The best books to start curating a well rounded life

Why am I passionate about this?

My own rise through the workplace didn’t come without roadblocks. I was a divorced single mom with 3 children and no education. Yet I found myself taking a career journey where I made a lot of the same mistakes so many individuals make. I realized after about 20 years leading human resources for fast-growth companies, that I had a unique view to help others shortcut their own mistakes. I finally left my corporate desk to work the other side of the desk–helping the individual. The Job Doctor was born in late 2020, and one million followers later, I feel like I’ve found my own career calling in helping individuals navigate their own career journeys. 


I wrote...

The Unspoken Truths for Career Success: Navigating Pay, Promotions, and Power at Work

By Tessa White,

Book cover of The Unspoken Truths for Career Success: Navigating Pay, Promotions, and Power at Work

What is my book about?

This is the book I wish I had as I worked through my own career. I realized after my own career journey and having a front-row seat as the head of HR to thousands of other careers, that people were often hitting up against the same workplace frustrations, and handling them in the same ineffective ways. Job burnout at its core, is a reflection of feeling powerless at work, and there are so many ways that individuals can make small changes to bring back a sense of control in the workplace.

This is a practical workplace manual with scripts, case studies, do-this-not-that strategies for the most common career frustrations: It covers how to go about pay increases or promotions, work/life prioritization, managing office politics, and addressing conflict at work.

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

The books I picked & why

Book cover of I Will Teach You to Be Rich

Tessa White Why did I love this book?

I bought this for all 6 kids for Christmas!

It has such a practical and easy-to-digest approach to managing your finances. His book is perfect for any beginner who wants to live a financially stress-free life, no matter how much or how little you make.

And unlike books I get into a few chapters and never finish, the layout is easy to read, with call-out boxes and reference guides in every chapter that make it easy to follow. It makes your financial journey less intimidating, and makes it accessible to the everyday person. 

By Ramit Sethi,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked I Will Teach You to Be Rich as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The groundbreaking NEW YORK TIMES and WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER that taught a generation how to earn more, save more, and live a rich life—now in a revised 2nd edition.
 
Buy as many lattes as you want. Choose the right accounts and investments so your money grows for you—automatically. Best of all, spend guilt-free on the things you love.
 
Personal finance expert Ramit Sethi has been called a “wealth wizard” by Forbes and the “new guru on the block” by Fortune. Now he’s updated and expanded his modern money classic for a new age, delivering a simple, powerful, no-BS 6-week…


Book cover of The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself

Tessa White Why did I love this book?

I read this book in 2022, after a pretty emotional year for me personally. It was a lifesaver.

It was recommended to me by a friend who lost two children in a car accident. One of the strongest people I know. She said this book was the transition point for her healing.

Her recommendation set me on my own journey for healing. One of the best books I have read in a long while.

This is deep dive on the voices (some of which aren’t very helpful) that we listen to in our head, and how we prevent ourselves from healing and moving forward.

The analogies in the book brought it to life for me, and helped me see my own armor and how it was hurting me, rather than helping me heal and move forward.

By Michael A. Singer,

Why should I read it?

16 authors picked The Untethered Soul as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Who are you? When you start to explore this question, you find out how elusive it really is. Are you a physical body? A collection of experiences and memories? A partner to relationships? Each time you consider aspects of yourself, you realize that there is much more to you than any of these can define. In this book, spiritual teacher Michael Singer explores the question of who we are and arrives at the conclusion that our identity is to be found in our consciousness, the fact of our ability to observe ourselves and the world around us. By tapping into…


Book cover of 101 Essays That Will Change The Way You Think

Tessa White Why did I love this book?

This book is one of those books that I am constantly reading, re-reading, and highlighting constantly!

Every essay is just packed full of wisdom and realism. My favorite part of the book is that you do not need to read it from cover to cover, which makes it so easy to pick up and read when you need inspiration!

I’ll catch myself randomly flipping through the pages to find a topic of interest, and two hours later, I’m still reading. I’m surprised as many times as I’ve read it, I still find these passages of wisdom that I missed from the last reading. 

As an influencer, I live in a short-form world, and something about the short essays capture my attention and imagination. 

