A book can change your life. It’s a cliché, but that does not make it any less true.
All of humanity’s knowledge, insights, ideas, failures, and lessons learned are contained within books. They have all the answers. The writers have lived lives and encountered problems and, fortunately for us, have reported their findings in the form of the written word which we can use as a springboard for our own experiences. Why start from the bottom when we can stand on the shoulders of others?
As the quote that is often attributed to Bismarck attests: “Only a fool learns from his own mistakes. The wise man learns from the mistakes of others.”
Below are five books that have helped to transform millions of lives and can do the same for you!
1. Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
If anyone had reason to think that life was cruel and meaningless, it would have been Viktor Frankl. His father, mother, brother, and new wife all died in the concentration camps. He survived and, by observing fellow prisoners, founded logotherapy, a type of psychotherapy that believes a human’s motivation in life is to find meaning. In short, what is the secret to a happy, fulfilling life? A sense of purpose. Man’s Search for Meaning is a tour de force that combines Frankl’s experiences and observations that can completely change your views on life and give you a life-altering perspective.
2. Deep Work by Cal Newport
While working on something, how often do you check your phone or flip open your inbox? How long can you concentrate before needing to do something else? Cal Newport’s Deep Work is the perfect antidote to our distracted, chaotic lives. Split into two halves, the first part is the why — deep work is valuable, rare, and meaningful — while the second half is the how — embrace boredom, quit social media, and realizing the difference between deep and shallow. Following this blueprint can change your professional life and go a long way in helping you to stand out from the competition, regardless of your occupation.
3. The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel
There are scores of books dedicated to money and personal finance. Unfortunately, most of them are pretty bad. Fortunately, there are a few that are outstanding and Morgan Housel’s The Psychology of Money is at the top of the list. While the vast majority of personal finance books are obsessed with the cold logic of a one-size-fits-all model of what to do (spend less than you make; invest as much as possible as early as possible), The Psychology of Money utilizes stories from history to analyze behavior and explain how our upbringings, environments, and experience dictate our financial decisions — and how we can improve them. This book can change your entire approach to money.
4. The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
What is stopping any of us from creating our masterpiece? Is it our obligations? External distractions? Lack of talent? No, the biggest hindrance to our success is simple: us. In The War of Art Steven Pressfield even gives this a name: Resistance. It is the enemy within, always there and always trying to stymie us. Resistance is the cause of procrastination, uncertainty, and imposter syndrome. It is the voice telling you that you can’t do something and you should quit. Luckily, Pressfield diagnoses how to confront and ultimately vanquish Resistance so that we can do what we’ve always dreamed of doing.
5. What Made Maddy Run by Kate Fagan
What happens when a person’s seemingly perfect exterior façade is concealing pain and unhappiness inside? An examination of how competitive college athletics, unrealistic personal expectations, and the need to make everything look great for social media can coalesce into tragedy, What Made Maddy Run tells the sad story of one girl but also provides insights and lessons for anyone coming of age (and their parents) in our current culture. The title is a triple entendre, as it refers to (a) what made her run track; (b) what made her run (as in operate) as a person; and (c) what made her ultimately run from life. A haunting book, What Made Maddy Run can change and clarify how you view your own life as well as those around you.
There they are. Five books with the power to alter you forever. Pick one up and change your life immediately!
Christopher Pierznik is the worst-selling author of nine books. His work has appeared on XXL, Cuepoint, Business Insider, The Cauldron, Fatherly, Hip Hop Golden Age, and many more. Connect on Facebook. Please feel free to get in touch at CPierznik99@gmail.com.
The Passion of Christopher Pierznik 