Reading books makes one improve themselves in all walks of life, both personal and professional. It has helped me learn new things, ideas, perspectives, and ideologies of great men with great thoughts. I believe a book is a voice of man that has long left this world. One thing that can guide and help better lives of generations to come. Writing is the best way of remaining immortal!

Select one of the tabs below to explore some of my thoughts on a few books that have changed my perspectives on life for the better.

Power of Your Subconscious Mind

Author: Dr Joseph Murphy

Genre: Non-Fiction / Self-Help

Date: 24 December 2018

Have you come across an instance wherein you were worried about something and the exact same thing you were worried about, happened? Chances are that you’re not alone with such an experience. From what I have learned through my reading habit and out of my own experience, this is not at all a chanced occurrence!

We all have those times in our lives when nothing goes our way. We’re constantly weighed down by something undesirable and always curse our luck. I’m no exception to this and all that I could feel once upon a time was helpless! It is one of the most terrible feelings to be in such a state and through this post, I want to help someone not feel like I once did! So, what exactly did I do? I was ‘chanced’ upon reading a book or maybe I made it happen through my decision that enough was enough. The Power of Your Subconscious Mind was one of the first books I ever read in 2019 after which I developed a habit of reading regularly. This is one of the books that changed my life through changes in my thinking pattern.

“As a man thinketh, so is he…”

Dr Joseph Murphy has outlined a wonderful way of life through this book and I highly recommend this book to everyone no matter what they do. This is because it has principles that are so fundamental and all-encompassing that there’s nothing under the sun that this book doesn’t cover. You will benefit from this book no matter who you are or what you do! I’ll explain my motive for this statement if you stick till the end.

This book, in the beginning explains what subconscious and its nature is. For most part of my life, all I knew was that the conscious mind is what we’re aware of and are in control of, while the subconscious was something deep inside us that we couldn’t control. For analogy, something like the voluntary and involuntary muscles we are taught about in School. Little did I know that the conscious thoughts had a profound impact on the subconscious mind and that this subconscious that is built upon our conscious thought patterns drive 95% tasks we do daily. That’s scary keeping in my mind how negative people generally are. The good news is, you can (re)program your subconscious to change your belief system and start perceiving the world in a different manner. Simply put, you can get positive results out of simply being positive. This book covers a wide range of topics as to how the power of subconscious is used:

  • To heal mentally during Ancient/Modern times.
  • To get the results that you want.
  • For wealth, success, and harmonious human relations.
  • By Scientists and other professionals.
  • To discover solutions while asleep.
  • For forgiveness and removal of anxiety, fears, and mental blocks.

This post is not all about the content of the book and you can get that from the book itself. So, without diving deep into the contents, I just want to share my thoughts around why I’d recommend this book as promised earlier. I’m very pragmatic and generally didn’t believe in all such practices. It seems like just sitting and thinking positively all day long might make you feel good but won’t result in anything. But after I picked up this book, I did realize how working and doing everything needed with the wrong thoughts and negative mental state won’t result in anything positive either! So that’s when I realized the importance of thoughts, your feelings, and thus, your reality and how they are interlinked. And that is exactly what this book helps you do; think better and clear your mind at the root of things!

This book is something I would recommend to anyone as it fixes something basic such as your thinking pattern which is highly essential before you actually go do something. Your attitude towards your actions makes all the difference in the world. As the saying goes, “How you do anything is how you do everything”. Assuming all of this is a fairy tale, and everything is whatever it is and we cannot change the reality, it is still good to have better thoughts within your mind which makes living life better anyways! That is why I started implementing these principles, and trust me, it has made me live better and get my things done in a smooth and hassle-free manner! If you’re one of those who think just like me, still read the book and try to implement it anyways. If it works, it does… If not, you have learned to still feel better about it than you would without reading this. That’s how I started implementing these principles and it has worked for me more than I imagined it would! It’s a way of life you’ll love to continue living! Think good, do good, feel good, and be good!

Think & Grow Rich

Author: Napoleon Hill

Genre: Non-Fiction / Self-Help

Date: 16 June 2019

" Anybody can wish for riches, and most people do, but only a few know that a definite plan, plus a burning desire for wealth, are the only dependable means of accumulating wealth. "

Money is something we all need throughout our lives. What’s the value of Money? Read one of my previous blog posts about this to know my perspective and take on money. Each one of us have the same 24 hours in a day but the kind of money made by certain people is far superior than most other people. What is it that makes these people worth so much? What can you do to get closer to your financial goals? This book ‘Think and Grow Rich’ has the answers to these questions. Remember, money is a tool to an end goal and not the end goal itself. So be clear on your ‘why’ rather than ‘how’ in your pursuit of a wealthy and successful life!

