What if you could read a few sentences and change your life forever? No sales pitch or life consulting master class invitation here. 
Sometimes it’s possible to re-route your life just by reading something with your full attention. Did you catch how valuable that advice is? I’ll say it again: sometimes it’s possible to re-route your life just by reading something with your full attention. It’s because you open up the door to making connections in the synapses of your brain. It can create new pathways for ideas (think: new business ventures, inspired conversations, cool cookie recipes) or strengthen old pathways to things you might have forgotten about (like what you were passionate about when you were 5, 15, or 30 years old).
You can achieve further success when your mindset is open to self-improvement, and also if you’re continually on the lookout for the right advice to solve a current challenge or a future one you anticipate.
You may have heard of one or two of the following books, however, if you haven’t read them yet, be prepared to change your life when you do. 
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Get an inside view on a McKinsey consultant's life while also getting actionable advice you can apply to non-consulting jobs. With chapters like Managing Hierarchy, Working with Clients, and Surviving on the Road, the author shares ready-to-implement notes on how to be better at what you do and at your business. 
Concrete takeaway #1:  Bridge the credibility gap using facts. When you need to solve a problem, yet you’re viewed as a generalist, too ‘young’ or ‘old’, or inexperienced, using facts gives you an equal (if not better) playing ground to someone using gut instinct, especially in today’s data-driven world.
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This book has been reviewed as having ‘razor-sharp’ wisdom which you can put into action immediately. Written by a well-known research professor with 16 years spent on the topic of courage and vulnerability, the insights here will give you a spark back into your life, through perhaps a much-needed push to dare greatly in friendships, a job, parenting, etc. 
Concrete takeaway #2:  Have the courage to show up and do what you want -- to pursue vulnerability, because it’s not about winning or losing. Like Brené says, ‘Every time we choose courage, we make everyone around us a little better and the world a little braver.’
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Ok, this one is actually a journal. It has a pre-printed daily structure on each page allowing you to block out time every day for the things that are important to you. For 100 days (which don’t have to be consecutive) you get to practice productivity and discipline allowing you to strengthen your focus. It is the type of journal that holds you accountable for where your time is going (read: flying) because, for every time block you complete, you will reflect on and record how long the task actually took versus the ideal time you were planning to spend (which you write down prior to starting a task).
Concrete takeaway #3: Have the discipline to follow deadlines. A task will expand to the time you allot. 
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The secrets to a kick*** healthy life are in this book (and it’s not a spiel about simply meditating more). It gives you solid direction on how to live a good life from all aspects: food, movement, recovery, and relationships for example. Get the best ideas on how to live well (using ancient Taoist theories) done in a way that you can apply to your modern desk-using, phone-addicted, concrete jungle reality. Pedram tells his high-value, no-BS, descriptive client stories to showcase the teachings in each chapter with the goal of helping you learn how to use Eastern wisdom without deserting all of your responsibilities to live on a mountain-top for the rest of your life, ‘cause #bills and stuff don’t just go away. A couple of tips include: mellow out your exercise, breath right, connect with nature, sleep in a cooler room, cut the TV time, and don’t buy bull**** you don’t need. 
Concrete takeaway #4:  Modern hacks do exist to help you leverage ancient Eastern wisdom without living on a far-off island to meditate for the rest of your days. This book helps you see how to do things the right way so you can have longevity with your vitality. It’s the kind of wake-up call we can all benefit from.    
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Learn from a champion what it takes to be at the top of your game. When you master the art of learning (how to learn effectively and efficiently), you can create your own unique journey to excellence. If you hate hearing, “I did X, and the rest is history,” then you’ll love this book because Josh walks through his experiences and learning methods he practiced every day in order to go from being a world chess champion, to losing his sense of passion, to being a world Tai Chi Chuan champion. 
Concrete takeaway #5:  Always expect change and be comfortable with uncertainty. When you do this, you set yourself many steps ahead of the competition.
Keep your synaptic connections strong. With the takeaways from these books (which I encourage you to read), you can truly re-route your life. Why not achieve more today? You definitely can! 
Hope you celebrate your personal achievements every day, and tell us about how this article impacted you.

WRITTEN BY

Di Mat