“A book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us.”
― Franz Kafka
Books inspire me and have always been my refuge to conflicts in life. Here are the 6 books that challenged my perspectives and wiped of my stringent notions.
1. The Road Less Travelled by Scott Peck
Simply, buy this book for the path towards enlightenment in a spiritual way that encapsulates your personal growth. This book never gives you easy solutions to the conflicts, it simply says; “Legitimate suffering is part of life” and leaves you with better insights to lead a fulfilled life.
Profound wisdom in a nutshell
– If you are not part of the solution, then you are part of the problem
– Route to reality is not easy
– Desire to love is not love – Love is both an intention and action
– We cannot be source of strength unless we nurture our strength
– My feeling of love may be unbounded, but my capacity to be loving is limited
– An attempt to avoid legitimate suffering is the root cause of emotional illness
– When I genuinely love I am extending myself, and when I am extending myself I am growing. Genuine love is self-replenishing. The more I nurture the spiritual growth of others, the more my own spiritual growth is nurtured. I am a totally selfish human being. I never do something for somebody else but that I do it for myself.
– Individual growth and societal growth are interdependent
2. The Go-Giver by Bob Burg and John David Mann
I didn’t even expect that such a small book could make a huge difference in my approach towards life. It simply says, “Give” and go on explaining 5 profound laws that directs the mankind and concludes that there is always a truth in the opposite.
Profound wisdom in a nutshell
– What you focus is what you get
– Giving leads to receiving
– World is just a reflection of you
– Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment
– If you want more success, find a way to serve more people; it is just that simple
– Your income is determined by how many people you serve and how well you serve them
– Your influence is determined by how abundantly you place other people’s interest first
– The point is not what you do. Not what you accomplish. It’s who you are.
3. Tao Te ching by Lao tzu
Tao Te Ching is one of the finest books on philosophy written by Lao Tzu, a Chinese philosopher and a Poet. It’s profound, intriguing and soul stirring. Read it and get in touch with the enlightening insights that give you enough thrills to pursue your life vigorously.
Profound wisdom in a nutshell
– Rid yourself of desires to know the secrets
– Adapt the nothing; because change is permanent
– By virtue of nothing, you gain something
– Way is vague and unclear; but still you have to follow; substance will be found – not to worry.
– He who brags will have no merit; he who boasts will not endure
– Good man is the teacher the bad learns form; and the bad man is the material the good works on.
– Whoever lays hold of empire will lose it.
– Anything that goes against the way will come to an end.
– A man of highest virtue does not keep to virtue and that is why he has virtue
– A man of the lowest virtue never strays from virtue and that is why he is without virtue.
– Excessive meanness leads to great expense
– Too much store is sure to end in immense loss
– There is no crime greater than having too many desires
– There is no misfortune greater than being covetous
– Never attempt to be great, that is the only way in becoming great
– Keep a thing in order before disorder sets in
– One who excels in fighting is never roused by anger
– One who excels in employing others humbles himself before them.
4. The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
I never knew habits play such an important role in shaping our future until I read this book. It simply says, you are what your habits are, and also suggests the proven techniques to generate new habits that alter our lifestyle and eventually our life. A must read for everyone to understand the intricacies of the habits.
Profound wisdom in a nutshell
– Brain converts sequence of action into an automatic routine
– Cue-routine-reward; Habit loop
– Brain makes almost any routine into a habit
– The problem is that brain can’t tell the difference between good and bad habits
– Since we often don’t recognize these habit loops as they grow, we are blind to our ability to control them.
– The brain can be reprogrammed; you just have to be deliberate about it.
– If you want to change the habit, you must find an alternative routine
– If you genuinely believe in people that they have what it takes to succeed, they will prove you right
– If you dress a new something in old habits, it’s easier for the public to accept it
– To market a new habit – make it familiar
– Every habit, no matter how complex is malleable
– Habits can be changed; if you understand how can they function
5. The power of myth by Joseph Campbell
Myths – clues to the spiritual potentialities of human life; this was a revelation
The Power of Myth is a book based on the conversations between mythologist Joseph Campbell and journalist Bill Moyers. Believe me, it is such an astounding book that gives you a thorough understanding of the intriguing elements of life such as life, death, love, marriage etc. and leaves you spellbound.
Profound wisdom in a nutshell
– Man should not submit to the powers from outside but command them
– Myth is a manifestation of symbolic energy
– The dream is an inexhaustible source of spiritual information about yourself
– Myth is the public dream, dream is the private myth
– The mystery of life is beyond all human conception
– World is based on duality
– Eternity isn’t even a long time. Eternity has nothing to do with time. Eternity is here – if you don’t get it here, you can’t get it anywhere
– Myths must be kept alive and the people who can keep them are artists
– Nature echoes in you, because you are nature
– Our true reality is in our identity and unity with all life
– A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself
– When we quit thinking primarily about our own self-preservation and ourselves. We undergo a truly heroic transformation of consciousness.
– Desire is the bait, death is the hook
– Follow your bliss – Find where it is, don’t be afraid to follow it
– The passage to fulfillment lies between the perils of desire and fear.
– Your life is the fruit of your own doing
– The greater life’s pain, the greater life’s reply
– The demon that you can swallow gives you its power.
– The images of myth are reflections of the spiritual potentialities of every one of us. Through contemplating these, we evoke their powers in our own lives.
– If my guiding divinity is brutal; my decisions will be brutal as well
– By expansion, your ego diminishes, your conscious expands
6. The science of getting rich by Wallace. D. Wattles
I have my own misconceptions of getting rich till I read this book. All were cleared off and made a huge difference in my life after knowing some of the secrets mentioned in this book. Read it, for it teaches you to become rich, not instantaneously but strategically.
Profound wisdom in a nutshell
– Moral and spiritual greatness is possible only to those who are above the competitive battle for existence.
– The very best thing you can do for the whole world is to make the most of yourself
– People must be taught to become rich by creation, not competition
– Never ever compel your will on others
– You must know what you want, and be specific and definite
– Grateful mind is constantly fixed upon the best, therefore it tends to become the best
– Getting rich is not the result of doing certain things; it is the result of doing things in a certain way.
– An ounce of doing things is worth a pound of theorizing.
– Give everyone more in use value than you take from him in cash value. Then you are adding to the life of the world by every business transaction.
– If you are in a business which does beat people, get out of it at once
– You can only get what is yours by giving the other person what is rightfully his.
– Do not wait for a change of environment, before you act. Create a change of environment by your action
– Be the best in things you do, then you will accomplish the best. In turn you will be the best.
Note: The Points mentioned here are just the bits of insights I gained from the above books and I’m sure you would find much more insights. Go ahead and grab them, you will never regret.
Featured photo credit: book via pixabay.com
