Books That Can Change Your Life
Someone told me a long time ago, “Ten years from now, you will be the same person you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read.” I believe that because I have met interesting and inspiring people and have read many books that helped me to change the direction of my life. I would like to give you a list of three books to keep it simple, but I don’t think three is enough.
When I was living in Alaska, I got involved with people who were doing the Amway program. I call it a program because it was much more than just selling products to friends and neighbors. It was a program to become successful and the people I met were focused, not only on their success, but on the success of others as well.
It was a new environment for me, and I took to it like a football player in a crowd of cheerleaders.
One of the first books, recommended by my new friends, that really got my attention was Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich. I didn’t exactly grow rich after reading it, but it instilled in me how we shape out lives by our thoughts.
Even more to the point was Norman Vincent Peale’s The Power of Positive Thinking. This was new territory for me, and it set me on a new course.
But my desire was not to become rich. That would have been nice, instead, my overwhelming obsession was to learn to fly and make a living as a pilot.
Those familiar with my story know that there were major obstacles to my doing that, but I pressed forward anyway and succeeded beyond my wildest dreams.
Richard Bach was another favorite author of mine. His books were initially about aviation, but later blending into fantasy and philosophy. Best known for Jonathan Livingston Seagull, my favorite of his was called Illusions, Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah.
Lastly (although there is no last, but for this list), is The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. Like a modern-day prophet, Ruiz reveals the secrets to living a happy life. How to find love and understanding for humanity, but mostly, and more importantly, for yourself.
Going back to The Power of Positive Thinking, there are many books in that category. James Allen’s As A Man Thinketh is another one. Learning that our mind controls our life is a huge revelation that so many of us have not conceived of. But the theory goes back thousands of years. To Socrates and Plato and many others.
The spiritual ideas of Buddha, Ruiz, Eckhart Tolle, Deepak Chopra, Pema Chodron and many others have been around forever and never get old.
In order to live better lives, achieve our dreams, and find happiness, all we have to do is open our eyes and our ears. There is so much to learn.
