In June 2015 my life changed forever. I quit my job. It was my first day back from a holiday in the Umbrian sunshine, where I’d done little but soak up the sun, eat delicious home-made pasta and read voraciously.

Every moment I’d had to myself I’d read and read and read. Absorbing the teachings of books that showed me a different way to live.

As a single mums you a humungous amount of responsibility on your shoulders. But you also still have hopes and dreams. You long to rise phoenix-like from the ashes of your soul-sucking corporate job, but you’re living on a single income. Kissing goodbye to a reliable pay packet feels like a huge risk.

I had exactly the same fears. I still do. But I’ve learnt to ‘feel the fear and do it anyway’.

I credit the books I read on that trip with giving me the confidence to drop the excuses and take action. So if you’re looking for inspiration to help you reach beyond self-limiting beliefs, these six life changing books will put you on the right track.

Choose Yourself by James Altucher*

This is the book that started it all for me. It was like reading my own thoughts. Thoughts I’d had all my life about living life on my own terms, but had been too scared to wholly live by. I kept getting sucked back into conforming to social norms.

The power of James’ main ethos his utterly convincing argument – because you can see it happening around you – that in the internet age you no longer need the ‘middle-men’ who once had the power to make or break us.

If you want to write a book you no longer need a publisher – you can self-publish and sell it on Amazon. If you want a music career you no longer need a record company to sign you, you can build a fanbase on YouTube and sell your music to them directly.

AND if you want a successful career doing something you love you don’t need an employer to give you permission to do it.

The gate-keepers are becoming redundant, you don’t need them to choose you because you can CHOOSE YOURSELF.

He also argues that having several sources of income is far more secure than relying on one employer. After all you’re only really as secure as your notice period.

Get Rich Lucky Bitch by Denise Duffield-Thomas*

Denise is a money mindset mentor. She takes a refreshingly down to earth and witty approach to help women find outrageous success in their lives and in business. She’s a big advocate of the law of attraction and harnessing its power to manifest your ideal life.

The proof is in the pudding – she’s done it herself.

The book walks you through various practices that can help you get the life, and income, you want. It’s an overwhelmingly positive read that will leave you feeling like anything is possible.

Playing Big: A practical guide for brilliant women like you by Tara Mohr*

Leadership expert Tara Mohr, wrote this books after noticing how many talented women around her weren’t recognising their own brilliance. They were playing small. Despite wanting bigger things for themselves she saw many women minimising their capabilities.

This book will help you recognise why and how you’ve been unconsciously holding yourself back. Tara takes you through practical exercise to help you let go of self-criticism and doubt, find your true calling and step into your own brilliance.

Uncertainty: Turning Fear & Doubt into Fuel for Brilliance by Jonathan Fields*

Anything worth having is inherently risky. It’s how we deal with the associated doubt and fear that matters, Jonathan Fields argues.

On a practical side you’ll learn from this book how powerful it is to create daily routines. Routines to help you get the essentials of life taken care of – the shopping, the house work, getting the kids ready for school. The solid base established by those routines give you a springboard to be creative and cope with uncertainty.

This book is packed full of stories about inspiring people who achieved greatness by making peace with their fears.

The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks* 

Last summer I spent a weekend house-sitting for my business coach. She left this book, amongst others, on the bed-side table, knowing I’d benefit from reading any one of them. This book jumped out and me and I devoured it in a day.

It opened my eyes to all the false beliefs and fears that were holding me back. It explains that we all have ‘upper limits’ – psychological barriers, or blocks – that mean that when we reach certain levels of success we sabotage ourselves.

Have you ever noticed that every time you’re really happy you start waiting for something to go wrong? And then it does. Or after you achieve something big you suddenly get sick? That’s your upper limits at play.

These blocks are about what we think we deserve, or are capable of, but are not based on fact. They keep us in our comfort zone, keeping us ‘safe’ from challenges we’re afraid of. But to achieve true success we need to leap beyond them, and in this book you’ll learn exercises, affirmations and techniques to take you beyond your self-imposed limits.

Very Good Lives: The Fringe Benefits of Failure and the Importance of Imagination by JK Rowling*

I adore JK Rowling. This book is a transcript of a powerful commencement speech she gave at Harvard University. She emphasises how she wouldn’t have risen so high without first tasting failure. She’d failed in her marriage, failed in her career and was a single mum on benefits.

Fear of failure is often when holds us back from following what matters to us most, but if you’ve already been a low as you can go, what is there left to fear?

It was after hitting rock bottom that she realised all she had left was to focus all her efforts to what she truly mattered to her – her creativity.

These words stood out to me:

“Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one arena I believed I truly belonged.”

Save yourself some cash and watch the speech here:

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These books have had a profound effect on me, and they all seemed to find at the right moment. I could never afford to have any of these people as my an actual mentor, but by having these books on my shelf – or in my Kindle – I feel like I have an awesome virtual team of mentors on my side.

Have you read any of these books? What do you think? Are there any other books you’d like to recommend? I’d love to hear about them, I’m always looking for new reading material to add to my Kindle Wish List.

Got a question? Leave comment – let’s chat!

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