So this is going to be an ongoing series of articles I will write that have the number 10 in them. This one is about books that can actually change your life.
Ok, so let me just say one thing. No matter what the authors may say, very few books have the power to change your life. That said there are a few flecks of gold hidden in the dirt. Some of which I have put here. Now these are a personal choice and you may argue against them or think you know better. If so put them in the comments section below. Hey I am always willing to be wrong or learn something new.
Ok so let’s get to it. Here is the list.
The list is not in any particular order, so don’t read it that way. That said maybe you should start with the first book on my list…..
1. Prometheus Rising by Robert Anton Wilson
If you only ever take one tiny bit of advice from me it is this… Read all of the books of RAW, he will give you an education of the mind, like few other people can. He has a teaching method that he called Guerrilla Ontology (He literally forces you to think). His breadth of knowledge in far reaching subjects are in my opinion unmatched by anyone in the written world. He was the writer along with Robert Shea of the Illuminatus which can be considered the definitive conspiracy theory novel (this was back before the looney fringe got involved).
Anyway Prometheus Rising is his master work on brain change willed! He takes you through Timothy Leary’s 8 circuit model of human consciousness, to show you how your mind works and how it is conditioned. Then he gives you techniques and strategies to smash through your own “reality tunnels”.
WARNING: This book is not for the faint of heart. If you have courage, and the willingness to do some personal experimentation, this book can make you really see the world for the very first time.
2. The inside out revolution by Michael Neill
There are many books written about the 3 principles that were extolled by Syd Banks. This is in my opinion is the easiest to digest. In the book you will get to re-examine the nature of reality and the nature of mind, consciousness and thought and how the world really is.
You may get a few oh my god moments when you read this book. The way you think the world is, may be turned on its head.
This book is a must read!
3. Choose Yourself by James Altucher
This book offers clear and practical wisdom in the 21st century. For most people born in the last part of the 20th century, the old rules no longer apply. All the advice you have been given by well meaning people, is starting to look more and more wrong and outdated. No longer can you let your life be dictated by the whims of someone else. This book offers you a practical methodology to go about choosing the life that you want, not one that is foisted upon you.
The book is well written and James Altucher has a lovely writing style and the lessons contained in here are easy to digest and apply. Again I think this is a must read book.
4. Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
This book is very well known in the US but not so much here in the UK. That said if you are looking for a philosophically challenging novel, then this is your boy. This is a book about what happens when the mind goes on strike. It deals with Rand’s Objectivism philosophy and extolls the virtue of value creation as being the highest moral ideal. It also deals with what happens when you penalise people for success. The book was written 60 odd years ago and some of the insights are uncannily accurate in our modern world.
If you have some time on your hands give this ago. You will also find an answer to the eternal question of “Who is John Galt?”
5. As A Man Thinketh by James Allen
This is a relatively short book, that said it is packed with so much wisdom per sentence you would be lucky to find its peer. This might be one of the earliest examples of the self-improvement book. In the 130 years since its original publication few books in the genre have risen higher or outshines this simple little masterpiece. Allen has many other works that are worth reading but this is his magnum Opus.
Must be read and read often.
6. Think And Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
You ask enough successful people for a top ten book list, and this is the book that will appear most often. In fact W.Clement Stone once wrote this… Although I have no real way to prove it I believe that Think And Grow Rich has helped more people achieve success than any other book in history save the bible”
I have no idea if that is true but I do know that I have taken so much from this book over the years and before I went digital my copy had been battered and bruised by the amount of times I had read it.
7. The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene
There is a funny thing that happens with this book on first reading. It will probably polarise you in one direction. You will either love it or hate it.
The book shows you 48 ways to gain through strategy or deception or force of will, how to gain power over people. For many on first reading this is unpalatable after all who wants to do that to other people, clearly it is morally wrong?
There is a funny thing that happens with this book. I have recommended it to many people and they have read it, and come back to me and told me they hated how manipulative it shows you how to be.
I then have told them to read it again, this time with the notion that you need to be aware of how these techniques are being used on you, and how you can protect yourself from them. On second reading from that perspective, people always say how much they love the book.
8. Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends On It by Kamal Ravikant
You can only love the world/someone else to the extent that you love yourself. This book will show you how to up your game. This book takes about an hour to read. Please Please Please take the time to do that the/your world will be a better place because of it.
9. The Richest Man In Babylon by George S Clayson. Money by Anthony Robbins
Have you ever wondered why they don’t teach financial literacy in schools? Surely that is more important than say Chemistry (I can’t tell you how many times I’ve needed my knowledge of ionic and covalent bonds since I left school, it’s practically a daily occurrence) Understanding money and to have knowledge and power over it is clearly unimportant as I don’t use it every day…. Oh now hold on a second!!!!
There are few good books written on financial literacy, for years the only one I could recommend was The Richest Man In Babylon. Even though it is written in parable format, the wisdom is sound and should be read and understood by everyone.
Now Anthony Robbins has a new book on the subject that is well written and teaches the layman how to go about understanding then winning the game of money. Go read both.
10. Jonathan Livingston Seagull/ Illusions: The Memoirs Of A Reluctant Messiah by Richard Bach
I just love both these books. Although they are a lot more whimsical than the rest of the books on the list i genuinely believe they offer some really practical wisdom. I must have read both at least ten times and every time I do I get new insights. Give them a go, they are perfect for when you have a spare hour.
Ok so that’s it 10 books that can change your life. I hope you read some if not all of them. Hey and maybe your life will change for the better.
Until next time. Go read a book!
Snowy