Life-Transforming books

Over the course of my 26 years of existence, I have been visited by the greatest minds of the past and the present. Some had died while they were young; some died when they were old, and others who are still living today.

It has been an extraordinary journey for me – as it can be for you. If only you open your mind to this world of possibilities, where all your dreams can literally come true.

I am not suggesting here that all my dreams have come true but a healthy and optimistic attitude towards life is a much better position than just complaining and being pessimistic about it.

I truly believe that we are on the verge of a new era in the evolution of humankind. As newer and newer technologies are invented and as we go deeper into the inner workings of the mind, we will unlock our true potential in the years to come, if not months. There is no doubt in my mind about this.

And today, I am sharing with you the insights of the greatest minds (according to me) of the past, present and even possibly, the future. Each day we wake up to a unique and wonderful challenge to wonder into this great Universe.

I am presenting here the works of the greatest minds not in any particular order but as it comes to my own mind.

Note: I am no longer including the Holy Bible in this list as in most Christian families it is already an established part of any reading list.

1. The Secret (Rhonda Byrne, http://www.thesecret.tv/) – one of the best books that I have ever read in my entire life, its message, its theme resonates very well into the new insights that science and religion are gaining into the truth about our lives, our Universe. This book (and the DVD before it) is a touching reminder of our co-creator status as God has shared with us this responsibility to help create His Kingdom on Earth. The book introduces you, the reader, to the wonderful possibilities of using the Law of Attraction which is one of the natural laws that operate throughout the Universe. This law, this fundamental law, states that like attracts like. What it means is that your thoughts, your words and your actions attract the same things back to you. So if you dwell only in positive thoughts, only positive things will manifest in your life. But there’s a catch, you have to truly feel it. You can’t fake it by just thinking of positive things – you really have to live it out in order to have any effect on your life. And you have to release all the negativity in your life – let it go. There are just three simple steps in the creative process, these are, step 1: Ask, step 2: Believe and step 3: Receive. If you want to start building the life that you know you truly deserve, read this book, a hundred times if possible, to be truly immersed in this Great Secret of Life.

2. 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (Stephen Covey) – belongs to my top 10 list of the best books ever written – this book is a fascinating tool that the everyday man can use to build a strong foundation for a successful and effective life. The 7 Habits are simple yet they are quite hard to practice in real life, you need to constantly check the book and updates from the Covey Leadership Center in order to better hone your skills in the 7 Habits of the highly effective people in the world. The 7 Habits are 1) Be Proactive, 2) Begin with the End in Mind, 3) First things first, 4) Think win/win, 5) Seek first to understand; then to be understood, 6) Synergize, and 7) Sharpen the Saw. Again, as every other habit we may have in our arsenal, practice makes perfect and that is what sharpening the saw truly mean. The 7 Habits reinforce the teachings in The Secret as the second habit states of beginning always with the end in mind and in The Secret – it states that you should make your dream the dominant thoughts of your life in order to manifest it.

3. The Road Less Traveled (M. Scott Peck) – one of the ground-breaking books in the last half century, The Road Less Traveled is an engaging but very deep book that answers many of life’s questions from the perspective of a psychologist/psychiatrist. It is a powerful book as it delves into the inner workings of the mind and teaches us powerful tips in order to take better care of it and to always invest in the acquisition of knowledge. Learning life’s lessons is an enduring theme throughout the book. The book, I believe, suggests that the road less traveled is truly the best path to take as only the few choose to take it and even lesser are patient enough to see it through. Life is a wonderful journey but our choices should always be towards a fulfilled and meaningful life – something that we give it ourselves. After reading this book, life as you know it becomes less difficult to comprehend and becomes an exciting challenge to truly find yourself. It also gives the best definition of love I have ever encountered in my 26 years of existence.

4. The Art of War (Sun Tzu) – probably one of the oldest books that I’ve read regarding the Chinese military classic of China’s most renowned military strategist, The Art of War is the textbook for the everyday soldier – YOU! Life involves a lot of “fighting” and so this wonderful book written 2000 years ago is one of the best guides there is on how to win this battle. With fighting here I mean not with other people but with fear and other challenges that may come your way. The Art of War is truly timeless as many of the principles presented truly capture the essence of “succeeding” in any arena of life, be it in business, politics, entertainment or sports. After reading the book, you’d feel like being handed down the greatest Secret in controlling the outcome of any war in your lifetime. Here is the most famous passage from the book “If you know yourself and your enemy, you need not fear the result of a thousand battles. If you know yourself but not your enemy, for every battle you win you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither yourself nor the enemy, you will succumb in every battle.” Remember this always and get to know yourself better – that is truly the Secret to living a life of meaning and purpose.

5. The Book of Five Rings (Miyamoto Musashi) and The Book of Family Traditions on the Art of War (Yagyu Munenori) – again one of the best classics that was ever to come from Asia particularly Japan. This book is another life-transforming gift from our early Asian ancestors. The Book of Five Rings incorporates the art of the swordplay as also the dance of life. The insights and principles provided in the book are as timeless as it was 400 years ago. The Book of Family Traditions on the Art of War also outlines many of the principles and “truths” as stated in present-day The Secret. These two books have been compiled and translated as one book.

