7 Books That Will Change Your Life Today

My Special Relationship...
I find myself constantly journeying on a never-ending quest to find my success and wealth - and as I am a self-proclaimed 'Reader of the Year', I gratifyingly do so by flicking and losing myself between the magical pages of books.

Yeap, though some people clearly steer away from the Self-Help section in bookstores, afraid of what 'people' might think of them, I happily gravitate there all the time. I think a big part of the reason why is because I have always, since I was a child, believed that I would be able to contribute more - to my family and the world - if I can improve myself first - and I still stand strong by this prophecy till this very day.

The 7 Titles That Are Transforming Me

Here are 7 titles of books that are helping me find my way to my success. I am sharing this here in hopes that they can help you too.

1- The Secret by Rhonda Byrne

It's funny how I was first introduced to The Secret. I was training the CEO of a company, and she (lucky for me!) took it upon herself to give me some pointers for success.

"Have you watched The Secret?" she once asked me.

"No, I don't believe I have," I replied, at the expense of sounding totally daft. She looked at me like I was from another world!

"You haven't watched The Secret??" I swear I heard her voice rise a little. "Well, I think you should!"

And that's exactly what I did. I headed to Kinokuniya, KLCC as fast as my feet (and the LRT) could take me there, walked on to the Self-Help section (which was, by then, my second home!)and lo and behold, there was an entire case on The Secret. How come I didn't realize that ever being there before?

Without thinking twice, I grabbed The Secret DVD, paid almost RM 200 for it, and went straight home (skipping my usual routine of getting one of those yummilicious Bisou cup cakes...sinful!). I put on the DVD, and excuse me if what I'm about to say is going to sound cliched - but

that experience must have been one of the most life-transforming ones in my life. It's true! I was introduced to the Law of Attraction.

As I don't intend to spoil the fun for readers who have yet to watch the show, I'll make this short - the Law of Attraction basically says, that you attract what you think of and feel. You're sad, you'll attract more sadness; you're angry, you'll attract more angry people in your life; and of course, if you're happy, you'll attract more things that make you happy. At one glance, it's easy to realize that all of us, at some point, have practised this Law before, and not realized it.

This DVD led me to want to know more about how to attract success, leading me to look for and find all the other 6 books listed here.

2- The Science of Getting Rich, Wallace Wattles

This is the book that inspired Rhonda Byrne to create The Secret, so after discovering that fact, I just had to read it. Albeit, the writing style of the author was not really my cup of tea, but what he said had a phenomenal effect on me.

Wattles basically mirrored everything that Byrnes captured (or rather, it was the other way round), but he did it with more depth.

"The race (of man) as a whole is always abundantly rich, and if the individuals are poor, it is because they do not follow a Certain Way of doing things which makes the individual man rich"

That profound excerpt is the idea that Wattles was trying to sell in his book.
In other words, the author was prophesizing that if we're poor, we did it to ourselves. A little "in your face" but it hit me like a tonne of bricks how true it was.

3- You Were Born Rich by Bob Proctor
Bob Proctor was featured on The Secret DVD, and he too, is a firm believer, practitioner and trainer in the Law of Attraction. Frankly, I had not heard of Proctor till then, but there was something about him - the conviction in his voice, the belief in his expressions, the surety of his nonverbal intelligence that made me want to know more about him and his work.

A visit to his website one day led me to this book. And as expected, what he said again, captured my fullest attention.

"Consider this - money will have a greater influence on your life than almost any other commodity you can think of. Indeed, the sudden loss or acquisition of money will affect your attitude to a tremendous extent. Therefore, you must agree that everyone should have a deep understanding of exactly what money is, and of the laws governing its attraction. Yet, the sad fact is, that not one person in ten does. Ninety-five people out of a hundred settle for whatever they get, wishing they had more all the way from the cradle to the casket, never understanding that they could actually have had all they wanted"

It doesn't take a genius to know how true his statement is. How we all go about life wanting more. How we get what we get, by looking forward to Fridays and dreading Sundays as it reminds us how we must get back to slugging at our jobs. Is this what we were created to do? Is this how we were meant to live?

This book made me question my direction and action plan of life. It made me analyze what was important, and realize what I would need to do get there. I am not there just as yet, but it has helped me realize that I need to be.

4- Think and Grow Rich, by Napoleon Hill

Bob Proctor too, had a mentor, and for him, that life changing moment in his life happened when he read this book by Hill. Proctor was leading a life of below-mediocrity and was poverty-stricken - and this book gave him a way out.

Hill was inspiring in his own lengthy-style-of-writing kind of way. His book is filled with tales and success stories of those who made it even though it seemed unlikely, and also of those who lost their chance of success by practising negative habits - like quitting too soon.

