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Books I Actually Finished (And Keep Coming Back To)
36
items I "read" most of these with my ears. Audiobooks changed everything for me — words get mixed up on the page but when someone reads it to me it sticks. If that's you too, most of these is available on Audible… and since I actually finished these, that ...
Sections
6
Why You Do What You Do
How You Lead & Influence
How You Build & Grow
Faith, Purpose & The Bigger Picture
Daily Reads & Short Ones Worth It
For The Work You Do
Why You Do What You Do
minset & self-awareness
This was the first time I learned that overthinking is actually a form of anxiety — and I was in my 40s when I figured out I even had it. If you've spent years thinking you were just a worrier, this book might change everything you thought you knew a...
Stop Overthinking: 23 Techniques to Relieve Stress
This book will make you realize you've been self-sabotaging on purpose — not out of laziness but out of fear of how good things could actually get. Uncomfortable and necessary.
*Also essential if you're working on building and growing — the ceiling you keep hitting isn't external.
*Also essential if you're working on building and growing — the ceiling you keep hitting isn't external.
The Big Leap: Conquer Fear & Take Life Up
The follow-up to The Big Leap. Once you understand what's been holding you back, this one helps you figure out where you're meant to operate — and stop wasting energy everywhere else.
The Genius Zone: End Negative Thinking & Live Creatively
If you're tired all the time and can't figure out why, start here. It connects the dots between constantly being in go-mode and what it's actually doing to your body and hormones.
Rushing Woman's Syndrome: Impact & Health
Less about feelings, more about self-awareness as a skill. This one changed how I understand my own reactions — and how to lead myself before I try to lead anyone else.
Emotional Intelligence 2.0
Teaches you how to watch your own thoughts without becoming them. For the woman who knows she needs a mindset shift but doesn't know where to start.
The Observer's Chair - Discovering the Real You
The book that explains why small daily choices matter more than big dramatic overhauls. If you've ever wondered why you can't stay consistent, this is the answer. I can't count the number of aha moments I had with this one.
The Slight Edge: Simple Disciplines to Success
Raw, no-excuses, and deeply personal. Elizabeth doesn't let you stay comfortable in your story. Perfect for the woman who is done talking about change and ready to mean it.
Chasing Cupcakes: How One Broke, Fat Girl Transformed
How You Lead & Influence
leadership & relationships
Before you can lead anyone else, you have to know what drives you. This is the book that makes you stop and ask the question most people skip — and the answer changes everything about how you show up.
Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire
The hands-on companion to Start With Why. Less theory, more action. If Start With Why asked the question, this one helps you actually answer it for yourself and your team.
Find Your Why: Guide to Discovering Purpose
The old model of leadership was command and control. This book makes the case that the most effective leaders today lead by earning trust and inspiring belief — not managing behavior.
Trust and Inspire: How Great Leaders Unleash
Breaks down exactly where you are as a leader and what it takes to grow to the next level. Practical, clear, and one of those books you'll reference over and over.
The 5 Levels of Leadership: Proven Steps
About what it really means to put your people first — and why the leaders worth following always do. Made me rethink what safety and trust look like inside a team.
Leaders Eat Last: Why Teams Pull Together
Written decades ago and still one of the most relevant books on human connection ever written. Less about manipulation, more about genuinely understanding people.
How to Win Friends and Influence People
For the woman who has influence but not a title. This was a struggle most of my career and this book showed me that you don't need permission to lead. Learn how to make an impact exactly where you are right now.
How to Lead When Not in Charge: Influence
This book puts words to everything you've ever felt in a toxic work environment but couldn't say out loud. The best team I ever worked with used this as their onboarding — leadership told us upfront that if this wasn't how you wanted to work, no hard...
The Ideal Team Player: Recognize & Cultivate Virtues
Changed how I understand why certain tasks drain me and others energize me. Once you know your genius type you stop beating yourself up for the things that were never meant for you.
The 6 Types of Working Genius: Understand Your Team
How You Build & Grow
habits, systems & goals
The most practical book on behavior change I've ever come across. It's not about motivation or willpower — it's about building systems so small they're impossible to fail. This one lives on my recommended list permanently.
