How is it that we are half way through March? We have had more winter weather in the last four weeks than we had in the last four months and that resulted in me hunkering down and not leaving the house unless absolutely necessary. It also meant that I ended up ordering a bunch of books that I had been wanting to read for a while.
I tend to save juicy fiction novels for summer and Christmas vacation and through the rest of the year, I keep my reading to growth and educational materials – which doesn’t mean they are boring! It just means that somewhere in the back of my mind, I can say the time I’m spending reading is also time I’m spending expanding my mind and therefore my business. 🙂
In fact, today’s episode of In The Storyhouse – which is the wrap up to Season 2 – mentions on of my new favourite books the Danielle Laporte Desire Map Planner (which I call my goal planner) – but in the last few weeks there have been several other books that have contributed to my overall self-awareness and intention-driven desires.
I figured I should share them with you because beyond questions about DIYs and the house, the second most common thread of questions I get is about my business and my blog. I honestly credit these books with helping me to see things differently, to look at being creative as such a valuable asset that I should celebrate daily.
Want to know a secret? I don’t think I ever really took a true breath until just recently. Like a true breath. A breath that connected me to me. Devoting time in my life to finding and fostering that connection was the first step in my journey beyond self-care to self-love. These books (and I plan to expand this list monthly now) have assisted me on that journey. Many of the say the same thing, but in very different ways. For example, Jen Sincero says many of the same things stated in Robin Sharma’s book – but one is a sarcastic, conversational tone and the other is scripted like a narrative. My brain absorbed the information on different levels and each book, despite being similar, provoked action in me that was slightly new and helped to propel me forward.
I feel as though society lately – especially with all that’s been going on with respect to truth and fear – is stuck. We are stuck naval gazing and looking backwards, when we should all be digging deeper and rooting ourselves so that we can spring ahead, in small steps. Small steps add up. Small steps and big breaths.
These books have helped me to pull out parts of myself that have been hidden. They’ve taught me how to structure my daily meditation practice, how to think about the words I use when talking to my daughter, how to position myself as a media personality in a seemingly endless sea of others ‘just like me’. They have taught me that it’s okay, and in fact necessary, to stop, rest, restore and breathe.
- In the Company of Women by Grace Bonney
- Wisdom of Sundays by Oprah Winfrey
- Lunar Abundance by Ezzie Spencer
- A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle
- Desire Map Planner (work book) by Danielle LaPorte
- Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg
- The Code of the Extraordinary Mind by Vinesh Lakhiani
- You are a a Badass by Jen Sincero
- The Secret Letters of the Monk who sold his Ferrari by Robin Sharma
So I’m sharing them with you and wishing you breath, wishing you the courage to take the small step, and appreciating you so very much for being part of my unfolding journey.
-E
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