As an avid reader, I’m always recommending books to clients, colleagues and friends – so I figured why not put them all in one place!
Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links (like Amazon). This means that, at zero cost to you, I can earn a commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.
Job Joy, Your Guide to Success, Meaning, & Happiness in Your Career – I’d be crazy if I didn’t start with my own Amazon best-selling book on career happiness! 😉
Seriously, though. This is my labor of love and a quick read to arm you with the most essential tools to figure out why you’re unhappy at work, what you actually want to do… and then be able to build your own roadmap to career fulfillment.
OTHER FAVORITE BOOKS:
CAREER + PURPOSE:
Discover Your Dharma: A Vedic Guide to Finding Your Purpose – an Ayurvedic approach to finding fulfillment and purpose; highly recommend for everyone, but especially those who are entrepreneurial-minded
Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder – in this book, Arianna Huffington explores success beyond money, power and prestige… because in the absence of your personal well-being and happiness, all that success is empty.
Playing Big: Practical Wisdom for Women Who Want to Speak Up, Create, and Lead – fantastic book, especially love the way she talks about the Inner Critic (that voice inside our heads that assumes the worst, beats us up, and generally makes us feel bad). Fun fact: I worked with the author in the program that was the precursor to this book. Good stuff!
Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear – this one’s for my creatives! What I love about this book is the author’s dedication to her craft and the journey of creation, separate from expectation of “success” (which ironically is many times what leads to outward success!)
Light Is the New Black: A Guide to Answering Your Soul’s Callings and Working Your Light – each chapter is just 1-3 pages, making it a perfect inspirational read for your morning routine
The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter, Updated and Expanded – a must-read for when you land the new job (or promotion!)
Untamed – a wonderful book on living a life (and choosing a career!) that is authentic to you. Lots of relatable stories, a feel-good read for sure
Patriarchy Stress Disorder – a fantastic read to understand how we got to a place of overworking, overscheduling, and overstressing about our careers (written for women but useful for us all)
GENERAL HAPPINESS:
The Happiness Hack: Take Charge of Your Brain and Create More Happiness in Your Life – a quick, easy and fun read to imbue all parts of your life with more happiness. This one has a special place in my heart because I got to see the author, Ellen Petry Leanse, speak (I spoke at that conference too!) – and then she agreed to write the forward to Job Joy!
How to Live a Good Life: Soulful Stories, Surprising Science, and Practical Wisdom – love the way the author encourages us to approach happiness by looking at each area of life as a “bucket” (you’ll have to read it to see what I mean!)
The Power of Meaning: Finding Fulfillment in a World Obsessed with Happiness – this was a book I referenced when writing Job Joy. I love it (and the author!) because it highlights the power of story – specifically the stories we tell ourselves – and how that affects are happiness and fulfillment. Highly recommend if you find yourself going down the Road of Regret more often than you’d like.
INTENTIONAL GOAL SETTING, GENERAL PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT:
The Desire Map: A Guide to Creating Goals with Soul – totally aligned with all things Job Joy, I love Danielle LaPorte’s approach to goal-setting. This was the first place I heard about choosing a “word” for the year or for a certain season of life (before it was the cool thing to do in the world of personal development!)
The Big Leap: Conquer Your Hidden Fear and Take Life to the Next Level – if you’re wondering why you always self-sabotage right before (or right after!) you hit success, then this book is for you. In it, the author explores the idea of a self-imposed “upper limit” of success (basically our comfort zone), and shares how to make the leap beyond that and more!
Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action & Find Your Why: A Practical Guide for Discovering Purpose for You and Your Team are two classics by Simon Sinek, encouraging us to start every new project or venture with clarity and intention. A more left-brained version of The Desire Map above 😉
SELF-CARE:
The Sleep Revolution: Transforming Your Life, One Night at a Time – I’ve always resonated with Arianna Huffington’s story of burnout, and the dangers involved in not taking care of ourselves. If the “I’ll sleep when I die” mentality is not working for you anymore, this is your book!
The Perfect Day Formula: How to Own the Day and Control Your Life – a great (and quick!) guide to developing a morning practice that will set you up for daily success. This is where the idea of “magic time” came from that I refer to in Job Joy!
The Miracle Morning: The Not-So-Obvious Secret Guaranteed to Transform Your Life (Before 8AM) – another great book for structured and productive mornings (p.s. full permission to just choose a couple of the recommended morning practices 😉 )
BOUNDARIES:
Pulling Your Own Strings: Dynamic Techniques for Dealing with Other People and Living Your Life As You Choose – an oldie but a goodie. I highly recommend this book for anyone struggling with boundaries and living your own life when it is not in agreement with what loved ones would choose for you. Super empowering and great for even the most practical reader, even if the examples are a bit dated.
Boundary Boss: The Essential Guide to Talk True, Be Seen, and (Finally) Live Free – if you put everyone’s needs and wishes ahead of your own and are starting to resent it (i.e. you may have trouble setting boundaries!), then this book is for you
Break the Good Girl Myth: How to Dismantle Outdated Rules, Unleash Your Power, and Design a More Purposeful Life – a wonderful book exploring the “rules” we learned to survive – where they came from, why they’re no longer serving us (and are in fact, holding us back from living our most amazing life!), and what to do instead. Written for women, but applies to all of us.
SPIRITUAL/DEEP INNER + REFLECTIVE WORK:
The Surrender Experiment: My Journey into Life’s Perfection – especially helpful for hustlers and over-workers, showing what is possible when we release the hustle and learn to trust that life’s got us.
FOR THE ENTREPRENEUR OR ENTREPRENEURIAL-MINDED:
Turning Pro: Tap Your Inner Power and Create Your Life’s Work – a short, inspirational read for all things entrepreneurial mindset.
The Presence Process: A Journey Into Present Moment Awareness – not for the faint of heart, this is a self-study guide to healing old wounds, building emotional resilience, and loving yourself (and humanity!) even more through the art of presence
Leadpages – perfect for lead magnets and simple websites (use this link for 14-day free trial)
MORE OF MY FAVORITE (NON-BOOK) THINGS:
10’’ LED Ring Light with Stand and Phone Holder – a simple, affordable, get-the-job-done ring light for video interviews, online meetings, and social media posting
First Leaf wine subscription – monthly or quarterly wine deliveries, customized based on your tastes and ratings (using the link here gets you $40 off!)
Whole Woman Membership – for the spiritual and woo-curious (you are drawn to crystals, new moon rituals, living with the seasons, etc.). I’ve been a member for a long time now and especially love the community – in addition to pre-recorded trainings that support living an authentic life (use this link and this code: “WHOLEWOMANFRIEND15” for $15 off your first month!)