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5 Books To Radically Change Your Life and Mindset

5 Books To Radically Change Your Life and Mindset

Ready To Change Your Life?

One of the functions of this blog is to help you learn how to manage your own finances. But to do that effectively goes so much deeper than just telling you what to do.  Most of our bad habits around finance started with how we were brought up and unlearning some of those habits and beliefs is necessary if we want a truly financially prosperous life.

It wouldn’t do any good to help you learn about investing if I didn’t help you change your mindset around money.  I believe that you can make a series of positive changes in your life to help you reach the level of success you want and deserve.

This doesn’t mean you need a million-dollar house.  This means you no longer have to worry about making enough money to put food on the table.  This means that when you see someone in need, you have the means of helping them out. 

If you could live the life you desired, think of all of the other people in your life and in your community that you can also help out.  What if you could help change the trajectory of countless others?  That is precisely what we’re trying to achieve here.

So, here are the four books that I recommend to not only change your mindset but to change your life. They were instrumental in shaping my thoughts around work, money, investing, and cultivating a healthy mindset about work/life balance and money.

4 Hour Work Week

This book was a life-changer for me.  I remember picking it up at the age of 28.  I had heard about Tim Ferris because I was learning a programming language, Ruby on Rails, and the creator of that language, David Heinemeier Hansson, had spoken highly of 4 Hour Work Week. I was learning a programming language because I wanted the flexibility to work from home and earn a decent salary; the idea of being able to leverage my skills and only work 4 hours a week was enticing. In short, I fell for the smart marketing title, but in reality — I learned so much! What I learned from this book at 28 is still serving me well at the age of 40.

Here are the 5 lessons that I loved most. Still, there are so many nuggets of information that you can take away from this book that it is worth reading through on your own.

Lesson #1 Dreamline Plan

You may not realize that your dream life likely isn’t as challenging to achieve as you may believe.  What are some of your goals?  And don’t play small here.  One of the main goals of 4 Hour Work Week is to teach you to fill out a dream line.  Break down what you need to earn by the year, month, week, day, and hour. 

You will realize that the hourly rate may not be as challenging to achieve as you think.  Tim finds that most of us will reach the bulk of our goals by making $75,000 in a year.  For some of you, that may sound like a lot.  For others, that may sound like nothing.

Focusing on the numbers helps you put your goals in perspective and shows you how attainable they really are.

Lesson #2 Embrace Living Today

Do you sit there and tell yourself that you are going to have all of these epic adventures when you retire?  Do you dream about having a remarkable life when yours slows down?  That is how many Americans approach life retirement.

Tim hits the nail on the head here. Don’t spend the best 40 – 50 years of your life working, only to not have the health, the wealth, or the opportunity to live that life you dreamed of.  I learned this lesson first hand by watching my grandparents, aunts and uncles, and parents work themselves to the bone, only to retire and be too exhausted, sick, and old to go on the adventures and live the lives they dreamt of when they were younger.

That doesn’t mean you should live recklessly and not care about planning for the future. You should absolutely be planning for the future. A well-lived life is about living with intention and gratitude. Plan for the future, use what you’ve learned from your past, and be sure to setup your life so that each day brings you joy in the present. Be joyful, be grateful, be intentional about your goals and how you’ll reach them.

Embrace your life today. “Yesterday is history.  Tomorrow is a mystery.  And today?  Today is a gift.  That is why we call it the present.”Eleanor Roosevelt.

Lesson #3 Outsource your Life

This lesson was the most eye-opening for me. I’m not sure how well it holds up in 2021, but I promise to do a bit of research as I start down this new journey in my own life.  The goal here is to take all of the menial everyday tasks off your plate.

This is the same as the concept of $10/hour work, $100/hour work, and $1,000/hour work.  You want to spend your time doing $100 and $1,000 an hour work and pay others to handle the $10 an hour piece. 

Are you wanting to book the ultimate vacation?  Hire a Virtual Assistant and give them the tools they need to manage it for you.  Do you want to make sure that sales are being processed, or you need help maintaining your website?  Build out your Standard Operating Procedures (S.O.P.) and let your Virtual Assistant handle that part of the business.

