Think Simple Now. A Blog on Creativity, Productivity, and Happiness.

Book Recommendations:

[Updated: June 21, 2008]

The following are books which have made the most impact on my life. I’m finding myself repeatedly recommending these to people. Here they are in one place so you too could reference them.

Want to change your life situation? It’s simple. Pick up a good book which has the power to change the quality of your life for the better.

Creativity

• Creative Visualization (Learn to relax. Simple techniques to visualize what you want)
• The Myths of Innovation - Scott Berkun
• Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain and workbook (Recommended for those left brainers interested in developing the right side of your brain. You can’t draw? This book could prove you wrong.)
• Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention - Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
• A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future - Daniel H. Pink

Clarity

• The Power of Now - Eckhart Tolle (This book shifted my thinking and changed my life. Highest recommendation. I personally guaranteed this book. I’ll buy your copy if you are not happy with the book.)
• Guaranteed Solutions – Nithyananda (The author showed me glimpses of bliss, and thus shaped my new perception of the world. This is another book that I’ll personally guarantee. Yes, I’ll pay you if you are not happy with the book. You’ll love it.)
• Ways of the Peaceful Warrior – Dan Millman (Beautifully written story that will bring conscious awareness and inner peace into your life.)
• Ask and It Is Given (Law of attraction, how to manifest into your life the things you want.)
• Think and Grow Rich – Nepoleon Hill (Classic and my favorite. I’ve read it several times and it never gets old. Written in 1937, after 25 years of research on hundreds of successful people on the author’s times, he boiled down to these principles. Getting what you want, requires clarity and creativity.)
• The Magic of Thinking Big (I believe part of being creative is releasing self-inhibit thoughts. This books shows you the way with reason.)
• The Science of Getting Rich 1912 (Written in 1909. The Secret [movie/book] was based on this book. Short and powerful book on law of attraction. Closely related to Happiness.)

Happiness

• Flow: Psychology of Optimal Experience (Psychology of happiness)
• Are You Ready to Succeed? - Srikumar S. Rao (Unconventional Strategies to Achieving Personal Mastery in Business and Life )
• Feel the Fear and Do It Anyways (Inside into the emotion of fear and how to overcome it. I guarantee you’ll be happier once you understand these simple concepts.)
• Ways of the Peaceful Warrior – Dan Millman (Beautifully written story that will bring conscious awareness and inner peace into your life.)
• The Power of Now - Eckhart Tolle (This book shifted my thinking and changed my life. Highest recommendation. I personally guaranteed this book. I’ll buy your copy if you are not happy with the book.)
• Guaranteed Solutions – Nithyananda (The author showed me glimpses of bliss, and thus shaped my new perception of the world. This is another book that I’ll personally guarantee. Yes, I’ll pay you if you are not happy with the book. You’ll love it.)

Productivity

• Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (classic on being more effective)
• The 4-Hour Workweek (alternative concepts from traditional thinking: Lifestyle design. Getting more for your time. Also fit in happiness.)
• 80/20 Rule
• How to Win Friends and Influence People (Effective communication means better result in less time = Productivity)
• Blink (Effective decisions can be made in split seconds)

User Experience:

• Don’t Make Me Think (This is a must read for anyone who wants to create usable websites. Short Read. Designed to be to the point and readable in one plane ride.)
• The Elements of User Experience
• Designing Web Usability
• The Design of Everyday Things

Marketing, Selling & Business:

• E-Myth: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It (Highly recommended for anyone thinking about or is starting a businesses. Have been recommended to me by several successful entrepreneurs and it is valuable stuff.)
• The Brand Gap (The best book on Branding. Short: Designed to be to the point and readable in one plane ride.)
• Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion (The bible viewed by many on Sales. This was recommended to me by a psychology prof, also by several marketing gurus.)
• Founders at Work: Stories of Startups’ Early Days (Interviewing founders of startup companies talking about their early days: google, 37signals, tripadvisor etc. Valuable advice.)

Click here to see my current Reading List

See my Bookstore. Click here.

6 Responses (6 Comments, 0 Trackbacks ):

Comments

1. Mohammed Ali V

   Nov 18 07, 5:26 am PST

   1

   Dear Tina,

   I bumped into your website today, and I think it’s one of the best Self Improvement Blogs that I’ve come across!

