Life is hard. Nobody said it would be easy however I have found that if you have access to tools and resources that can help you make positive changes in your life, it’s a blessing. I started this blog out of a place of pain however I have taken steps day-to-day to find healing and inspiration on my journey. Part of my own life journey involved more than healing from pet loss but also navigating through the chapters of my life. With that said, I’m going to share 5 books that helped me find the inspiration and courage to live my best life. Perhaps one of these books may help inspire you too.
Pin Me!
Affiliate Disclaimer: This blog post contains affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase after clicking through the links. It’s my intention to only provide suggestions to you that I personally believe in and have experienced or find useful.
[raw_html_snippet id=”adsense3″]
My top 5 Inspirational books!
1) Necessary Endings by Henry Cloud
If you have been following my blog over the past year or so, you may remember a post I did about my decision to leave my job called Lessons learned the day I left my corporate job and met one special fan. I left the world of finance to pursue growing my blog and my art portfolio and find my creative space. I’m an Aquarius and honestly have a creative side to me I just cannot deny. After 7 years of corporate life, commuting and working in an industry considered to be “safe and stable” I grew uninterested, unmotivated and uninspired. I began to ask myself, “What was I doing? Is this what I want to do the rest of my life? Maybe I should take a chance and try something new?”
One of the books that I came across that really helped to solidify my decision to move on to the next phase of my journey was a book called Necessary Endings: The relationships we have to end to move forward. What I love about this book is that it’s suitable for everyone. It really addresses the ideas of re-evaluating relationships of all kinds and deciding is this relationship feeding and serving my purpose or not. It applies to work relationships, romantic relationships and even platonic relationships. This book really helps you hold a mirror up to your current situation and really take an honest look at how this relationship is serving your purpose, desires, dreams and well-being. If it is not serving you, then you have to get real and make a decision. You may have to make a necessary ending in order to create a new beginning.
2) Live your dreams by Les Brown
The second book that really motivated and inspired me to feel good about trying to pursue my passions is Live your Dreams by Les Brown. If you do not know who Les Brown is, he is a motivational speaker and author from humble beginnings. He had a rough childhood and was told he was “educable mentally retarded” while in grade school. It was while he was in his formative years in school that he was blessed to have a positive role model teacher introduced in his life that gave him the courage and self-worth to not accept the opinions of others as defining his identity. With a dream, determination and an attitude of not taking “no” for an answer, Les Brown defied the odds and overcame many setbacks to become a successful motivational speaker and author.
Check out these 13 Quotes of all time featuring Les Brown.
I really enjoyed reading his book of inspiration and perseverance. One pivotal point to reminder is despite where you are in your life, do not allow anyone’s assessment of who you are define you. Only you are the author of your own story.
This really gave me confirmation to continue growing my blog because I believed in it’s purpose to help others find healing and joy. I also felt encouraged that I do not have to have everything all figured out, but just keep moving forward with the things that bring me joy daily. I think we as people are often sold a lie that you have to do things a certain way and on a specific timetable. The truth of the matter is, life is not black and white. It’s all different shades of colors and gray areas. And just like life all of our life stories do not fit a specific mold.
What one person achieves may not be aligned with the dreams of another person. What is good and positive for you may not serve any purpose for the next person. So remember, don’t let anyone crush your dreams or convince you that you can only make it so far. Do not allow other people to set limitations for your life. It’s a reflection of them and not you. Stay inspired, keep getting up when you get knocked down and continue to live and strive for your dreams. Everything will fall into place when the time is right. Success is achieved when opportunity and preparation meet.
3) The Thank you Economy by Gary Vaynerchuk
Thank you Economy by serial entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk is a great reminder that people who are business minded need to always remember it is not making money that’s most important but rather how you make your money. Essentially, when it comes down to business always remember the people you serve. Make your money with integrity. Remember your customers, your readers, or followers. Their input matters and without them, there is no success.
We have to remember to be thankful for the constructive critic, insight in addition to the sale. Trying to start a business should not be focused solely on dollars but rather helping to solve a problem. In the world of social media nowadays, it is also about connecting and building relationships. It’s those relationships that we are grateful for by default, help to grow a community of people who will support what you are trying to do.
As a new blogger and gregarious introvert, I found this very helpful and inspiring. I always knew I wanted to inspire on some level. Entering the world of blogging and social media, I found this book to be instrumental for me in learning new platforms and getting the courage to just try to put myself out there and share my story with others. It really showed me that in this age of the Internet building relationships online is the new way businesses and communites are built.
4) The Promise of a Pencil: How an ordinary person can create extraordinary change by Adam Braun
This is the true story of how one young man born into a life of privilege, decided to leave the life planned out for him and took a soul-searching journey across the world to India. While spending his time abroad he discovered the reality of how children live in poverty, yet have a wish for something so small like the promise for a pencil to one day go to school. In this defining moment the author transforms the trajectory of his privileged life to form a nonprofit charity called Pencils for Promise. This non-profit organization now provides hundreds of schools for children in need.
What I appreciated about this book so much was the author’s open mindedness to go against the grain and search and explore beyond his privileged bubble for meaning and purpose. This story was very inspiring, heartfelt and especially touching because he was accomplishing this all at a relatively young age.
This true story sheds light on the point that, a life of giving brings so much more fulfillment and purpose, compared to a life plan that looks great from the outside. All that glitters is not gold. Sometimes in order to find true fulfillment and happiness you need to break outside of your comfort zone. Escape that which is familiar to discover a brand new world you never even knew existed. You may just discover this new world exceeds your wildest dreams.
5) All Pets Go To Heaven: The Spiritual Lives of the Animals We Love by Sylvia Brown
Last, I came across this book after the passing of my cat Dusty. If you read my post 4 Reasons why I think pets have an afterlife you know I had experienced strange occurrences after my cats passed away. This book by medium Sylvia Brown helped give me confirmation that I wasn’t going crazy. What I experienced has happened to other bereaved pet parents.
She delves into and explores how our pets communicate after death and transition to life on the other side. She explores and answers questions like…
“Is my pet happy on the other side?”
“Are they healed?”
“Can they communicate with me?”
“Why am I having strange occurrences in my home? Is this normal?”
She also explains that the loving energy we share does not go away but just transforms. There is life in the hereafter. I’d recommend for anyone looking for validation or answers to questions about what happens after losing a pet. However, if you are looking for even more resources to find healing after pet loss check out my other posts.
8 Resources for healing after pet loss
5 Online resources for pet loss support
5 Ways I discovered painting helped heal my heart
This book really helped give me confirmation and validation for my feelings. I felt more confident that my personal experiences were not singular to me. I realized this happened to other grieving pet parents. The reassurance that the loving spirit energy of my cats Precious and Dusty are always around provided comfort for me. This really helped set me on a path to greater healing with time.
Your Thoughts?
So those are the 5 books that helped give me inspiration and courage to live my best life! Have you read any of these books? Is there one in particular you think you’ll want to read for yourself? Do you like self-help and inspirational reads? What are you currently reading? Comment and share your thoughts below.