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5 Favourite Personal Development Books

I like to read. Though, I scrunched up my nose when I was younger at the idea of reading non-fiction books. I just thought if it wasn’t fiction it was an autobiography and I didn’t care about real people. I cared about wizards and Hogwarts and Hagrid… yes, I basically only read the Harry Potter Books on replay. Every time I picked up a fiction novel I’d start it and endlessly compare it to J.K. Rowling’s way of writing and the story and I always made my way back to re-reading my beloved series. I still have yet to read a biography but I have a couple on my list of books I want to read.

Personal Development books weren’t even on my radar. But when they got on my radar… girl you better believe I read them all. (Well not all, but I’m getting close, haha) I have gained SO much from reading personal development books and I have compiled a list of my ultimate top 5. The 5 that have changed my life in some way, taught me lots and pushed me forward, closer to my goals.

I read Personal Development books with a highlighter in hand. Gasp! You mark up your books? YES. Personal Development books are TOOLS. And as such, they should be used and abused. I dog-ear and highlight like nobody’s business because when I don’t, I have to re-read the whole book to remind myself of what I’ve learned. When key pieces of information are highlighted you can skim through a book you’ve read and quickly point out what you felt was worth remembering. Say you were studying for an exam (a life event) and you had your textbook full of information (personal development book). You wouldn’t want to aimlessly search the textbook for answers, you’d want your notes clear and jumping out at you, that’s the goal.

Also, I’m a quote lover, hence the highlighting, so I have also included some of my favourite quotes from each. The best part about it is there isn’t a book over $15 on the list, so it’s not going to break the bank either, and they have been some of the greatest investments I’ve made recently.

The Slight Edgethe slight edge

This book is just awesome. It kicks you in the butt and gets you into high gear that’s for sure. It awakens that lion inside of you that WANTS that goal real bad. It makes you question what you do every day and reassess your priorities. It shines a light on your procrastination and guides your focus to the right places.

Favourite Quotes:

♥ “Successful people do what unsuccessful people are not willing to do.”

♥ “The truth is, what you do matters. What you do today matters. What you do every day matters. Successful people just do the things that seem to make no difference in the act of doing them and they do them over and over and over until the compound effect kicks in.”

♥ “The journey starts with a single step—not with thinking about taking a step.”

♥ “Instead of writing down what you’re going to do (chances are you’ve been doing that your whole adult life anyway, and it doesn’t make you any better at doing them), write down at the end of the day what you did do that day.”

You are a Badassyou are a badass

Man, how I love this personal development book. It’s like having that person in your corner telling you that you can do it! Jen Sincero writes like a friend in your living room. She tells it how it is, a wonderful blend of life experiences and client stories. There are so many points to think about in here. Seriously it’s hard to not highlight entire paragraphs, I highly recommend this if you’re in the need of a reminder that you CAN do it and that the Universe has your back! You CAN live an amazing life. Energy is real y’all. read this book to find out how to use energy to your advantage.

Favourite Quotes:

♥ “You are loved. Massively. Ferociously. Unconditionally. The Universe is totally freaking out about how awesome you are. It’s got you wrapped in a warm gorilla hug of adoration. It wants to give you everything you desire. It wants you to be happy. It wants you to see what it sees in you.”

♥ “You are responsible for what you say and do. You are not responsible for whether or not people freak out about it.”

♥ “If you’re serious about changing your life, you’ll find a way. If you’re not, you’ll find an excuse.”

♥ “Because if you base your self-worth on what everyone else thinks of you, you hand all your power over to other people and become dependent on a source outside of yourself for validation. Then you wind up chasing after something you have no control over, and should that something suddenly place its focus somewhere else, or change its mind and decide you’re no longer very interesting, you end up with a full-blown identity crisis.”

7 habits of highly effective peopleThe 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Personal Development hits full steam with this book. There is some serious information in here. This one comes from a recommendation from an old manager and I’m so grateful I got a chance to read it. It’s really insightful and does make you look at yourself a little differently. There are some real action items in this book, so if you’re looking for fluffy PD, this is not the book for you. But if you’re looking for a super clear guide you can start implementing now then this is the book!

Favourite Quotes:

♥ “But until a person can say deeply and honestly, “I am what I am today because of the choices I made yesterday,” that person cannot say, “I choose otherwise.”

♥ “Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.”

♥ “Two people can see the same thing, disagree, and yet both be right. It’s not logical; it’s psychological.”

♥ “It’s not what happens to us, but our response to what happens to us that hurts us.”

the compound effect The Compound Effect

This is the first Personal Development book I read. A few dozen boss babes in my network read it, and it was so eye-opening. This is the book that hooked me into PD forever. To me, learning from books was restricted to school’s textbooks and that they were boring, real boring. I used to read to escape reality and jump into magical worlds but now I love reading to learn, so that I can take a hold of my reality and immerse myself in making it work for me every day!

Favourite Quotes:

♥ “You will never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.”

♥ “It’s not the big things that add up in the end; it’s the hundreds, thousands, or millions of little things that separate the ordinary from the extraordinary.”

♥ “Forget about willpower. It’s time for why-power. Your choices are only meaningful when you connect them to your desires and dreams. The wisest and most motivating choices are the ones aligned with that which you identify as your purpose, your core self, and your highest values. You’ve got to want something, and know why you want it, or you’ll end up giving up too easily.”

total money makeoverTotal Money Makeover

Oh Dave Ramsey. This guy, all I can say is I’m obsessed. If you owe anyone any money, you need this book. Credit cards? Loans? Car Payments? Student loans? A mortgage? Everyone in the world needs to read this book. Get out of debt. Get Gazelle intense and just knock it out and give yourself a raise by doing just that! Sve for retirement, pay off your home way early. Pay cash for everything, and never use a credit card again. He goes over 7 baby steps that are honestly so simple you’ll be looking around thinking you’re getting pranked. Yes, it’s THAT simple.

Favourite Quotes:

♥ “We buy things we don’t need with money we don’t have to impress people we don’t like.”

♥ “You must walk to the beat of a different drummer. The same beat that the wealthy hear. If the beat sounds normal, evacuate the dance floor immediately! The goal is to not be normal, because as my radio listeners know, normal is broke.”

♥ “The enemy of “the best” is not “the worst.” The enemy of “the best” is “just fine.”

♥ “You have to live like no one else so that then you can live and give like no one else”

I hope you enjoy the list, and that you pick one of these great reads up, do it and see how your life changes!

Love,

Mariangelica

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Dear Diary

Writing Prompt: The ever changing way a person views his/ her parents as he/she ages.

  1. Dear Diary,
    Mom and Dad said I can’t get a dog because they think I’m not old enough to take care of it. I’m so mad I just want to break something. They’re dumb and they just don’t want me to be happy! I’ll keep trying, they will have to give in eventually.

 

  1. Dear Diary,
    There’s a pre-highschool party! Mike is going and I really like him, I want him to notice me and not Amanda, but if I don’t go I’ll start the school year as the loser that didn’t go to the party. Mom and Dad don’t understand how CRUCIAL it is for me to attend. They weren’t going to let me go so i lied and told them Matt’s parents were going to supervise. I hope he kisses me, Mom and Dad suck, I wish I had cooler parents.

 

  1. Dear Diary,
    It’s exam time and I can officially say college sucks. I miss home. I miss watching home makeover shows with Dad. I miss Mom’s home cooked dinner. All this mac and cheese in the microwave is not doing great things to my shape. How could I ever think high school was hard.

 

  1. Dear Diary,
    My first day at my adult job. I love the freedom! Leaving my hometown was hard and Mom cried a lot. I’m excited to be four hours away though, far enough my parents can’t surprise visit me which makes bringing guys home less stressful. I’ll call them here and there. Dad made me promise to keep my rape whistle with me, he’s nuts.

 

  1. Dear Diary,
    The honeymoon was amazing, can’t believe that was so long ago. Maybe I’m getting nostalgic now that Sally is born. Mom was with me the whole time and Dad kept Mike from fainting. I loved having them there. They’re going to make the greatest grandparents.

 

  1. Dear Diary,
    Sally keeps asking to visit grandma and grandpa but four hours is too far to go on a weekday and there’s just so many events on the weekends. Life is so so busy right now I don’t even know when I will get to sleep. Mom and Dad call her often, but i know it’s not enough I just don’t have any time!

 

  1. Dear Diary,
    Dad got diagnosed with cancer, it seems to be terminal and I just… feel numb. Telling Sally was really difficult. We went to visit them this weekend and I just tried to keep it together. Mom’s super positive though, seems like nothing can dim her light. I took many pictures of them, it’s just hitting me how old they’ve become.

 

  1. Dear Diary,
    Mom moved in with us yesterday. The idea of having her living on her own so far away in an empty house was keeping me up at night. Mike and i knew it was what was best but we didn’t anticipate the emotional process leaving that house would be for her and for me. Everything there reminds me of dad and I can barely keep it together at work. I wish I had called him more, I wish I had listened to more of his stories. Why didn’t I videotape him more often? Sally’s not taking it well, she starts her first day of college tomorrow and I am trying to give her some strength but it’s hard.

 

  1. Dear Diary,
    Mom I wish you hadn’t left us. I miss it all. I wish I was 7 again and that you’d tell me I wasn’t responsible for a dog yet. You were right, I wasn’t. I miss watching you and dad dance in the kitchen. I’m sorry I made gagging sounds, I was an idiot, and you two were in love. My chest is tight and I constantly feel like i’m going to fall apart into a million pieces. I miss you so much mom. Are you with dad? Are you dancing again? You’re going to be a great grandmother! Sally told us yesterday. There’s so much i want to say. Love you mom.

This is part of the Writing Prompt Series Announced in this post.

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wp1

Writing Prompt: You are blessed with super powers that you use to save the world almost every week. However, being a super human does not pay the bills. Describe what life is like for a super human blue-collar worker.

“Move Andy!” I yelled, sticking my head out of my forklift. Didn’t he see I needed to get under them? “Sorry sorry!” he said as he moved aside, probably swearing at me under his breath. New people were always the worst. A few more trips and we had successfully unloaded the truck. “Sorry about earlier, you coming to lunch with us?” Andy was nice, but god was he an idiot. “No, thanks, I brought my own,” it was a lie, but he’d get the hint after some time, he wasn’t my type and plus, I wasn’t really the friend making type either. “Ok, that’s cool, next time!” he left with a wave and I heard the heavy boots of my coworkers file out of the warehouse. Carefully I got out of the forklift. Last night had been especially taxing on my head and laying down to sleep had been nearly impossible as my migraine decided to stab me repeatedly in the temples anytime I was found horizontal. Even little movements triggered it. Coffee was a thing I liked, maybe that would help, though I decided to make a mental note to refill my painkiller prescription. I made it to the small kitchen, headed for the coffee.

“Hi Alex!” It was overly loud and overly friendly and I wanted nothing to do with it, but Macy was here too with her sidekick, Heather. They worked in the HR department but somehow always ended up using our tiny kitchen. They said we had better coffee. I knew it was to look at the men as they went to lunch, their perverted private parade. Manual labour usually went hand in hand with good looking bodies. By the way, who names their kid Heather? Also, my name is Alexandra, Alex is reserved for my handful of sort-of friends and my father who never liked my full name but gave into mom’s choice because well, he watched my mother birth me and thought heck, she can name her whatever the fuck she wants. I didn’t say any of this though, “Hi Macy, Heather,” I nodded towards the other.

“Did you see the cover story today? Some guy was killed on 56th by that old apartment building, you know the one with the odd looking door? They came out with a photo of the suspect, it’s all over the internet. I don’t know how this stuff gets printed, I mean, look at the photo it’s totally messed with, and a girl her size is somehow able to kill THAT guy?!” She pushed the newspaper so close to my face there was no way my eyes could focus. I took it, worried for a split second, but sure I covered up well. It was blurry, a shaking on looker from their window with maximum zoom most likely. It was taken in the alley, the now very much dead guy was hovering above ground and was pinned against the brickwall by absolutely nothing, I stood below him, obviously all my attention was on him, it took so much effort the heavier an object was. I wore my red outfit yesterday and I hadn’t yet seen myself from this angle but I liked what I saw, if anything, my butt looked good. I quickly wondered if Chase had seen this yet, he probably had, it made me smile.

“Funny right? That’s what I’m saying I mean come on! Heather what do you think? Either way, this man is dead and that’s like super messed up, It’s not like it’s a great neighbourhood, guy was probably into drugs or something.”

I rolled my eyes and poured myself a cup of coffee. Not sure how long ago the pot had been made but also not caring. My head was going to explode if I didn’t do something. I leaned into the counter after a long sip and closed my eyes, my back to the women who continued to hypothesize on the background of the dead guy. I let the coffee run through my body and I exhaled, like an addict getting their fix. He hadn’t been into drugs Macy, he had been into much worse… that sick twisted son of a bitch.

I left the women while they spoke animatedly on the subject and made my way back down the oddly quiet warehouse aisle. The workers were gone, it was my favourite part of the day. My forklift was my safe place, and in a few steps I climbed in. I went to look for the key but quickly noticed a flower by the foot pedal, and a note attached to it.

490 Kingswood St / Royal Jewelers / 2 hostages / be there at 3
I have pain killers.
PS: Wear the black one, it’s my favourite.
-Chase

I downed my coffee, sure it burned something on its way down, and made my way to the change room to grab my duffle bag.

Pain killers and Chase, only a few of my favourite things.

This is part of the Writing Prompt Series Announced in this post.

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writing prompt announcement

I’ve been creatively writing for over a decade, and it’s not always been good writing, heck, when do you ever know if your writing is good? I don’t know but I’m going to openly share some of my creative writing through this new series. All characters will always be fictional as my life is truly not exciting enough to make into a story, but that’s what makes this super fun. Different characters to create and plots to dive into!

I’m so excited to announce that I’ll be starting a Writing Prompt Series! Basically, having found this sweet community on reddit, when I see a prompt that I’d like to try and explore I’ll post them here so as to share a more creative type of writing! I tend to be very visual and usually source free images online to base my characters off of, so when possible I will make sure to include visuals too. They take a while to write and are a bit more structured than the regular post so I’m shooting for doing two a month! Let’s see where this fun takes us!

A writing prompt is a phrase, paragraph or word that inspires the short story written about it. I will not be coming up with my own prompts but rather finding inspiration from the reddit/writingprompts library. Thanks for following along!

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