Read 30 books on self-actualization

I had set the bar really high for myself in terms of the number of books I would read over the year and I realized it wasn’t sustainable if I was to stay on top of the other areas of my life.
 
Here I realized, it was a highly unbalanced approach to growth because all I was reading was non-fiction.  I recognized this and saw to it to rotate fiction and non-fiction to give my brain a break and implement what I’ve learned from each book.
 
Here are the books I’ve read this past year:
 

  • The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki
  • Blockbusters and Trade Wars: Popular Culture in a Globalized World by Peter S. Grant & Chris Wood
  • The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Running Injury Free by Coach Damon Martin
  • The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
  • The Art of Learning by Josh Waitzkin
  • The Way of the Superior Man by David Deida
  • Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
  • Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams
  • The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
  Started but unfinished:

  • Getting Things Done by David Allen 
  • The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life by Erving Goffman
  • Impro:  Improvisation and the Theatre by Keith Johnstone


Despite reading 9 books this past year and countless articles on blogs, it was an increase from the 6 books I’ve read in 2007:


  • The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss
  • Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi
  • The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
  • True North: Discovering Your Authentic Leadership by Bill George and Peter Sims
  • The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
  • Fashioning Reality by Ben Barry


 I will make it a point to finish reading the books that I started but put on the side in 2009.
 
There’s a concept I learned a while back that people don’t truly value what they get for free.  This was one of the concepts that I kept in mind that helped me follow through.  Of all the books was that I bought each and everyone of them.  It can be expensive buying books, but I justify it as worthwhile because you’re investing in yourself and the lessons you learn will always be something that you keep for the rest of your life.  

 

My mentality and my self-talk when reading was that if I learned only ONE single concept and applied it to my life successfully, I derived full value for what I had paid for that book.
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2 Responses to “Read 30 books on self-actualization”
  1. IM Legend says:
    January 2, 2009 at 5:37 am

    Reading is no substitute for doing. IM Legend

    Reply
    • Will_L says:
      January 2, 2009 at 7:30 am

      Hey thanks for the comment IM Legend!

      I read to expose myself to to new ideas – to learn, grow and apply.

      You're absolutely right with respect to do the doing.

      Like I said in my last paragraph of this page, if I've successfully applied only one concept or idea I've learned from a book I've read, the priced I paid for the book was worth every single penny.

      But what if you didn't know there was a BETTER way of 'doing'? That's why I read :)

      Reply
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