1. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
Convey argues that all highly effective and successful people share the same common habits. These 7 habits are:
- Being proactive
- Beginning with the end in mind
- Putting first things first
- Thinking win-win
- Seeking first to understand, then to be understood
- Synergising
- Sharpening the saw
He goes into great detail about each of these habits, what they mean, how they help and how to apply them. He gives a step by step guide to implementing them into your daily life so that they become second nature. Covey promises that if you apply the principles that he suggests, you will see incredible improvements in your personal and professional life.
2. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
This is the perfect book for anyone struggling to make friends or simply to get along with people. It outlines that if you want to have friends and be successful in this life, the approach is to be nice and not mean. Sounds obvious, huh? but in fact, many people take the opposite approach. It will help you identify your negative behaviour towards others and how to improve it. He gives many real-life examples of how this works. There is no question that after reading this book, your communication skills and relationships with others will improve.
3. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson
This book is unquestionably a must-read for the younger generation. Anyone above 50 years old would have most likely learnt many of the lessons that Manson describes throughout their lifetime. His aim of the book is to help readers figure out what really matters to them, such as family and friends. And to shift their time, focus and energy onto the important things in life. To ignore things that are out of our control so that we live a happier and more peaceful life.
4. Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear
In this book, Clear shares the habits that he implemented into his lifestyle that ultimately changed his life forever. This book is full of hundreds of tiny habit change suggestions that he believes can truly change your life for the better. He shares very personal struggles that he endured during his life, particularly focusing on a serious accident that happened in high school. This event forced him to change his life and he struggled to do so at first. But by slowly changing his everyday habits he was able to improve his quality of life drastically. He advocates that having better habits will lead to a better life. He promises that small changes that may seem insignificant in everyday life will eventually lead to remarkable results and major change.
5. The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom by Don Miguel Ruiz
This wisdom in this book has the power to set you free from many negative beliefs. Ruiz writes in such a way that it allows you to speak to yourself and get in touch with your thoughts and feelings without any judgement. He has kind and loving intent on every word as he unfolds layers of peoples beliefs on a whole range of important topics. He teaches you that blaming family, past experiences or any external factor needs to be let go of. You must love yourself for everything that you are and have been through. He teaches self-love whilst giving honest accounts of his own life to connect with the reader and the lessons he suggests implementing. He’ll help you reach inside and find the beauty within yourself. It’s a must-read!