SUCCESS TOOLKIT: 7 Key books to give you an edge
Published:Wednesday | September 22, 2010 | 12:00 AM
Glenford Smith, Career Writer
Acclaimed motivational speaker and author Charilie 'Tremendous' Jones said famously, "Five years from now, you'll be the same person you are today except for two things: the people you meet and books you read."
This is really one of the wisest insights you'll ever learn. We'll focus in this column, however, on the power of books to give you a significant edge at work and in life.
After reading more than five hundred books in the last five years alone, I can attest to the power of books to change lives. Also, veteran journalist Ian Boyne has repeatedly cited his commitment to reading as a major factor in his award-winning career.
He once told an interviewer, "I spend enormously on books ... . When I read of a new book by a scholar on a Monday, I go online and order it through express service within 24 hours. I get excited about ideas and can't wait to indulge my addiction. I am addicted to reading the way people are addicted to drugs and sex."
And that's the secret to the power of books - they are the transmitters of ideas. They give us new perspectives; they change who we are by changing how we think and what we think.
French philosopher and playwright Voltaire once noted however that, "It is with books as with men: a very small number play a great part." The following small list of seven essential books will give you a big edge in making a quantum leap in your career and life success.
1. THE 7 HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE
In this phenomenal best-seller, Dr Stephen R. Covey gives an approach to cultivating principle centred habits that will enable superior effectiveness at work and in life.
2. EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
Harvard professor Dr Daniel Goleman redefines intelligence in this seminal work. He shows why emotional quotient (EQ) is more important to success and life mastery than intelligence quotient (IQ).
3. HOW TO WIN FRIENDS AND INFLUENCE PEOPLE
Since 1936, Dale Carnegie has taught thousands of now famous people how to make people like them and how to win people to their way of thinking without arousing resentment. He'll do the same for you through this book.
4. THE SUCCESS PRINCIPLES
This book by famous Chicken Soup for the Soul author, Jack Canfield, is arguably the definitive reference book on success. Its time-tested 64 principles will show you "how to get from where you are to where you want to be".
5. THINK AND GROW RICH
This book contains the result of Napoleon Hill's 25 years of research on more than 25,000 people, including the 500 richest Americans then, into the factors responsible for their success.
6. THE WAR OF ART
In this powerful book, best-selling author Steven Pressfield will help you to "break through your blocks and win your inner creative battles".
7. ADVERSITY QUOTIENT
In this book, Dr Paul G. Stoltz presents strategies for turning obstacles into opportunities by increasing one's adversity quotient (AQ) - a scientific measurement of one's resilience.
Glenford Smith is a motivational speaker and personal achievement strategist. He can be reached at: glenfordsmith@yahoo.com