7 Books I Read and 1 I Wrote in 2021
Books to motivate and inspire you.
This has been a groundbreaking year for me. I launched a coaching business, volunteered at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, met one of my mentors, doubled the number of stories contributed to Medium, and published a book.
While the year was filled with many achievements, it also included a great deal of learning. And to do that, I reached out to books. Some of the books I discovered this year were new and others are timeless classics. Here are some of the books I read this year with a brief description and my impressions.
The Four Agreements — A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom by don Miguel Ruiz
The Four Agreements explores the promises we make to society and ourselves. The book is based on ancient Toltec wisdoms (ca. 900–1521 AD) and brings to light the duties and expectations placed on us through our upbringing, society, and understanding of ourselves.
We rarely take the time to evaluate these promises, but should in order to live life as the truest versions of ourselves. The four agreements are 1) Be Impeccable With Your Word, 2) Don’t Take Anything Personally, 3) Don’t Make Assumptions, and 4) Always Do Your Best.
In reflecting on this book, the biggest takeaway I had was that as children we are told to be ourselves, and that is a good starting point. As adults, we need to extend that to becoming the best version of ourselves. That is something to strive for over a lifetime.
You can have many great ideas in your head, but what makes the difference is the action. Without action upon an idea, there will be no manifestation, no results, and no reward.
The best version of ourselves needs to be defined internally. You know yourself better than anyone on the planet. Being true to yourself and your vision of the life you want will invite lessons, relationships and discoveries that move you towards that ideal.
Rory Sutherland is an advertising executive with a unique view of life. Through his work he has had the opportunity to push boundaries and consider things from new perspectives. This has led to page after page of stories about discovering new contexts for shaking up the world as we see it. From the explosion of the energy drink market to the advancement in personal music players, this book explores the need to be less logical and more practical in developing solutions to the world’s needs.
Here is an example of applying the concepts from Alchemy to life: Unhappy with his life thus far, one of my clients is looking to do a complete transformation of his situation. Alchemy is a good place for him to start. To escape the rut his life has been in, he needs to try fresh ideas and go out on a limb, without reservation. Challenging the definitions and previous expectations in order to get there. He needs to work on a complete transformation, and that will start with doing things in a manner counter to his current way of thinking.
Here is a quote from Alchemy that resonates with me:
There is no such thing as rational or irrational belief — there is only rational or irrational behavior.
It is behavior that puts thoughts and beliefs into action. So if you don’t like the way your life is going challenge a new approach.
The Sacred 6 is a personal development book that focuses on how to have a balanced life. JB Glossinger, the Morning Coach, helps the reader examine some key indicators of well being: clarity, focus, consistency and prioritization systems, incrementally moving toward the best version of one’s self.
JB explains that if your mission and your goals are not aligned with your values, you may find that the action you are taking is not getting you the desired results. I also believe that this is something which hampers success for many people.
Step back and watch the people around you with unfocused energy or those that seemingly take one step forward and two back. Contrarily, consider the people that seem to have everything happen so easily for them. A big part of both extremes is energy flow. If you feel like you’re treading water or not making the progress you expect to, Sacred Six is a good book for reevaluating your systems, focusing on what you want and taking bigger steps towards your success.
If you are not familiar with John Lee Dumas, he does a daily entrepreneurial podcast called Entrepreneurs on Fire. Over the years, he has done more than 3,000 interviews with successful entrepreneurs, sharing stories from the trenches on their collective road to success and learning their secrets along the way.
All those interviews revealed commonalities in what successful people do to achieve their goals. JLD meshed those lessons into his book. Each chapter takes the reader a little further down the path, so those working the side hustle would benefit from studying the early chapters while someone that has already achieved some level of success would get insight to what comes next on their journey in the later ones.
If you are interested in getting started on this journey, or unsure of what to do next, this is the book for you. I have incorporated many of the concepts into my own work this year, especially in the area of setting up masterminds and going forward with course development.
On Writing Well By William Zinsser
Having written a book and around 120 articles to date, I now feel like I am ready to learn the craft of writing. This is the book to take me to the next level. William Zinsser was a prolific writer and taught at Yale University.
Where today, people are taking a book and turning it into a course, he did the opposite, transforming his writing course into a book. With examples and commentary of good and bad writing, this book can really help the developing scrivener to understand the process of communicating with the written word, and consider what it is to write with impact.
Personally, I have developed my writing skill tremendously through this book. Not just by recognizing the flaws in ineffective writing, but also by understanding the whys. This makes it much easier to coach other writers. Maybe it helps with the clarity of my writing too :-D
My friend and former boss finally published a book he had been working on for years, Just Say If. This novel tells the story of a private man and his reflections on life through his journals. The journals are pursued by his daughter, not just to gain deeper insight into her father, but also herself. An enigmatic and personal story of search for meaning across generations.
I think many of us look for answers into why we are who we are, hoping to find that through common traits with family members. A recent discussion with my mother led me to a similar realization about self value.
In that discussion I realized that we both find our sense of purpose through contribution not society as a whole, but rather to individuals who through our efforts are uplifted.
Sad and Funny: Experiences of Japanese People By Jill Barcelona-Suzuki
I met Jill while volunteering at the Olympics. You can read her interview here. Like me, she has been teaching business English and communication skills in Japan for many years. This book is a glimpse into the lives of some of the students she has encountered.
Her stories are so common among the people of Japan. I could probably identify three or four similar folks for each story she tells. If you want to expand your cultural awareness, or are considering living in Japan, this book is a good introduction to the real culture through the eyes of a foreigner.
As with Just Say If, these books are self-published and not as polished as the ones above put out by top publishing houses. Nonetheless, reading and recommending new writers shows that the months and years they spent crafting their books were not wasted. Their messages need to be heard and they also have the ability to impact readers.
Win the Day: How to win your battles with stress, anxiety and depression
Is the book I wrote. It is a handbook for improving mental health and mindset. Everyone sees the world in a slightly different way and Win the Day is focused on helping you realize your ability to create the life you want to live a day at a time.
In 30 chapters, my book helps you to enhance your relationship with the most important person in your life, you. Then develop strategies for engaging the people around you and managing a system to achieve your goals so that you can consistently achieve success.
The book is filled with my own experiences, motivational quotes and exercises to help you not just understand the concepts, but actually achieve them.
One of my favorite lines from my book is this:
Live each day as if it were your last, doing everything to the best of your present ability. Then you will have no regrets. As the day comes to a close, you will have a quiet sense of confidence, knowing that you’ve given it your all. You will sleep with rapture.
Writing and publishing a 55,000 word book was something I would have never thought possible until I did it. But just like my other accomplishments, I was able to achieve it by putting one foot in front of the other and continuing to challenge the journey.
What are your accomplishments from 2021 and your goals for 2022? Please share them in the comments section.
Want to work with me or learn more about what I do? Visit my website https://www.synergypersonaldevelopment.com
