I love reading. Ok mostly it’s listening because I am obsessed with audiobooks. Before I discovered them I swear it could take me years to finish a book. With audiobooks I can churn through a book a week and often re-listen to them a second time.

I also love personal development, yes I’m a total personal development junkee. Here is a list of my most life-changing reads that really changed the way I do life for the better. I’ve left out my favourite food/ diet and health books as that requires a whole other post in itself.

Please note, there are obviously plenty of fantastic self development books out there that I haven’t read! Of course I can’t comment on these but of the books I have read, these are the ones I deem to be totally life-changing.

CONFIDENCE AND SELF BELIEF 101

Mastering Your Mean Girl by Melissa Ambrosini

Honestly a must for any female. I read this book when I was 22 and I had so many realisations. If you think I come across confident and go-getter (which I am) it’s pretty much because of this book. Prior to reading it I was SO FILLED with low self esteem and literally just thinking I was shit at everything and also so hypercritical of myself (something I still struggle with). Mastering Your Mean Girl was the exact kick up the arse I needed to actually give life a go and live in my full potential. I’m still so thankful I read it when I did and don’t know where I’d be if I had never read it.

You Are A Badass by Jen Sincero

Ok I haven’t actually read this book but I have read the money version of it (suggested in the last section) which is basically the same but using all the principles applied to finances. Another that is just a great kick up the arse like “oh I can actually have the life I want and I am the only one standing in the way”. So I wanted to add it in here even though I haven’t actually read this version.

The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer

I nearly started writing life-changing and then I realised every single book in this list has actually changed my life otherwise I wouldn’t be recommending them. This book is essentially about finding out who you truly are and connecting to that energy. It’s helped me a lot to use this philosophy in my diet and eating patterns and has freed up so much mental headspace for other things instead of stressing like a crazy person about why I wasn’t doing the things I knew were good for me. You know the feeling? This book is an easy read and makes a lot of sense. I like to think of it as a more understandable and applicable version of the famous spirituality book The Power Of Now, which honestly I didn’t love. Anyway The Untethered Soul is how I developed my philosophy around being centred.

Mindset by Carol Dweck

This one I read this year and wow. I totally thought I was a bit of a self development guru and had nothing left to learn (probably because all the books I was reading I felt like I had heard it all before). Then I read Mindset. It’s essentially about perfectionism and the difference between a fixed and growth mindset. A great read for any high-achievers (who are inherently perfectionists), specifically the ones who feel like they’ve had some good success and get praised for it. I didn’t think I was a perfectionist until I read this book and I was like wow those qualities are really preventing me from moving forward in my life.

EXECUTION OF PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PHILOSOPHIES IRL

The Power Of Habit by Charles Duhigg

So I started getting really interested in habits for two reasons. The first is that I recognised that a lot of my bad qualities (qualities I used to get so upset about because I knew I knew better but for some reason couldn’t execute) were simply just habits! So I learnt about the habit loop and started “hacking” it and applying it to all my bad habits. The second is that I’m obsessed with working hard and productivity and this book at it’s core is really about how to be more productive and generally just better at life. The habit loop is honestly a life hack that everyone needs to know about. Again, after reading this book I was able to make major changes in my diet and health, as naturally I apply everything I learn to this area of my life.

Atomic Habits by James Clear

This book is really just a follow-on from the principles of The Power Of Habit, but with a slightly more straight-forward how-to with very actionable steps you can implement into your life to just be better at it.

WORK ETHIC

You Are A Badass At Making Money by Jen Sincero

As mentioned in the first section, this is a great kick up the arse for anyone who has weirdness around money. Everyone’s got their own money story and mine definitely needed some work. But most of all I just needed a book to slap me across the face and say “everything you want in life is right there waiting for you. You just need to reach out and grab it”.

Crush It by Gary Vee AND Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook by Gary Vee

Ok I’ll be totally honest I read these so long ago that I actually can’t remember exactly what I took out of them. What I do know is that of all the business books I’ve read, the suggestions and learnings from these two books made the most profound difference in my work.

Winging It by Emma Isaacs

I just read this and loved it! It’s a more generalised book than the above two recommendations but honestly just a great read for anyone no matter if you run your own business or work for someone else or whatever. It has some great philosophies for just generally being better at life.