Devine Fairytale

a magical lifestyle blog

Categories: Lifestyle

Personal Development Suggestions: How to Find What You Need to Read

Something that has played a huge part in my life over the past couple of years is investing time into personal development.  YOU are important and need to make sure that you are taking time for YOURSELF.  You can’t pour into others if your cup is empty.  You need to feed your mind with positivity, knowledge, confidence.  You don’t have to be in a deep depression or completely lost to need to read personal development.  Everyone has moments where the negative thoughts, or doubts and fears, can creep in and you need to flip the switch.  

I promise that taking a few minutes a day can help change your life.  I am a happier person, I am more focused, and I am more understanding of others since making this a habit in my life.  
I encourage you to look through the list of books and find what speaks to you.  What do you need more of in your life?  Are you doubting that you are on the right path?  Do you want to know how to better communicate with a significant other?  Read something that relates to that! That is how you will get the most value out of your time.  
You also have to TAKE ACTION from what you are learning and be sure to not just hoard the information.  That is how you move forward and better yourself!
Confidence:

“Unlimited” by Jillian Michaels

“Daring Greatly” by Brené Brown

“The Confidence Gap” by Russ Harris


Time Management & Goals:

“Eat That Frog!” by Brian Tracy

“Push” by Chalene Johnson

“Make It Happen” by Lara Casey

“7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen R. Covey

“The Miracle Morning” by Hal Elrod


Leadership:

“Entreleadership” by Dave Ramsey

“Leaders Eat Last” by Simon Sinek

“Strengths Finder 2.0” by Tom Rath

“21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership” by John C. Maxwell


Business:

“Go Pro” by Eric Worre

“Go For No” by Richard Fenton and Andrea Waltz

“The Entrepreneur Roller Coaster” by Darren Hardy


Consistency:

“The Slight Edge” by Jeff Olson

“The Compound Effect” by Darren Hardy


Connecting to People:

“The Five Love Languages” by Gary Chapman

“Personality Plus” by Florence Littauer

“The Go Giver” by Bob Burg


Social Media:

“Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook” by Gary Vaynerchuk

“Platform” by Michael Hyatt


Mindset:

“You Are a Badass” by Jen Sincero

“Yes, Please” by Amy Poehler

“Big Magic” by Elizabeth Gilbert

“The Dip” by Seth Godin

“Start With Why” by Simon Sinek

“#Girlboss” by Sophia Amoruso

“The Happiness Project” by Gretchen Rubin

“I Thought It Was Just Me” by Brené Brown


Nutrition:

“The Eat Clean Diet Recharged” by Tosca Reno

“Made to Crave” by Lysa TerKeurst

“It Starts With Food” by Dallas and Melissa Hartwig


I will continue to update this list over time and add new books!
I also want to mention that books aren’t the only option to get in personal development.  I also enjoy listening to audio books on Audible, Podcasts, and Youtube videos.  For myself, it depends on what I need in that moment.  Audio books and podcasts are great while driving or traveling.  I also want to encourage you to keep a personal development notebook and/or highlight in the book you’re reading.  It helps you to remember quotes that spoke to you and actions you want to implement. 
Do you have any suggestions to add to the list?  Leave them in the comments below!
xoxo Shannon

Categories: Lifestyle

2015: Your Year [Goals and Planning]

Can you believe it’s already February and 2015 is off and running?!

Did you make resolutions for the new year? Or maybe set some really awesome goals to crush?

I made my own goal board for this year with a foam board, Post It notes, and a Sharpie.

I chose 20 goals from several different areas of my life to focus on.  The MOST IMPORTANT tip I can give you is to set measurable goals.  It’s great if you want to lose weight, but your goal should be to lose a certain number of pounds or inches.  If you want to save money, have a dollar amount written down.  This way you can easily track your progress!  

Having something like a board to look at daily also helps keep your mind focused on the things that are the most important to you.  I also have a document on my laptop where I can keep notes of my progress, for example, I will be adding each personal development book I read to the list.  Look at often!

Have you been able to take steps toward any of your specific goals so far this year? Have you stayed on track and committed?  If you have…that’s great!  If you haven’t…that’s okay too!  Sometimes all you need to do is recommit to the goal.  Other times, it may require a revision to make it work.  Life happens and things get hectic and everyone is busy.  Things change and all of that is okay.  It doesn’t make you a failure and it doesn’t mean you can’t do great things.

A great book about setting goals is Push by Chalene Johnson.  I highly recommend this book if you are looking to refocus your life.

Another tool that is really working for me is a new planner I ordered from Whitney English, the Day Designer.  First off, it’s BEAUTIFUL!  But of course, it is also super functional and the perfect planner for anyone who loves a good to-do list.

There is a full page for every day of the year (except the weekend is on a single page).  There is plenty of room to log your schedule for each day and any things to check off of your to-do list.  When I first got my planner, I put in all of the holidays, birthdays, etc.  Basically, any event I know will definitely be happening.  I also do this on the days certain bills are always due.
At the beginning of the month I start to do some initial planning and adding in tasks to complete to keep me on track with my timeline.  Then on Sunday nights I go more in depth for the upcoming week.  I take 5 to 10 minutes every night to evaluate what was completed and what wasn’t and then make any adjustments or notes for the next day.  Seriously, just a few minutes each night can make a huge improvement in how productive your day can be!
Don’t give up on your year.  Keep pushing forward!
xoxo Shannon

Blog Archive