6. What is the Color of Your Parachute? (Richard Bolles, www.jobhuntersbible.com) – the best book I’ve read on job-hunting and career planning, it is a great read for everyone wishing to build the foundation for a prosperous career. If you are lost right now or if you truly want to know where you can excel, the flower exercises in the book can be truly helpful in discovering or remembering your major strengths and skills and so by knowing that you can start planning accordingly. The book is truly engaging and enlightening as it presents many of the successful tips and techniques that has made the author a renowned expert on career coaching today. The book imparts great insights into getting that dream job of yours and it combines this with the importance of finding your mission in life early on so that you can leverage every action you take today to make it a reality tomorrow. If you like to discover that “hidden” genie inside of you – this is one book you cannot afford to overlook.

7. Rich Dad, Poor Dad, and Smart Kid, Rich Kid (Robert Kiyosaki, www.richdad.com) – the best parenting book that I’ve read, Smart Kid Rich Kid is a great resource guide for upstart parents who want to give their children the best education possible on who they can truly be and how to achieve your dreams in life. These two books have helped shaped my attitude towards wealth – which is very healthy. Chasing after wealth, for an abundant life is a necessary activity in the present times. Though money doesn’t make anyone happy (it’s true), money does allow you to do the extraordinary things that you know you can do and in the process enjoying your life as well. A balanced life which is healthy in all aspects (physical, mental, spiritual) is truly the end goal here. Financial skills are one of the best skills that any parent or teacher should always impart to their children or students. The book shares powerful insights into building the wealth that you want.

8. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho, www.paulocoelho.com) – one of the best “children’s” books that I have ever read, The Alchemist should be an everyday reading material for any grade school student. This book has changed me fundamentally since I first read it as it has allowed me to re-discover or if I could say remember my child-like wonder and my nose for curiosity. The book is a great work on presenting life as the greatest gift of them all. That you can truly build the life that you want if you only believe it. And that you have all the power in the world to be the change you want to see. That you have the potential to achieve greater and greater things. Life should be meaningful and though there are many challenges or problems that come our way, remaining child-like at heart allows us to learn from our failures and mistakes and continue to live with passion and purpose towards an enriching and loving experience with everyone in our lives.

9. Who Moved My Cheese and The Present (Spencer Johnson, www.thepresent.com) – these two books have helped shape the life that I have today – always on the lookout for my cheese and always considering the present moment as the most important moment. I have become a gift to my family, to my relatives sand friends because of the insights provided by these two books. The author’s work is very ground-breaking as it presents many wonderful insights into living a successful and meaningful life with these two very short books (just around 100 pages each). These books are truly life-transforming as it presents everyday secrets that each one of us can use to live the life of our dreams and build great relationships too. The books can be devoured in less than 4 hours so it’s a fairly easy read.

10. The Tao of Pooh and The Te of Piglet (Benjamin Hoff) – the most fascinating book I’ve read so far since it uses the wisdom and the unique characteristics of Winnie-the-Pooh and the other characters in this cartoon series to present the different truths about life. More or less the themes of the books I have outlined here are the same that you can truly live out the life of your dreams, that impossible is just a problem waiting to be solved. And these two books by Hoff are very good everyday companions in your great journey towards a better understanding of your life and the Universe in general. It is a very engaging read and easy too. I would never look at Winnie-the-Pooh as the idiot that I have always seen him in my childhood days!

11. Six Thinking Hats (Edward de Bono) – one of the best “thinking” books that I’ve read so far, Six Thinking Hats presents the engaging “thinking” method for everyday life especially for business meetings that anyone can use to ensure maximum results by just using the six thinking hats. There are six thinking hats differentiated by their colors: red, white, blue, green, yellow and black. These thinking hats have their own unique “thinking” patterns attached to them and from my experience you can greatly optimize your analysis of things by using the six hats method.

12. 12 Little Things Every Filipino Can Do To Help Our Country (Alexander Lacson) – as I am a Pilipino, I truly believe that this book can greatly help you, the everyday Pilipino, to be a significant part in nation building. As our country, the Philippines, undergoes the most important task today of building a robust and vibrant economy, the 12 Little Things you can do will help build a better and much more disciplined society of Pilipinos who are well-rounded and globally-astute. The 12 Little Things should be an everyday companion for every Pilipino wherever you maybe. It is also a good guide for people of other nations to translate and practice in their own respective countries. As the “little things’ presented here are as easy and applicable anywhere you are in the planet. Cheers to Alex Lacson for this important milestone in the history of our country!

13. The Tipping Point (Malcolm Gladwell) – I chose this after the 12 Little Things precisely because this book inspired Alex Lacson to write his book. The Tipping Point clearly outlines the importance of little things in making things happen in our everyday life and even in the histories of all nations. The book is a great resource guide for business people, marketers, government officials, and the everyday man to truly value that his contributions no matter how small can truly amount to something. Little changes lead to bigger changes. As the famous saying goes “a journey of a thousand miles begin with one first step.”

