In our world of constant running around from pillar to post, in pursuit of our never-ending race against time and sometimes circumstances, living among the cacophony of infinite tunes of life; one of the hardest balance to maintain is staying self-motivated and always thinking positively about every aspect of our lives be it on the professional front or our relationship or financial stability. There are so many permutations and combinations of things to pull us down that no matter how hard we try chances of something or other going south are very high. On top of that, time being the rarest and probably most expensive commodity (I am sure you have heard ‘Time is money’ various time) to seek solace from loved ones or finding a kind, patient and understanding ear is another arduous task to achieve if not impossible. Under these circumstances who can we look at if we desperately need a good advice or just any source which relates to the situation we are going through? Well, there exist the wonderland of books which not only can help you transpose to a different world and give you a much needed break from whatever situations you are facing, it is also the source of timeless wisdom which was true and valuable hundreds of years ago and is equally beneficial in our modern world. There is this whole wide world of motivational books available covering every aspect of our lives. Being an avid, lifelong reader, let me share some of the books which I found to be the best ones amongst the thousands available : –
The Power of Now – A guide to spiritual enlightenment is the masterpiece creation of Eckhart Tolle, which emphasizes the importance of living in the present moment. How many of us end up spending our days & nights either reliving/ regretting our past or anticipating/ planning about our future? Almost everyone in his or her life gets into this vicious cycle of past and future without realizing that the only thing which matters most is the Present. Tolle in this powerful book talks about how the insistence of people to have control over their life is a big illusion and how can we come out of this illusion in simple and easy to understand question-answer format. This book is translated into more than 30 languages and can take you on an inspiring journey to connect with your deeper self and help you in achieving your true potential.
How to Win Friends and Influence People is a book written by Dale Carnegie in 1936. Now don’t let the year of publishing plant seeds of doubt in your mind about the impact of this book. When we mention timeless wisdom, this book is one of the most pertinent examples of providing some of the most thought-provoking insights over decades. In the last 70 years, more than 30 million copies of this book have been sold worldwide and are one of top selling self-help book. The author in this book introduced the step-by-step action plan genre of self-help books and if not all but the majority of the author of self-help books have used this genre in some shape or form in their writing. The intent of this book is to enable you in making friends quickly easily, provide you with an approach to improve your circle of influence without offending anyone and help you in winning people to start thinking in your way. It provides the reader with six ways to make people like you; twelve ways to win people to your way of thinking; Be a Leader etc. Being the part of the social set-up of our world, the possibilities of applying all these learnings are endless and equipped with these traits could potentially bring a radical change in your life.
Think and Grow Rich is another classic personal development book written by Napoleon Hills. Although the title of this powerful read suggests it’s about increasing your income, Napoleon insisted that the principals described in this book provide the foundation to be successful in any field of life. Think and Grow Rich is an offspring from Hills earlier work, ‘The Law of Success’ which was the cumulation of almost twenty years study of America’s wealthiest and successful people. In this book, he talks about 13 principles in the form of ‘Philosophy of Achievement’ which helps the reader to move closer to the successful life they have been aspiring for. As per Hill, desire, faith, and persistence can propel one to achieve the greatest heights provided you won’t let negative thoughts pull you down in the long run.
While these books have been extremely motivational for a lot of people, I would still urge you to find the ones which work best for you. It doesn’t matter if you are a paperback lover or a kindle geek, books can have a massive impact on our thought process and can certainly help you in striving the much-needed balance in our lives. Happy Reading!