Books That Changed Me

Rich Dad Poor Dad — Robert Kiyosaki. The book that made me quit my pension fund job and get a real estate license. I wanted to be an investor, but wanted to figure out how real estate is done first. It didn't teach me about money. It changed how I saw the world.

The School of Life: An Emotional Education — Alain de Botton. I flew to Lisbon for his seminar in 2017. Something opened that has not closed since. This book gave language to things I had felt for years but couldn't articulate.

The 4-Hour Workweek — Timothy Ferriss. Not about working less. About designing a life on purpose rather than inheriting one by default. I read this at exactly the right moment. Again - shift in perspective.

The Power of Moments — Chip Heath & Dan Heath. It confirmed something I already knew about my work — that life is not about everything, we only remember high and low moments. This book made me more intentional about creating them.

Being Mortal — Atul Gawande. About how we face the end of life and what actually matters when everything else falls away. It made me think differently about home, about dignity, about what people really need.

Bird by Bird — Anne Lamott The book that gave me permission to write. One small piece at a time. Without waiting to be ready.

The Little Book of Hygge — Meik Wiking. I already lived this way. But having a name for it — a philosophy, a culture — made me understand why home matters so deeply to me and to the people I work with.

The Artist's Way — Julia Cameron. About recovering your creative self. About showing up for your own voice even when you don't feel worthy of it. I return to this one.

The Four Tendencies — Gretchen Rubin. I am a Rebel. This book explained so much about why I work the way I work — in waves of intensity, on my own terms, without supervision.

Grant — Ron Chernow. A thousand pages about a complicated, deeply human man who kept going despite everything. I love a biography that doesn't sanitize its subject.

Educated — Tara Westover. A woman who builds a life from nothing, on her own terms, against every odd. The celebration of human’s journey, effort, overcoming hard things.

Man's Search for Meaning — Viktor Frankl. The book that most clearly articulated what I believe — that meaning is not found, it is chosen. Even in the hardest circumstances. Especially then.

Lying — Sam Harris. Short, sharp, and quietly radical. It changed how I think about honesty in my work and in my life.

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up — Marie Kondo. It prompts you to act. That is rare in a book. You read it and you get up and you start. And when you are done you feel lighter. I have felt that. I have watched clients feel it too when we prepare their homes to sell.

Anything You Want — Derek Sivers. About building something small and meaningful instead of something big and hollow. Forty lessons I return to when I need to remember why I keep my practice intentional.

I am always looking for book recommendations - please don’t hesitate to share if you read something profound to you!