Recently I’ve been into non-fiction books. I love reading autobiographies and self-help books that inspire and change the way that I think or work.
Instead of reading fiction that’ll make me want to disappear from the face of the planet and live in a fantasy world, autobiographies and self-help books leave me wanting to change the world.
That’s not to say that I don’t love my fiction – they have their time and place when I need escapism. It’s just that… well, I want to be able to be energised and do amazing things.
So, today I want to share 3 books that helped whip my brain into shape and changed the way that I attack work. Maybe they’ll help to improve your work ethic too!
Genre: Memoir
I read Sophia Amoruso’s book about a year ago and in little bouts. Honestly, I had no idea who she was but I was intrigued when I came across it on The Book Depository. It’s refreshing to read from someone else’s perspectives on how they managed to overcome challenges and see past failures. It’s like, when you read someone else’s struggles you realise, “Hey, I don’t have it so bad. If she can do it, I can do it!”
There’s a lot of inspiration in this book for those of us sods who obsess over what other people think and what other people do. I’m one of those people – I constantly compare myself to everyone around me. Here’s one of my favourite quotes from the book:
“No matter where you are in life, you’ll save a lot of time by not worrying too much about what other people think about you. The earlier in your life that you can learn that, the easier the rest of it will be.”
Boom. Kapow. Go get ‘em girl.
Genre: Non-Fiction / Writing
I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with writing. Writing is my passion. It’s also the bane of my existence. The hate part of the relationship boils down to the insistent voice in my head that believes I’m a shit writer, and that everything I write resembles poop. But you know that feeling when you have a hard poop stuck halfway in your butthole and you just want to get it out? (No? Just me? Err…) Well, the most satisfying part is finally being able to rid yourself of that poop. That’s what writing is like for me. It’s hard, but it feels good once it’s done.
If you’re one of those tortured creative souls that can’t seem to get past your doubts and procrastinations, you should give this book a read. Even though it’s to do with writing, there’s still a lot of life lessons that you can take away from it.
And honestly, I cannot stress enough how much this book changed my passion for writing. If you want to read more about the lessons I learned from Catherine Deveny, click here.
Genre: Self-Help / Productivity
This is a book that I’ll occasionally pick up and skim through. This book has a lot more practical tips and tricks as opposed to inner spiritual inspiration. The tips will help you to – as the title says – work smarter and live better. It’s all about being efficient and how to organise your time so you’re less distracted.
If you find yourself checking and replying to emails instead of working, then there’s some great tips in this book to help you combat that. It opens your eyes to how to not only just work hard, but to work smart as well.
However, I will say that this book is geared more towards professional and business life. If you’re starting a new job, I’d suggest giving it a read because there are some great tips that can help you organise your work life and not get overwhelmed with it all. I wish I had this book when I started my first corporate job back in 2016!
Have you read any books that have inspired you? Let me know in the comments! And if you have any other book recommendations, let me know as I’m always on the prowl for a good read.
Happy reading!
Leonie xo.
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