The Top 10 Books to 'Re-kickstart' Your Year
Back to school. Back to work. The summer is done and you might find yourself wondering where the year has gone. And what about all of those amazing things that you wanted to do this year...how’s that going?
If you are right on track with your goals and intentions, that’s great. If, like many of us, your goals went out of the window long ago, now is a great time to get going again.
To help you, here are our top 10 books to fuel your fire, spark your creativity and 're-kickstart' your year!
Tools of Titans - Tim Ferriss
Tim Ferriss is like a human guinea pig. He has interviewed a couple of hundred “world class performers” for their tools, tips and wisdom…and tried most of it out. This is a playbook that distils a lot of that information for us mere mortals…it is almost like Ferriss’ personal notes and reminders. Navigating the material isn’t easy, but well worth persevering with, there are definitely golden nuggets in here.
Winning Without Losing - Martin Bjergegaard & Jordan Milne
Work-life balance is as big a topic today and being successful at work often feels like sacrificing the rest of your life. Bjergegaard and Milne give 66 hugely practical strategies to overturn this notion and prove that you can have it all - a great life and great work. Typically Scandinavian in outlook and tone, there is great advice here. If you help you make more time for ‘hygge’!
Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone - Brene Brown
Brown has been groundbreaking on the subject of vulnerability and authenticity. Hot off the press, her newest book looks at how we compromise ourselves to feel like we belong. True belonging, she contends, requires us to deeply believe in ourselves, show up fully and having the courage to stand alone when necessary. That in turn creates the connection and belonging with others that we really want. Here is a great interview with Brown about the book. A must for any Maverick scared of standing out.
Originals: How Non-Conformists Change the World - Adam Grant
Almost like a handbook for Mavericks, Wharton academic Grant examines how to nurture originality and how to turn original ideas into forward progress. Rather than assuming that only certain people are original, he looks at how more originality can be unleashed in everyone. Grant is also an advisor and good friend of the nest author...
Lean In - Sheryl Sandberg
The Dalai Lama said that “the world will be saved by western women”. Sandberg is Facebook’s COO and a beacon of the the Dalai Lama’s idea. Lean In looks at addressing the gender gap in work by looking at what women can do to empower themselves, become leaders and create change. Written primarily for women, this is just a great book on leadership and modern business for everyone.
The Code of the Extraordinary Mind - Vishen Lakhiani
I met Vishen at AwesomenessFest in 2012 and he is clearly a true Maverick. Here he shows you how to hack your mind to question the bullsh%t rules that keep you in an ordinary life..and define success for yourself. A great mixture of systems thinking, spirituality, biology and cutting edge performance from the CEO of the fastest growing and revolutionary personal development companies, Mindvalley.
Essentialism - Greg McKeown
Let’s face it, we are all too busy, having too much to do and dealing with information overload. McKeown teaches people “the disciplined pursuit of less”. Rather than trying to be, do and have everything, Essentialism is about being surgically selective about where to focus time and energy to achieve what matters the most.
Find Your Why - Simon Sinek
Following on from the phenomenon that is *Start With Why*, Sinek sets out a very smart and actionable way to find YOUR personal why…and for your organisation. If you don’t know why your Why is important, watch Sinek’s TED talk. If you haven’t seen this talk before, have you been hiding under a rock!?
F&@k It: Do What You Love - John Parkin
I love Parkin. He has taken the Buddhist idea of non-attachment and translated it for the western mind. Applying it here to purpose and doing work you love, he gives a very pragmatic way to get past blocks that hold people in work they hate. Let “F&@k it, life’s too short” and “F&@k it, I will do this” be your call to action.
Big Magic - Elizabeth Gilbert
If you have a dream, Gilbert is going to challenge you live it! What I love about Big Magic is that Gilbert takes the whole subject of creativity and demystifies it, making it relevant to everyone. She is funny, inspirational and a great storyteller. Read this book if you want to get out of your own way and be more creative.