Notes, Quotes & Anecdotes – 10 Self-Help Books that Changed My Life
- Lisa Edwards
- 19 hours ago
- 12 min read
My whole conscious journey with Positive Thinking started with a Self-Help Book. I was introduced to it by two relative strangers in a country I had only just relocated to. The fact that these two events happened so closely seems to be more than just a coincidence and more like serendipity, this felt like it was a journey I was meant to take and with each step it became clearer.
I have collated these not in the order of impact on me, or which ones I think best as they all are brilliant in their own way, and each had a profound enough impact on me to make this list. I have collated them more or less the order I discovered them in.
The Secret – Rhonda Byrne
This was my first introduction to Positive Thinking. I had just moved from the UK to Perth - Western Australia and things were just falling into place wherever we went, jobs made themselves available, the house we rented, the children’s school… everything went better than I could have possibly hoped. I got talking separately to two of the mums at the school and they had both just read the secret and watched the movie… they both recommended it to me in the space of a couple of weeks, it almost felt like a sign I should read it.
It was an eye opener, it made sense of what was happening to me now and some very significant events in the past including the birth of my daughter, which I why I stated in the intro that this was the beginning of my conscious journey, as it would seem I have been on an unconscious journey with it much longer.
The secret – by Rhonda Byrne takes us back to discover that ‘The Secret’ has been known to the brightest minds since time began… Plato, Aurelius, Pythagoras etc. they all knew that we create our lives and our reality with out thoughts. The book has many quotes from the great minds of the past and contributions from people that Rhonda Burn describes as great living masters that know the secret, such as Bob Proctor, Lisa Nichols, John Assaraf, Dr Joe Vitale, Neale Donald Walsh, Dr Denis Waitley and many others.
Quotes:
So inner happiness actually is the fuel of success. Be happy now. Feel good now. That’s the only thing you have to do. - Dr John Hagelin
Everything that you want – all the joy, love, abundance, prosperity, bliss – it’s there ready for you to grab ahold of. - Lisa Nichols
Your current reality or your current life is a result of the thoughts you have been thinking. - Dr Joe Vitale
Life can be absolutely phenomenal, and it should be, and it will be, when you start using the secret. - Bob Proctor
Our feelings are a feedback mechanism to us about whether we are on track or not. - Jack Canfield
The law began at the beginning of time. It always has been and always will be. - Rhonda Byrne
You Can Heal Your Life – Louise L. Hay
This book quickly followed, I think it was the Ellen Show I had on in the background as I pottered around the house cleaning up, when I heard Louise Hay talk about healing your life, I can’t remember for the life of me what bit she was talking about when it grabbed my attention, but grab it, it did. I bought the book almost straight away. This book was so very healing for me, but not before it brought up lots of things that I had to deal with and stop suppressing.
You Can Heal Your Life opened up old wounds that I didn’t even know I had, I discovered so many things about how and why I ended up here. I began to understand so much more about the world and the people around me and the impact (positive or negative) they were having upon me. It was this book that made me realise that I could make changes and that it was okay to make changes that suited me even if they didn’t make others happy.
There is also a whole section that I continue to refer to that explains the correlation between the mind and our physical health with a list of ‘probable mental patterns that create illnesses in the body’ which may sound a little bit strange if you’ve never come across this before but I find that when I look up your aches and pains then look at what is going on in my life… it usually makes perfect sense.
Quotes:
It doesn’t matter how long you have been thinking yourself as a failure; you can begin to create a ‘success’ pattern now.
Our own belief in lack and limitations is the only thing that is limiting us.
Older people faces and bodies show so clearly a lifetime of thinking patterns. How will you look when you are elderly?
Your mind is a tool to use any way you wish.
The point of power is always in the present moment.
You are the power in your world! You get to have whatever you choose to think.
The Power of Positive Thinking – Norman Vincent Peale
Everything I had learned so far had sent me on a quest to find out everything I can about this phenomenon that is Positive Thinking… this lead me to discover the ‘Father of Positive Thinking’ – Norman Vincent Peale. Written in 1952, Peale states that your thoughts directly influence your outcomes, and changing your thoughts will directly change your outcomes. He is clear that its not faking positivity, its not pretending everything is okay, it’s knowing that it will be and that you yourself can overcome anything. This book clarified and supported everything I had been learning about, my understanding grew and my belief in positive thinking was cemented.
