Three Personal Growth Books You Need To Read

If my close friends had a dollar for every time I told them about a great personal growth book that I’ve recently read, I think they’d be millionaires. I’ve read a ton of fantastic books over the last 10+ years and I get so excited about what I learn from them that I can hardly contain myself!

I love reading and I love discussing and sharing what I’ve read. There’s a part of me that can’t believe I am even saying this. Reading is something I’ve dreaded for most of my life. Having to read required books in high school and college was near torture. (However, I feel like these books are required reading that you must complete, so I guess the Universe always brings things full circle!)

So, anyway, I really detested sitting down with a book. After all, there were always so many more interesting things to be doing (or so I thought). I invested in my fair share of Cliffs Notes to pass my tests and did everything I could to avoid long hours of reading.

That was until about 10 years ago when realized that my life just wasn’t quite going in the direction I wanted. I felt confused and overwhelmed with stress and obligations. That’s when some intriguing personal growth books by authors like Tony Robbins, Laura Fortgang, and Debbie Ford, among others, started to cross my path of awareness. Luckily, I was paying attention and I started reading.

Actually, I started listening. Have you been introduced to the world of audio books? It’s life changing! I was hooked from that very first personal growth audio book! It must have something to do with the memories of my third grade teacher reading adventures like James and the Giant Peach to our class or bedtime stories from early childhood. Regardless, I found a way to fall in love with reading again.

While I listened to those first books on audiotape, CD, or downloaded from iTunes, these days I purchase most of my audiobooks on Audible. You can also connect the app, Libby, to your library card and borrow any of the audio books your library has available for loan.

Now, I will also sit down and read much more often, so my office shelves and my bedroom nightstand are filled with hard copies of my current picks. Currently, I’m powering through Everything Is Figureoutable by Marie Forleo.

All that said, I’ve decided to begin sharing some of my favorites with you — I’m calling them Robin’s Reads — in hopes that a few of my favorites might also become a few of yours. This post is dedicated to my three favorite personal growth books written by fairly well-known executive and life coaches.

I love these three books because they help you identify what you truly want from your life and help you begin moving forward. You know I’m all about action! If you want to unleash your brilliance in the world, I highly recommend picking up one or all of these personal growth gems.

The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks, Ph.D.

Read this book if:

You feel trapped by invisible obstacles to the wealth, success, and love that you’re seeking. In other words: You are ready to understand what an “Upper Limit Problem” is and how to overcome it.

You spend time doing things you are good at or even excellent at, yet they don’t fulfill you. It’s time to understand your “Zone of Genius” (and even “Zone of Excellence”) and how to live and work from this place.

You are sick of always running out of time and always feeling frantic. You are ready to understand how to live on Einstein time — and to learn what Einstein time is!

Why I love it:

I can’t say enough about Gay Hendricks and the books he and his wife, Kathlyn, have written. I especially love this book because the concepts of the “Zone of Genius” and the “Upper Limit Problem” are easy to understand and apply.

This book shifts you from wanting to make minor changes in your life to really understanding what life can be like when you commit to living in your “Zone of Genius.” By the way: Commitment is an interesting topic and links strongly to getting what you desire. Read more about that here!

If you are ready to take your life to the next level, this book is an absolute must-read.

Ready to grab the book? Here’s the link to buy it on Amazon.

Feel The Fear and Do It Anyway by Susan Jeffers, Ph.D.

Read this book if:

You have something you really want to do, but are waiting for your fear to subside before you move forward and do it. When you’re in that space, you are ready to learn the “Five Truths about Fear” and how to move from pain to power.

You are paralyzed in your ability to make decisions because you are scared to make the wrong one. At that point, you need to learn how to make a “No-Lose” decision.

You are accomplished and independent, yet you don’t feel you can be happy until the people in your life change their behavior toward you. Perhaps it’s time to take responsibility for your own life and this book will help!

Why I love it:

This is a classic personal growth book, and in my opinion, a handbook for living a full life. Susan Jeffers does a great job of breaking down the basics of fear and what keeps us stuck. This includes why we are afraid and what we are really afraid of, how our inner critic (or “chatterbox” as she calls it), keeps us from action, and how we can take full responsibility for our whole lives and move forward, even when we are afraid.

While the book was written over 25 years ago, you’d never know it by how relevant the content is to our current lives. Grab a copy — you won’t be disappointed!

Ready to read this one? Here’s the link to buy it on Amazon.

(PS: Is your fear telling you to stay small? Perhaps this post will change your mind about why the world needs you to show up!)

Stop Saying You’re Fine by Mel Robbins

Read this book if:

You find yourself answering every, “How are you?” with, “I’m fine,” or “How is your XXX,” with, “It’s fine.” That’s a key sign that you’re ready to learn how you are the biggest obstacle between where you are now and where you want to be.

You find yourself setting new goals for your daily routine, only to sabotage your plans by hitting the snooze button – again (and yes, you can be a morning person, trust me). This book will teach you how to stop hitting the snooze button on your alarm, literally, and also how to stop hitting the snooze button on your life, figuratively.

You are scared to admit that things aren’t going that well in several areas of your life because it means that things might have to change. Change is scary, especially if it’s far into the realm of unknown! I have a feeling you’re ready to “Discover a More Powerful You” and learn the five steps to get what you want in life.

Why I love it:

The subtitle of this book is, “The No-BS Guide To Getting What You Want.” And when Mel Robbins says it’s “No-BS,” Mel Robbins means it! Her straight-shooting approach is effective for those of us who don’t take subtle hints. There’s no beating around the bush here; if you want to love your life, you have to accept that being “fine” in every area of your life just isn’t enough!

While I don’t normally like people who are “in my face,” Mel’s book is a great wake-up call, which we all need one from time to time. Whether you like it or not, admitting the truth of how you feel and taking action to change your circumstances is the only path to fulfillment. This book shows that it doesn’t have to be overwhelming and gives you a few easy tools to help us innovate along the way.

We all have stories we tell ourselves to excuse us from taking action and Mel calls bull on every one of them! If everything in your life is just “fine,” I definitely recommend this book.

Ready to grab it? Here’s the link to buy it on Amazon.

I hope you find these recommendations helpful as you choose your next read. I’ll be posting more recommendations in the near future, so stay tuned!

And, if you want to gather with a group of women to discuss personal growth books, challenges, and one book in particular, I’m hosting a book club inside my Aligned Business Accelerator Facebook Group! We’re discussing Everything Is Figureoutable by Marie Forleo on December 4th. Join the group for details, discussion questions, and access to the book club call!