I’ve hand-picked this wonderful collection of self-help books I’ve read since 2020, and a must-include I discovered in 2013. These have stood out most in helping me continue to grow and learn through the authors’ stories and their philosophy on life.
I recommend these to my clients because they each speak to one of my BIG mediator mantras:
Happiness is not getting to a place in life
where all your problems are solved.
Happiness is knowing that whatever life
throws you, you can handle it.
On your journey to real resolution, I hope these literary favorites are also helpful in finding greater ease in navigating your own life.
And just to add, I describe these in the order in which they organically showed up in my life, and I fully believe this timing was no accident relative to where I was emotionally at that time. Each has made my journey richer by the read as they seem to magically dovetail with each other.
You’re welcome to discover these in this order, or in any order that’s meant for you on your own unique path.
Either way, here’s to your journey!
In late 2013, when I was in the emotional and financial crisis of my divorce, Michael A. Singer’s The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself unexpectedly caught my eye on a New York Times Bestseller table at the front of a Borders® Books and Music store. I was drawn to the cover because I love doing energy work with horses to help them heal. But what I quickly discovered was the deep healing this entire book brought me - especially the chapter on “Removing Your Inner Thorn.” When I removed mine, a whole new life opened up. This book saved me in many ways and put me on a true journey beyond myself!
In April 2020, I saw Marie Forleo with guest Robin Sharma on MarieTV talking about his new book The 5AM Club: Own Your Morning. Elevate Your Life. I was blown away that - though I’d done swift and deep emotional work several years before and had recovered from my divorce, a 40-year eating disorder and codependency - this interview revealed to me a painful inner truth: I had serious emotional work to do around my productivity. The journey of The 5AM Club is not easy and takes daily practice, yet it is incredibly rewarding! Many of the concepts beautifully align with how I help my clients resolve their conflict fast with lasting change. In short, Robin Sharma helped turn my day and my world upside down. I went from being a frustrated and inefficient night owl to embracing owning my morning, which has seriously up-leveled my business and my life!
You know those books you for some reason buy and plan to read but you never do? As I was embracing The 5 AM Club and had quickly finished another book I thought, “Which next!” That’s when Tanya Dalton's The Joy of Missing Out: Live More by Doing Less seemed to jump off my dusty shelf. I thought I'd also get through it quickly but no! Chapter 2: “Discover Choice” stopped me cold, presenting a never-seen-before view of my life. Over the next few months I carefully and intentionally absorbed and journaled everything in her book. AND, I continually found marvelous synergies between JOMO and The 5AM Club. Since 2020, I’ve integrated Tanya’s Inkwell Press Weekly Monthly Classic Planner and her Goals Planner into my daily pattern, and I continue to learn how to live more by doing less in my business and my life!
At the beginning of 2021, I discovered on the Audible app Greg McKeown’s Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less. I immediately connected with his concept of the “Essentialist” as it aligns with my mantra less is more, though I needed help with and am still learning about the disciplined pursuit…! I excitedly found synergy with JOMO: saying “yes” to something means saying “no” to something else - and this Chapter 2 was about: “Choose: The Invincible Power of Choice.” But two other things left indelible impressions on me - time comes from within; and, his powerful story about traveling internationally and being faced with the dilemma of prioritizing family or an unexpected opportunity. Both these impressions provided mirrors I needed to take a deep look into, and am grateful for what I’ve learned!
During the height of the pandemic, Matthew McConaughey was on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert talking about his new memoir Greenlights. Wow! What a fantastic read AND a fantastic audiobook narrated by Mr. McConaughey himself. Right from the start you are drawn into an unbelievable scene and you quickly realize, it’s REAL. And for the rest of the book, he keeps it TOTALLY real. With his great Prescribes, Bumperstickers, and other fantastic anecdotes, Greenlights is a great ride with countless gems and life lessons you can count on revamping your life!
Early in 2022, my business coach highly recommended Letting Go: The Pathway of Surrender by David R. Hawkins. There’s a powerful parallel between the letting go process and my work as a mediator and guiding my clients through emotionally charged, high-stakes conflict through to real and swift resolution. At its core this book is an amazing journey through the range of countless emotions we experience as humans - from apathy and depression to ultimately peace. Chapter by chapter Dr. Hawkins breaks down the essence of each emotion while guiding you on how to let go of each one by one - and why. As the content is richly dense, I highly recommend the well-narrated Audible version, and you may wish to read along and underscore what resonates with you!
Everything IS figureoutable! I first learned about Marie Forleo from my branding graphic designer back in 2015. No surprise she has become one of the great thought leaders of today. Having discovered her book in 2019, and re-discovered it 2023, Marie’s Everything Is Figureoutable is a fabulously open, honest and empowering read. It aligns with my philosophy that anything is possible if you’re open to possibility. I also highly recommend the audio version she narrates herself. If you're struggling with anything in your business or in your life and you can't see a way through it, listen to Marie: “Everything is truly figureoutable!”