THIS PAGE NEEDS AN UPDATE… Priorities change.

… stay tuned and come back.

There are some books which could probably change your life if you want.
I plan to update this selection once in a while – whenever I come across a new candidate worth mentioning.

Category 1: If you always have wanted to write but do not know how to start.
Category 2: If you want to get rid of the clutter in your shelves, your garage and your life.
Category 3: If you want to understand creativity and how the mind works.
Category 4: If you want to change your career and don’t know how.
Category 5: If you need inspiration on building your own successful business.

Read on down here…

Category 1: If you always have wanted to write but do not know how to start.

Natalie Goldberg‘s “Writing down the bones” (in German: “Schreiben in Cafes“)… is an encouraging selection of writing inspiration – you just cannot not start after reading this book.

Stephen King‘s “On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft” is – besides being his autobiography – a description of his writing process, where he finds the stories, how he handles the first, second, final draft, and how he organizes the creation process of his bestsellers.

Category 2: If you want to get rid of the clutter in your shelves, your garage and your life.

Karen Kingston‘s “Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui” (in German “Feng Shui gegen das Gerümpel des Alltags: Richtig ausmisten. Gerümpelfrei bleiben“) is a guide to get rid of… well, you guess, the clutter. It is about letting go of things (and people) you keep for the wrong reasons and feel liberated from the space-consuming objects and energy-sucking individuals which held you back from breathing deeply.

James Wallman‘s “Stuffocation: Living More With Less” is a reflection on the experience economy which we should expect to follow after the earlier agrarian, manufacturing and service economies, which led to utter overconsumption with all it’s negative impact on the environment and our well-being. A bit lengthy, though.

Category 3: If you want to understand creativity and how the mind works.

One of my gurus on creativity and the art of thinking is Tony Buzan. Start with his “Mind Map Book” and check out his other works on the brain and the memory, e.g. “Use Your Memory” or his “Speed Reading Book“.

The absolute god on creativity, Edward de Bono, has spent the lion’s share of his scientist’s career to research on the brain’s thinking habits and how to break them to find new solutions. I recommend his “Lateral Thinking: A Textbook of Creativity” or his tool on better communication – “Six Thinking Hats“.

Not to forget is Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi‘s “Flow (Harper Perennial Modern Classics)“, a guide to find out how to enjoy what you do and to be “in the moment”.

Category 4: If you want to change your career and don’t know how.

Herminia Ibarra, a professor from INSEAD, has authored “Working Identity: Unconventional Strategies for Reinventing Your Career“, a guide to make the move from a non-fulfilling life in the treadmill to a satisfying new position where you can work based on your strengths.

The Gallup Institute’s extensive research on strengths, how to build on them and find work you can excel in is summarized in Marcus Buckingham‘s and Donald O. Clifton‘s book “Now, Discover Your Strengths“. It will help you to find your five most striking strengths and provides examples how to act on this knowledge – at work and elsewhere. The book comes with an access code for the online questionnaire.

Category 5: If you need inspiration on building your own successful business.

I am a fan of W. Chan Kim‘s and Renee Mauborgne‘s famous “Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant“, which reveals the secrets of success of world-known brands like Virgin and the Cirque du Soleil.

Alexander Osterwalder has written a brilliant book on understanding the elements of a solid and successful business model – check out his “Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers“.