Do the things that you’re good at and delegate the rest. This can apply to many other things in your life too! Hate deep cleaning your kitchen and arguing about chores on the weekends with your spouse? Hire a housekeeper and take back your weekends. Use that time to cultivate joy. Do you dread mowing the lawn? Could you be doing something else with that time, like learning a new skill, spending quality time with your children, or coming up with a new business idea? Be intentional about paying someone else to do the $10/hour work so you can have that time back to bring greater returns.

Lesson #4 Automate your Income

This was indeed the most profound concept to me.  Even after 10 years or so, I haven’t really managed this. I’ve set up most of my investments to be automated, but not my main source of income. It’s something I am starting to work on now. 

The goal is to set your life up in a way that you can automatically receive income.  We can go into this in more depth in another post, but these are things like: blogging, setting up a drop-shipping store online, if you’re a web developer or want to hire one, creating a SasS (Software as a Service) application, etc.

The point is, you want to get your income set up so that it is both residual and worry-free.  This will save you the stress of worrying about where your next paycheck is coming from.  This is where the term side hustle really started, and it has become far easier to get started, no matter what stage of life you are in.

Lesson #5 Find your muse

The muse is the creation of a low maintenance business that generates significant amounts of income. I’m not here to tell you that it is easy, but it is absolutely doable.  Here is where Tim talks about some of the case studies that he has:

https://tim.blog/category/muse-examples/

He also adds that you want to focus on the 20% of the business that is bringing in 80% of your income.  This is also termed the 80/20 rule or Perato’s Principal.

Can’t Hurt Me

David Goggins is intense.  If you are the type of person who likes the No B.S. method of obsession, this is the guy for you.  I will admit, there were parts in this book that I had to take a break from after reading because they were so raw and intense.

If you’re easily offended by harsh language, don’t get this one.  But if you’re willing to bypass that and look for intense motivation, pick this book up.  I promise you, if you implement what is here, it is going to change your life. 

If you’re looking for Tony Robbins style motivation, look elsewhere.  If you’re ready to stop making excuses and find the warrior in you, then here are the lessons you can start with.

Lesson #1 Find your Comfort Zone and Leave it Behind

David Goggins’s story is impressive.  It talks about how he changed his life from being an overweight 297 lbs pest control worker to a member of one of the world’s most elite fighting units, a Navy Seal.  The point here is that it doesn’t matter where you’re starting. You can change it.

You just can’t change where you are if you never leave your comfort zone.  If you want this all to be easy, it isn’t going to happen.  There is a great saying that I’ve tried to live my life by:

“Hard choices, easy life.  Easy choices, hard life.” This is a stoic quote from Jerzy Gregorek. When you think back on the choices you’ve made in your own life, you’ll see just how accurate this quote is.

Lesson #2 Conquer your Mind

An intriguing thing I learned from my husband Mike is that half of the population speaks to themselves in their head while the other half sees their thoughts as images.  I fall in the mental image category, while he falls in the self-talk category. 

By conquering your thoughts, whether that is the images you show yourself or the words you use to talk to yourself, you can significantly impact your life.  Own your mind and own your thoughts.  You don’t need to be polite.  Step up and stop making excuses.

Lesson #3 Own your Life

We don’t get a second chance at life.  Even if you believe in reincarnation, there are no do-overs in this life.  Are you living the life you want or making excuses about why you aren’t where you want to be?

Stop.  Step up.  If you want to be super-human, you need to set a goal and stop giving yourself excuses on why you can’t make it.  Set a goal and go after it.

You will be amazed at what you can do and who you can become when you actually put your mind to it.  Sculpt the person you want to evolve into from the mold that you have now. 

This was an exciting concept.  So what are cookies, and what is the cookie jar?  How often do you look back on your self-talk and realize, “Holy damn, I am brutal to myself?” This kind of self-talk can be detrimental to your growth.  When you continuously run yourself down, sometimes it is hard to forget what a great person you really are.

The cookies that David talks about are your victories.  The things that you’ve accomplished that you couldn’t believe you were able to do.  Remember that feeling.  Keep it tucked away. 

When things get tough, pull the cookie out and remember how you felt during those great achievements. You’re going to be facing a lot of difficult times in life.  You are going to need those cookies to push through those challenges. You’ve got this.

