Here are 100 books that Unfollow Your Passion fans have personally recommended if you like
Unfollow Your Passion.
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Throughout my career, I’ve come across so many everyday people with awesome ideas of life-changing potential for a select group of people. And most of them struggle to reach the people they can most help. This is such an incredible shame! I’m passionate about connecting those entrepreneurs and business owners who have great ideas with the people who will most benefit from their solutions, so both parties win. A big part of that is ensuring their marketing engages their target audience, hence this book list.
This book was like a trusted mentor in book form, helping me craft content that’s clear, engaging, and downright effective. Ann strips away the boring writing advice everyone seems to give and delivers practical advice (which aligns with my own copywriting philosophy) with warmth and wit. It’s not just about grammar or structure—it’s about connecting with your audience in a way that feels authentic.
What I loved most is how versatile this book is. Whether I’m writing blog posts, website copy, or emails, I’m always using something Ann taught me. Her book is packed with actionable tips and relatable examples, and her conversational tone made it a joy to read. This is another book in my toolkit that I flick through whenever I need inspiration.
Finally a go-to guide to creating and publishing the kind of content that will make your business thrive. Everybody Writes is a go-to guide to attracting and retaining customers through stellar online communication, because in our content-driven world, every one of us is, in fact, a writer. If you have a web site, you are a publisher. If you are on social media, you are in marketing. And that means that we are all relying on our words to carry our marketing messages. We are all writers. Yeah, but who cares about writing anymore? In a time-challenged world dominated by…
Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!
On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…
I live and work in Santa Cruz, CA (close to Silicon Valley). I’ve been extremely fortunate to be a multi-time start-up founder, executive coach and consultant, and key contributor or operational leader at world-class brands like Apple, DreamWorks, Google, and SGI. In 2015, I had an epiphany that changed the direction of my life: that prioritization was the most important verb in business, but nobody had written a book that successfully demystified how individuals, teams, and organizations should do it. My book became a pandemic project. I sincerely hope it will help improve the world and make it a better place.
This book ought to be required reading for every high school student. I didn’t read it in high school. But I’m grateful I found and read it a short few years ago. Why? Because I’m never going to win the rat race. The harder I try, the worse off I’ll become because “the rats” keep getting bigger and faster.
While it's a truism to say that time is the most precious resource, until recently, I didn’t act that way. I know that each of us has limited time, energy, and resources. So, getting more comfortable with the fact that my life is finite is key. Becoming a productivity master is a fool's errand. And the author, Oliver Burkeman, does a stunning and entertaining job of helping you get off that treadmill to live a better, fuller, and more meaningful life.
"Provocative and appealing . . . well worth your extremely limited time." ―Barbara Spindel, The Wall Street Journal
The average human lifespan is absurdly, insultingly brief. Assuming you live to be eighty, you have just over four thousand weeks.
Nobody needs telling there isn’t enough time. We’re obsessed with our lengthening to-do lists, our overfilled inboxes, work-life balance, and the ceaseless battle against distraction; and we’re deluged with advice on becoming more productive and efficient, and “life hacks” to optimize our days. But such techniques often end up making things worse. The sense of…
I have made it my business to teach basic business skills to creative professionals who should have learned them in school but, alas, did not because it’s not taught in school. This has for years perpetuated a “starving artist” mentality amongst creative professionals, who are naturally talented and could easily bring their creativity to the business side of their business, if only they knew how. That’s the mission I’m on with all of my work through marketing-mentor.com
Essential Skill #1 for Creatives: the breadwinner mindset
Creative professionals tend to be number-phobes and therefore believe they are doomed to be “starving artists.” That’s why, when I heard the title of Jennifer Barrett’s book, I knew I had to invite her to be a guest on my podcast. She writes clearly and simply about the “breadwinner” mindset. Plus, we share the belief that there is nothing more empowering than having in place the mindset, the money, and the marketing so you are free to walk away from any situation or client that isn’t a good fit. That’s the only way to bring your dream business to life.
A new kind of manifesto for the working woman, with practical guidance on building wealth as well as inspiration for harnessing the freedom and power that comes from a breadwinning mindset.
Women are now the main breadwinner in one-in-four households in the UK. Yet the majority of women still aren't being brought up to think like breadwinners. In fact, they're actively discouraged - by institutional bias and subconscious beliefs - from building their own wealth, pursuing their full earning potential, and providing for themselves and others financially. The result is that women earn less, owe more, and have significantly less…
Crossing is a vividly human re-imagining of the love, sacrifices, and accomplishments that two Chinese brothers - American Immigrants - experience as they travel to California to build the Transcontinental Railroad.
Whether writing under my pen name Kate Somerset, or showing up as Ann Louden in real life, I've always believed in the enriching value of making memorable connections. As a consultant to nonprofits, I emphasize it’s not the number of donors that guarantees philanthropic support. It’s the quality of relationships with the organization. The deeper the connections, the more likely that donors will significantly invest and re-invest. As a breast cancer survivor/spokesperson, I know the importance of having a support team. And as an author and relationship coach, I emphasize establishing trust in relationships. The books on this list describe how you can be a connector, each with uniquely valuable content. I hope you find them all meaningful!
