Books that have helped me move on in life
by Alun Jones of Lifesense (Reiki Practitoner and Life Coach)
Over the years I’ve read some really great books that have helped me think about who I am, where I’m going and where I’d like to be in life. This spurred the thought in me that I’d like to share that list with others so that they can enjoy and benefit from all the wisdom that I have.
I guess I’ve always been an avid book reader and regularly eat up books like there’s no tomorrow! One’s that I love I read and re-read again and again. There are so many inspirational messages and vibrations in the books that prod me into the next steps in my life.
“Vibrations?” I hear you ask…. well, yes. Sounds strange and I hope by talking through some of these books it’ll make more sense!
One of the first books to have an “epiphany effect” upon my life was by Lynn Grabhorn and is entitled “Excuse me your life is waiting” Amazon Books . In this book Lynn explains the Law of Attraction and how, because everything is made of energy, everything vibrates at a particular rate. Like-energy attracts like-energy and ergo, negative thoughts and feelings create negative energy which attract other negative energy (and vice versa for positive thoughts and feelings). When reading this book I was an HR manager working for an investment house in London earning c£80k per year and a) not enjoying my job and b) working 13 hour days with no lunch break. This book really made me think about what I actually wanted in life rather than what I didn’t want (i.e. I want to work part-time, I want to do coaching, I want to have more time for myself, etc). I didn’t want to work long hours and have too much work to do… consequently every time I thought about working long hours it stressed me out – negative energy out, long working hours and loads of crap to deal with coming back. I read the book in March 2002. By August 2002 I had resigned and set myself up as a self employed consultant and coach. I’ve never been employed by anyone since.
That’s not to say that it’s not been a bit of a bumpy ride at times over the last 5 years or so – but that’s where the book comes in. Every year since then I’ve had this hunch to pick up the book and start to read it. I now dip in and out of the book when I need to and it gives me a real buzz and motivational feeling which helps me refocus on the positive things in life. It’s a great book that I recommend to many of my coaching and reiki clients 95% of whom have said it has really helped them, the other 5% said that it helped them somewhat. Not bad for one book!
This book, of course, is similar to “The Secret” Amazon Books which has a DVD to go with it Mind, Body, Spirit. I’ve recently read the book and found it to be really good for focussing the mind and giving me a real “buzz” for getting things moving in another direction. There are some really inspirational speakers on the DVD and some really useful tools for helping people change their lives. It’s helped me pull together some ideas for moving away from corporate coaching altogether and focus on life coaching and alternative therapies completely. Right now I’m buzzing for England!
Another book which has helped me and many of my clients is “The Celestine Prophecy” by James Amazon Books. This is a book about a man who ends up going to Peru to learn about life, synchronicity, life dramas, coincidence and a few other things. This book made me think about the way I respond to people and also how open I am to following intuitions and hunches about what to do next in life. It was the nudge I needed to get me involved in alternative therapies and ask a few questions. One of my clients read it, had a coaching session and within a month had moved to Australia! She’s still there after 3 years and still absolutely loves it. It’s a basically written book, but it gets its points across well and makes people think about why they behave the way they do and how they can change their lives for the better.
For years I had been using the phrase “feel the fear and do it anyway”, having heard the title of the book many times but never having actually read it Amazon Books. Until recently that is! Susan Jeffers talks through the fears we have in life and explains that we will never stop finding new things to fear in our lives – but that’s part of growing. Instead of running away from it, or shoving it deep down inside, she gives some really good tips, tools and advice for facing fears and treating them as learning points.
Susan gets the reader to take the letter “T” off the word “can’t” – which then become “can”. Think about when you were learning to ride a bike or learning to swim….. at the time fear of falling off, fearing of hurting yourself, fear of drowning…. But you still did it! Despite all that fear, you still did it. Think about things in your life now and bring that learning from when you were a child to now….
At the end of the day – what’s the worst thing that can happen if you do the thing that you want? Did you know that around 75% of what we worry about never actually comes to pass? Shocking isn’t it! I learned an affirmation a few years ago – I can’t remember where I picked it up – and it’s one that I use all the time now “whatever happens, I will deal with it”. Do you know what? I always have J
One final book I will mention here is a book that has helped me not only with my coaching, but all my relationships with people. How well do you listen? Many people think they do it well – and I’m sure many do. However, it does pay to reflect upon this from time to time, especially if you’re dealing with a stressful or confrontational situation at home or work. Are you really listening to what the other person is say? Time to Think by Nancy Kline Amazon Books is a essential read for those wishing to develop their listening and hearing skills. I added the word hearing there as many people “listen” but are they really “hearing” what the other person is saying (or sometimes what they’re not saying!). Nancy shows us the importance of not interrupting someone when they’re thinking as it can break concentration and you might miss a good idea! Plus, when we’re interrupted during a “heated” discussion many of us feel then that we need to interrupt the other person when he/she is talking – not helpful when trying to resolve something. There’s also a useful coaching technique around asking “the insightful question” which prompts the other person to think about what action he/she will take next. It’s been helpful to me in coaching my clients and, more importantly, myself!
So, there you have a it. A few books that have helped me and, I hope, that will help you. Happy reading.