Lesson #5 Throw Away Your Governor

Do you know what a governor on a car is?  The governor is a mechanism that keeps you from going above a specific speed limit. People put governors on vehicles to keep the car from going too fast or from using too much gas.  The stories we tell ourselves have put governors on who we are and what we can accomplish.

So you need to change your mindset and remove the governor. Stop telling yourself all of the things you can’t do and why you can’t do it. Change your mentality. Start asking better questions.

Ask: how can you do this? What is stopping me from achieving what I want to do? Then, get to work and do it.

7 Habits of Highly Effective People

If you have not read the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, this should be on your mandatory reading list.  Stephen Covey touches on several great principles that will help you set your life up for success.  It is sometimes hard to see what path has been laid out before you, but it is one of the key lessons you learn in the book.

If you can adopt the 7 habits, you can see a dramatic change in your life.  This book includes different ways to look at problems and how to scale your life.  So let us hop into why I think it provides some of the best lessons for you.

Lesson #1 Begin with the end in mind

“A goal without a plan is only a dream.”Brian Tracy

Are you where you wanted to be in life right now?  Is your life what you dreamed of?  If you are struggling, it is very likely you’ve never seriously written down your goals and worked to achieve them.  If you are living the life you always wanted, my bet is that you’ve set high goals for yourself and accomplished them one goal at a time.

See, this is where most people fail.  We don’t take the time to figure out what we want.  We just let the stream of life take us wherever the stream leads. The first thing you should do is sit down, build out a road map for whatever it is that you’re looking to accomplish in your life.  This could be wealth, your health, or your wisdom. 

You need to know where you’re going if you want to get there, so begin with the end in mind.

Lesson #2 Break your life down into four quadrants

One piece of the puzzle that Stephen Covey talks about is the four types of tasks broken down into two different actions.

The different quadrants are:

Every task that you tackle each day can be broken down into one of these quadrants.  If you have Urgent and Important tasks, you should take care of them immediately.  We tend to let our time get pulled onto non-important and non-urgent things. We can change that and stop wasting time on needless tasks.

We really should be spending the bulk of our time in Quadrant 2.  The important tasks that aren’t urgent are typically the types of tasks that will help our personal lives. It is in this quadrant that our business and our spiritual sides garner the most growth.  Calculate where you spend most of your time each day and try shifting everything to Quadrant 2.

Lesson #3 Be Interested, Not Interesting

The third lesson is one lesson that can help you grow by leaps and bounds, both personally and professionally.  The problem with most of us is that we like to talk about ourselves, which typically turns people off.  Stephen Covey explains that we should try to understand what is going on in any situation before we try to be understood.

We live in a world right now that is somewhat divided on its beliefs.  This is not a political post nor blog, and I don’t want to dive down that rabbit hole.  However, Dr. Covey tries to explain that you need to understand the counterparty to find peace and middle ground. Always be curious.

Lesson #4 Find a Win-Win Solution

Have you ever conceded an argument with someone else just because you didn’t want to deal with it anymore?  Have you ever taken a loss from a business partner to just keep them happy?  These are the biggest mistakes that we tend to make as a group.  These types of scenarios can be a problem for people because you leave feeling like you’ve been taken advantage of.

In any deal, you want to work at finding a win-win scenario.  This isn’t about you being right or wrong.  This is about creating relationships that you can both benefit from.  The more you can create win-win situations, the more people want to be around you, work with you and spend time with you. 

These are the ideals that help you grow your center of influence by connecting you with the right people.  The only other option you really want to look at is a win-win or No Deal type of opportunity.  Meaning that if you can’t find a way to benefit you and the other party, you just need to decide not to strike the deal to begin with.

Lesson #5 Sharpen the Saw

The last lesson is probably the most important in all of these books.  Do you find yourself exhausted or over-compensating on one part of your life?  Dr. Covey talks about the four dimensions in our lives in which we really need to work at improving and finding balance.

  • Physical Dimension
  • Spiritual Dimension
  • Mental Dimension
  • Social/Emotional Dimension

You need to find balance in taking care of yourself.  It boils down to being mindful of the food you put in your body and getting plenty of exercise.  Meditate or pray or find other ways to connect with nature or God.  Read, write and do things that help you grow mentally.  Last, spend time with family, friends, and people that build you up.  Give back to your community.  Be happy!

