Non Business Books That Taught Me A Shed Load About Business Anyway.
From fiction, to travel, to spiritual development books- Here’s what I learnt from them about running my business.
I love a business book, my shelves are full of them, but I’m a great believer in learning far and wide. Lessons about life and business can come from all sorts of people and places and we can learn so much from the most unusual sources. I’m not religious but I read texts from every religion for example. There is always some wisdom to be found, with an open mind.
Maybe I’m an overthinker but I have found some great insights from books that have absolutely nothing to do with business, but have helped me think about mine. I’ve shared them here. I’d love to hear what you think and if you have any to add, please leave them in the comments and I’ll check them out.
At Home In The World— Thich Nhat Hanh
This book is a collection of short accounts from Zen Master and spiritual leader, Thich Nhat Hanh’s life, to teach the concept of mindfulness. I found this book so peaceful to read and some of the stories transported me to time I spent in Asia, where life was less timely, and I felt more at ease without the stress of acquiring ‘stuff’ and external expectations.
You can’t help but take mindfulness into everyday practices after reading this book. It made me take note of what I was doing instead of rushing to the next thing. Living in the moment instead, which really is invaluable.
Message: Truly live every moment. Life is now, not some point in the future when you achieve your next goal. We need to learn to really be present in the everyday parts of our lives.
How I applied this to my business: Strive for goals and milestones of course, but in the meantime, it helped me remember to stop, breathe and truly appreciate what I have achieved so far. Spending the day stressing about a presentation tomorrow is the ultimate waste. So often we set ourselves a goal and believe we will be happy when we achieve that, but really happiness should be the process, the everyday, not something in the distance. Owning a business should be enjoyable otherwise what are we doing it for?
The Midnight Library- Matt Haig
This is a fantastic fiction book with a powerful message. Spoiler ahead so skip to the ‘message’ if you don’t want to know what happens.
The main character in this book commits suicide (it’s not as morbid as it sounds so stay with me) and instead of dying, she finds herself in limbo, in a place where she can pick any point of her life where she has a regret to return to and try again.
It’s a great story and it really hammers home how the decisions we make shape our lives. At any point, the decisions we take can send our life spinning off in a new direction, or more importantly, the decisions we don’t make. This is because choosing to do nothing and remain in a life that we aren’t happy with, is essentially making a decision.
Message: You are always just one decision away from a different life.
How I applied this to my business: So often we accept what we are not happy with and don’t make changes. It may feel like this isn’t a conscious choice, but by not choosing a different path, we are choosing to stay static. By not outsourcing that work, I was choosing to work long hours, by not saying no to a difficult client, I was choosing to be working in a way that didn’t feel aligned with my businesses. We always have a choice.
Moonology- Yasmin Boland
If you’ve read any of my other articles, you’ll know that I am very much into using alternative methods to help people discover what they really want from their careers. One of my go-to mediums is the moon. I find it absolutely fascinating that the moon can have such an impact on our behaviour, emotions and motivation.
If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you need to read this book. It’s all about how you can get yourself in tune with lunar cycles so that you can maximise your energy and approach the right tasks at the right time.
Message: Just like any other living creature on this planet, we are effected by the moon and it’s cycle. This can have a profound effect on how we feel and how be act. Working in sync with these cycles can help us be more productive.
How I applied this to my business: Business doesn’t have to be full throttle. There are times for growth, there are times for reflection, and there are times for cracking on with that needs to be done. Learning about the moon’s cycles and how we feel at different times, helped me work out what tasks are best suited to when in the cycle. True magic!
Be Here Now — Ram Dass
This 70’s cult classic book is quite famous, written by the Western professor, turned Eastern Yogi, Ram Dass. The book is a quirky account of how Ram Dass went from working in research as a Harvard Professor, to heading on a spiritual quest to India, to find the meaning of life.
It’s divided into three main parts, the first telling his story, followed by an artistic montage of drawings, quotes and guidance, before a sum up of how he found what he was looking for and how we can too.
Message: Ram Dass knew there was more and he was prepared to give up his life and career to search for it. The teachings in this book are about spirituality and there is always a place for this in our lives.
How I applied this to my business: Business isn’t just about making money. For a business to flourish, we need to feel aligned with it in every sense. There is a spiritual element to business, it’s not all strategy and numbers. Spirituality has become a big part of my business and what I work on with clients if they need it.
The Salt Path — Raynor Winn
This book got some rave reviews but I’ll be honest, I didn’t love it at first. I felt it was written for an older audience (or maybe I just won’t admit that I’m growing up) but after sticking with it, the deeper messages started to draw me in.
The focus of the book is a couple who lose everything and become homeless, whilst also finding out some terrible news about the husband’s health. They bravely decide that instead of living life on the streets, they will spend their days walking the 600+ mile path along the Cornish coast, wild camping, with next to no money and just what they could carry on their backs.
This true story is a heartwarming tale of their travels but it’s so much more than that. It’s about adapting, staying positive, getting back to basics and understanding what’s important in a life so busy and materialistic.
Message: Life doesn’t always go as planned but there is always another path. Make of it what you can and trust the journey.
How I applied this to my business: There is no one path mapped out for us. Things may change, we may change, and business needs to be adaptable. We don’t know what’s going to happen along the way but we need to embrace the changes and find new ways of coping.
Round Up
If you’ve read any of these books I’d love to hear your take on them. Please let me know in the comments.
(In the interest of full disclosure, this post contains affiliate links).
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Finally, you may want to check out some of my other articles:
Life Is Not Linear- It’s OK To Change Your Mind
