The Best Books on Business and Self-Development to Read in 2020
If you’re searching for new ways to keep yourself occupied at home during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, consider picking up one of these business and self-development books. Note that direct links to purchase have purposefully been excluded — consider purchasing your next quarantine read from your favorite local bookstore!
1. Change Your Schedule, Change Your Life by Dr. Suhas Kshirsagar
We’ve all heard about circadian rhythms, aka the daily mental, physical and behavioral changes we experience due to light and darkness. According to Dr. Kshirsagar, the smallest habits and behaviors can impact these rhythms and affect our overall health.
Human bodies are extremely sensitive to disruptions in our natural cycles, but small changes and healthy habits can make a huge difference. This book offers a 30-day plan to help you master your schedule and alter your life in the best possible way.
2. How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy by Jenny Odell
Jenny Odell, an artist, writer and Stanford professor, wants us to rethink the way we assign value to things that can’t always be measured economically.
If you’ve ever felt like you can’t tear your brain away from social media feeds, endless news stories and other pillars of the “attention economy,” this will be a refreshing read. Your newfound mindfulness is bound to help out in the business world, too.
3. Year Of Yes: How To Dance It Out, Stand In The Sun And Be Your Own Person by Shonda Rhimes
Shonda Rhimes is an acclaimed television producer, TV/film writer and author (we can thank her for hit shows like Scandal and Grey’s Anatomy). The inspiration for this personal development book came from a challenge her sister gave her: to say “yes” to unexpected offers and experiences for an entire year.
It sounds like a counterproductive challenge for people who are already way too busy, but the insights in this book might change your mind.
4. The Third Door: The Wild Quest To Uncover How The World’s Most Successful People Launched Their Careers by Alex Banayan
Alex Banayan hypothesized that success is like trying to get into a nightclub. There’s the first door, or the main entrance, where most people wait in line and hope to get inside. The second door is the VIP entrance, which can be accessed through money and connections. But, there’s always one more door: the Third Door.
In this fascinating book, Banayan details the ‘secrets' of the Third Door through interviews with wildly successful entrepreneurs and celebrities, like Bill Gates and Lady Gaga.
5. Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind And Defy The Odds by David Goggins
Negative thoughts can derail progress in your business and personal life, but there are techniques you can use to overcome the limitations of your mind (and your circumstances).
In Can’t Hurt Me, David Goggins shares his incredible journey. Goggins lived through a traumatic childhood of poverty and physical abuse, then later turned his life around to become a well-known figure in the U.S. Armed Forces and one of the world’s top endurance athletes. In this book, he outlines the exact tactics he used to overcome depression, self-loathing and negativity. If you’re looking for a motivational read that will inspire big changes, add this book to your reading list.
