5 of My Favorite Books!

Hey y'all,

I'm often asked for my favorite reads or books that have become a resource of inspiration for me. I thought, what better time of the year to share some of my go-to-titles! I mean, what could be better than the gift of wisdom for some of the very special people on your list? So, here you go! I've given each one a category to make it easier for you to decide. Don't forget to check out a few of these for yourself, too. After all, who's more special than you?

1. RELATIONSHIPS & THE SCIENCE OF LOVE

Love 2.0: Creating Happiness and Health in Moments of Connection by Barbara Fredrickson

We all know love matters, but in this groundbreaking book, positive-emotions expert Barbara Fredrickson, shows us just how much. Even more than happiness and optimism, she makes the case that love holds the key to improving our mental and physical health, even lengthening our lives. This is a fascinating dive into the science of love. Fredrickson was my grad school advisor, so I know her research well—and am a big fan. I promise you, readers of this book will never feel the same way about love again.

2. LIFE PURPOSE

Let Your Life Speak, Listening for the Voice of Vocation by Parker Palmer

This is the gift for anyone feeling a little lost and confused about their mission in life. The author, a gifted academic, shares lessons from his own vocational and spiritual searching, as well as those from the lives of famous people he admires (such as Rosa Parks). Beautifully written with lots of suggestions for how to tap into our inner teacher in order to find our true calling, this is a book the reader will want to pick up again and again.

3. LEADERSHIP & BUSINESS

Profit from for The Positive:  Proven Leadership Strategies to Boost Productivity and Transform Your Business, with a foreword by Tom Rath by Margaret Greenberg and Senia Maymin

Perfect for your favorite entrepreneurs and wannabe business titans, this book offers real hands-on evidence-based tools for transforming one’s leadership persona, and in turn one’s business or career—using applications of Positive Psychology! The authors, both executive coaches, demonstrate the powers of positivity, showcasing some of the most successful and advanced companies (think: Google and Zappos) and how they broke the mold. I use strategies from this book with my clients all the time; I find it invaluable!

4. SPIRITUALITY & INTUITION

7,000 Ways to Listen: Staying Close to What Is Sacred by Mark Nepo

This is a book you could give to everyone on your list—everyone you know, for that matter. It’s so amazing, reading it actually gave me chills. Mark Nepo is the author of The Book of Awakening, which was a #1 New York Times Best Seller and praised by everyone from Deepak to Oprah. (That’s another great gift idea!) In this book, Nepo writes, “Listening is the doorway to everything that matters” and then helps us explore the art of listening—literally, figuratively, individually. It’s both profound and poetic—and learning how to be a better listener to myself truly makes me feel more alive.

5. PERSONALITY & EMOTIONS

The Upside of Your Dark Side: Why Being Your Whole Self--Not Just Your "Good" Self--Drives Success and Fulfillment by Todd Kashdan and Robert Biswas-Diener

You may remember this book from a blog post several months back, when I had the opportunity to interview one of its authors, Todd Kashdan. l loved it then, and I love it now. This book carefully outlines how constructively accessing our full range of emotions can help us better navigate the complexities of life, rather than always striving to stay positive. They point out that feelings, such as anxiety, anger, guilt (our “dark side”), exist for a reason. Sometimes, they’re there to protect us, to alert us or to drive us to make better choices. Of course, these negative emotions can cause serious problems if we allow them to consume us—and fortunately, the book also offers excellent tools for avoiding that. 

Here’s wishing all of you a joyous holiday season and a new year filled with love, prosperity and infinite positive possibilities!

Love,

Stella