Anyone who knows me, or even allows along on my social media, knows that I LOVE to read. From sales, money management, business, mindset, and human behavior books to memoirs and even some fiction, I love books.
As a writer, I am naturally drawn to the written word. Reading for me is more than that though. It’s the avenue to learning and I LOVE to learn. Like Albert Einstein once said:
“Learn from other’s mistakes. You’ll never live long enough to make them all yourself.”
Well, I also want to learn from others’ success too!
You created a killer business? Baller! Teach me your ways.
You got a book deal? Fantastic! How’d you do it?
You grew a solid, engaged following on Instagram? That’s awesome! What did you find is the most important tactics to growth?
You ran a marathon without breaking your body? Tell me what training plan you used!
Ready to be inspired by a book?
Here are 3 of my recent reads that I highly recommend for the writer, runner, entrepreneur and overall goal-getters in life.
Year of Yes (Shonda Rhimes)
From the award wining writer, creator and producer of Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder, comes a delightfully funny book about a personal challenge to change an ingrained mindset. Shonda, the woman who legit had an ENTIRE NIGHT of television, TGIT on ABC, devoted to the characters she created struggled with mindset just like the rest of us!
So how did she fix it? She started to say yes. She did not say “yes” to just anything and everything, she still needed boundaries, but rather “yes” to all the things that scared her. Why? Because she realized she said no to so many opportunities, not because she didn’t have time or ability to do them, but out of fear. Fear of being seen.
It’s hard to stand up and be seen and be confident enough to welcome all the vitriol that could come your way. The larger the profile, the more the trolls that come out to play. Shonda didn’t let that stop her though. She said “yes” to what scared her and it truly changed her life from work to home to health and overall happiness.
We Should All Be Millionaires (Rachel Rodgers)
Oh man, I could go on forever about this one. I have read a LOT of books, listened to a lot of podcasts by millionaires, and interviewed a lot of millionaires personally about how they got to their level of success. (I recently wrote about my own millionaire mindset too.) In Rachel I finally found my kindred spirit.
What made her different? Well, she didn’t insist that the key to success is giving up doing all the things I actually enjoy in my business in order to be the public face of the company and manager of a team. Nope! She presented a way to build a business, enjoy said business, and make more money while having a well-rounded life.
Boston Bound (Elizabeth Clor)
Earlier I mentioned I set a 2021 goal of finishing a marathon without breaking my body. Since this will be my first full marathon (I’ve done seven halfs) and potentially my only one, I need advice on how to get it done. So I tapped into my journalist nature and started researching, which is how I came across Elizabeth.
I knew she ran much faster than I ever intended to run based on her Instagram posts yet still I had to read her book. It’s the subtitle that drew me in:
A 7-Year Journey to Overcome Mental Barriers and Qualify for the Boston Marathon
A seven year journey! That shows some serious tenacity and yet it’s immediately followed by humidity and honestly as she says up front how mental barriers are what challenged her. Oh sure, the 3:35 qualifying time needed for her age group had a factor in it, but all runners can relate to how much of the sport is mental rather than physical and knowing that even a crazy, fast runner struggled to get past her mental blocks is both a comfort and an inspiration.
Now it’s your turn…
What books inspire you to grow, move, or generally take on the world? Drop some recs in the comments. I always need to spend more money on books (ha!)
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