What Are Your Favorite Personal Development Reads?

I love reading a book I get to annotate with notes, multi-colored highlights, sketches and creases. Since college I haven’t had much need to work so hard to note a reading until recently I read Napoleon Hill’s Think & Grow Rich with a group of likeminded people lead by professional coach, Jodee Bock of Bock’s Office Transformational Consulting.

The experience challenged my thinking towards the positive, increased my expression of gratitude and engaged me on a new conceptual path of understanding reality and how I see and meet the needs of others. Subsequently, the reading led down a book aisle new to me and towards to a number of personal development books and blogs, a genre previously ignored. To name a few:

The Seven Mindsets, Scott Shickler & Jeff Waller
The Fire Starter Sessions, Danielle LaPorte
Daring Greatly, Brenè  Brown

We all want to experience the best of our lives, our relationships and work and while simply reading about where the faith and vision for this “best of life” experience will not bring nirvana, surrounding yourself in positivity, gratitude and a sense of possibility can prompt transformation. It’s up to you to do the work, change your attitude and proclaim a life of meaning and depth. I do recommend a mastermind experience coupled with a thoughtful reading of a book of choice.

Meanwhile, for those unfamiliar here is a quick and dirty summary of Think & Grow Rich:

• Fix in your mind the amount of money you wish to possess (this doesn’t have to be about cash, but about what you desire). Be specific. Be definite.
• Determine exactly what you intend to give in return.
• Establish a date you intend to possess your desire. Be specific. Be definite.
• Create a plan for carrying out your desire and begin at once- whether you are ready or not.
• Write a clear, concise statement of your desire, a time limit, what you intend to give in return and describe the plan of action, read it aloud twice daily.  “I am so happy and grateful that…”
• Believe it. Believe yourself in possession of your desire and actively and repeatedly imagine you are in possession of it.
• Repeatedly replace negative thoughts, influences or suggestions with positive.
• Have faith, a created state of mind that is thought+belief+emotion, in your self-reliance, your desire, the cooperation of others and your will towards action.
• Develop persistence to create the habit of faith (see above). 
• Above all, a nurtured love of humanity, a willingness to serve others, adherence to truth and justice in all you do and a belief in self are the basis success.   

What are your favorite personal development reads?

Rachel Asleson, Reach Partners

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