11 Books That Changed the Way I Think and/or Feel in the Past Ten Years.

I’ve read a lot of personal growth / self-help / life-design/ time-optimization/ productivity books over the past ten years. Like… a lot.

Here are the ones worth considering because they actually do something. They’ll help you think more clearly, choose with intention, work better, love deeper—and feel your feelings without spiraling.

The list:

1. Letting Go: The Pathway to Surrender – David R Hawkins

If you know, you know. My friend Eduardo from Peru told me to read this several years ago, but at that time, I thought, What does that even mean? No thanks! Then came a humbling break up, so I read this, desperate to let go of anger and blame.

This book makes a left-brain thinker actually feel, or at least consider, what it would be like if you did feel, instead of storing up a bunch of rage, etc.

End result: You process instead of avoid, and you move on. David R. Hawkins basically makes the claim that we do all sorts of things to avoid discomfort when really if we just truly sat with pain and allowed feelings to run their course,  they typically dissipate in minutes. (Yet people spend their lives avoiding instead of dealing!)

2. Essentialism – Greg McKeown

Dudes. You cannot do everything well. (Except for Taylor Duty—she can.) This book gave me a lens from which to really choose where to spend my energy—and to let the rest fall away with nary an eff given.

Focus is a skill. Saying no makes your life better. And choosing instead of reacting is the best strategy for living a meaningful life. 

3. Reality Transurfing – Vadim Zeland

Lordie, people!

Avoid energy pendulums. Keep your goals close and natural. Don’t create excess potential in your relationships, your intentions, or your career. Focus on the life you want, not the one you’re trying to escape.

If you truly integrate just those four ideas, your life will not look the same.

4. Minimalista – Shira Gill

A stocking stuffer from my husband that changed how I live in my home. A few principles: own fewer things, make them the best, and love what you own. Less clutter, more beauty, more calm—and somehow (this is the weird part), when you have less, it feels like you actually have more choices.

5. Outrageous Openness – Tosha Silver

Whoa.

If you’re a controller, this will gently (or not-so-gently) pry your fingers open.
If you’re not (hiii!), this book feels like deep validation that trusting life isn’t laziness—it’s wisdom. 

6. Simplicity Parenting – Kim John Payne

The only parenting book I’ll ever need.
Full stop. Basic tenets: 

• Simply your children' s environment. They don’t need a bunch of plastic crap everywhere.
  

• Simplify their routine. They don’t need to be inundated with stimulation all day long.
  

• Filter out the adult world. Children can’t contextualize the news, your stock portfolio’s ups and downs, or access to mature media.
  

• Create daily rhythms and rituals that make life feel both special and predictable. 

7. Work Clean – Dan Charnas

Mise en place, but for your work life.

As someone who is… not naturally organized, this book taught me that having a system is half the work. Showing up without one is utterly exhausting—and completely unnecessary. 

8. The Almanack of Naval Ravikant

Mental models. Leverage. Long-term thinking.
A book I return to when I want to think bigger.

9. You Are a Badass – Jen Sincero

I read this before Instagram served self-help in bite-sized quotes, but back then, this was radical thinking. Still is. A total reframe of how you relate to yourself and what you believe is possible.

10. Care of the Soul – Thomas Moore

Depth. Sacredness. Slowness.

A reminder that life isn’t meant to be optimized into oblivion—it’s meant to be tended. If you’re tired of pathologizing being a human being, this is a great place to start. 

11. The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success – Deepak Chopra

A slim book with outsized impact.
Effortless action. Detachment. Intention. Giving. Dharma.

This one quietly weaves its way into how you approach work, relationships, money, and meaning—without force or hustle.

These are the books I would turn to if I were looking for some change this year. Would love to hear your favorites, too, of course. Because books change lives! (when you let them...)

XO,