Since a little girl, I have always been an avid reader. No matter the genre, one of my favorite pastime’s have always been getting lost in the pages of a great book. And for the record, the book is almost always better than the movie. Yes, I said it.
Growing up I primarily read African American literature *cough cough* The Coldest Winter Ever, Fly Girl, Zane, etc. However, my favorite genres are mystery suspense and fantasy. Hence why Harry Potter is, and will forever be, the greatest series of books I’ve ever read in my life.
A few years ago, I started reading self-help books and I am still blown away at how these books do exactly what they say they will: help you help yourself. The books I am going to share with you below have legitimately changed my life. I’ve grown so much wiser and can only imagine how I will continue to grow through implementation of the principles I am learning. The books below are in no particular order of importance, and all cater to different areas of my life. Because of these books, I am a better woman mentally, spiritually, financially, personally, and professionally. I hope they elevate your life as much as they did mine. All of the books are linked in the titles.
They say it takes 21 days to build a habit. Do you agree? I do. I think many people downplay the impact that your habits have on the overall quality of your life. I learned a long time ago that your habits will determine the life you will live. Reading this book affirmed that. This book is probably the most highlighted and marked up book in my library because it is jam packed with easy and proven ways to build good habits and break bad ones. This book shows you how tiny changes can yield remarkable results and focuses on the idea of getting 1% better every day. If you’re having trouble breaking bad habits, the problem is not you, it’s your system, and this book will teach you that. One of my key takeaways from Atomic Habits: “Time magnifies the margin between success and failure. It will multiply what you feed it. Good habits make time your ally. Bad habits make time your enemy.” If you are ready to reshape the way you think about progress and get some tools and techniques to transform your habits, then this book is for you.
I read this book in college because it was required for one of my classes. While it was a great read over a decade ago, my mindset was not ready to receive all the principles in the book. A conversation with my financial advisor a couple of years ago sparked me to revisit this book, and I am so happy I did. The tagline is “What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money- That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!” If you have children, that should be enough to make you pick up this book. Financial literacy, specifically generational wealth, is not something that is common in the Black community. It is no secret that Black people have been given the short end of the stick since hundreds of years ago, and that society was never built for Black people to succeed. Even still, there are so many resources and so much knowledge in the world that can allow us to change the narrative. This book is one of them. The idea that you must be a high-income earner in order to be rich is a myth. This book teaches about acquiring and building assets, it reminds us that we cannot count on the school system to teach our kids about money, and it really gives the tools needed to gain control of your financial future. 10/10 would recommend.
As a person who is faith based and believes in God and the power of prayer, this is easily one of the best books I’ve ever read. I watched the movie War Room and was so moved by the messages underlying and overt. I later learned that this book was inspired by that movie and bought it instantly. This book is a woman’s battle plan for specific and strategic prayer. It gave me some of the tools I needed to have real conversations with God in a way that translated. It made me change my perspective, recognize who the enemy is, and work in God’s strength. I finished that book with a changed prayer life, which ultimately changed my life for the better. Blessings have been in abundance and I think this book deserves some of the credit for that.
If “self-care” were a book, Fringe Hours would be it! This book was written for the woman who is doing everything for everyone- except herself. Raise your hand if you can relate. I remember staying up late to read this book when the rest of the house was sleeping. I slowly started to whip this book out in the middle of the day to read a chapter or two regardless of what was going on in the house. That’s how empowered it made me feel about making time for me. This book encourages you to take back your “fringe hours”, those little pockets of time you already have in your day to make time for some your passions and self-care. If I could, I would gift this book to every woman I know. Especially if they are a wife, mom, or both, because before we are any of those things, we are individuals. This book gives you an intangible permission slip to carve out some space in your day for the things that feed your soul.
For anyone that has goals- personal, financial, professional, or otherwise- this is the book for you. This book showed me that the reason I wasn’t hitting my goals wasn’t because of anything more than my lack of focus. This book gives you proven financial strategies that will give you freedom and peace of mind. It will help you focus on what is important an forget about what is not. It even gives you actionable steps that are easy to implement with every chapter. I haven’t taken this many notes in a long time! The Power of Focus will help you understand how to hit your business, personal, and financial targets with confidence and certainty. I firmly believe anyone that reads this book will benefit from it.
If you have ready any of these books, please let me know your thoughts in the comments. And if you have any other suggestions, I’d love to hear them. Thanks so much for reading. Make sure you chime in on my post on Instagram and pin the picture below to save this list for later.
Xo, Consuella
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