Books that made me [part I]

We all remember moments that defined our lives.

If I’d ask, you would be able to tell me the precise moment, event, day, maybe even exact time when your life changed, when something significant and impactful happened.

Maybe it was at party or gathering that you did not want to go but you went and it was awesome.

That day you met someone "randomly”, had this conversation that lasted hours and changed everything.

That one person that influenced you to transform.

That one moment when you said to yourself – enough is enough.

That one thought that came to you unexpectedly and never left since.

That one day when you turn around and never looked back.

The thing is – nothing in this world and our lives happens “randomly.”

Everything happens for a reason. We may not know or understand the particular reasons, sometimes they make themselves obvious only in hindsight but there is a bigger, cosmic logic in how things flow to us and from us.

Often, we just drift in the sea of circumstances, floating in Universe of things and happenings and are simply carried by energies around us.

That’s what you hear me calling “living by default”; a reactive state of being.

But some make their journey through life intentional. Instead of allowing world and life having impact on them, they focus and create impact on their own world, create life they want, create ripple effects. They live life by design.

One of the ways to switch from default state to design way of living is to intentionally feed your brain - and your mind - with ideas, with new thoughts.

Yet, most of our daily thoughts are not thoughts at all.

Most of our thoughts are just repetitions.

Most of our thinking is replaying pre-recorded messages and stories, reviewing past memories like movies, echoing words that has been said before, thoughts that been thought many times. Like broken record.

Thoughts are vital element of your Vibe, of how you feel, how you see yourself, how you see world and how your life unfolds. Together with Beliefs, Attitude’s and Emotions they determine your BEAT and your consciousness.

What you think determines what you’re doing and how you respond to circumstances.

So how are you going to stop the automatic thinking that isn’t thinking at all?

How are you going to think new thoughts that will create a new life?

Where do new thoughts come from?

One of the ways to get yourself in new state of being, to feel different, to be different is to change your environment.

Go somewhere were you never been. Even if just for a day.

 Another – watch a movie or listen to a music that normally you would not listen. We do love our playlists, don’t we? We have them saved for years now and available on all devices. We can listen to them no matter where we are. But isn’t sticking to same playlist over and over exactly like our thinking, listening to the same thoughts every day…?

One other way of feeding your mind new materials and attempt to create new thoughts is reading the books. Probably my second favourite pass time activity, right after summer jet-skiing.

I was asked recently to make a list of books that made me, books that impacted my thinking and teaching, books that I believe are important.

I thought I share with you that list.

Maybe you read them already, maybe you didn’t.

I know they’ve changed my thinking, so I want you to give it a try. Perhaps they will have as beneficial and powerful influence on you as they did on me.

I divided my list of top books in 3 categories; books on life, on money and on time.

Here I want to tell you about 3 books on time.

 In the next few articles I will be happy to share with you other two lists. 

I’d love for you to have a look inside those books. Flip through pages, read a chapter, see if you find something for you. 

If you’ve read any of them – let’s talk about what they meant to you and if they’ve changed anything.

The first book I’d like to introduce to you is Time and The Soul by Jacob Needleman.

Why?

Instead of me telling you why you should consider it I let the author do the talking. This is an excerpt from paperback edition from 2003.

“This book is addressed to everyone who is starved for time. That is, it is addressed to everyone.

We are all living in a culture that traps us into doing too many things, taking on too many responsibilities, facing too many choices and saying yes to too many opportunities. Nearing the end of over a century of inventions designed to save time, we find ourselves bereft of time itself.

[…]

It has become the aching question of our era. What used to be considered a sign of success—being busy, having many responsibilities, being involved in many projects or activities—is not being felt as an affliction. It is leading us nowhere. More and more it is being experienced as meaningless.”

Do you wish you had more time?

Then make the time to read this book.

Number 2 on my list of books on time is Essentialism by Greg McKeown.

Why?

You can do anything you put your mind to. That’s a fact. Just look at what humanity have achieved so far. Everything we see, use and talk about was ones just a thought in someone’s mind. The ability to create amazing things is not limited to few, it is however limited to those who are intentional and determined.

The problem is – you, as many of us, put your mind to too many things. While you can achieve anything you want, you cannot, and you never will, achieve everything.

You need to decide what really matters and what you want most.

“Only once you give yourself the permission to stop trying to do it all, to stop saying yes to everyone, can you make your highest contribution towards the things that really matter.”

The third book on time I want to introduce to you is The One Thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan.

This is a life-improvement masterpiece.

But don’t take my word for it. See for yourself. To spark your interest, I am going to give you 5 big take-aways, big ideas this book focuses on. After that you decided if it’s something you want to know more about.

The 5 One Thing’s;

1. Not everything matters equally.

2. Multitasking is a lie.

3. Discipline is a result of habit.

4. Willpower is a finite resource.

5. Big is bad.

That’s the 3 books you should read if you want to learn how to make the most of your time here on Earth.

Do let me know what you are reading, what other authors I should consider.

With love,

Jackie

p.s. Time, and how you spend it is important. I want you to know that I appreciate you for spending it with me. I want to make sure it’s a time well spent and you always find something useful in my articles. Thank you.

 p.p.s If instead of 3 books you’d rather read one that contains the absolute essence of time management and can help you make the most of every moment in life, try Calming The Chaos by yours truly. I be happy to send you hard copy if you cover just the cost of shipping.