THREE POWERFUL BOOKS TO READ IN 2021 TO TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR LIFE

Written by Daniel Theyagu 1st January 2021

2020 has come to an end. 2021 has just begun. Covid19 is still around!

In the 1960s at the height of the Cold War, the Americans described this phase as a VUCA world. Simply put the acronym VUCA, connotes a world which is Volatile, filled with Uncertainty, with information that has become Complex thus creating a sense of Ambiguity in our lives.

There is a panacea to survive the VUCA situation. It has been recommended by some positivists that to manage Volatility one must have a clear Vision of why they are doing what they are doing. To manage Uncertainty is to try to Understand the situation we are in. In doing so the Complexity that comes with Uncertainty can lead us to a sense of Clarity of where we are now and where are we going. Tracking through the Ambiguity of the events as it unfolds right before our eyes, we need to be Agile. 

Now this sounds like a good plan. However, we need inspiration as the going gets tough and everyday life throws us challenges, we never could anticipate.

And so, my friends as 2021 begins to unravel its mysteries, chaos and opportunities we can take these in our strides. What we can also do is to prepare our unconscious mind to be ready for the challenges psychologically. 

So, here are three books I highly recommend that you can resolute yourself to read this year. I cannot guarantee that it will make you rich. Perhaps, it might open your mind to infinite possibilities that might show you the way to riches.

The three books are: Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl; The Strangest Secret by Earl Nightingale and The Power of the Subconscious Mind by Joseph Murphy.

Before you decide to pass judgment on my recommendation do allow me, my friends to say outright that all these three literary gems were the remnants of the 1940s to 60s era. But like the VUCA world, suggested in the 1960s, the impact of it only came into absolute reality in 2020. When you read these books you will realize that what was said decades ago holds more truth and realization now than ever before.

Victor Frankl: Man’s Search for Meaning (first published in 1946)

Frankl was a Jew and a survivor of the Holocaust. He lost his family to the horrors of the gas chamber and the concentration camps. In this midst of unspeakable horrors and depravity perpetrated by the Nazis, Frankl found meaning in his existence. Reading this book will open your soul to the courage and resilience of the human spirit. Through his pain and dilemma Frankl gives us a ray of hope of our existence in the most depressing moments of his life in these three eloquent quotes from the book:

 "When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves."

"Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way."

"Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom."

As you read this book you will realize that the challenges, we face in our lives are nothing more that a test of our true being. The way we think, feel and act makes us who we are. In other words when we know why we do what we do we will always find a way on how to do it. 

 Earl Nightingale: The Strangest Secret (first published 1957)

Another brilliant and short book. More like the musing of a man who can only be describe as the eternal optimist. So, what is the strangest secret you might ask. Nightingale succinctly puts it: “The Strangest Secret in the world is that you become what you think about.”  Personally, I think that this statement speaks volumes of what we become. We start out into the world with enthusiasm and the spark of light in our eyes. Then what happens, based on our attitude towards life we are either blessed by success or corrupted by it. As Nightingale mused “Our attitude towards life determines life attitude towards us.”

This book is available in an audio format and it is a brilliant gem that has stood the test of time. Listen to it. Not just once! As many times as you like and draw from the seductive power of Nightingale’s voice in helping you tap into the infinite possibilities of who you can become.

Dr. Joseph Murphy: The Power of your Subconscious Mind (first published in 1963)

“Busy your mind with the concepts of harmony, health, peace, and good will, and wonders will happen in your life.” Joseph Murphy. This is the guiding quote from the book that resonates with how we can create our own destiny. This book might look almost mythical in aspect of the possibilities and realities you can create in your life. It all boils down to your belief system. As the expression goes: “As you sow, so shall you reap.” I can only tell you how this book gives you an opportunity to move from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset. It will challenge the way you think, and you can think your way to success by defining what success means to you. The author writes: “The way to get rid of darkness is with light; the way to overcome cold is with heat; the way to overcome the negative thought is to substitute the good thought. Affirm the good, and the bad will vanish."  Beautifully written, almost poetic and the motivation that it gives us to stride in this VUCA world.

Here’s to 2021 to all of you. May the power of your subconscious mind guide you through as you have been guided before. May you discover the hidden treasures within you and as a parting quote from Murphy: “Give no one in all the world the power to deflect you from your goal, your aim in life, which is to express your hidden talents to the world, to serve humanity, and to reveal more and more of God’s wisdom, truth, and beauty to all people in the world. Remain true to your ideal. Know definitely and absolutely that whatever contributes to your peace, happiness, and fulfilment must of necessity bless all men who walk the earth. The harmony of the part is the harmony of the whole, for the whole is in the part, and the part is in the whole. All you owe the other, as Paul says, is love, and love is the fulfilling of the law of health, happiness, and peace of mind.”

All the best to everyone of you reading this post. Please do share it if you find this useful.