and make it work. This included doing wedding shopping, organizing the event, calling vendors usual wedding stuff, plus more. As well as doing IT project tasks with my seniors.
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