Quotes:
The way to happiness: Keep your heart free from hate, your mind from worry. Live simply, expect little, give much. Scatter sunshine, forget self, think of others.
Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy.
To be calm, to be serene, you need to pause to take some deep breaths, relax the body, still the mind.
Watch your manner of speech if you wish to develop a peaceful state of mind. Start each day by affirming peaceful, contented and happy attitudes and your days will tend to be pleasant and successful.
A positive thinker does not refuse to recognise the negative, he refuses to dwell on it. Positive thinking is a form of thought which habitually looks for the best results from the worst conditions.
Who Moved My Cheese – Dr Spencer Johnson
This book is so popular with business and the corporate world that years after I had first read it (and multiple times since) my workplace sent me and some other colleagues on a course that was based on this book and the book below. It was funny because I was so familiar with both books that I recognised the content and at the end the presenter confirmed that the whole course was indeed based on an amalgamation of the two books.
Such a small, slim book that it is easy to see how you could miss it, but it’s worth making the effort to look for on the busy shelves of the bookstore, its content may not go on for hundreds of pages, but the message is certainly bigger than the book appears. It gets its message across with its main characters, Sniff, Scurry, Hem and Haw.
Have you ever lost your car keys, yet convinced you left them on the hall table you keep going back to the hall, convinced that this time (albeit the 10/11 time) that they will miraculously reappear this time you look there… we all do this with way more than our car keys… Who Moved My Cheese explains it a lot better and helps the reader to move on from what was, to expect and accept change with mindset changes and other useful ideas.
Quotes:
Noticing small changes early helps you to adopt to the bigger changes that are to come.
When you top being afraid, you feel good!
When you change what you believe, you change what you do.
When you move beyond your fear, you feel free.
What would you do if you weren’t afraid?
How to Win friends and Influence People – Dale Carnegie
I absolutely love this book and think that it everyone would benefit hugely by reading it and putting it into practice. Communication is the cause of so many problems, whether it is poorly articulated or not comprehensive enough or just omitted altogether it causes problems. Even if you have someone communicating well, if no one is listening well, it’s all wasted. Dale Carnegie offers the art of communication to get the best out of yourself and out of others.
How to Win Friends and Influence People is written in such a way it works for everyone, whether you are a leader looking to improve your already great communication skills or a student just starting out in life, everyone will learn something and gain new skills in the art of communication.
I think it would be extremely beneficial to have this book as part of the school curriculum, especially when good communication is getting lost in emails and text messages. Good communication is the key to every interaction we have in life, therefore I think that this book is worth its weight in gold to everyone who reads it and puts what they learn into practice.
Quotes:
It isn't what you have or who you are or where you are or what you are doing. that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about it.
Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain—and most fools do.
Don’t be afraid of enemies who attack you. Be afraid of the friends who flatter you.
Always make the other person feel important.
Abilities wither under criticism; they blossom under encouragement.
The Power of your Subconscious Mind – Dr Joseph Murphy
The power of this book should not be underestimated… as it says on the front cover… ‘One of the Most Powerful Self-Help Guides Ever Written’. That explains why it completely blew me away. Dr Joseph Murphy is crystal clear in his explanations, so much of what I kind of knew / believed was laid out clear as day and reiterated throughout the book.
I can fully understand why they have the boasting rights to say this is one of the most powerful self-help guides ever written.
Quotes:
Read this book carefully, earnestly, and lovingly. Prove to yourself the amazing way it can help you. It maybe – and I believe it will be – the turning point in your life.
Your subconscious is your great dark room It’s the secret place where you outer life develops.
The secret is the marvellous, miracle working power found in your own subconscious mind. This is the last place most people would look for it, which is the reason so few people find it.
Never finish a negative statement. Reverse it immediately and wonders will happen in you life. (I did exactly this the night my daughter was born – Click here to read my story).
Change your thoughts and change your destiny.
You are the captain of your soul and the master of your fate. Remember you have the capacity to choose. Choose life! Choose Health! Choose Happiness!