Think and Grow Rich

Think and Grow Rich was the second book I read in my self-growth journey.  If you have not had a chance to change your mindset, then this book is for you.  If you’re still holding on to negative self-talk and belief, you really need to read this book. 

“Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”Napolean Hill

That is the point of Think and Grow Rich.  You can’t be rich, whether that is defined by money, time, relationships, or all of the above, until you believe you deserve it.  Let us discuss the five key lessons in this book.

Lesson #1 Win or Quit.  Just Choose

Have you ever found yourself doing something but thinking about something else entirely?  Maybe it is a job, and you’re always wondering what it would be like to run your own company. Perhaps you’re continuously thinking up new ideas.  The point here is to decide on what you want to do and go all in. 

The adage “Quitters never win, and winners never quit” is essential here.  If you are continually looking at your plan B and how great it is, you’ll never get ahead.  If you must, burn your ships and strike out into the unknown.  Trust that the universe will accept you and provide.

Lesson #2 Trust your thoughts

Napolean Hill wrote extensively about the power of the mind.  Suppose there is something that you consistently have a driving desire to do or accomplish. In that case, that is the universe pointing you on your path.  This isn’t always the easiest thing to know.

We like to get in our own way.  A lot.  You have to learn to visualize what you want.  Meditate on your thoughts and bring focus to the desires that you want.  When thoughts and ideas come to you, they aren’t by luck.  Napolean Hill believes that is the universe’s way of sending you a clear signal to move forward.

Lesson #3 You are what you think

Have you ever heard the term ‘fake it till you make it’?  That isn’t so different than the advice given in Think and Grow Rich.  If you want to be wealthy and have nice things, you need to start seeing yourself as wealthy and having nice things.  Buy one nice suit and a nice watch and wear it often.

You need to feel yourself living the life that you desire.  You need to embrace it until it becomes real.  That is the secret to living the life you want.  You need to use your imagination and visualize it.  This is similar to the book “The Secret” and other books about manifestation.  Even if you don’t believe in manifestation specifically, you still need to set goals, visualize the outcome, and push forward to achieve them.

Lesson #4 Reach your Subconscious Mind Through Autosuggestion

Your subconscious mind is the thoughts and beliefs that you hold without actually thinking about them.  Your subconscious mind is what helps you breathe, enables you to go through menial tasks that you’ve completed over and over your whole life.  It is also what causes you to talk to yourself the way that you do.

You have created a particular set of habits, and each of these triggers is held deep in your subconscious mind.  To change that, you need to start by changing your beliefs.  If you’ve never heard of affirmations, you need to look up what they are and how they can help change your mindset. 

What is an affirmation?  This is the process of affirming that something is real.  You are good enough and you do deserve this fantastic opportunity.  You are worthy, beautiful, smart, and whatever else you need to tell yourself over and over.  Change your inner self to change your outer mind. 

Lesson #5 Create or Join a Mastermind

This one thing can be a significant game-changer in your life.  If you’ve never heard of a mastermind before, then this is a great place to start.  A mastermind is where you get together with other individuals and share ideas, brainstorm, educate and come together to help each other grow.  You have the wisdom of many, even though you may be in business for yourself.

Maybe you are struggling with a concept or issue that you don’t have an answer to.  Suppose someone in your mastermind hasn’t experienced it personally, as a group. In that case, they may help you develop a solution, and you are all the better for it.  Surround yourself with a strong circle and mastermind and watch your growth unfold.

12 Rules for Life

I came across the 12 Rules for Life by Jordan Peterson when Mike and I were trying for our first child together and it quickly became one of my top favorite books of all time. I highly recommend the audiobook version, read by the author himself.

I knew that I didn’t have the most amazing upbringing. As I grew older, I was fortunate that I had people in my life who both helped and mentored me. It also allowed me to escape the trap that others in my station continue to stay in, generation after generation.

The 12 Rules for Life were extraordinary and mind-opening.

