Personal Bibliography: Inspiration
Click here for my complete Personal Bibliography.
Allen, David. Getting Things Done. A comprehensive approach to, you guessed it, getting things done. I don’t follow it to a “t” but it has been influential in my approach to day-to-day to-do.
Andreas, Brian. Bring Your Life Back To Life. Poems? Aphorisms? Rules for living? Whatever you call them, the messages in this book are a great place to turn for inspiration.
Babauta, Leo. The Power of Less. Advice for accomplishing more by doing less. Leo is the author of ZenHabits.net.
Chödrön, Pema. When Things Fall Apart. The classic from Chödrön on overcoming life’s obstacles.
Eagleman, David. Incognito. Eagleman is a brilliant storyteller and neuroscientist. I derive a lot of inspiration from understanding how our minds work, and this is a great primer – full of WOW moments.
Iyer, Pico. The Art of Stillness. Disconnecting can be the most vital tool we have in the age of connection.
Newman, Catherine. Catastrophic Happiness. A collection of essays about parenting, but really about living and loving life.
Nhat Hanh, Thich. The Art of Living. A recent book from the celebrated Buddhist teacher, on living a life of mindfulness.
Palmer, Amanda. The Art of Asking. Amanda Palmer lays out an inspiring worldview encompassing imposter syndrome, accepting help, and making art on your own terms.
Palmer, Parker J. Let Your Life Speak. Parker Palmer speaks so eloquently about listening for the inner voice of vocation and letting it guide your path.
Palmer, Parker J. On The Brink of Everything. Palmer’s 2018 book of essays have a common sub-theme of aging, but they are powerfully inspiring in whatever stage of life you are in.
Rhimes, Shonda. Year of Yes. Rhimes writes about how a year of saying “yes” helped her try new things and dance with her introversion.
Sacks, Oliver. Gratitude. This is a short collection of essays Sacks wrote shortly before his death, as he grappled with the bigger questions.
Saunders, George. Congratulations, By The Way. Some thoughts on kindness, from the brilliant fiction writer. Adapted from a heralded commencement address.
Shlain, Tiffany. 24/6. Read my complete thoughts here about this book offering a scaffolding for achieving Tech/Life Balance.
Tippett, Krista. Becoming Wise. Tippett chronicles her own spiritual and intellectual journey, with insights from the many brilliant fellow travelers she’s interviewed for On Being.
Trillin, Calvin. About Alice. In the wake of his wife’s death, New Yorker staff writer Calvin Trillin wrote this beautiful and poignant remembrance. I can’t think of a more beautiful expression of love and grief.
Last updated: Feb. 1, 2020