I got a phone call from my sister the other day. We had a long, wide-ranging conversation about everything from the challenges of raising teenagers to how to have a relationship with God. Several times during the call, I suggested books that had helped me in a few of the areas we were discussing. She seemed genuinely interested in hearing about them.
With that in mind, I thought I’d use this post to share some books and websites that have helped me become a better version of myself. I hope they can be an inspiration and a catalyst for growth in your own life. Here are some of my favorites in various categories:
CAREER: The Crossroads of Should and Must by Elle Luna – an easy read that uses colorful pictures and engaging graphics to communicate concepts. This book helps you find your true passions, then goes on to show how to turn them into a career by differentiating our “should do’s” from our “must do’s”.
HABITS: Daily Rituals: How Artists Work by Mason Currey – this fascinating book is made up of short entries on the lives and daily habits of over 150 successful people from a variety of creative fields. It gave me so many useful tips on how to practically organize and live out each day for both productivity and enjoyment.
PHYSICAL: Cholesterol Clarity by Jimmy Moore – this book helped me understand the latest science on cholesterol, diet and overall heart health; kennedypm.com – a fun, engaging blog full of nutritional insight, easy recipes and beautiful photography (full disclosure – this is my daughter’s website and yes, she’s awesome 🙂 ).
SPIRITUAL: Walking With God by John Eldredge – this book helped me deepen my personal experience of God by showing how an intimate, conversational relationship with God is possible; Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis – this classic work from a master writer provides an intellectual foundation for a belief in God and a Christian worldview.
FINANCIAL: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver – this 23 minute episode on financial planning had me laughing out loud yet was the gut punch I needed to start educating myself on finances and retirement; The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey – a clear, easy to follow method for finding freedom from financial stress by one of America’s most trusted names in financial advice; Money: Master the Game by Tony Robbins – if you read Dave Ramsey and are interested in upping your financial knowledge even higher, this book is a more in depth look at investing for your future. It’s packed with interviews with the most successful investors in the world and delivered with Tony’s well known motivational style.
MENTAL: lumosity.com – a free website where you play fun, short games designed to exercise your brain, a key to warding off the mental decline that comes with advancing age; Words I Wish I Wrote by Robert Fulghum – a collection of moving, motivating, and thought provoking excerpts from many of the top writers in history that inspired Fulghum’s own classic “Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten”. Organized by category for easy reference, this is a gem I’ve turned to again and again to shape my thinking about life and my place in it.
SERVING: volunteermatch.org – a great website that allows you to search for volunteer opportunities in your area based on your skills and interests. I’ve used it to volunteer with a wide variety of wonderful organizations.
GIVING: charitynavigator.org – this website provides a way to give to the needs of the world with confidence by ranking charitable organizations on their financial trustworthiness and effectiveness.
I’m SO grateful for the guidance and insight these writers and resources have given me. Choose one that looks interesting to you and dive in! If you do, you’ll take another step toward Becoming Yourself.
Have any favorite resources of your own that you’d like to share? I’d love to hear about them! List them in the comments below.
Giving is supposed to be a selfless act. I get it. But if you’re like me, sometimes it helps to have a little extra motivation to give. Here are three simple ways to give where you get something in return.
When I volunteer my time at 
One of my favorite jobs as my wife 
One of my favorite Christmas traditions is giving everyone in our family money that they can donate to the charity of their choice. I keep a selection of those charity requests we get in the mail and spread them on the floor. It’s so fun to watch everyone choose where they’re going to give and share why it’s important to them. One year we combined our money and bought a poor family in Thailand their own water buffalo through 
So how about it? What’s one way you can give some of your time, talent, or treasure this week? Do it because there are people all around you who could really use what you have to give. And for that extra motivation, do it because you’ll get a lot in return. If you do, you’ll take another great step toward Becoming Yourself.