Lesson #1 Make Friends with People Who Want the Best for You

Do you have friends or family that you don’t like telling your goals and dreams because they always have something negative to say?  How does it feel when those closest to you just seem to bring you down?  This is a fact of life that is hard to grapple with.

Many of us are close to people that we’ve known our whole lives.  And those people do genuinely care for us, whether it is friends, family, or even acquaintances.  They all really want to see us doing well, at least well enough for them.

But for many, when you start doing better than them, they immediately try to pull you back down to their level (and they don’t even realize they’re doing it!)  You see, while those close to you don’t want to see you being miserable, few people want to see you doing better than them. Be watchful for phrases like “That’s a crazy idea, you’re doing well where you are now, just be happy with what you have” and “You can’t afford to take risks at your age or at this point in your life!”.

This is where you need to surround yourself with the right friendships.  You want to find the people who are above you or are genuinely there for you.  You want the friends who are extending their hands and helping to pull you up to your next level.  Get rid of the ones beneath you trying to pull you back down and that don’t believe in you. They’re not worth it. And if it’s family that’s bringing you down or casting doubt about your abilities – then don’t share your ideas with those people. Ideas are precious – they can lead to unimaginable heights and possibilities. But they are also incredibly fragile – and can be torn asunder and lost in the wind by one well-worded negative comment from someone you love.

Lesson #2 Stand Up Straight With your Shoulders Back

Do you stoop when you walk into the room and try to be the smallest person there, so no one notices you?  Or are you the type of walking into a room with your chest out, chin up, and a giant smile, so the world knows you arrived?  For many, they are the former.  Just like the old saying goes, you don’t get a second chance at a first impression.

You must always be putting your strongest foot forward.  There is something that when you walk with your shoulders back and standing up straight, that brings forth confidence.  With confidence comes the belief in yourself.  From that, you will find success.

Lesson #3 Set Your House in Perfect Order before you Criticize the World

Are you worried about what others might think?  Do you see yourself judging your friends for the things they did last weekend or the life that they live in?  We are not perfect human beings, and we should realize that. 

This is a great lesson that comes with a simple reminder.  You are not perfect, so don’t try to judge the life of others as you haven’t walked in their shoes.  You can’t.  Make sure that you are doing the best that you can and getting your own life in order. 

Lesson #4 Pursue What is Meaningful (Not What is Expedient)

We live in a world where we seek out instant gratification daily.  I loved the study that was done with children regarding marshmallows to help to drive this idea home.  This was an experiment in 1972 in Standford to see if people would take one small reward now, or delay their reward for a small amount of time and receive two small rewards. 

This lesson focuses on the same type of concept.  Often times, we have to decide what we want.  Do we work hard today and put our lives off some of the joys of life for a better future, or do we give in and drink beer and play videogames. 

We really should take the time to find what is most important to us and go after that.  It doesn’t need to be an immediate success, and often times it may take a long time to see success. Still, you will be happier than if you just went through with your mundane life and didn’t do the things that made you happy.

Lesson #5 Be Precise in Your Speech

This lesson isn’t necessarily as straight forward in his teachings as you would think.  Instead, it is about being precise.  It is the things that we leave out in the unknown that tend to way us down with fear and worry.

Say that you’ve had stomach pain recently.  That could lead to any number of awful ailments.  In your mind, you tell the story of how you’re actually dying, and you’re too scared to see a doctor.  As dumb as this sounds, it happens almost every day. 

By stepping up and speaking with your doctor, you can find out what the actual problem is.  If it is terrible, you can find a way to tackle it.  If it is nothing, you can laugh at the fact that you were scared in the first place.  You need to do something to get started.  Be precise in your actions.

Final Thoughts

Whether you are at a place in your life where you are looking to grow personally or develop a belief in yourself, each of these books is a great starting point to help you get going.  We live in a world where we are constantly bombarded with the horrors that the world offers and not given enough of humanity’s beauty. 

To get yourself to a better place, you need to work on yourself.  These books will help to mold you into the person that you want to become. I’m excited to learn who that person is.

Disclaimer: Start Smart Finish Happy does not provide tax, investment, or financial services and advice. The information is presented without considering the investment objectives, risk tolerance, or financial circumstances of any specific investor. It might not be suitable for all investors. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal.