There will come a time in life where you wish to be better, to unleash your potential, and to escape the ordinary. The journey to transformation often begins with the right tools, and what better tool than a book? Here are five timeless self-help books that stand out from the cliché and ACTUALLY help you transform your life.

1. 7 habits of highly effective people — Stephen R. Covey

   ‘Why would I need to go through 300 pages of this book if I could just Google the 7 habits?’ — on my way home from a public library I thought.

   Well, let me tell you, this book will teach you more than just the habits. Stephen R. Covey introduced many foundational concepts, such as P/PC framework, emotional bank, neuroplasticity, time quadrants, etc. to help you live more intentional and efficient. In other words, the 7 habits are just the tip of the iceberg.

   It’s not just a “how-to” guide but a philosophy for effective living.

   

   
   

   That’s why, if you want to transform your life, this book is your first go-to. Personally, after reading a few sections (not even a chapter) of this book, I have unlocked new life perpectives that serves me much more than my current ones. This book contains so much wisdom that I might not absorb all in one reading.

   
   

   This must be the first book on my ‘books-of-life’ collecction!

2. The Achievement Habit — Bernard Roth

   If you’re stucked at your vision board or your new resolutions, this book will help you actually get sh*t done.

   Bernard Roth, a professor at Stanford University, uses the principles of design thinking to show how you can reframe challenges, take commands, and get unstucked.

   

   
   

   What I love about this book is the ‘Your Turn’ sections where you can apply right away what you read above by yourself or with your friends!

   
   

3. Designing Your Life — Bill Burnett & Dave Evans

   After any achievements, we will ask ourselves -

   What’s Next?
   - I will go to college.

   What’s Next?
   - I will get a high-paying job.

   What’s Next?
   - I will work hard and climb up the ladder.

   And What’s Next?…

   Some people (including me) do not even have the answer for the first What’s Next? question. If you are ever in this state of mind, Designing Your Life will give you practical, actionable strategies to help you move forward with confidence and creativity.

   With self-reflecting exercises, this book helps you deeply connect with yourself and help you understand what is the most important thing to you and remind you that Life is more than just your job title.

   
   

   The two Stanford professors will show you how to apply design thinking principles to design the life that worth-living FOR YOU.

   

   
   

   Arriving at a crossroads in life after college, I was so unsure about my life path. It was so hard to take a leap of faith without knowing exactly how everything’s going to pan out.

   This book came to rescue. It must be why this book is known for being the Bible of Stanford students.

4. Atomic Habits — James Clear

   How many times that you said ‘I will go to the gym’ to only did it for 3 days?
   How many times that you said ‘I will wake up at 5AM starting tomorrow’ to sleep in the next day?
   Well, I used to be no different than you. I wanted to take actions to start being a better me as well.

   But why it is so hard to have a good habit?

   

   James Clear has the answers. He introduced the concept of incremental change (1% better) and how it can lead to remarkable transformations.

   Atomic Habits is a guide to breaking bad habits and building good ones.

   Besides breaking down the science of habit formation, James Clear included worksheets after each chapter, so you can start and keep a good habit.

5. The Mastery of Love — Don Miguel Ruiz

   No no no, this book is NOT ABOUT RIZZING UP anyone. It is about how to nurture self-love & foster unconditional ones.

   

   This book will show how Love is from within.

   Fortunate to find this book in high school, I ‘entered life’ with generosity of love, which shaped the qualities that I usually get complimented on. One of them is ‘where do you get this this positivity?’ 😚