"When riches begin to come so quickly, in such great abundance, that one wonders where they have been hiding during all those lean years"

I actually smiled to myself after reading that sentence - "those lean years" is said. I wondered secretly, if I will be fortunate enough to one day, look back at "those lean years" and laugh, as it is all behind me. Maybe as I am being driven about in my black Rolls Royce Phantom, to look back at the lean years and bask in the happiness that those lean years are no more.

5- The Success Principles, by Jack Canfield
I love reading anything Canfield. It's straight to the point, written in simple English, and gets the message through. Canfield was also featured on The Secret, and he was on my list of people to know more about. I read so much about him and his work, as I did Proctor, and found this book. Reading a few pages of the book on Amazon led me to now be a proud owner of it. Retailed at RM 69.90, I would say that this book is a must-have manual to life.

Canfield highlights 25 life transforming principles, and the 1st one resonated very deeply within me.

"Take 100% Responsibility For Your Life", the first Chapter screamed out. And reading that led to a whole new self discovery experience for me. I finished this chapter in minutes, but have re-read it so many times, as I want it to be engraved in every fibre of my being - that I am responsible for my life. No more playing the Blame Game. No more sitting back and attending the Pity Party. Just buck up and take responsibility.

"One of the most pervasive myths in the American culture today is that we are entitled to a great life - that somehow, somewhere, someone (certainly not us) is responsible for filling our lives with continual happiness, exciting career options, nurturing family time and blissful personal relationships simply because we exist"

The reality of what Canfield stated in the first sentence of his book did take time to sink in, and is still in the process of. As I mentioned, this book (to me, at least), serves as a good manual to life. I have often wondered why, when we are born into the same world, we are so different - it is not the colour and creed, nor is it the race and religion - it is more so how we were brought up, what we were exposed to at what age, what we learnt, how we failed and how we bounced back. I have always wondered how much our lives would change if we were handed a manual on how to live the best life ever - and this book is my answer.

Well, for those of you out there who find themselves being lost in the humdrum of daily life, feeling like you're just performing meaningless routines, chancing about life - then you should give this book a try.

6-Awaken The Giant Within, by Anthony Robbins

To be frank, I was introduced to this book during my student days at the university. I was looking for answers, and it came to me through this amazing book. Robbins was the big hype back then - everyone knew who he was. I bought his book, and never got to the end of it. But I remember that it was an eye-opener.

Now, in my search for greatness, I chanced upon his 90-minute audio programme of the same name. And boy, it was just the kind of refresher that I needed! Robbins is a load of energy bundled up in his 6 foot frame of a body. He had a throat ailment that makes him sound the way he does today, but I think it served him well.

Robbins preaches about the importance of Decisions in our lives. How we must decide who we are in this life, decide what we want, decide what things mean to us and decide what we are going to do about them. He never literally mentions the Law of Attraction, but in the end, it's funny how all these successful people think alike. They must be doing something right!

7- The Strangest Secret, by Earl Nightingale

We begin the list with a 'secret' and end it with another 'secret'.
This book is actually based on a message which was played for a group of salespeople at Nightingale's insurance agency. But what was meant to help insurance salespeople succeed, ended up becoming one of the most inspiring success literature for the world.

"Have you ever wondered why so many people work so hard and honestly without ever achieving anything in particular, and why others don't seem to work hard, yet seem to get everything? They seem to have the "magic touch"...The difference is goals. People with goals succeed because they know where they're going. It's that simple. Failures, on the other hand, believe that their lives are shaped by circumstances...by things that happen to them...by exterior forces"

The funny thing about 'goals' is, that we all know we're supposed to have them, but really, how many of us do? How many of us actually have a list of written goals of what we want to achieve in life? How many of us read those goals daily? How many of us know what exactly we've achieved in life and how far we still have to go?

My uncle was admitted to the hospital recently, and when we went to visit him, he asked my sister, who is working in the same field as he is, what her goals were. "Have you reached your milestones?" he asked. The next day, my sister told me that she realized something very important from our uncle's question...setting milestones. See, it is not that we don't know it, it is that for some reason, we don't do it - maybe it's fear, maybe it's lack of confidence - but this book helps a great deal in helping readers understand the importance of goals.


In a nutshell...
We all need help - this is the inevitable truth.
We need help to set our life straight and to be living the life we truly deserve, not one that is mediocre, where we weave in and out of seconds, minutes and days, feeling incomplete, worthless and directionless.

We need to have goals, self confidence;
We need to eliminate our fears, our doubts;
We need to transform our uncertainties into clear paths;
We need to take responsibility and decide;
We need to believe that we are worth much, much more that we think we are;
We need to know that all the wealth, success and happiness in the world is ours if we'd only ask.

I hope these books help you as they have me, to start living with direction, hope and structure.

I wish you ultimate success.

Sharmila is the CEO of the Professional Excellence and Lifelong Learning Centre. All the opinions expressed here are her own, based on her personal experiences. She welcomes comments at sharm79@gmail.com