I absolutely love reading, especially non-fiction, self-help type stuff. The ROI (return on investment) of reading these kind of books is ridiculously high. We're talking about spending $20, and most times much less, to leverage someone else's mistakes and success lessons.
All it takes is one sentence, or one paragraph from a book to create a breakthrough that leads to massive success. Yet, according to Huffington Post, over 25% of people have not read a book in the past year. I'm not surprised, though. I was not always an avid reader.
This brief list of books is intended for the brand new reader. But, I highly recommend that everyone get these books and actually read them, for the wisdom and brilliance in each of them will only serve you in being the best version of you and creating the life you truly deserve.
As I list each book, I'll include a brief description, key nuggets I learned (in bullet point format), as well as a **link for you to purchase the book if you are interested in buying AND reading a copy for yourself!
I encourage you to read just one book that calls to you. From there, build a nice library of books to support your never ending growth! On to the 3 books I highly recommend everyone read for max happiness, self-awareness, and financial freedom.
**please note: the amazon links are affiliate links, meaning for every person that uses the link I provide, I will get a small percentage of the sale. By using these affiliate links, you will be directly supporting my personal growth! I make a living off of these affiliate link sales, amongst other streams of income. You always have the option to buy the book elsewhere, or even search for free copies online (*cough* didn't tell you that). If you do use the affiliate links to buy the books, I am SO appreciative, grateful, and blessed to receive your support. I stand by each of these books and the impact it's had on my life, and anyone who reads them. Thank you! - Gabriel Santos
p.s. for those on a tight budget, try your local Goodwill or other thrift stores. I've found each of these books for less than $3 at thrift stores. But please consider using my amazon affiliate link! I'd appreciate the loooove :)
Book #1: The Power of Now
If you've been following my daily blog, you're well aware that this book has impacted my life in the most profound way than any other. The reason is that the writer, Eckhart Tolle, brilliantly explains how the mind works, and how a person's identification with it leads to suffering.
This newfound awareness has literally empowered me to be free from my social anxiety, deep-rooted insecurities, and given me the foundation to be my true, authentic self and achieve any damn goal I set my mind to.
The reality is that although we strive for success and material wealth, no amount of accomplishment could bring the level of deep, spiritual wholeness and satisfaction that we yearn for on a conscious and unconscious level. This book will support you in your search for deep, spiritual fulfillment - it did, and does for me everyday.
Key Nuggets:
you are not your mind, or your reactive emotions. you're much more than that
identification with the mind and reactive emotions is what leads to suffering
by creating awareness of the mind, we create an access to the moment - our true life
the fake feeling we walk around with, that mask, is a product of the ego (the mind)
step outside of the mind, observe it, and make it a priority to be Present
it is the evolution of consciousness and self-awareness that the human species must go through in order to create a world of love
Book #2: Rich Dad Poor Dad
"Rich Dad Poor Dad" is an absolute MUST read for every person looking to create financial independence. By financial independence, I mean not having to trade time for money directly, like most people do as employees.
In this book, the author, Robert Kiyosaki, explains the difference between how rich and poor people perceive money and how to go about creating wealth. Kiyosaki does this by comparing and contrasting his biological father's financial paradigm and results, with that of his friend's father's paradigm who is far wealthier than his own real dad.
For most of us, there is only one pathway to money - go to school, get a job, save money, and retire. As you'll read in this book, that's the slowest and least efficient way to create wealth. It is our responsibility to discover the other, more efficient ways to create wealth, and forever leave the 9-5 rat race.
Key Nuggets:
poor people work for money, rich people have money work for them
there four main ways to create money
employee (E), small business (S), big business (B), investing (I)
(E) & (S) require your time and energy directly; (B) & (I) leverage a system or a model
rich people own assets, poor people own liabilities
poor people have a job, rich people create jobs
creating money is a skill
Book #3: The Power of Habit
Imagine if you could change any negative habit in your life and replace it with ones that serve your highest purpose and goals? In this book you'll discover the exact science behind habits, how they are formed, and how you can manipulate your own habits to create lasting success.
The author, through my research and first-hand experience with clients, explains what he calls a "habit loop" and dissects each piece. He also talks about "keystone habits" which are the habits, that when altered, catalyze many other habits to be altered as well.
Fun fact: This was actually the first ever self-help book I owned. It came to my life at a time where I was looking to gain self-control over my marijuana use - amongst other things. Little did I know that this book, a birthday present from my then girlfriend, would spark my deep love for obtaining knowledge through books! UIly, if you're reading this, thank you.
Key Nuggets:
there is a science behind habits, and they can be manipulated if you know the formula
if you do not consciously form habits, you are not consciously creating your life
identifying triggers is KEY
habits are easy to change if the new solution meets all the needs of the old one, and is BETTER and more efficient
habits are a brain thing, which then become an identity thing, which means we become our habits!
the science behind habits is either working for you or against you
big companies use habit science!
Why I Read Self-Help Books & Why I Encourage You To Do The Same
It wasn't until my life circumstances pulled me to learn as much as I can about myself and the world, that reading really became a part of my life. It typically requires some kind of emotional pain before we start to do things we'd historically never done before. Reading books and working on oneself falls into that category in my opinion.
However, you don't need to wait until your life circumstances are dire (extremely serious or urgent) before you start reading self-help books. Read them NOW, before crisis occurs, and gain and edge in life!
For your scrolling convenience, here are the links to purchase them on Amazon. I labeled each link based on what you'll learn about in each book!
