In my last post, I wrote about how important it is for each of us to cultivate reading as a habit so today I though I’d share a few ideas for where to start. While the following paragraphs will be far from in-depth reviews, I will give you a quick overview of three books and why I found each one so helpful.
The Slight Edgeby Jeff Olson. This book was really inspirational to me because it pushed me to expect more from myself. It is amazing to me how certain principles can be thrown at us again and again and yet we still sometimes don’t put them into practice. I knew many of the principles in this book but haven’t always put them into practice in my own life, and I think that is typical of many people. And let’s face it, knowledge isn’t helpful in moving us forward in life unless we act on that knowledge.
Throughout his book, Olson talks about how success is created through consistent implementation of simple disciplines. Honestly, that sums up the entire book in a nutshell, but it obviously he goes into great depth about what that means and what it looks like.
There are so many nuggets of wisdom in this book but one of the most simple and perhaps most relevant is this: In chapter four (titled “Master the Mundane”), Olson says, “What you do today matters. What you do every day matters.” It sounds so easy and so small, but the profound truth is that we are each creating the shape of our lives through our everyday actions. He goes on to say, “Those little things that will make you successful in life, that will secure your health, your happiness, your fulfillment, your dreams, are simple, subtle, mundane things that nobody will see, nobody will applaud, nobody will even notice… Things that are ridiculously easy to do—but just as easy not to do.”
We are each in control of how are lives will turn out, and Olson’s book gives great encouragement and insight as to how we can create great success and happiness for ourselves. Just recently, I finished reading it for the second time—some books are good enough to delve into over and over and this is one of them!
I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi. I actually bought one of Sethi’s training courses about seven years ago when I was branching into freelance editing in addition to my day job as a legal proofreader, and I have been getting his newsletters ever since. I’ve only recently read his book, but I have enjoyed reading books on money for years and I have to say, his would make my top ten. His writing is clear and concise, and he is also funny. I love when an author can inject humor into a topic that most people find dry and intimidating. This is a great book for people who don’t really want to spend a lot of time reading about or thinking about their money but are responsible enough to know they need to learn about the basics.
Sethi gives solid principles to follow and breaks them down into action steps at the end of each chapter. I also love that he encourages people to set up a system that works for them specifically—he doesn’t claim that one size fits all. He wants people to live a rich life and pushes his readers to find out what that looks like for them rather than just following what they have been told they are supposed to want. For example, while our society tends to push this dream that includes a corporate job, a house in the suburbs, and two kids, Sethi notes that if you prefer to spend a larger portion of your paycheck on dining in expensive restaurants than owning a large home, you simply need to adjust your money system to fit your lifestyle. He believes that everyone can find abundance if we learn to work smarter and then let our money work hard for us.
Write It Down, Make It Happen by Henriette Anne Klauser. This is a book I read some time ago and have just recently picked up again. It focuses on writing to figure out what we want and to visualize and then get what we want. Life is busy and chaotic and stressful much of the time, which is why Klauser emphasizes how important it is to write down our desires and goals for our lives. She says, “Once you start writing your goals down, the brain will send you all kinds of new material: innovative, energizing ideas for planning out and expanding those ambitions.”
So often we think about our dreams in passing—“Wouldn’t it be nice to vacation in Greece someday?”—but we don’t set down concrete goals for our lives—“I am going to start setting aside $50 every paycheck so that by 2024, my husband and I can go to Greece for a week, stay in a luxury hotel, and eat in the best restaurants.” Klauser makes the point that just having dreams won’t get you to them, but that “setting your intent, focusing on the outcome, being clear about what you want in life can make your dreams come true.”
On top of having action steps to take at the end of each chapter, her book is full of stories about people who managed to change their own lives using the principles she outlines. It is a call to action that helped me sharpen the focus for my own goals.
These are just three books that have influenced my life, but I will start adding to the list of great books in one blog every month. Even if reading is a struggle for you, I encourage you to stick with it. Start out small—read one book every month or every other month and then increase from there. Listen to an audio book. One day you might just read a book that will change your life!