This was one of my first books that I read from Brené Brown. It widened my horizon deeply and greatly on our emotion, shame, and strength. What is shame, and how can this one emotion take control of our life? Do you wish you understood why the words of others have the ability to affect you? Upon reading this book, you will find the strength to let go of what other people think.

Image credited to Audrey

Regardless of magnitude or circumstance, the rising strong process is the same: We reckon with our emotions and get curious about what we’re feeling; we rumble with our stories until we get to a place of truth; and we live this process, every day until it becomes a practice and creates nothing short of a revolution in our lives. 

Image credited to Mary Smith

Daring leadership is a collection of four skill sets that are 100% teachable, observable, and measurable. The foundational skill set of courage-building is “rumbling with vulnerability.” Once we have built these rumbling skills, we can move on to the other three skill sets: Living into Our Values, Braving Trust, and Learning to Rise. Our ability to be daring leaders will never be greater than our capacity for vulnerability.

Image credited to Mark Reed

What did I learn?

All of us have a primal need for belonging and connectedness.  This connectedness is not satisfied with social media but requires face-to-face interactions.  And, as it turns out, true belonging is more about belonging to and accepting oneself versus fitting in with our group of friends, co-workers, or a political party.  This type of belonging requires hard work, courage, and vulnerability.  It requires us to step into our pain rather than spread it around.  It requires us to accept ourselves and really like ourselves.  We have to listen with the intent to understand rather than the intent to respond.  We have to have hard conversations and try to find mutual understanding or common ground as a starting place.  It is not about winning or being right, being brave means standing in your truth and belonging to yourself first and foremost being your true authentic self versus denying that self to meet the needs of those around you.

Photo credited to Maria.

The Gifts of Imperfections was written earlier in Brené’s career. In it, she shares her research on Wholehearted living and how we can engage in our lives from a place of worthiness, which includes courage, compassion, and connection.

Image credited to Remote Rachel.

Dr. Brown delves deeply into courage. What it means to be courageous. What it means to dare greatly. There are many quotes that I find meaningful and memorable. Two of the quotes that I remember till today are:

I am not what has happened to me. I am what I choose to become.

Only when you’re brave enough to explore darkness will we discover the infinite power of our light.

Photo credited to Akash Behl.

The Laws of Human Nature encourages readers to deeply understand themselves and others, providing insights into human behavior that help in personal and professional relationships. It highlights that mastering human nature is essential for achieving both personal fulfillment and success in a complex world.

This is a book about self-sabotage. Why we do it, when we do it, and how to stop doing it—for good. Coexisting but conflicting needs create self-sabotaging behaviors. This is why we resist efforts to change, often until they feel completely futile.

But by extracting crucial insight from our most damaging habits, building emotional intelligence by better understanding our brains and bodies, releasing past experiences at a cellular level, and learning to act as our highest potential future selves, we can step out of our own way and into our potential. For centuries, the mountain has been used as a metaphor for the big challenges we face, especially ones that seem impossible to overcome.

To scale our mountains, we actually have to do the deep internal work of excavating trauma, building resilience, and adjusting how we show up for the climb. In the end, it is not the mountain we master, but ourselves.

In Why Not Me? Kaling shares her ongoing journey to find contentment and excitement in her adult life, whether it’s falling in love at work, seeking new friendships in lonely places, attempting to be the first person in history to lose weight without any behavior modification whatsoever, or, most important, believing that you have a place in Hollywood when you’re constantly reminded that no one looks like you.

Elise Ballard was an actress and filmmaker living in Austin, Texas, when she had an epiphany that changed her life. Her experience sparked her own research into these kinds of revelations. Interviewing people from all walks of life—from celebrities like Barry Manilow, Dr. Oz and Maya Angelou to her own friends and family—she asked, “What has been your greatest epiphany?” She collected their responses in her book, Epiphany: True Stories of Sudden Insight to Inspire, Encourage and Transform. Mysterious Ways asked Elise about what she’s discovered.

An insightful journey through the highs and lows of the restaurant industry. Meyer dives deep into the gritty realities of running a restaurant, where every detail matters—from the way you make someone feel to how you plate a dish. He shows that true business success is about relationships, grit, and finding those "Aha!" moments that keep people coming back for more.

We Are Never Meeting in Real Life by Samantha Irby is a hilarious collection of biographical essays that tell the craziest situations in the most verbose way. I recommend We are Never Meeting in Real Life: Essays and I look forward to reading Irby’s other works. You will enjoy her collective, humorous, and insightful essays!

For anyone who has ever had trouble staying on track while trailblazing towards badassery, You Are a Badass Every Day is the companion to keep you fresh, grateful, scrappy, and driven. In this inspirational guide, bestselling author and world-traveling success coach Jen Sincero distills the big ideas behind her iconic books You Are a Badass and You Are a Badass at Making Money into bite-sized, daily exercises and reflections you need to stay sharp. Giving you permission to let go of missteps, the tools to keep yourself accountable, and the space and acceptance to celebrate like mad when you are kicking butt, You Are a Badass Every Day is organized to help you manuever through the challenges and maximize the advantages of our seasonal rhythms to power you past beliefs and behaviors that hold you back from greatness.