Napoleon Hill, as a young boy grasped the secret to money making from Andrew Carnegie. He set out on a mission to study the lives of successful and wealthy people and the patterns or characteristics that were common among such men. This book is a result of this study and talks about the aspects that are necessary to lead the life of your dreams. As much as reading helps, it will be of less use if one doesn’t apply the principles with discipline. I personally believe reading is a way of getting started just like a manual for a product. It doesn’t work unless you act upon the steps in the manual.

The book starts with an introduction of a man who ‘thought’ his way into partnership with Thomas Alva Edison. The very first sentence starts off with -

“Truly, ‘thoughts are things’, and powerful things at that, when they are mixed with definiteness of purpose, persistence, and a burning desire for their translation into riches or other material objects.”

This quote tells us that thoughts are things and how one must pursue (act upon) something with persistence and burning desire and only then will it manifest into something meaningful. This is very true for anything in life and I always ask people to start with The Power of Your Subconscious Mind before any other book since most of the self-help books cover the aspects of this book. In my view, this book is the basis for any other Law of Attraction or Self-Help book there is! Think and Grow Rich has the same principles that can be specifically applied to attract wealth!

There are thirteen principles outlined in ‘Think and Grow Rich’ which according to the author helps one accumulate riches. Out of these, most of the chapters are linked to the subconscious mind, auto-suggestion or affirmation, faith, the sixth sense, and the brain. Desire is the starting point of all achievement and it is through the mind that you have burning desires or feelings through your thoughts. Hence, truly, thoughts are things! Among these chapters that are related to the mind, there are also others like specialized knowledge or a skill in simpler words, imagination, organized planning, decisiveness, and persistence which are action-oriented and explain why these are necessary to make the fortune that one desires. All these chapters are explained in the context of how the men that were studied before this book was written, have applied these principles to achieve financial success.

This book is a perfect combination of storytelling, mental aspects, and the actions needed to live the life of your dreams! This book has served as the basis for many successful people. Many financially successful people recommend this book, and so do I. Read the book to grasp the principles in detail and start applying them to live the life you have always dreamed. MAKE IT HAPPEN!

Make it Happen

Author: Jordanna Levin

Genre: Non-Fiction / Self-Help

Date: 27 September 2020

What I particularly love about this book by Jordanna Levin is the way manifestation is portrayed to be a logical, action-oriented way of life rather than a magical fairy tale. Also the humor and personal touch that we can all relate to is the best way to engage the audience! 💭

This book is mainly divided into two parts: THE THEORY and THE PRACTICE

THE THEORY -

Your Thoughts + Your Feelings + Your ACTIONS + Your FAITH = Your Reality! ✨

This manifestation equation as portrayed by Jordanna is the crux of this book. Couldn’t agree more! Notice how action and faith is in uppercase? That’s what people usually struggle with most of the times. The equation isn’t complete without all the attributes and cannot lead to a fruitful reality with any one of them missing. Get your thoughts and feelings in alignment, act towards your goal, have faith, and Make It Happen ! 😇

The theory part deals with introducing you to manifestation and also describes how some sources have not completely dealt with it resulting in people being mislead to think just thoughts and faith are enough to live the life they desire. Action is the main part stressed upon in this book which is rightly named “Make” It Happen. It is a process of you creating divine timing, making the things you want, happen! It also deals with the things that you attract which you do not desire in life. Things such as one’s limiting beliefs and that which are ‘not meant to be’ are dealt in detail. We have an overview of what to expect and what not to do in the process, through these first two chapters.

The rest of the theory comprises of detailed description of Thoughts, Feelings, Actions, and Faith that come in to play in any result you want to make happen. There is a mini guide at the end of this part that deals with Mindful Manifesting which describes how ‘forgetting about the details’ and practicing gratitude helps one catalyze the process!

THE PRACTICE -

This part starts off with manifesting the little things and how there is no difference between something big/small that you want in life. This difference is perceived to be so and actually doesn’t matter to the process in itself. It shows us that manifesting something big is as easy as a small manifestation. With this encouraging thought, this part goes on to talk about Self-Worth/Self-Love, Money, Love, Career, and Opportunity in detail explaining how each of this can be achieved. Finally, the book ends with a recap of the manifestation equation and encourages the reader to put into practice all the concepts learned throughout. This is where the real journey starts, and it is about doing the things that make you ready to live the life you desire!

This book has some interesting exercises in between in the form of snippets that help one journal their thoughts and channel them to focus on the things they desire. It is a step-by-step guide to actually help you journal your way using the concepts in the book. This is a unique and interesting way of engaging the audience even after they have finished reading. Jordanna relates all these complex concepts to her life incidences and puts it out in an easy to read and digestible manner to make it as simple as possible. This is something that shows that she knows exactly what she’s talking about because like Einstein said “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough!”. In conclusion, this book is a must read for all non-fiction/self-help book lovers.

 

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