Atomic Habits: Easy Way to Build & Break Habits
Similar territory to Atomic Habits but gets even smaller. If you've ever felt like you need to overhaul everything at once, this book will give you permission to start with almost nothing — and mean it.
Tiny Habits: Small Changes That Change All
For the woman who never feels like enough no matter how much she accomplishes. This one reframes how you measure progress and it's quietly one of the most important mindset shifts I've made.
The Gap and The Gain: Guide to Success
Sounds impossible until you read it. The idea is that trying to do a little better keeps you stuck — but thinking 10x forces you to eliminate everything that doesn't belong. Counterintuitive and worth every page.
*Also relevant if you're doing leadership work — the way you think about growth changes how you lead.
*Also relevant if you're doing leadership work — the way you think about growth changes how you lead.
10x Is Easier Than 2x: How Entrepreneurs Achieve More
Stopped me from trying to do everything myself. The question isn't how do I do this — it's who can help me do this. Every woman trying to build something needs this one.
Who Not How: Achieve Bigger Goals Fast
The book that made me take my mornings seriously. Not about waking up at 5am — it's about owning the first part of your day before the world gets to it.
The Miracle Morning for Entrepreneurs
Faith-driven and practical. For the woman who has big dreams but keeps getting in her own way. Nichole doesn't sugarcoat it and that's exactly why it works.
Goal Getters - 5 Steps to Getting What You Want
One more rep. One more call. One more try. This book reframes what you're capable of by asking you to go just one step further than you think you can. Hard to read without feeling like you can do more.
The Power of One More: Guide to Success
Faith, Purpose & The Bigger Picture
heart & sould
Bob Goff has a way of making you believe that the life you keep talking about is actually possible. This one is equal parts challenging and freeing — for the woman who needs permission to want more.
Dream Big: Know What You Want - Christian Graduation Gift
Short enough to read in one sitting and heavy enough to stay with you for years. About the power of your environment versus the power of your character — and which one wins. Spoiler: you get to choose. I loved it so much I got the kids version to rea...
The Coffee Bean: A Lesson to Create Change
A story more than a self help book — which means it sneaks past your defenses. Seven decisions that determine personal success, wrapped in a narrative that makes them impossible to forget.
The Traveler's Gift
For the woman who gives everything to everyone and wonders why she's empty. This book isn't about building walls — it's about finally understanding where you end and someone else begins. Life changing for people pleasers.
Boundaries Updated & Expanded Edition
A reminder that none of us were meant to do this alone. Short, visual, and hits differently than his other books — more heart than strategy.
*Also worth reading if you're building your leadership and your daily rhythm. Short, visual, and the kind of thing you can read in an afternoon and think about for months.
*Also worth reading if you're building your leadership and your daily rhythm. Short, visual, and the kind of thing you can read in an afternoon and think about for months.
Together Is Better: A Little Book of Inspiration
Daily Reads & Short Ones Worth It
no category needed — just loved them
A year's worth of leadership wisdom in bite-sized daily entries. I don't read it every single day but when I do it almost always lands on exactly what I needed to hear. The kind of book that lives on your nightstand.
The Maxwell Daily Reader: 365 Days of Leadership
Written for parents but honestly every leader needs this one too. About what happens when we stop rescuing people from their struggles and start letting the hard things do their job. Changed how I show up as a mom and a coach.
The Gift of Failure: How Parents Let Go
For The Work You Do
CX & professional
The book that reframes what customer experience actually means at a business level. If you've ever tried to convince leadership that CX matters, this one gives you the language and the proof to make the case.
Outside In: Power of Customer-Centric Business
Challenges everything you think you know about delighting customers. The research behind this one is hard to argue with — and it will change how you think about every customer interaction
The Effortless Experience: Conquering Customer Loyalty
Come for the assessment, stay for the self-awareness. Knowing your top strengths changes how you work, how you lead, and how you stop wasting energy trying to be good at everything.
*Also belongs in leadership — knowing your strengths changes everything about how you show up on a team.
*Also belongs in leadership — knowing your strengths changes everything about how you show up on a team.
StrengthsFinder 2.0
Explains why some ideas spread like wildfire and others never leave the room. Essential reading for anyone building a brand, a movement, or trying to create real behavior change at scale.
The Tipping Point