I was going through my library this morning and thought I should list the five books that have influenced me deeply in my personal development. Here they are, in no special order of importance. The impact of all these books on me have been immense and each one has helped me refine my life over the last four years. These are my 'top-shelf' books and I treasure them!
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My husband picked this book out for me during a trip to India (in 2008) at a bookstore in
Mumbai. I was then going through some problems with my boss. My boss and I had severe differences in opinion and I was very frustrated to see her ruining the project I was responsible for. I desperately needed some guidance to tackle this issue, I just couldn't let a $100 million project go haywire.
Debra's book was a lifesaver. I read the book three times in a span of two weeks - the pages were thumbed, I had underlined important passages, and scribbled all over the book. This book reinforced my confidence and influenced me so much that I excerpted parts of this book to write a mini speech, memorized it, and then talked with my boss' boss about my fears and concerns regarding the said project and outlined the steps needed to 'fix the problem'. The result: I was relieved of my stressful position and promoted to a more expansive role in the organization because of my ability to perceive problems and formulate 'fixes'. Furthermore, I got full corporate support to effect changes on not one but twelve projects! What can I say, the book is a 'must have' for all women.
After moving back to the US, I contacted
Debra. We email and talk to each other often. Every time I thank her for such a profound book. She is a good friend and perhaps some day I may even work with her to help other women.
This was a fantastic find at
Berkelouw Books on Oxford St., Paddington, Sydney. During my mini-vacation trips to the beautiful harbor city in early 2009, hubby used to be at
work, and I used to spend hours (sometimes the entire day) at that bookstore perusing through their fantastic collection of new and used books. I found many jewels there and this is definitely one of the precious few. The book goes step by step to define an effectiveness plan, first by getting organized, setting up priorities, and then eliminating time wasters. I had quite a few "Aha moments", but Chapter 5 - New Attitudes for Effectiveness, helped me the most. It got me to recognize Guilt, Worry, Fear of Failure, and Anger as big barriers in my progress and as soon as I was able to recognize them I was able to take charge and eliminate them. Self development is a very gradual process and it takes time. Nothing happens overnight. The first step is to realize that you are sitting in the passenger seat of your life and once you 'get it', then you can slowly plan a method to get onto the driver's seat, map where you want to go, and press on the accelerator!
Another gem found in Australia - I picked this one up for in-flight reading from
Cairns airport on the way to
Alice Springs in 2008. I was on a
10-day backpacking vacation from Alice Springs to
Darwin with two lovely companions. I was not looking for a book like this in particular, but when I came across it at the airport bookstore, I was intrigued, so I bought it. My friends commented - 'Geez, Soma, aren't you on this vacation to run away from work?' I smiled. This book was a great read and a perfect companion for the long 3-day bus ride on
Stuart Highway. You don't have to start from the beginning or from the end - start anywhere, any random page, and a core truth will jump at you. There are exactly 100 strategies mentioned, some overlap but all very relevant. At each rule, there is a framed kernel of wisdom that you may want to imprint in your brain permanently. If you can master all these rules, I bet you work life will become a relaxing stroll on the beach. It's a very handy book to keep as a ready reference and open it up every now and then and check yourself for proper behavior and attitude.
This book was a fairly recent find, after I started
my business in October last year. I picked this book from the library and at first I did not think too much about it. May be the title put me off - "52 Truths for Winning at Business Without Losing Your Self". It felt like those flimsy books trying to make you feel good, e.g. "10 Things You Can Do to Help Save the Earth"! I am not a fan of sweet coating the truth, I believe that hard facts of life are indeed hard and should be presented as such. Anyway, I decided to bring it home and give it a try. Boy! Was I impressed! This book seemed to be top-notch wisdom served to you in bite-sized pieces. I am so thankful that Alan Webber did not decide to write 52 books and put all of his 'lessons learned' in life in one concise book. The best way to get through this book is to read a chapter at a time, then let it seep in for few weeks. Then re-read the chapter. Every time you go back to the chapters, your subconscious mind has had time to ponder and you will feel pleased to be able to grasp the nuances of the wisdom through your own life experiences. It's a masterpiece!
I heard Dr. Taylor's
TEDTalk in 2010. What she said resonated very deeply with me at that time. No, I did not have a stroke, but during a
Vipassana meditation course early 2010, I was able to successfully suppress the incessant left-brain chatter and experience the nirvana-like feeling stemming from the vibrant right-brain. That experience was somewhat spiritual for me, and being an engineer I was not able to explain the experience through my accumulated knowledge base. Her book explained the science behind it. I loved it! The last two chapters are my favorite where she says "that deep inner peace is just a thought/feeling away". Happiness is a choice, and it's too sad that many do not exercise this choice. If you read this book, you will realize that you have the power to actually determine how your brain perceives emotions and you can control it at your own will. Also, you can train your mind to react differently to external stimulation and that "Enlightenment is not a process of learning, it is a process of unlearning". What the great Yogis and Zen masters have told us for eons is elucidated very clearly in the language of science - through the story of brain cells and their fantastic multidimensional circuitry.
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These five books that have influenced me in the last four years. They hold a permanent place on my bookshelf and I keep them close for ready reference. Hope you will find their wisdom helpful as well. Please do send me feedback, and share with me books that have helped you grow. I will appreciate that very much.
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