5 Books Anyone Who Is Serious About Growth Should Read
Do something today that your future self will thank you for.
“If you don’t like reading, you haven’t found the right book yet,” is a famous quote by JK Rowling.
In other words, you can’t comprehend how love feels until you fall in love. You can’t understand how hard it is to earn money until you start earning for yourself. If you can’t like something, maybe you have never tried to find your “one.”
Here’s the thing: reading a book never wastes time.
You get to learn a lot about yourselves. Only some readers start by reading self-improvement books by Tony Robbins and David Goggins. Some, like us, had had the spark since childhood when we quickly opened the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and read the problematic lines from Tempest.
Whether you love reading or not, it’s time to improve your reading habits with the following five books that will help you broaden your horizons. Caution: these books have no downside.
The later you read, the more you will regret it. Because knowledge is an asset handy knowing earlier.
1. 4-Hour Work Week
Genre: Productivity
I have read every book from Timothy Ferris, and here are my suggestions:
- Clear, with snack-sized digestible facts
- Supports the claims with reference and experience
- Cross-pollinates the same lessons into his podcast and videos
When you continuously listen to a writer, you can tell if they are living the life they described.
Timothy Ferris is not a liar — this is for sure. His books are an all-in-one dose for productivity, finding purpose in life, and growing.
It feels great knowing someone out there is living a life you imagine for yourself. Meaning all you think is possible and doable. The first step to goals and dreams is finding if they’re rational.
Timothy Ferris is a walking possibility of your dreams.
2. The Quick and Easy Way to Effective Speaking
Genre: Self-improvement
People say: Dale Carnegie’s books are V.normal.
I say: so why don’t you read them?
I get that — some books are super easy to read. But there’s a reason behind their simplicity. Such books are designed to resonate with people and provide fulfillment.
Dale Carnegie’s main goal was to connect with anyone.
Anyone reading Dale Carnegie’s book collection - whether the person is a widow, child, or orphan correlates with it.
The book is jam-packed with lessons for everyone. Dale Carnegie’s book is like a litmus paper that changes and molds its color according to who’s reading. If you have read this book before, try reading again. You’ll uncover some new suggestions you never thought of before.
Magic.
3. Obstacle is the Way
Genre: Stoicism
- The primary Stoic books: “Meditations” by Marcus Aurelius, “Letters From Seneca,” etc.
- The secondary books: “The Daily Stoic” by Ryan Holiday and “How to Think Like a Roman Emperor” by Donald Robertson.
It’s your choice — you can read the primary or the secondary ones.
However, secondary books have more juice, context, and information you might miss otherwise.
Ryan Holiday is a great Stoic writer.
He is the right hand of Marcus Aurelius in current times. His book not only covers primary sources but different sources of context picked from other references, which means that reading Ryan Holiday’s books is like reading Five Stoic books simultaneously.
This is similar to trying to understand algebra when you need to learn the basics of multiplication and division.
Beginner Stoics can benefit from Ryan Holiday’s books with the right guidance and detailed explanation.
4. Heart Bones- Colleen Hoover
Genre: Romance
Novels are fairy tales. (Many people say.)
Well, novels are advice wrapped in a candy-like story! Reading Colleen Hoover’s books, I learned a lot.
Advice affects us differently when it is not presented as advice but embedded in a story we read. We have only one life to live, and we read self-help books with no possibility of ever reaching the point the author has. Each of us is different — to figure out life — we need real-life experiences.
Novels are real-life experiences. Colleen Hoover’s novel “Reminders of Him” gave me a perspective on prison life and how hard it is to miss someone. “Heart Bones” gave me a perspective on how people lie to others and the consequences that comes with it.
We don’t need unrealistic self-help book tales!
5. Japanese philosophy: Ikigai
Genre: Self-improvement & productivity
Why read Japanese philosophy?
Japan has one of the most extended life expectancies in the entire world. Not because the area is unaffected by pollution or junk foods but because those people know how to balance right with wrong.
On the other hand, we still need to learn about investing in the right thing at the right time.
For example:
- We work 9–5 but only mindful work for 2 hours
- We eat the whole day but exercise very little
- We sacrifice our sleep to work and sacrifice our work to sleep
Our goals are fractured. But Ikigai helps you find your purpose and practice your goals daily.
Japanese philosophy helps you find the reason for being. You’re here for a purpose, not to sweep and mop the floors of your condo or go out with friends every day.
The sooner you find your purpose, the sooner you can get back on track.
It’s the same as wanting to go to Alaska but getting lost somewhere near Yukon and saying, “They all look the same to me.”
Your life might look ideal to you, but it’s not.
Final thoughts:
- Books are books, just as food is food.
In the hustle and bustle of everyday life, we often need to remember to teach and educate ourselves. Be mindful that books are the only piece of paper that won’t judge you based on your mistakes and experience.
In other words, books are like guardian angels — no judging, just pure education.
If anyone loves you more than your mother, it’s the books — they won’t judge.
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