   I felt an instant connection when reading your posts, and have also read many of the books on the books page. I recently completed 2 of the books mentioned “Power of Now” & E-Myth. I highly recommend Eckhart’s latest book “The New Earth” and also “Stillness Speaks”

   By publishing this Blog you certain are making a “positive difference to people’s lives”, and congratulate you on your effort.

   I look forward to your future posts!

   BTW I subscribed to your feed through netvibes, and for some reason it limits the number of posts to just ‘1′. Maybe some setting in feedburner can increase it to more.

   Keep up the good work!
   Mohammed Ali V
   Bangalore, India.

2. abi

   Dec 11 07, 12:22 pm PST

   2

   Awesome stuff you have here! The pictures are great and the feel good factor is great! :)

3. SD

   Jan 24 08, 1:00 pm PST

   3

   Great list of books. I was looking for it for a long time. Thank you!

4. Diane

   Feb 02 08, 7:59 am PST

   4

   Tina,

   Loved today’s post on charisma and mirroring! Went to the Books list and then to “your” bookstore on Amazon - great idea, btw! I ordered a couple today, but was conflicted about one.

   Since you also recommended “The 4-hour Work Week” I would like to ask you more about it. The professional reviews on Amazon were extremely impressive. The regular readers’ reviews were pretty damning though. Wow - two extreme views from two fairly reliable groups! How have you found the book helpful - in a practical sense - toward helping you to (1) accomplish more in your life, (2) improve your life, or (3) feel good about recommending the book?

   I have a friend whom I think leads this kind of life, flying by the seat of his pants. I sometimes say if I had been born a man, I would be him (i.e., me living without fear, including fear regarding personal safety).

   I also hope you will help me with something I am trying to do. I found your article so compelling and insightful that I would like to link to it from my own blog. I am using blogspot, but am a very inexperienced blogger. I know a little - very little about html codes and have to look up most beyond bold and italic. But even a little guidance thrown my way will help me learn to do this. I do not know if blogspot is “blogs for dummies” and therefore looks good while providing little linking (and maybe advertisers one day - one can dream ;) ) ability, or if I can one day make my blogs look as good as others I read.

   Your new loyal reader,
   Diane

   *****************

   REPLY

   Hi Diane,

   When anything is popular, you will get extreme views from opposite ends. Same with any website or popular books. I personally loved “The 4-hour Work Week”, it really shifted the way I think about work-life relationship and designing my life. I’d say it’s improved the qualities of my live and I highly recommend it. There may be points of the book you disagree with but I’m sure that you’ll grain something positive from it. My partner and I are going on our first mini retirement soon and are planning our lives towards a more mobile lifestyle thanks to the book.

   Sure, of course you can link to here. :) I’d love that. Thank you.

   Hope that helps. Let me know if you have more questions.

   Warmly,
   Tina

5. David

   Jul 24 08, 8:50 pm PDT

   5

   Tina,

   Through good fortune I found my way back to this blog. On your books, I am familiar with many of them—too many to take in. I had bought The Power of Now when it first came out and thought it was useless and gave it to someone else.

   I thought my life was useless and gave it to others to do what they wanted with it. I am taking it back.

   Thank you for your happiness.

   David

   ********************
   REPLY

   Thank you David for this heart felt comment. I had to hold back my tears.

   Warmly,
   Tina

6. Allen Papapetrou

   Aug 28 08, 11:17 am PDT

   6

   Hi Tina,
   New to your site and enjoying the practicality of it. I have two books for your consideration:

   Happiness:
   The Endorphin Effect by William Bloom - This book teaches readers how to be happy. With the techniques Bloom teaches, readers can achieve in under two minutes a feeling of well being which other books, such as The Power of Now, hardly touch.

   Productivity:
   Your Money or Your Life: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin - This book teaches a mindset for happily achieving financial independence within 5 years.

   For the authors having financial independence means the only effort a person requires to get the money they need is to breath. They provide case histories. They share an outcome of financial independence - service, helping others.

   I live both of these books. Before I read Bloom’s book I could, and still can, chose to enter a state of heightened well being - in under 1 minute. I live a simple life on a Pacific Island and all I do for money is breath. I help others as a daily practice in enjoying life.

   Thanks for your efforts,
   Allen

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