What I have learnt by reading 42 books in 52 weeks

“80 percent of success is due to psychology—mindset, beliefs, and emotions—and only 20 percent is due to technical knowledge—the specific steps needed to accomplish a result”

- Anthony Robbins

A year ago, I set a challenge to myself to read 52 books over a year ( 1 book per week ). That was a bold resolution considering challenges I need to face in the previous year. However, at the end of the year, I was able to complete 42 non-technical books along with 3 IT certifications and countless podcast and articles of Medium and Quora.

Last year was very eventful for me. I have moved to Australia in June 2018. Along with job hunting, I had challenges settling down into foreign land and new culture, climate and surrounding. During all this time I tried to match my pace to complete 1 book per week regardless of the situation. Considering the final figures at the end of the year, I was able to achieve 80% of my target.

During last one year mostly I focused on non-fiction books. I tried to read self-help, biography, autobiography, motivation, spirituality and philosophy. I am not going to write about the review or my opinion about the books but I will surely try to explain how these books helped me to improve in my personal and professional life. My top 5 picks are:

1) The Alchemist

There is no other book better than The Alchemist to start this journey. The Alchemist is my all-time favourite book. Paulo Coelho beautifully explains the journey to following a dream through this book. I am a great believer that If you want something and you dedicate your self for the task then the whole universe is conspiring to

What I loved most about this book was the amount of wisdom every page held. I felt like whenever I turned the page, I was learning a different life lesson. There are so many quotes that I highlighted which will be carried with me for a long while in the future (I hope). If you want to read something which will help motivate you to achieve your goals, help yourself believe in who you are again and to remind you about the beauty of humanity and how we are all, in essence, just people. It made me think about how simple everything really is, and how humans overcomplicate things. It made me think about how some things are complicated, and that’s just the way it is. All in all, this was a very thought-provoking book.

I'm sure I'll return to this book again and again.

2) The Power Of Now

The power of Now is a rare gem from Eckhart Tolle. This was the third time I read this book. Like everyone else, I was struggling with procrastination over-analysing and overthinking. I am not able to stop my constant thinking I can be not able to focus 100% on this moment as my mind was wandering in past or future. This book really helped me to put my attention in the present moment.  

3) Way of the Peaceful Warrior

I decided to read the book Way of the peaceful warrior after watching the movie based on it. Just like The power of now, this book helped me remove trash from my mind and focus on the things which actually matter in life. I am fascinated by how the author explained complex rules of life in simple terms:

Three rules of life: Paradox, Humor, and Change.

1. Paradox: Life is a mystery; don’t waste your time trying to figure it out.
2. Humour: Keep a sense of humour, especially about yourself. It is a strength beyond all measure
3. Change: Know that nothing ever stays the same.

4. It's Your Ship

This is a 'Bollywood-style" business and management book for the post-Dot Com era, and a fun, light read packing a substantial heft in ideas. The things I learnt from this book are:

o   Leadership lies in simple things – common-sense actions that ensure high morale and increase the odds of winning. 

o   Communicate purpose and meaning

o   Go beyond standard procedure to help your organisation

5. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck

This is an exceptional self-help book which ironically does not talk about Smile more, love more, hate less, don't give up, it's gonna be okay or it's all in your head. In Place of it taught me that:

o   Self-improvement and success often occur together. But that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re the same thing.  

o   The key to living a good life is not giving a fuck about more things, but rather, giving a fuck only about the things that align with your personal values.

o   Learning how to focus and prioritize your thoughts effectively based on finely honed personal values is perhaps the greatest and most important struggle in life.

Today, I am a better person ( both personally and professionally ) than I was one year ago. However, I missed to achieve my goal to read 52 books in a year. After analysis, I have observed that I have wasted a lot of time in unnecessary and non-productive things. This year I will try hard and will try to achieve goal again ( 52 books in a year ).

                                        “Try again, Fail again. Fail better.”