There are lots of great books out there and it is now a matter of selecting the good ones that will be well worth our time. As all of our pedagogues say, "Time is money." While there are many genres of books, I want to specifically share 3 self-improvement books you must read that have personally helped become a better version of myself.
1. Highly Sensitive People in an Insensitive World - Ilse Sand
The author, Ilse Sand, shares about her life in the book as a sensitive individual who has always struggled with meeting the expectations of those around her (the "insensitive world"). In a world where people praise and compliment mostly those that are extroverted, fun, outgoing and energetic, she felt left out and conscious of her sensitivity and introvert nature. It took her a long time before she realized that it wasn't meant for her to be as outgoing and energetic as some others. Ilse Sand decides to accept her personality and begins to construct her lifestyle that satisfies her and meets her needs. And she notices a huge change in her life as she now feels much more comfortable with herself and feels generally happier as she learns to love herself.
This book moved me in a powerful way since I am of similar nature and personality, though it might not be to the extreme described in the book. I believe this book can reach many who also feel disappointed in themselves for not being able to be as energetic and extroverted as our society encourages everyone to be. It gives that sense of belonging in this insensitive world that we're not alone in feeling overwhelmed at big events with lots of people, being anxious to talk to groups of people, and preferring home and relaxation over excitement and adventures. The book reminds us that not everyone ought to be a certain way, and that we are all different. To add a bit of my own words here, we were all made different so that we may fulfill God's plans in various ways and we all have different talents which God will put to use creatively and distinctively. This book is definitely a must-read to learn more about yourself and learn to accept yourself for who you are.
2. How to Win Friends and Influence People - Dale Carnegie
I've emphasized the importance of good social and interpersonal skills in some of my blog posts. Biggest reason is that in order to be successful, you need the support, network, and bouncing ideas off one another which is essentially social interactions. Also, many studies agree on the idea that meaningful relationships contribute significantly to one's satisfaction and happiness in life. Dale Carnegie lays out ways to build meaningful connection and relationships by providing a list of strategies and habits one should develop. He starts off with the basic things like memorizing people's names and birthdays to more specific ones like giving honest and sincere appreciation as well as becoming genuinely interested in others.
I personally thought the book talked about some fundamental things that some people would already know, adding nothing really new that is enlightening. But it is a good reminder book to read from time to time to see and check whether you are in fact practicing these basic things in your own interactions with others. For those of you who are in sales or in business, this book will provide you with tips on how to have people like you and to win people to your way of thinking. For those of you struggling or wanting to improve interpersonal skills, the book will provide practical ways to improve them such as by smiling, making other people feel important genuinely, and talking mostly in terms of others' interests. This book is definitely a recommendation for quick reads from time to time.
3. Rich Dad Poor Dad - Robert Kiyosaki
This book is ideal for those who are beginning to jump into the real world into the workforce. It pretty much gives some useful information on generating income without having to work tirelessly for extremely long hours. The book spends lots of time both distinguishing between liabilities and assets and emphasizing the importance of growing assets over time. It also talks a lot about passive income and encourages one to find and build source of passive income. Moreover, the author newly defines wealth as being in a state where your passive income either equates or exceeds your expenses.
Rich Dad and Poor Dad certainly enlightens you with economic ideas you may have never heard before or you may not be familiar with. It's not an economic textbook that discusses all the complicated concepts, but rather it points out the simple yet important concepts that are good to know as you progress through your career.
Final Words
There are lots of other amazing books out there which I want to explore and share with you all in the near future. But at the end of the day, developing this healthy habit of reading regularly will certainly enlighten us with ideas, knowledge and perspectives we may have never experienced otherwise. Like many pedagogues say, "Reading books is like living a thousand lives," to suggest that it gives us the second hand experiences to the lives and accounts of many people in the world. I will certainly make another blog post about books I found moving and useful, so stay tuned.
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