Books that actually changed how I think

The first book about money or personal development for that matter that I ever encountered, back at university. Not perfect, but it opened a door to thinking about finances and self-education through reading.

Another book that I read at the right time - at university. This one gave me permission to dream about running a business and being a polymath. It also introduced me to the 80/20 principle - the idea that most results come from a small fraction of effort. That principle has stayed with me more than anything else in the book.

I found it important enough to run an entire book club around it. It's about the instinctive part of women that gets slowly trained out of us full of powerful archetypes to draw wisdom from. Dense and mythological, it felt like generations of grandmothers passing their knowledge about how to navigate life as a woman down through these stories.

This is the book that made me properly rethink nutrition. Dense with research but readable. It led me to cut certain foods and add others in a way that actually stuck, which is more than most nutrition books managed.

About why adult relationships matter more to children's development than peer ones, and what happens when that flips. This reframed a lot of what I thought I knew about parenting and offered practical tips on connecting with my children.

The book that started my investing journey, one I wish I'd read much earlier. The advice strikes the balance between educating you about general principles and equipping you with practical steps to actually make a plan and start investing. I finished it feeling both knowledgeable and empowered.

Showed me the cost of dishonesty with yourself as much as with others. Beck walks you through Dante's Inferno and reveals how dishonesty becomes the root of life's dissatisfaction and fracture from your true self.

This book was my gateway to popular quantum mechanics/physics. I was moved discovering that universe was stranger and more fascinating that I'd imagined - and rather than threatening, it felt comforting and opened the doors to thinking about my place in the world.

Changed how I think about ideas and where they come from. The framing that inspiration is a living thing that moves toward whoever is ready to receive it shifted how I approach creative work.