Can you remember the Power Rangers?
I wasn’t a big fan of this 90s kids TV program but I have a vague recollection of each of the five rangers morphing to form one giant fighting machine (called a Megazord).
It seemed every episode ended that way. The individual rangers couldn’t defeat whatever comically designed live-action suitmation monster they were facing that week so they had to unify. Then, once combined, they were unstoppable and always won the day.
I want to turn you into a Megazord. However, rather than do it with a mastery of weapons, robotics or magic, I’m going to use books.
I’m going to present you with 7 self-help books to read which, once combined and acted upon, will provide all the life skills needed to become a complete person.
Just as the Power Rangers had a unique colour and skill, these books will focus on different areas of your development.
They’ll be a book on mastering the law of attraction, one on productivity, a couple on human relations, one on mental clarity, something on developing inner strength and more.
Read these books multiple times, put their advice into action and you’ll have the wisdom of a Buddha, the charisma of a Hollywood star and the dynamism of a billionaire entrepreneur.
Let’s begin.
Poise and peace of mind are the words that best describe the benefits of assimilating the knowledge contained in this book.
The key concept is simple but incredibly powerful.
All anxiety is caused by worries about the future.
All depression is caused by dwelling on the mistakes and trauma of the past.
Therefore, if you can train your mind to stay present (in the now) then you’ll be happier, appreciate life more, have greater energy and perform better in pressure situations.
The Power Of Now teaches you to disassociate from, and even switch off, the parts of your mind that drain you with constant mental chatter and negative self-talk.
Free from these, you’ll have the ability to focus your mind on the goals that are important to you and perhaps more importantly, live with a calm and serene disposition.
There are many obstacles preventing you from creating the life you want. Of all of them, time seems to present the greatest barrier. There just aren’t enough hours in the day.
You may have to work a full-time job, have family commitments, a social life AND be trying to build a business on the side.
This is where The ONE Thing shows its value.
It teaches you how to become a productivity machine.
This is achieved by narrowing your focus. There will be key areas of your work that will make the most impact and your task is to identify what they are.
Once found, concentrate on completing just one of these every day.
Try to work in time blocks. Carve out 4 hours as early in the day as possible to work exclusively on your most impactful task and leave emails and other less important activities for later (if you can’t find 4 hours because you work a full-time job, then 1 or 2 will suffice).
This is the path to productivity. Follow the blueprint laid out in The ONE Thing and what once seemed like an impossible workload will become manageable as you double or treble your efficiency.
Over the years, countless books on the law of attraction have been written but this 1962 classic stands the test of time.
In fact, calling it a “law of attraction” book does it a disservice.
This is a deep dive into the metaphysical, consciousness and the best aspects of The Bible (although don’t think you have to be a Christian to enjoy it, I’m not).
It asks and answers the question, “What force determines the direction and outcomes of my life?”
Is it random occurrences, the environment you’re born into or the genes you inherit?
The answer is, none of the above. A belief, held with great enough conviction and backed by strong emotions (i.e. can you feel the reality of your dreams coming true?) is what will determine the direction of your life.
That belief might be negative or positive. It doesn’t matter. Your subconscious mind will faithfully obey your conscious mind and give you the energy (or lack of), ideas (or lack of) and put you on the path to meeting the right people (or remaining isolated) to make sure you realise your habitual thinking.
Of course, the book shows you the techniques to ensure you’re using the power of your subconscious mind positively and, having mastered these, you’ll be successful at whatever it is you choose to do.
What will you choose to do, though? How are you going to navigate your way through life?
The Celestine Prophecy provides an answer.
This book is unlike the others on the list because it’s a work of fiction. It’s in the same mould as The Alchemist although I feel it contains clearer and more impactful lessons and a more interesting narrative.
The narrator sets off on a journey to the Peruvian jungle in search of an ancient manuscript that will spark the next evolution in human consciousness, ushering in an age of peace and prosperity.
On this journey, he learns about the concept of synchronicity and how this is the key to finding your path through life.
If you can raise your energy to a sufficient level (the book shows you how), then people, ideas and events will be put on your path to provide a direction for you to follow.
You’ll discover your purpose in life (which is ever evolving) and can begin to move towards fulfilling it.
Whatever that purpose might be, you can’t get around the fact that success in achieving it will largely depend on your ability to interact with other people.
How are you going to master this skill?
The original self-help classic is the answer.
Carnegie’s understanding of psychology and human relations is far reaching. He gets to the core of what motives people to take action and how to get the best out of them.
For example, when seeking to win someone over, never criticise them. Instead, show genuine appreciation for the qualities they possess (everyone has something you can find praiseworthy).
Furthermore, don’t talk about yourself all the time. Instead, become a good listener and frame anything you’re selling or promoting (whether that’s through a website, an advert or a product description) in a way that’ll benefit the consumer or solve their problem.
How To Win Friends And Influence People’s darker and more cynical younger brother.
As useful as the aforementioned book is, it might not be enough when it comes to developing your skills of persuasion.
The world’s not all sunshine and rainbows. Succeeding at any kind of scale will require you to operate in a cutthroat environment where everyone is out for themselves.
In such a world, being a good person won’t be enough. You’re going to have to learn how to manipulate other people and situations to your advantage and this is what The 48 Laws Of Power teaches.
Some of Robert Greene’s most impactful laws are;
To be a complete person, you must have strong foundations and none are stronger than those rooted in meaning.
This is a powerful truth Austrian psychiatrist Viktor Frankl discovered after surviving 3 years in Nazi concentration camps.
He estimated that he had a 1 in 20 chance of survival but then noticed a strange phenomenon amongst the few that remained alive – they all had something to live for.
If you can develop this, he concluded, then it’s possible to get through almost any difficulty you face, including loneliness, illness, physical depravation and failure.
How to create this meaning?
Frankl suggests three sources;
That’s the point of Frankl’s book.
There will be hard times.
Even with all the skills and knowledge you’ve developed from the previous six books, life will throw you curve balls and you need a strong foundation to keep you going when this occurs.
After I finished writing this blog post, I couldn’t help but feel something was missing. However, it wasn’t a book.
Instead, it was an aspect of being a complete person that isn’t covered by the previous seven classics – HABITS.
Habits are incredibly powerful, being the small daily actions you take that eventually create a lifetime of greatness.
The obvious go-to book on this subject is Atomic Habits by James Clear. However, I had a problem listing it with the other books because I don’t think it’s good enough.
That’s not to say I think it’s a bad book, it just fails to offer anything lifechanging or even a set of habits that might get you closer to your goals.
So, instead, I’ll leave you with a link to my blog post on the 7 daily habits that will create the life of your dreams. In return, perhaps you could suggest some great books on habits in the comments section below.
Photo by Tom Hermans on Unsplash
If you want to discover a passion you can make a living from and overcome the fears that are holding you back, check out my free course 30 Days to Escape The System. Click here to get the course right now! (You’ll find the tips on developing belief and self-confidence fascinating!)
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