5 Books That Changed My Life
Since childhood, I have enjoyed reading books. In fact, when there was an exam at school I studied it by spending 1 whole book I read. Unlike now. Now, in my country before the exam. The students were told what material would come out during the exam.
Since childhood, I have been diligent in reading. But, I only read textbooks at school. I am not familiar with books that discuss mindset, finance, and other books that are not discussed in school.
I became interested in non-fiction books when I was in vocational high school. During recess, I like to go to the library. I sat there reading a book. Sometimes, if I’m interested in a book I’m reading. I borrowed it and I brought it home.
After I graduated from vocational high school. I started to get to know the Ipusnas application. Applications made by the Indonesian government to increase reading interest. Because reading interest is low in this country. The application contains a large collection of books and is available for free. When I got to know this application I felt very happy. Because I can save my money to buy books.
Ipusnas does have a large collection of books. But I still like buying books. I love buying non-fiction books and this was the beginning of my life-changing while reading books.
Mindset by Carol Dweck
This book is very good. This book is my favorite of all the books I have ever read. This book teaches a lot about a smarter mindset. This book teaches the mindset from various aspects to change yourself for the better. This book also taught me how to raise good children. Then, this book also discusses more deeply about the growth mindset and fixed mindset.
This book teaches that every ability can be trained and developed. This book also taught me that grades are earned in school. Not a determinant of success. Then, taught me to have a positive view of failure. Teaches not be trapped by praise from others. Teach about character. Teaches high curiosity and high effort. Teaches the dangers of a fixed mindset. And there are many more lessons to be learned from this book. For me, this is still the best book I have ever read in my life.
The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel
The book taught me that managing money has nothing to do with intelligence. But more to do with behavior.
“Managing money well has nothing to do with your intelligence and has more to do with your behavior. And behavior is hard to teach, even to very intelligent people.” Quoted from the book The Psychology of Money.
This book also teaches people’s assessment of the luxury goods that we have. Teaches that humans never have enough. And other things. Since I was a child, lessons about finance are still lacking. And after I researched around me. It turns out that many people are less knowledgeable about finance. With this book, it helps me understand more about what financial freedom. Because of books, I have become smarter with money. Now I prioritize needs over wants. Before buying I always think first. It’s a need or just a want of mine. If it was my only wish, I would have canceled the purchase without a second thought.
Atomic Habits by James Clear
This book teaches about small habits that are done consistently can change lives. Although the change that occurs is only 1%. This book teaches how to teach good habits and break bad habits with concepts taught by James Clear. Then, Teaching delayed rewards is better than instant rewards. How to recover quickly when habits are left behind. And there is much more that can be learned from this book.
The Subtle Art of Not Giving A Fuck by Mark Manson
Discussing the mindset of not caring about things that are not important. Teaches the dangers of pleasure. Teaches the paradox of success and failure. Then, the problems we experience are our responsibility. I learned a lot from this book to focus more on myself and not pay attention to other people’s opinions which can trigger negative feelings. That way I can save my energy from useless things. Then, stop taking care of other people’s lives.
The Secret Habits to Master Your Art of Speaking by Oh Su Hyang
There are some people who always suck at being in a relationship with the opposite sex. One of the reasons is because when they talk they always brag. When in a relationship, the first thing you see is of course the way you talk. So, it is important to have the art of speaking in life. And also make it a habit to speak with eye contact, so that the speaker feels valued and cared for in conversation. This book explains the importance of the art of speaking. Changing the way you talk is the same as changing your life. That’s what this book says.
This book teaches a lot of speaking techniques. Teach storytelling. Eliminate feelings of nervousness. Complete the conversation with body gestures. Active listening technique. Good presentation. Use parables when speaking. And there is much more that you can learn from this book. Good speaking is an important art to have.
Oprah Winfrey was successful on television because of her extraordinary speaking ability. Barack Obama was a successful president because from a young age he trained how to speak. Steve Jobs was successful in his technology company because of his ability to speak. Even now his company is known by the whole world and has become the dream of many people. With these three people’s stories, it becomes increasingly clear that it is important to master the art of good speech. Think like a successful person to be sure you can achieve that goal. Assume that you have achieved that goal so that your confidence will burn even more. So when you talk, you have to be full of enthusiasm.
Those are 5 books that changed my life. From those five books, I learned many things and made myself grow. Be bolder in expressing your opinion. Better mindset. Have new good habits. The wiser to use money. And there are many things, which make me a better person.
These five books are very popular in my country and some of them are NYT bestsellers. So, do not be surprised if the books are popular. Those of you who read my article, may also be familiar with the book above or maybe you have read the contents of the book. That’s great if you’ve read the book. But, for those of you who haven’t read the book. I recommend you to read the book.
Every book has knowledge that is important for life and will definitely be useful for your life. But what if you don’t like reading?
Okay, I’m aware and know. Reading is not always a pleasant thing for some people. Moreover, if the person does not have a hobby of reading books. If you don’t like reading books. You can read my articles.
The writing that I make comes from the books I read and I package it as best I can. To make this article easier to understand. Not only from books. My writing ideas also come from experience. Some come from the results of research that I did on several people.
But, I still recommend you to read the book directly. If you are not a fan of reading books. It does not matter. You can make yourself a hobby of reading books. You can use the Pomodoro technique or the Japanese kaizen method. If you want to grow a hobby of reading. I recommend trying the kaizen method. But, if you want to read a book without feeling bored. I recommend the Pomodoro technique.
Each technique has its own way of working and has a different function. But clearly, since I know both techniques. I am more productive and smarter in studying. I highly recommend you try those 2 techniques. The technique is very easy to do and useful for you.
