Books that changed my life

A wise man once said, “whenever you got a problem, read a book”. This is so true; we always think that our problems are unique and no one in history has ever had them. Everything is documented somewhere, the only way to find it is to read books. Reading is also a great way to connect to the mind of the author.

Yet reading is such a rare activity you will find in this modern age. According to a recent study the most read book in the 20th century is “FACEBOOK” . We spend too much time mindlessly scrolling through posts that only makes us feel more miserable and sadder.

As I look back at my life, I thought one of the best habits I picked up (by chance) was reading books. Kindle paperwhite happens to be my best $100 investment. Here is the list of some of the books which changed my life for better, it helped me thinking differently and making some good choices.

You can win – Shiv Khera

This was my first ever self-help book that one of my friends gifted me back in the high school. I was not very happy about it, after all I could hardly get interested in reading the schoolbooks (just enough to pass the exam) forget about a self-help book. As far as I could remember I could only read first 2-3 chapters. That was enough to make me a slightly better teenager then I would have. This has some great advice and offers a new perspective to life with little stories in between to keep things interesting.

Monk who sold his Ferrari – Robin Sharma

Almost a decade went by in higher studies, making a career and finding a girlfriend (now wife) before I landed onto my next book. One of my colleagues suggested this book. I started reading and found it good. Robin did a really great job in making the book very interesting by captivating story that resembles most of us. It gave 7 areas of life where we need to focus. This was really a game changer for me, I read this book at least 4-5 times and listened to audio book many times. One of the best take away was the 20-20-20 rules in the morning. Getting up at 5am improved all areas of my life.

Leader who had no title – Robin Sharma

Another masterpiece by Robin Sharma. I had already read 2-3 of his books and made it a habit of reading 20 mins in the morning (still follow it). This book gave me a new perspective on how we need to focus more on giving the best of ourselves in whatever area we are working on irrespective of the title we carry. All of us are CEOs of ME.inc. So, whatever you do, put your best foot forward. This is very relevant to freelancing since we work for ourselves, and we have to put the best foot forward day after day.

The One Thing – Gary Keller, Jay Papasan

The game changer. One of the greatest books and bestsellers. This emphasizes focusing on one thing and how it can result in achieving the greatest results. In this modern era of distraction and everyone trying to do multiple things at the same time. This timeless principle still holds true. When you focus on one thing you achieve the greatest result. The key take away was the miracle question “What is the ONE thing you can do, such that by doing it everything becomes easier or unnecessary”.

The Compound Effect – Darren Hardy

This book goes very well with “The ONE thing”. It talks about how time is the biggest commodity. Taking small actions for a long time has the greatest results. This helps you keep going even when taking actions look difficult and not producing any result for long time. In Upwork world that small action is applying for job. You never know which of those job applications could result in a long-term client and constant source of income.

The Power of Habit – Charles Duhigg

This is the third book on the same topic, goes very well with “The One Thing” and “The Compound Effect”. This explains how to create powerful habits, how habits are formed and some great insights on how our mind works. This also has a magical formula of how the good and bad habit works. It has some great stories of success and failures just because of a small habit that someone installed. Overall, a very entertaining book with great insights of human psychology.

The Millionaire Next Door – Thomas J. Stanley Ph.D., William D. Danko

All the other books helped in developing a great mindset. This one book changed the way I think about money and helped with my financial health. In this consumer-based society where every TV commercial and billboards are telling you how you can be happy if you buy their products, the reality is they just want you to buy things with your hard-earned money and eventually to a point where you are in debt. I loved this book and helped me in developing a minimalist mindset. When I look around, I find a lot of people “buying the things they don’t need from the money they don’t have (aka credit cards)”. One of the must-read books to make you financially healthy.

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fu*k – Mark Manson

This is one of the recent books I have read. A very different kind of book that will change your theory around a lot of things. How failure is important, why happiness is our greatest enemy and how “want to be happy” affects you negatively. A very interesting book and the author talks about his life and how he applied this theory. Believe me, this book will help you take tough decisions and really help you worry less. I am still reading this book for the third time and whenever I am driving around, I play this audiobook.

Bhagwat Geeta as it is – by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

I am not promoting this because I am Hindu, I think all the religious books have greatest life advises. I always had a goal of reading “Bhagwat Geeta”. I visited nearby ISCKON temple in 2019 and bought this book. I applied the concept of compound habit and the one thing and started reading 1-2 pages daily. This book has completely enlightened me and helped me realize that how small we are and everyday we are at mercy of God. Every living being is part and parcel of the god. It helped me see a lot of things differently and clearly. How every moment of our life is already planned, and we are in control of a higher superpower. I have read this book 5 times and its still part of my daily routine. Bhagwat Geeta has answers to all your questions, life’s problems.

I encourage you to read whichever religious book your religion allows; it will help you become a humble person.

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These are just a short list of books that I could think of on top of my mind, I have ready many books and every page we read helps me in some or the other way.

“Reading is for mind what exercise is for body”

Happy reading…

What book do you suggest?