5 books that will support your total transformation

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As a child, I was the type of reader that used books as an escape from reality.  I spent ALL night under my covers with a flashlight reading every ending to my Choose Your Own Adventure book. I constantly had a pile of 10 or more library books by my bed.

As I grew older, I was a “Faithful Christian” and focused more on building my career than my relationships (the only two choices besides church I knew of at the time) so I focused my reading on Bible-related books and Business How-tos. I was single though, so the church didn’t leave me much time for reading.

I remember in the first version of my Facebook page, the Bible was the only book I could find to add to my “Books I like” section and at the time, I felt proud of that. 

Thankfully, I soon decided to study love and blew open my thirst for & appreciation of the millions of delicious books and art forms available to connect with.

Over the following 15 years, I read everything I could get my hands on again. I had a library card, amazon, a student id, and eventually an Audible account, so I read a lot!

Looking back at the books that made the biggest impact on my life, I narrowed the list down to the top 5 that supported my total transformation at a foundational level.  Of course, these are just a starting place, but I’m sharing them in order of the impact they made on me, not necessarily in the order you should read them. In fact, I added in the date I read each so you can see I started with taking a sip of the knowledge and worked my way up to the full meals. Each has a link where you can buy it from my favorite local bookstore because supporting local is a value I learned in my study of love, but feel free to find your own local resources!

Conversations with God by Neale Donald Walsh published in 1995, I listened in 2021

This is a series of 4 books written by the author in an interview style. His story is that he was awoken in the night over several nights and several years and prompted to ask the questions posed in the book.  The answers are what was given to him to write down. The questions are the deepest ones we’ve all asked if we are looking to understand God better, especially if we come from a Christian background. The answers are simple yet profound. Just as I would expect God’s responses to be. I listened to it on Audible instead of reading and if I hadn’t I may not have made it through.  4 books can seem daunting but it was worth every second and passed quickly. I didn’t even realize it was 4 books worth until I was done! Afterward, I felt both irritated I had never read it before and grateful because I wasn’t spiritually ready to receive it before. I would have blown it off as “new-agey” stuff when it really isn’t if you believe God is omniscient. 

All about love by bell hooks published in 1999, I read in 2020

The title is self-explanatory but as the author dives into her understanding of love, it’s poetic in her depiction of what has been lost for love due to capitalism, patriarchy, and systemic racism. It’s a beautiful interweaving of the individual and community experience of love and how dependent they are on one another. Both nuanced and direct, her writing style will have you highlighting whole pages as you realize where you need to do better personally and how you can contribute to the community best as well. I wish this was required reading for every high school student in the country.  I believe we would become better as a nation almost immediately.

The Widest Net by Pamela Slim published in 2022, I read and listened in 2022

Although this book was just released this year, it’s already a business classic in the making and one I’ve been putting into practice in my business for years as I watched her develop the system. You may have heard me talk about Startup Life Support, which I’ve been part of for several years now. The work I’ve done with this group of folks has been so influential in my life that my family and I moved from the west side of town to the east side partly to be near them! As influential as the group has been for my business health and personal well-being, it is a product of The Widest Net method that Pam Slim put into place at her IRL location, Ké Main Street Business Lab so I got to see watch this book developing from the inside.  I can attest personally that her marketing methods work like hard-won community-building economic development magic. If you are building a business or already have one that you want to level up, this book is a MUST-READ. 

The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferris published in 2007, I read it in 2007

I put this book lower on the list, but not because its impact was truly less.  It was probably one of the most pivotal books I’ve read because it allowed me to imagine something different for my money-making activities than I had before. I only put it lower because the principles it shares are simpler and easier to learn and even apply than the books I’ve mentioned above. Instead of being a deep philosophical dive into spirituality or marketing or community, this book is practical and gives real-life ideas about how to develop a business that doesn’t eat up your life. It was perfect for my transition from corporate jobs to building my own business and helping others build theirs. I still apply principles from this book consistently.

Strengths-Based Leadership by Gallup published in 2008, I read in 2010

I read this book while I was still working in corporate and I’m so glad I did. Learning to appreciate the people I worked with for their strengths also allowed me to appreciate my strengths more.  This book is a follow-up to the book Strengths 2.0 by Tom Rath and dives into data collected by the Gallup survey over 35 years. The premise is that each of us has a different combination of 34 core strengths and when we get to operate in our top 5 or so regularly, we have better, more fulfilled lives. As a leader, when we take the time to recognize those strengths and build teams of folks who have complementary, instead of the same, strengths, we can build a more solid foundation and ultimately a more profitable and effective organization. When folks are able to emphasize and develop their strengths instead of being penalized for their weaknesses, they do better work and live better lives. It has a snowball effect.  Also, you get the Strengths Finder quiz free when you buy the book! The quiz and the information you get from that are worth far more than the price of the book.

Have you read any of these books? What did you think? Favorite parts? Least favorite? I’d love to hear your thoughts and talk about them more with you. If you are my client, there’s a HUGE chance I’ve recommended one or more of these books along the way, so if you want DIY coaching, here’s a start! If reading might not be enough and you could use more support in your journey in business and servant leadership, let’s jump on a free, no-obligation phone call to talk about your visions and how to get there. I can’t wait to talk. I love you!