Author Toshikazu Kawaguchi writes yet again another wonderful four different short stories of a daughter, a comedian, a sister, and a lover, each with something they wish they had said differently.

Kawaguchi never fails to invite readers to probe and explore what would we change diferently if we could go back in time?

This is the fourth internationally best-selling Before the Coffee Gets Cold series, comes yet another four different customers who could travel back in time.

-The husband with something left important to say

-The woman who couldn’t bid her dog farewell

-The woman who couldn’t answer a proposal

-The daughter who drove her father away

The author again invites readers to ask ourselves what would we change if we could go back in time?

Tales from the Cafe is a simple and wholehearted story about four different people who travel back in time to see those who are dear to them.

The man who goes back to see his best friend who died 22 years ago

The son who was unable to attend his own mother’s funeral

The man who travelled to see the girl who he could not marry

The old detective who never gave his wife that gift...

What would you do if you could go back in time?

Time travel is a popular scenario in science fiction. However, in Kawaguchi’s book, it happens more in a way of magical realism rather than hardcore sci-fi, where you generally expect rules that make some sort of sense. What if there was a quaint old cafe, unchanged for decades, where a humble cup of coffee could give you a chance to travel back in time? But before you get all excited about visiting the dinosaurs or killing Hitler, consider the many seemingly arbitrary rules attached. You can only time-travel from one specific seat in a cafe, and can’t budge from it while in the past. Whatever you do in the past will never change the present when you return. And finally, you must finish your cup of coffee in the past before it gets cold, or you’ll be stuck in the magic seat forever.

Friday Forward is an easy and short read. Each page is filled with inspirational stories of how you could live your life better and learn to enjoy each moment that you have. Dive into this book if you need a boost and ways to live life fuller.

Full of life lesson stories, Christie Tate shares her healing journey therapy on eating disorder, bulimia, overcoming a sense of loneliness, and her longing for a relationship. A compelling read that will leave you wishing you could and should have read it at a younger age.

Life Lessons From A Brain Surgeon by Rahul Jandial, an M.D. and a Ph.D. and bestselling author shares his medical experiences and what he learns about survival and overcoming the odds from his own hands-on experiences.

This is an easy read kind of book. However, the story and experiences provided by the author herself are filled with poignant life lessons that we could all learn. goes here

The Wisdom of Morrie is a great companion to Tuesdays with Morrie. It is the perfect introduction to Morrie’s thoughtful philosophies with emphatic insights, stories, anecdotes, and advice on his gathered experience and wisdom of life.

This book will change how you see and experience the world, your life, and your behavior. The book covers a wide range of subjects, such as why choosing purpose over passion is important, how to look for the good in tough situations, the importance of routine and simplicity, and consistency. It also offers profound insights about love and relationships, advice on creating habits, how to recognize the impact of your own cognitive biases, and more! By reading this, you will no longer see things the same way, and you will be able to create a better and happier life than you could ever imagine.

Good Morning, Monster is not only the title of Catherine Gildiner’s book, but what one of her patients actually heard every day of her childhood. And not in a loving ‘you’re grumpy’ or ‘you’ve got bedhead’ way, but with true disdain. Gildiner is a psychologist in Canada and in Good Morning, Monster she’s pulled together the stories of five patients who deeply impacted her and shaped her as a therapist. These are people who managed lives as functioning adults, all despite horrific childhood trauma. Their stories are disturbing, but their resilience and determination to heal is extraordinary.

An outstanding book that will no doubt remain a classic for a long time. 48 Laws of Power details the laws for attaining power in life, business, and more, and gives historical examples of each law in practice, as well as examples of those who do not respect these laws.

Mastery by Robert Greene is a guide to achieving greatness in any career. Through biographies of historical and contemporary masters, it reveals the traits and strategies required for sustained success.

In this deeply moving book of quotes and essays, Maggie writes about new beginnings as opportunities for transformation. Like kintsugi, the Japanese art of mending broken ceramics with gold, Keep Moving celebrates the beauty and strength on the other side of loss. This is a book for anyone who has gone through a difficult time and is wondering: What comes next?

Someone Who Will Love You In All Your Damaged Glory is a collection of short stories that features A young engaged couple forced to deal with interfering relatives dictating the appropriate number of ritual goat sacrifices for their wedding. Also featuring A struggling employee at a theme park of U.S. presidents who discovers that love can’t be genetically modified; and fifteen more tales of humor, romance, whimsy, cultural commentary, and crushing emotional vulnerability.

Richard Carlson will help you grow and improve on things in your life. It’s well-written with great advice! I learned and grew so much from this book. I am certain you will too!