The journey towards personal, professional and spiritual development is often a lonely one.

It’s not something you can buy and it’s certainly a path only you can walk for yourself. There’s no one-size-fits-all and there’s no getting around it without conscious effort. This is particularly true after spending years unconsciously depleting your personal power.

Luckily, there are ways in which you can work out your personal power muscles.

In this blog, I will list three books that helped me rewire my brain for success and reclaim my personal power.

1. The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom by Don Miguel Ruiz

This is the perfect book is you’re looking to introduce yourself to the personal development world. It’s a simple read and straight to the point. The book offers four codes for letting go of self-limiting beliefs in order to transform our lives to a new experience of freedom, true happiness, and love.

Key takeaways:

• Life is a dream. Everyone is dreaming, but without awareness. Everyone’s unique dream is a product of what the toltecs called “the domestication process”, or what sociologists call, “the process of socialization”.
• Everything is a mirror that reflects light and creates IMAGES of that light. In other words, everything you perceive is only your interpretation of reality.😱
• Life is just a process of peeling back the layers and becoming who you were before society changed you.
• Personal power is like a muscle. You can train it and use it efficiently or you can overwork it and deplete it. 
• The four agreements: be impeccable with your word, don’t take anything personally, don’t make assumptions, always do your best.

2. You Are A Badass: How To Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living An Awesome Life by Jen Sincero

I recommend this book if you’re someone looking to improve some areas of your life and are READY to take action and do things you’ve never done before. This is the type of book you must take your time with. First you start reading it, then you start studying it and putting it into practice. Then you start noticing how much better it makes you feel, and THEN you start believing it. Once you start noticing the amazing shifts taking place in your life, you will become obsessed with it, love it, write a blog post and never shut up about it!!! LOL 😃.

Key takeaways:

• Your reality is created by what you focus and how you choose to interpret it.
• Vibration attracts vibration.
• Basing your self-worth on what others think of you is one of the ways you give all your power away and it’s also how you become dependent on outside sources for validation = #RecipeForDisaster.
• The magic of upgrading your environments and surrounding yourself with the right people.
• The importance of forgiveness and how to let go of painful people.
• Overcoming judgements and making a conscious effort to kick all your fears of the past from your head, and start participating in your own baddasserry.
• One of my favs: healing your relationship with and perception of money. 💲

3. Love, Freedom, Aloneness: The Koan Of Relationships by Osho

I recommend this book if you’re looking to redefine / expand the concept of love. If perhaps you’re ending a soul-draining romantic relationship, or you’re looking to improve your relationships overall, or maybe you never had a clear example of what healthy loves looks like growing up- this is the book for you! It’s more on the philosophical side so be AWARE there are things that Osho says that may feel quite controversial. Some I agree, others I disagree. Nonetheless, it’s a great exercise to expand your mind and develop your own criteria of love and relationships..

Key takeaways:

• Freedom is our basic condition, and until we learn to live with that freedom; and learn to live by ourselves and with ourselves, we are denying the possibility of finding love and happiness with someone else.
• How to not feel guilty for not knowing how to love yourself. Spoiler alert: you were not taught how to do so.
• Difference between a healthy love of oneself and egotistic pride.
• Difference between aloneness vs loneliness
• Difference between LOVE vs EGO
• Love never suspects. Love is never jealous. Love never interferes with the other’s freedom. Love gives freedom, and that freedom is only possible if there is space in your togetherness. ❤️

Conclusion

Having the right tools can make all the difference in someone’s world and in my case, reading self-help books helped me overcome one of the most challenging times of my life. I still catch myself going back to my old ways from time to time and that is okay. The journey towards personal development is forever a work in progress. Reading a book will not change your life, but practicing what you learn most definitely will.

You’re human, not perfect.

Talk to you soon,

Elaine 🌹
UnaRosaTropical