Three Books That Changed My Life

I love reading, I always have. Some books have a much bigger impact on my life than others. Here's three that completely changed my view on life.

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The Secret

I was the kid that got in trouble at school because I would rather read than pay attention to the teacher. I loved to get lost in a book, I love to learn about new experiences, new worlds and new ideas. As I got older that love for reading has not died, I do find it hard to find time to read as much as I would like. And I do make it a goal to read a certain amount of books every year.

One book that completely changed the way I look at life, and I am so sorry for the cliche, is The Secret by Rhonda Byrne.

“Every thought of yours is a real thing - a force.” - Rhonda Byrne, The Secret

This book was my first introduction into the Law of Attraction and manifesting; it was the first time I learned about the reality our thoughts can create. And I had a huge realization that we are not victims of life, but the co-creators who can create a life we desire.

My first 'test' of the book ideas happened when my husband and I (back then he was my boyfriend) were buying our first house. I saw a home lottery in our city where you could win a house, so I purchased one ticket for the lottery and pasted a picture of the house beside my bed.

We didn't win that house. And I somewhat forgot about the picture beside my bed while we focused on our house hunt. When we finally found our home and were packing up, I pulled down the picture from its spot beside my bed. And I realized our new house was almost identical to the picture! Even down to the red door and the walk out basement.

I have dived deeper into the Law of Attraction since then, and have played around the with ideas a lot. But that one book changed my life completely.

The 4-Hour Workweek

I was working my corporate job as a Marketing Manager at Coca-Cola and despite how fantastic the job was, I knew deep down inside that this was not for me. That there was more to life I wanted but I didn't know what it was. I would often dream about my future life, where I would never have to work for anyone again and could just stay home with my family.

I grew up with zero influence on entrepreneurship and business, any ideas of self-employment I had were quickly squashed. The right path to life was a University degree and a stable well paying job, yet I had those and it didn't feel like the right path to me.

I somehow got my hands on The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss and it completely opened my eyes to entrepreneurship and starting your own business. The most important concept I learned was passive income - which is an income that requires very little effort to maintain. It was eye-opening to realize that I do not have to trade hours for dollars for the rest of my life.

“To enjoy life, you don't need fancy nonsense, but you do need to control your time and realize that most things just aren't as serious as you make them out to be.” - Timothy Ferriss, The 4-Hour Workweek

After that book I spent several years trying out different entrepreneurship endeavours, and ways to create a life on my own terms. There was a lot more reading and learning involved, but eventually I started a successful YouTube Channel that allowed my husband to retire from his job and stay home and work with me on our channel.

Big Magic

Elizabeth Gilbert has some pretty inspirational books, the first one I devoured was Eat, Pray, Love and as much as that book taught me a lot it was her later book Big Magic that really changed my view of creativity and ideas.

““Do whatever brings you to life, then. Follow your own fascinations, obsessions, and compulsions. Trust them. Create whatever causes a revolution in your heart.”.” - Elizabeth Gilbert, Big Magic

Ironically I am currently re-reading Big Magic again at this time, and it continues to inspire me. The way she talks about ideas and how they attempt to find a host that will bring the idea to life, its quite a concept to wrap your mind around.

It also dives into the ideas of being creative for the joy it brings instead of focusing on profits or a mission you need to reach. That the focus should be on creativity and now the success and failures of your work. It is such an inspiring book that takes the pressure of the end result and instead focuses on the process and joy it can bring.

There are so many other books that I have read which have made a pretty big imprint on my life, but these three are definitely my top three choices which have had the biggest impact on my life. Without these books I have no idea where I would be in life, but I have so much gratitude that these found their way into my life and helped me make such drastic changes. Do you have any books that completely changed your life? Please don't hesitate to comment and let me know! I always look forward to book recommendations!