“Help, I don’t know anyone” was the refrain that played over and over in my head when I moved to New York City after 30 years in Texas. Susan McPherson’s book came to my rescue. Challenging me to think about the experience and expertise I have, the book encouraged me to make connections based on how I could help others. “Make it about them,” McPherson emphasizes. “Understand their world and their circumstances and what you can offer.”
While it took soul searching, I did find ways to benefit others, from initiating introductions, to understanding challenges and finding a means to help, and taking responsibility for keeping relationships moving forward. McPherson is 100% right that connecting is a learned skill. Her book is the perfect primer.
Uncover a new way to network and build relationships that last!
Networking is often considered a necessary evil for all working professionals. With social media platforms like Linkedin, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook at our disposal, reaching potential investors or employers is much easier. Yet, these connections often feel transactional, agenda-driven, and dehumanizing, leaving professionals feeling burnt out and stressed out.
Instead, we should connect on a human level and build authentic relationships beyond securing a new job or a new investor for your next big idea. To build real and meaningful networking contacts, we need to go back to basics,…
I was introduced to small business when I was six years old—my parents purchased a drug store to run (that drug store, after being sold forty years ago, is still in business). When I started my agency, there were few books on how to start, grow, and stay in business that didn’t tout traditional thinking. I think outside the triangle. I never thought I would be an author, and I am writing book #6! I write books today that I wish were available when I started my business journey: unique strategies coupled with actionable steps to grow. I hope these books provide inspiration and ideas!
I had to add a second book that I refer to often to keep my mind focused on what I have accomplished instead of what I still want to do with my business.
I love this book as it helps me to reframe business growth (and setbacks) in a way to keep my energy and focus going. I also like the summaries in the back that I can refer to when I just want a reminder of technique to get back into the gain.
Dan Sullivan shares his simple yet profound teaching that, until now, has only been known to his Strategic Coach clients: unsuccessful people focus on 'The Gap', but successful people focus on 'The Gain'.
Most people, especially highly ambitious people, are unhappy because of how they measure their progress. We all have an 'ideal', a moving target that is always out of reach. When we measure ourselves against that ideal, we're in 'the GAP'. However, when we measure ourselves against our previous selves, we're in 'the GAIN'.
That is where The GAP and The GAIN concept comes in. It was developed…
I was driven to become a veterinarian for as long as I could remember. Then, in high school, I developed a love of performance. I felt stuck. Should I choose art or science? I chose science, and despite a great career, I felt like something was missing. When I reconnected with my creativity through stand-up comedy, entrepreneurship and other non-artistic creative outlets, I found out what I had been missing. Why do we drop creativity for science? It was a common story. I dove into the research on creativity, and was blown away by how a bit of creativity can make us happier, more resilient, and make workplaces more effective.
This book gave me the confidence to follow a dream that I thought was frivolous and silly: to be a professional speaker. As I read this book, I realized that following my heart was difficult for me, as I am a veterinarian and driven by science. As a result, I lost touch with my intuition and my confidence in doing what was true to myself, not what others expected of me.
When I read the part where she talks about thinking that your dream couldn’t be that because it seems too big and following that little voice that says, “What if?” It put me on the path of taking a chance on a dream, regardless of what it looked like to other people.
A groundbreaking women’s leadership expert and popular conference speaker gives women the practical skills to voice and implement the changes they want to see—in themselves and in the world
In her coaching and programs for women, Tara Mohr saw how women were "playing small" in their lives and careers, were frustrated by it, and wanted to "play bigger." She has devised a proven way for them to achieve their dreams by playing big from the inside out. Mohr’s work helping women play bigger has earned acclaim from the likes of Maria Shriver and Jillian Michaels, and has been featured…
Almost Home is a fictional retelling of the last great tragedy of the Civil War.
In late April 1865, almost 2,000 newly freed Union prisoners of war are packed onto the steamer Sultana, in poor repair and with a listed capacity of 376 passengers. Among them are four Indiana soldiers…
I’m a person like you who has lived difficult situations, has had losses, made mistakes, and deals with bad days wondering about my existence and purpose in life. I have a gift, and it's writing; I began sending reflective messages to the people at my office and that’s when I noticed that people loved them. Years later, after reading several books and accumulating more experience, I realized that there are several experiences that are common to all, but few questioned. Therefore, I decided to share my insight and thoughts in my second book, hoping to help people be a better version of themselves and live their lives to their fullest.
I needed a different book and found it in this one. The author wrote it based on interviewing more than 200 people over 60. And I learned a lot from it!
If you want to make a checkup about your life and how you live it, this is the book you need. The 5 secrets will help you to see if you are on the right path.
