Reading can take you to a whole new world and expand your perspective on life. Same book can be read and understood differently by different people. So today I though of telling you about the books that changed the way I think. Let me know which books helped you during your tough times and shaped your thinking.
1. The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari: A Fable About Fulfilling Your Dreams and Reaching Your Destiny
by Robin S. Sharma
This is the first self-help book I came across when I was in a really low point in my life due to a friends’ betrayal. Robin Sharma explains how to achieve a balanced life by narrating a story of a very successful lawyer who suffered due to an out-of-balance life.
It helped me to make my life simpler by forgiving people and helped me to choose what really matters to me. I left my past baggage aside, felt relieved and enjoyed the moments in life. The book also encouraged me to achieved my best.
2. Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead
by Sheryl Sandberg, Nell Scovell (Co-Writer)
Sheryl Sandberg, Chief Operating Officer at Facebook shares her personal experience in her career and inspire young women to achieve their goals by this book. She created a whole movement along with this book and it helped to improve the statistics in female representation in Information Technology.
I came across one of her TED Talks and jumped into read this book and loved it instantly. I read this book when I just started my job and realized the struggles I faced in the field are commonly faced by other women in IT as well. Lean In empowered me to make major decisions and negotiations I made in my career. One advise I always repeated to myself when I started is “Sit at the table!”. It made the difference.
3. Good? Bad? Who knows?
by Ajahn Brahm
This book includes classic Ajahn Brahm tales. You can laugh to some of them. You may have heard them several times before. But you will never get tired of hearing them again. Ajahn Brahm makes people laugh by narrating stories, but you will realize the hidden meaning once you started thinking about them. This book will help you to go through a rough day and laugh at your own self. No matter how life goes, be kind to yourself. Mindfulness is not enough, be “kindful” as Ajahn said.
4. My Not So Perfect Life
by Sophie Kinsella
This is another classic Sophie Kinsella novel belongs to chic-lit genre. This is my favorite so far. Same plot as her most of the books. But she tries to talk about people’s lives beyond their flashy Instagram (or social media) feeds.
“I think I’ve finally worked out how to feel good about life. Every time you see someone’s bright-and-shiny, remember: they have their own crappy truths, too. Of course they do. And every time you see your own crappy truth and feels despair and think: Is this my life…? you should remember: it’s not. Everyone’s got a bright-and-shiny, even if it’s hard to find sometimes.”
At one point of time I was comparing my reality with other peoples Instagram or Facebook posts. Let me tell you it was so depressing. This book was a sudden reminder that it is not always like that. All of us have our bright-and-shiny which we are happy to post in Facebook or Instagram, but we never post our own struggles or crappy truth.
5. The Last Lecture
by Randy Pausch, Jeffrey Zaslow (Contributor)
This book is about what Randy Pausch, Carnegie Mellon University professor wanted to say to his loved ones when he learnt he only has left 6 months to live due to a pancreatic cancer. He was successful in achieving his childhood dreams and extraordinary academic when he was diagnosed.
If you have three to six months more to live, what do you want to tell your loved ones? . The book made me think about my childhood dreams, how my family supported me from the beginning and how grateful I am to the people who helped me to achieve my dreams. This book reminds me that, at the end what really matters.
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