14. The Education of Little Tree (Forrest Carter) – probably the most fascinating book that I’ve read. It’s a good read and an easy one too. The Education of Little Tree is the most enlightening book I’ve read on my role and my relationship with the planet I live in and my primary responsibility to take care of Mother Earth (as evidence by the Climate Change phenomenon). The setting here is through a Native American family and it’s really a great book on their culture and our true natural history. That we are truly one and the same as with everything we see, feel, touch, smell and taste on the planet today. That somehow we are truly connected with the trees, the plants, the animals and everything else – that we share an important relationship with them. This book is a must-read for any child able to read already.

15. The Science of Getting Rich (Wallace Wattles) – this book transformed and inspired the author of The Secret to take on an incredible journey of unleashing this Great Secret of Life to the world. In 1912, Wallace Wattles wrote this fascinating book on the science of getting rich where he outlined the Way anyone can use to build the wealth his heart desires. I chance upon this book on sale at the country’s largest bookstore chain after reading The Secret; I also wanted to read the book. You could say that I attracted it in my life and so I bought it on sale (less than $2). And it has imparted this great insight to me which I am now using to build the wealth that I will share with the world.

16. High-Trust Selling (Todd Duncan) – the best book on selling that I’ve read, Todd Duncan has truly found the secret on how to become the best salesman on the planet. It brings back the importance of trust, high-trust in fact in our business and personal dealings in order to be successful. The truly great and the best salesmen out there are those who truly love to serve their customers and believe that they have the best product or service in the market. In order to succeed, the salesman should be truly concerned in helping grow his clients or customers’ businesses. That should be the primary consideration when dealing in sales. High-Trust Selling is a must-read for all the sales representatives, medical representatives, sales managers, district managers and even national sales managers out there who want to build a high performance team based on what is truly important.

17. Peace is the Way (Deepak Chopra, www.peaceisthewayglobalcommunity.org) – a new but insightful book on the coming philosophy of our age – PEACE! Deepak has shared his wonderful insights into how to make peace as an everyday ‘habit’ for the everyday man and woman. The insights are as old as the Vedic tradition in India and resonates well with the teachings of the world’s major religions today. It’s truly very important that we start to re-assess our ‘war mentality’ and replace it with a peaceful attitude. Our struggle towards greater human development has led us to this important insight, that peace is truly the only way to attain heaven on earth.

18. The Celestine Prophecy, The Tenth Insight and The Secret of Shambala (James Redfield) – the first book on new-age philosophy that I’ve read. These three books have helped shaped the ‘me’ of today. After reading these books, I became very intrigued on what it truly means to be human, on my relationship with God and my purpose and mission in life. These books have helped shape my early beliefs so that I am now open to everything that life has to offer and to continuously share the insights I gain with everyone around me and the world. The Celestine Prophecy I believe is way ahead of our time – we are truly on the verge of creating a world in harmony and in peace.

19. Man, The Unknown (Alexis Carrel) – the best book on man that I’ve read – this book won the Nobel Prize for Literature many years ago. My copy is such an old one with no more covers and slowly being eaten by tiny insects. I found it in my grandparents’ attic during my high school years and I found it truly enlightening as to the past, present and future of the human body and spirit. It is a great dissection of man – partly with a medical dissection and a philosophical view towards the species that now dominate activity on the planet. This book is no longer in print but I believe there are still copies in major libraries around the world. Carrel’s insights into our future written more than half a century ago is fascinating as we are on the verge of realizing many of his predictions.

20. The Imagineering Way (The Imagineers, Walt Disney Co.) – an engaging and creative book on the subject of innovation and creativity as written by the creative “Imagineering” group in Walt Disney Co. This division is responsible for all the major innovations and inventions that we have seen transform Walt Disney Co. into one of the greatest and best entertainment companies in the world. The ideas contained in this little book are timeless and inspiring. It truly captures that creativity can be cultivated in any man and that our primary responsibility on the planet is truly to create more out of nothing (if possible). Life as you know it will never be the same after reading this book as their everyday experiences impart to you a sense of possibility that you too can be like them, an Imagineer. (By the way, the word imagineer is the combination of the words imagination and engineer, because these imagineers make their creative ideas a reality.)

21. Tuesdays with Morrie, and Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom) - one of the first inspirational books that I have read. In truth, I don't own a copy yet but I read it just so I can borrow from my crush back in school. =) I found the book so witty and life-transforming as the insights and learning shared by Mitch Albom completely affirmed many of my personal experiences and beliefs early on. Tuesdays with Morrie is a wonderful tale of two people and how they broke barriers to form a bond that will last even after their deaths. The story has revolutionized the way we view relationships. And I especially like to quote these famous lines from the book "Death ends a life, not a relationship." Let this be our guiding light when dealing with our relationships.