Some people are terrified of change, but I crave the new scenery, experiences, and interactions. However, that doesn’t mean it isn’t scary to take that leap into the unknown. In my experience, making the effort to change the parts of my life that weren’t working has led to so much personal growth and satisfaction. When I moved far away from my hometown at 22, I had no idea that it would help me overcome so many long-held fears and embolden me to become a full-time traveler, writer, and business owner. But it’s all about taking that first step and being open to letting the journey change your perspective.
Who doesn’t love a book about travel, treasure hunting, magic, and following your dreams? But it is so much more than that. This is one of those books that stays with you. And if you read it at the right moment, it stirs something up inside of you that empowers you and helps you to feel like, despite all the obstacles, the universe may be on your side after all.
For me, The Alchemist was given as a gift after I announced my husband and I would be moving from our hometown to pursue a new life across the country. Reading it confirmed my decision and made me take a different perspective on what following my heart could lead to.
A global phenomenon, The Alchemist has been read and loved by over 62 million readers, topping bestseller lists in 74 countries worldwide. Now this magical fable is beautifully repackaged in an edition that lovers of Paulo Coelho will want to treasure forever.
Every few decades a book is published that changes the lives of its readers forever. This is such a book - a beautiful parable about learning to listen to your heart, read the omens strewn along life's path and, above all, follow your dreams.
Santiago, a young shepherd living in the hills of Andalucia, feels that there is…
Even if you have already seen the movie version of Into the Wild, I highly recommend reading the book. It has so many more details and insights that help paint a more complete picture of the fascinating true story of Chris McCandless who sought freedom from the world of materialism that no longer served him.
While extremely well written, this isn’t an easy book to read - especially for those of us who relate to the desire to go off into the wilderness and abandon the stresses of modern life. It pulls at your emotions and tends to inspire and frustrate you at the same time. However, that’s why I enjoyed it. I appreciate that the author shows the multi-faceted nature of being human and how even the brightest among us struggle to find the right balance in life. And I think it asks an important question all adventurers should ask, how far is too far when chasing a dream?
Krakauer’s page-turning bestseller explores a famed missing person mystery while unraveling the larger riddles it holds: the profound pull of the American wilderness on our imagination; the allure of high-risk activities to young men of a certain cast of mind; the complex, charged bond between fathers and sons.
"Terrifying... Eloquent... A heart-rending drama of human yearning." —New York Times
In April 1992 a young man from a well-to-do family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. He had given $25,000 in savings to charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, burned all…
This is my favorite book of all time and permanently changed the way I look at life. While the story is focused on the idea of heaven and hell, you don’t have to believe in either to benefit from the perspective shift this book offers. It’s deep and powerful.
Lewis uses a story about a man traveling from hell to heaven to point out the ways us humans tend to keep ourselves bound to misery. It’s an important read for anyone wanting to overcome pessimism or who feels like joy is constantly escaping them. As Lewis says, “All that are in hell, choose it. Without that self-choice there could be no hell. No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it.”
C.S. Lewis’ The Great Divorce is a classic Christian allegorical tale about a bus ride from hell to heaven. An extraordinary meditation upon good and evil, grace and judgment, Lewis’s revolutionary idea in the The Great Divorce is that the gates of Hell are locked from the inside. Using his extraordinary descriptive powers, Lewis’ The Great Divorce will change the way we think about good and evil.
Because I strongly believe that a successful transition into a big life change is more about having a good attitude and positive outlook than any planning or logistics, here is another book to help make those important mental shifts.
Tuesdays with Morrie tells the powerful true story of the author’s time spent learning from his dying college professor who was a beloved mentor to him as a young man. Morrie candidly shares the most important lessons he learned throughout his life as well as what he was experiencing and thinking as a dying man. But the best part is how these lessons affect the author and how his life changes because of it. This book is powerful and uplifting - one everyone should read at least once.
THE GLOBAL PHENOMENON THAT HAS TOUCHED THE HEARTS OF OVER 9 MILLION READERS
'Mitch Albom sees the magical in the ordinary' Cecelia Ahern __________
Maybe it was a grandparent, or a teacher or a colleague? Someone older, patient and wise, who understood you when you were young and searching, and gave you sound advice to help you make your way through it? For Mitch Albom, that person was Morrie Schwartz, his college professor from nearly twenty years ago.
Maybe, like Mitch, you lost track of this mentor as you made your way, and the insights faded. Wouldn't you like to…
While my go-to books obviously have a deeper lean to them, you don’t always have to have a spiritual awakening or read a harrowing story of adventure to be inspired to make a change. Sometimes you just need someone to lay out a plan for you. That’s what Ferriss does in The 4-Hour Workweek.
I must say, this is a pretty dangerous book. Within a year of reading it, I had quit my desk job, convinced my husband to do the same, and we had set off to reclaim a life under our own terms. While Tim’s path was wildly more successful than ours, and caution should be taken, his tips do have a lot of merit and he pushes you to think about work in a much different way. Overall, it empowers you to take more control of how you use your time and gives some actionable examples to do that. I still use many of these tactics years later!
A new, updated and expanded edition of this New York Times bestseller on how to reconstruct your life so it's not all about work
Forget the old concept of retirement and the rest of the deferred-life plan - there is no need to wait and every reason not to, especially in unpredictable economic times. Whether your dream is escaping the rat race, experiencing high-end world travel, earning a monthly five-figure income with zero management, or just living more and working less, this book is the blueprint.
This step-by step guide to luxury lifestyle design teaches:
Leaving for a new home is an exciting and emotional time.If you find it challenging to manage the rollercoaster of emotions that come with moving away from loved ones, you aren't alone. In this book, you will get honest insights into the joys and struggles of leaving for a new home.
Moving Away will inspire you to chase your dreams while encouraging you to still be realistic about some of the obstacles that will likely come your way with such a big life change.
This book (and its sequels) are about overcoming the odds; about learning to improve the skills and abilities you have, rather than dwelling on what you can't do. Conflict, plague, and scheming politicians are all featured along the way–but none of the characters are human!
When a plague kills half the Drax population, and leaves the hatchlings of the survivors with a terrible deformity – no wings – suspicion and prejudice follow. Continuously harassed by raids from their traditional enemies, the Koth, the Drax are looking for someone, or something, to blame.
Zarda, an apprentice Fate-seer, is new to her role and unsure of her own abilities; but the death of her teacher sees her summoned by the Drax Prime, Kalis, when his heir, Dru, emerges from his shell without wings.
A vision that Dru will one day defeat the Koth is enough to keep…
