100 Books Like The Power of TED*

This book literally changed my life and my relationships with myself and others forever. Before this book, I was living my life through the filters of my stories of right and wrong, how things ‘should’ be done, and doing my best to trust my instincts and intuition. I underestimated the power of words, including my words. I made assumptions about people and situations, and autopilot guided my path through the best and worst of challenges and opportunities.

This book, along with the Fifth Agreement, opened my mind to the human condition of subconscious programming. I read the book, listened to the book, and listened to the book while reading the book to deeply embrace the truths presented.

Thanks to all books published by the Ruiz family, which share the Toltec traditions with the world, I have found grace and compassion for the weight and impact of my own stories,… show more.

This book has been a go-to for years, as I really appreciate Simon’s guidance to ALWAYS clarify the mission and purpose of any organization before digging deeper into the strategies and action plans to advance the mission.

All too often, my bias for action had driven me to jump into the work of creation and delivery. If every single player on the field with me wasn’t 100% bought into the game we were playing, why we were there, and where we wanted to be in the future, we wasted precious time and resources.

Simon Sinek taught me to pause and bring great intention to the enrollment in the mission of any venture. I also appreciate his insights into the stretch zone where people are most effective driving change. We don’t want to be cozy or panicked at work, but stretched in pursuit of meaningful change, and always better together.

I was very fortunate to have a coach from the Covey organization for a few years named Andy Cindrich, and I’m forever grateful for his help to shift my own paradigms around trust. 

I’d been raised with the story ‘Losing trust is like a house burning down… you can try to rebuild it, but it takes 18 months and it’s never quite the same…’ Through The Speed of Trust, I learned managing trust is a skill. When we embrace trust falls courageously and sort through the gap and pain with care and intention, we end up grateful for the problems and issues that allow us to show our character, reinforce our values, and elevate relationships. 

I wish for everyone to have these tools in their pockets, not to maintain perfect trust, but to fix things fast when they inevitably get messy between us humans.

I am hungry for a world where everyone thrives in our healthy, working decades, and a key to meaningful work delivered well is great hiring decisions. 

Who opened my eyes to the true cost of poor hiring decisions, as the impact of a ‘misfit’ for the person hired without the experience, behaviors, skills, and capacity to learn and adapt to change affects everyone around them, in addition to the bottom line.

We applied some of Geoff Smart and Randy Street’s direction and ideas when we shaped the hiring processes at Niaga, taking it even deeper by giving the teams responsibility for hiring their teammates.

When everyone shares responsibility for hiring A players who embrace the culture and team they’ll be a part of, we can deliver stronger teams who stick together, leverage experience and confident execution over time, and deepen critical relationships throughout the ecosystem and supply chains wrapping our… show more.

My copy is the sixth edition, but this groundbreaking workbook now offers a seventh edition and is based on the authors’ decades of clinical experience working with clients suffering from varied symptoms of stress including insomnia, worry, hypertension, poor digestion, depression, and anger. This hefty book offers a comprehensive compilation of stress-reduction strategies—including techniques for relaxation, managing time, dealing with stressful thoughts and feelings, and effective communication. The workbook format provides helpful guidance to create a personal action plan for stress reduction.  

This book focuses on “normal” worry rather than clinical manifestations of anxiety but still, it is chock full of practical tips for stressed-out tweens. Like all of the books in the Smart Girls series, Worry educates and empowers readers, helping them understand why they feel what they feel while giving practical advice about making changes. The only downside is that – while the information in this book is universal – it is clearly pitched to girls. It’s a pity because boys could use a book like this, too.

Our well-being is largely within our influence. But that doesn’t mean context doesn’t matter. Too often the burden of burnout is placed on the shoulders of educators; the reality is that burnout is made worse by unhealthy working conditions. This book will reassure you that burnout is not your fault, while giving you ideas on what schools need to make conditions better.

Moss does a great job breaking down decades of burnout research to help any reader realize the specifics of their burnout and what the biggest culprits are. Read this to feel affirmed. Then ninja-sneak it onto your principal’s desk as required reading.

I absolutely loved this book. It was honestly life-changing for me. Dr Aron’s book helped me realize who and what I am, and why I felt poorly all the time. This book gave me permission to be my full self and to be beautifully sensitive.

Dr Aron uses personal pronouns, which pulled me right into the world of Sensitives. She wrote in medical/western terms which I appreciated because it was a scientific explanation of being sensitive. Therefore, I could accept myself more easily and embrace a big part of who I am.

Dr. Samantha Brody takes a look at the full spectrum of the stressors that are affecting us and creating overwhelm. This is a great book that centers on our physical health, but not myopically so. The last part of the book is especially good for creating a personal plan that incorporates both short and long-term fixes.

It’s hard for me to explain just how important this book has been in Western culture. Part autobiography, part meditation manual, this book is what popularized the modern mindfulness movement, beginning with Jon’s first forays into teaching ‘secularized’ mindfulness practices in the basement of a medical school building in the late 1970s.

Rather than staying in that basement, Jon’s combination of scientific training, deep commitment to understanding the mechanisms of the mental joy and suffering, and passion for helping others came together to create one of the first and most influential Western meditation training programs: Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction. This program has been the foundation for decades of scientific research as western culture as come to appreciate the importance of training ourselves for mental health and wellness.

This book is the story of that program, it takes you firsthand through the rationale and practices that have helped so many people, acting… show more.