E -Squared – Pam Grout
This book is so much fun, giving nine experiments to prove to the reader the power of their mind, it’s great to read after the book above. The experiments are simple and easy to follow thanks to the instructions and explanation of why and how to carry them out to get the full benefit and there is even a ‘lab report’ sheet after each one to ‘log’ your findings and results. After reading this book and having fun with the experiments you will have eliminated any doubts you ever had about the power of your mind.
Quotes:
Two plus two always equals four. Balls dropped off roofs always fall. Your every thought always affects physical reality.
There is an invisible energy force or field of infinite possibilities.
By realigning your consciousness, you can access reliable answers to every request you ever make.
The universe is limitless, abundant, and strangely accommodating.
You are connected to everything and everyone else in the universe.
Think and Grow Rich – Napoleon Hill
Probably one of the most famous self-help books ever written and is often quoted and referred to by people who have become rich and successful. First published in 1937 the book has sold over 100 million copies around the world. Napoleon Hill interviewed 500 rich and successful people to discover their habits, and he condensed them into 13 principles to help others to become rich and successful. The first one being ‘The Power of Thought’ although the book calls for action to be taken it shows how the mind has to be conditioned correctly first. There are even two chapters at the end to help overcome fear, doubt and negative influences including the naysayers.
Quotes:
Take heavy action: poor people say I’ll try a couple of times – rich people say I’ll keep trying thousands of time if I need to.
The no one reason people fail in life is because they listen to their friends, family and neighbours.
The starting point of all achievement is DESIRE, keep this constantly in mind.
Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.
There are no limitations to the mind except those we acknowledge.
The Strangest Secret – Earl Nightingale
I came across this book, as I have so many of these, seemingly by accident. This book is so thin that you would be forgiven for not noticing it on the bookshelf – but its contents, by contrast are huge, by that I mean hugely powerful, positively life changing, and an absolute must read, it won’t take you long but your life will never be the same again.
Earl Nightingale keeps it simple, short and relatable. Probably the quickest read of all the positive thinking books, giving you action ideas for putting “The Strangest Secret” into practice.
Quotes:
Life should be an exciting adventure; it should never be a bore.
You are in the driver’s seat.
The human mind is the last great unexplored continent on earth. It contains riches beyond our wildest dreams. It will return anything we want to plant.
All you have to do is plant that seed in your mind, care for it, work steadily towards your goal, and it will become a reality.
Outwitting the Devil – Napoleon Hill
Napoleon Hill famously wrote “Think and Grow Rich” (as mentioned previously) which became one of the most influential bestsellers of all time. I had not heard of this book ‘Outwitting the Devil’ until I came across it by chance on an audio book app. As I listened to it, I was not only fascinated by the content, but also the concept.
Napoleon Hill's wife didn’t want him to publish the book as it is written as a conversation between himself and the devil, showing how negative thoughts and beliefs are spread throughout humanity to keep people down, and not follow their passions/dreams to live their full potential. And when you look at our society it’s hard not to agree with so much of it. Whilst it is showing how society is set up to tell us we can’t, the book also empowers us to understand that we don’t have to listen to the negative, we don’t have to conform to what society tell us we should be and that we can do anything we want to do and have anything we want to have.
My only disappointment is that I didn’t find this book sooner.
Quotes:
Most real failures are due to limitations which men set up in their own minds. If they had the courage to go one step further, they would discover their error.
Your only limitation is the one which you set up in your mind.
There is a solution for every legitimate problem, no matter how difficult the problem may seem.
Every individual has the power to change his or her material or financial status by first changing the nature of his or her beliefs.
Be careful what you set your heart upon, for it surely shall be yours.
No one can change the law of hypnotic rhythm any more than one can change the law of gravity, but everyone can change himself.
Failure is a state of mind; therefore, it is something an individual can control until he neglects to exercise this privilege.
The only dependable power available to any human being… The power of their own thoughts. The only power they can control and may rely upon.
The person who is not master of himself can never be master of others.
The first duty of every human being is to himself. Every person owes himself the duty of finding how to live a full and happy life.
Let me know in the comments which Self-Help book has been the most life changing for you.
If you enjoyed this or found it helpful, please follow us on the links below
Sign up to my website as we have some exciting new content coming including a series for reclaiming your mind after narcissistic abuse with a free mini e-workbook for a limited time only.
Comments