What shocked me was to learn that happy people aren’t afraid to die. People who live life wisely accept death as part of life. When I read that, I committed myself to putting into practice the 5 secrets because I want to be like those the author interviewed: nothing to regret.
“What brought you the greatest joy? What do you wish you had learned sooner? What ultimately mattered and what didn’t?” asks Dr. John Izzo. Based on a highly acclaimed public television series, this book takes the reader on a heartwarming and profound journey to find lasting happiness.
Imagine for a moment that you are about to take a foreign vacation to an exotic destination. You have saved your entire life to travel there. It is a destination with almost unlimited choices of how to spend your time and you know you will not have enough time to explore every…
I have firsthand experience in some of the harshest environments on the planet. I’ve survived sub-zero temperatures, hurricane force winds, sudden avalanches…and a career on Wall Street. I served as team captain of the first American Women’s Everest Expedition, climbed the highest peak on every continent (the “7 Summits”), and skied to both the North and South Poles. I spent four years as an adjunct professor at the US Military Academy at West Point. Awarded the 2019 Ellis Island Medal of Honor. I have a beer named after me. I love dogs. Three heart surgeries could not slow me down. NY Times bestselling author of On the Edge. I’ve had some high profile failures and have been the butt of late night talk show opening monologue jokes. Come at me!
Kara is the founder/CEO of Hint Water, and this book chronicles her rather unconventional career on her way to becoming a successful entrepreneur. She was told time and time again that what she wanted to do could not be done, yet she remained, UNDAUNTED in her pursuits. The book has all kinds of advice for overcoming both career and personal obstacles. Her attitude has always been, “No means maybe and maybe means YES.” This book will change your outlook when it comes to facing challenges.
Don't let anyone crush your dreams. Undaunted will inspire you to move past your fears and defy the doubters. It doesn't matter whether you feel confident; it matters what you actually do.
A Wall Street Journal bestseller!
CEO of Hint, Inc and author Kara Goldin turned her unsweetened flavored water into one of the most successful beverage businesses of our time. As she started to achieve her goals, Kara found herself being called "fearless", "confident" and even "unstoppable," but nothing could be further from the truth.
In Undaunted, she shares real stories about her own fears and doubts, the challenges…
By Ivanna Mikhailovna Rosendal and Anne Katrine Carlsson SejrAuthor
Why are we passionate about this?
We are two leaders of teams who work in the intersection between people and technology and are obsessed with the human factor in organizational transformation. We have developed the Maneuvering Monday universe to create a space where we discuss topics around leadership, organizational design, and transformation with other thought leaders and experts around the world, and love to nerd these topics to better understand different perspectives and, not least, share tactics to make work better. We spend so much time at work, so it has to be meaningful. All the books on this list have inspired us to improve as leaders, colleagues, and employees. We hope they will inspire you too!
In this book, the author shows how aligning yourself with your needs and being able to express them leads to more effective communication. This is in the context of being a woman who has a very narrow acceptable definition of wants that we are allowed to have.
For me, Ivanna, reading this book opened up my eyes to the times when I have failed at negotiating. It helped me understand how to effectively communicate the needs that I have in a negotiation.
Stop being a servant of the life you're living and become a creator of the world you want. Electrifying lessons in power, influence and persuasion to equalise women in an unequal world.
Why do so many women feel they're too much yet not enough? How can you feel 'good and mad' yet reluctant to speak up in a meeting or difficult conversation? What causes women to freeze at critical moments?
Kasia Urbaniak spent 17 years studying to become a Taoist nun. To foot the bill for her studies, she worked as a high-paid (and extremely successful) dominatrix in dungeons around…
Creativity, Teaching, and Natural Inspiration
by
Mark Doherty,
I have woven numerous delightful and descriptive true life stories, many from my adventures as an outdoorsman and singer songwriter, into my life as a high school English teacher. I think you'll find this work both entertaining as well as informative, and I hope you enjoy the often lighthearted repartee…
I’m a writer who just published a book I didn’t have any interest in writing. I didn’t like the subject matter, so I had no interest in doing the research to create credible characters and a cohesive plot.
I love the stories. Author Robert Greene’s stories about Semmelweis and William Harvey show the nasty consequences of ‘not suffering fools gladly.’
His notion of 10,000 hours to achieve mastery cuts through the challenges I face with each new book: I hate the feeling of not knowing what I’m doing, dislike feeling out of control, and get antsy when something I’m working on doesn’t fall into place easily.
Suck it up because that’s precisely how I feel each time I think about my new book on the early life of King David.
From the bestselling author of The 48 Laws of Power and The Laws of Human Nature, a vital work revealing that the secret to mastery is already within you.
Each one of us has within us the potential to be a Master. Learn the secrets of the field you have chosen, submit to a rigorous apprenticeship, absorb the hidden knowledge possessed by those with years of experience, surge past competitors to surpass them in brilliance, and explode established patterns from within. Study the behaviors of Albert Einstein, Charles Darwin, Leonardo da Vinci and the nine contemporary Masters interviewed for this…
