avatarGodofredo Rojas

Summary

The author reflects on the significance of reading the right non-fiction book at the right time, emphasizing that a book's impact is highly subjective and dependent on personal resonance and timing.

Abstract

The article discusses the transformative power of non-fiction books, asserting that the most influential book is one that aligns with the reader's current life situation and needs. The author shares their experience of recommending books and the importance of personal relevance over objective quality. They highlight the value of a book that offers practical advice and emotional inspiration, leading to self-improvement and a broader understanding of life's challenges. The author cites Maria Forleo's "Everything is Figureoutable" as a personal example of a book that provided guidance and motivation during a difficult period, reinforcing the idea that the right book at the right moment can be life-changing.

Opinions

  • The author believes that the value of a book is highly subjective and varies based on individual circumstances and the timing of when it is read.
  • A book's ability to teach something new or applicable is more important than its critical acclaim or popularity.
  • Authenticity and sincerity from the author can greatly enhance the impact of a book, as readers often seek emotional connection and relatability.
  • The author suggests that a book's effectiveness is not solely about its content but also about how it resonates with the reader's emotions and experiences.
  • The article emphasizes the importance of choosing books based on personal needs and intentions, such as learning, creativity, inspiration, self-improvement, empathy, and finding more questions to explore.
  • The author points out that the sheer volume of books published daily makes it challenging to select reading material, but the right choice can lead to significant personal growth.
  • The concept that "Everything is figureoutable" is presented as a powerful mindset shift that can help individuals tackle problems and fears by taking action and learning through the process.
  • The author concludes that education without application is merely entertainment, stressing the need to implement lessons learned from books into real-life actions.

Advice

The Non-Fiction Book that Changed My Life Without Being The Best One

The key is good timing.

Photo by Laëtitia Buscaylet on Unsplash

Weeks ago, a friend asked me if I can recommend him a good non-fiction book. I responded, I have read a lot, but I don’t know if they would be interesting for you.

It is true that the best book is the book you read at exactly the best moment in your life. If a book doesn’t resonate with you at that moment, it is just another book. But it’ll resonate with others for sure.

I stopped judging books. Certainly, but the most important is:

If a book teaches you a small thing that you can apply to improve any area of your life. It becomes a good book.

So everything becomes subjective when you started to judge books. Whatever doesn’t work for you can work for others.

Everything depends on what is going on in your life at that moment, and if you get a book that exactly covers your need at that moment, you will consider — the best book you have ever read.

Certainly, there are good and bad self-improvement books, a lot of topics trying to say the same in a different way. Everything depends if the author resonates with you if you can feel he/she is sincere. The most important is if while you are reading, you feel emotions around.

It is essential to know a little bit of the author to make sure his words align with his actions. Put it simply, If he/she achieve their goals.

There are a bunch of authors who trumpet things they never did. And it doesn’t make sense.

When I read a book, my intentions are:

  • To learn something new.
  • To get more creative.
  • To inspire me through emotions.
  • To be a better version of myself.
  • To have different topics to speak up.
  • To be more empathetic to understand others.
  • And lately, to have more questions and choose another book.

So those are my pre-thoughts before getting a book. To make a better decision when I choose a book to read.

As I said above, there is a lot of book on the market nowadays. Studies show us that 5000 thousand new books are published per day. It is crazy; there are so many books to read.

So I remember time ago, I chose a book to read, and the author is Maria Forleo The book Everything is Figureoutable.” I know what you think, maybe it is not the best book you can find in the market right now, but that supports my thoughts about the most important book is the book you choose in the right time.

When I got that book, I didn’t even think about why I choose to read that, just the title resonated with me a lot.

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

You read what you need at that moment

Back in time, I remember I was having a hard time like there was a certain thing that the outcomes weren’t the ones I was expecting. I felt frustrated, I started to take advice from everyone, and I got more confused. The antidote was worse than the illness.

When I chose that book, I needed an answer to deal with the problems that I was passing through. And to be honest, without saying new things, that book helped me a lot. Not because of the advice, because of the title. It resonates with me a lot at that moment.

When the author started to talk about her mom who used to do everything at home, her mom reminded mine. She used to see her mom fixing everything at home: the tv, the kitchen, the sink, the floor and she asked: Mom, how you do everything, who taught you? while her mom was fixing the lights, her mom responded, it is too expensive to hire someone to do this, he will charge me 200 bucks for it. So I decided to do it by myself.

But mom who taught you to fix that, I saw you all the time fixing everything at home… then her mom responded:

Marie, “there is nothing that complicated in life, Everything is figurateoutable, everything.”

When I read that, it pays off everything. I knew what I had to do with the problems in my life at that moment. It is obvious, but you need to hear or read to introduce those thoughts in your mind.

You will Figure out everything in life.

I needed a sign that is why this book resonated with me. That’s why I consider the best book the book you read at the best moment. It is what you need at that moment that can help to clarify your thoughts.

If you have a happy life and an amazing relationship with your partner, a book about how you can cultivate love in your relationship, even if it will be the bestseller book, is not going to resonate with you. But with people with a lack of love in the relationships, it will.

This book resonates with me because I really needed an injection of positivism and focus, to leave my ego and fear aside and take action without thinking too much.

This book helped me to:

  • Be confident, even if I don’t know everything.
  • Take actions and learn more in the process.
  • Try different things even if you don’t like it; when you try, you start to realize that it wasn’t bad at all.
  • The fear always will be there. It despairs for a moment. While you keep learning and growing, you will put the bar higher. Hence the fear again will show up. Live with your fear.
  • You are not going to feel fear because you lack knowledge. You already know that everything is figureoutable; just need time and focus.
  • When you feel the fear, it means you are stepping out of your comfort zone. You are growing up.
  • Time is a matter of priority; you create your time. So you are free to throw away all the productivity and time management apps. To be honest, I tried a ton of them. And the unique apps which work remarkable is the one which is inside of you.

The time management that you have in your brain. You are the source of the time. You put labels on what is a priority for you every day. (Now I throwing away my watch, too) and started to be more productive since.

Conclusions

It’s a truth they are a lot of book with those topics; this book helped me. It showed up at the right time and with the correct answers to my questions. When you get a book, and you don’t like it, maybe it wasn’t your time to read that book, but I can assure you it will be golden for others.

Now I changed my mind with books that I used to consider the best ones. Everything is subjective. I remember the first time I read the book by Marcus Aurelius,“Meditations,” It was so dull, I reread two months ago again, and I consider a pure golden now.

The best advice from this post goes into this quote. Keep in mind everywhere while you are reading.

“Education without application is just entertainment.”

— Tim Sanders

If you want more stories like this or different topics, let me know here!

Godofredo Rojas is a writer, chef, and constant learner from Peru. He studied in Le Cordon Bleu in Lima, Peru. He moved to New York in March 2011. You can find him on Facebook and Twiter.

Books
Advice
Self Improvement
Lessons
Productivity
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