By Brianna Wiest,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked 101 Essays That Will Change The Way You Think as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

101 Essays That Will Change The Way You Think, the global bestseller and social media phenomenon, is a collection of author Brianna Wiest's most beloved pieces of writing. Her meditations include why you should pursue purpose over passion, embrace negative thinking, see the wisdom in daily routine, and become aware of the cognitive biases that are creating the way you see your life. Some of these pieces have never been seen; others have been read by millions of people around the world. Regardless, each will leave you thinking: this idea changed my life.


Book cover of Designing Your New Work Life: How to Thrive and Change and Find Happiness--and a New Freedom--at Work

Tessa White Why did I love this book?

I love this book because not only does it give great advice, but it shares numerous practical tools and reframes on how to build a work life that is meaningful and joyful for you!

In addition, the book has stayed very current—includes how to handle life disruptions (such as the pandemic) and how to thrive despite the circumstances. As a career navigation coach myself, I’ve recommended this book hundreds of times to my clients.

It’s practical. It’s easy to read. And I find the exercises extraordinarily useful in setting boundaries at work that help one thrive.

By Bill Burnett, Dave Evans,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Designing Your New Work Life as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From the authors of the #1 New York Times bestseller Designing Your Life comes a revised, fully up-to-date edition of Designing Your New Work Life,a timely, urgently needed book that shows us how to transform our new uncharted work life into a meaningful dream job or company. With practical, useful tools, tips, and design ideas that show us how to navigate disruption (global, regional, or personal) and create new possibilities for our post-COVID work world and beyond.

Bill Burnett and Dave Evans successfully taught graduate and undergraduate students at Stanford University and readers of their best-selling book, Designing Your Life…


Book cover of Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones

Tessa White Why did I love this book?

This book is irreplaceable, and would be on my all-time favorite books ever written.

The reframe about how to change a habit and the idea that every action is a vote for the kind of person we want to be, strikes me every time I read it!

The approach of changing not only the types of goals I set for myself, but the very approach I take in order to make changes, is so outside any belief system I have had previous to reading this.

It’s not often a book turns my beliefs on their head, but this one opened up an entirely new perspective that has dramatically increased my own personal effectiveness. 

By James Clear,

Why should I read it?

22 authors picked Atomic Habits as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The #1 New York Times bestseller. Over 4 million copies sold!

Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results

No matter your goals, Atomic Habits offers a proven framework for improving--every day. James Clear, one of the world's leading experts on habit formation, reveals practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviors that lead to remarkable results.

If you're having trouble changing your habits, the problem isn't you. The problem is your system. Bad habits repeat themselves again and again not because you don't want to change, but because you have the…


You might also like...

Book cover of The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever

Michael Bungay Stanier Author Of The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Coaching is a wonderful technology that can help people be a force for change… and is often wrapped up in mystic and woo-woo and privilege that makes it inaccessible and/or unattractive to too many. I want being more coach-like—by which I mean staying curious a little longer, and rushing to action and advice-giving—to be an everyday way of being with one another. Driven by this, I’ve written the best-selling book on coaching this century (The Coaching Habit) and have created training that’s been used around the world by more than a quarter of a million people. I’m on a mission to unweird coaching.

Michael's book list on unexpectedly useful books about coaching

What is my book about?

The coaching book that's for all of us, not just coaches.

It's the best-selling book on coaching this century, with 15k+ online reviews. Brené Brown calls it "a classic". Dan Pink said it was "essential".

It is practical, funny, and short, and "unweirds" coaching. Whether you're a parent, a teacher, a leader, or even a coach, you can stay curious longer.

By Michael Bungay Stanier,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Coaching Habit as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Look for Michael's new book, The Advice Trap, which focuses on taming your Advice Monster so you can stay curious a little longer and change the way you lead forever.

In Michael Bungay Stanier's The Coaching Habit, coaching becomes a regular, informal part of your day so managers and their teams can work less hard and have more impact.

Drawing on years of experience training more than 10,000 busy managers from around the globe in practical, everyday coaching skills, Bungay Stanier reveals how to unlock your peoples' potential. He unpacks seven essential coaching questions to demonstrate how-by saying less and…


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in decision making, wealth, and success in life?

10,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them. Browse their picks for the best books about decision making, wealth, and success in life.

Decision Making Explore 82 books about decision making
Wealth Explore 60 books about wealth
Success In Life Explore 248 books about success in life