Written by: Mikaela Contreras, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
As many of us are slowing down and starting to think about lazy summer evenings on the veranda with a book in our hands, I thought it would be appropriate for me to share some of my best books.
As a coach and entrepreneur is part of my job description to constantly read, learn, develop and apply new ways of working and new perspectives to be able to serve my clients better. That means that I devour countless of books within everything from digital marketing to neuroscience and everything in between.
Today I want to share my 5 top tips that will help you develop your career but also your overall happiness.
I have not been asked to promote these books, and I get nothing for doing so.
So without further ado, here are my summer recommendations:
1.The squiggly career: Ditch the ladder, Discover opportunity, Design your Career, Helen Tupper.
The squiggly career is a structured, clear and brilliantly written book for anyone who wants to get a deeper understanding of themselves and their career possibilities. It’s all about taking ownership of your career development and hop on the fluid ride, which is our professional lives. This book gives you concrete exercises that will help you explore your strengths, values and future opportunities.
One thing that I love about this book is the focus on strengths more than weaknesses. Developing your strengths is not just more effective and gives a greater impact on your development, but it’s also much more motivating! It’s a philosophy I adopt in my career development program and we even use a personality assessment to create a greater awareness of your strengths and motivators.
But for anyone who doesn’t have the option to hire a coach or do a personality assessment, Helen’s exercises are a great alternative.
If you tend to get bored just reading on a blanket in the park, this book is for you as you will be required to stop in every chapter to reflect, write and create to get the best out of all this book has to offer.
2. How to have a good day: The essential toolkit for a productive day at work and beyond, Caroline Webb
I’m a strong believer that we have the power to make changes in our current environment to be happier at work. It seems like Caroline agrees. She points out that we tend to be the happiest at the end of the workday when we feel that we have been productive and achieved something.
As the title suggests, her book is giving you practical tools and examples to be more productive by prioritizing better, set intentions and goals and overcome setbacks. But it’s not a book about “pushing through” and “soldier on” and become machines at work. It’s about finding productivity in a sustainable way, and she addresses the relationship between mind and body as well as how to boost your energy and “topping up the tank.”
I also love her appendix at the end where she includes concrete tips on how to be good at meetings. Especially since it’s a massive time-steeler and frustration- fueller for many!
I always encourage my clients to take actions to be happier in their now while we explore their future, and this book gives so many helpful tools on how to do just that!
3. How to Ikigai: Lessons for finding happiness and living your life’s purpose, Tim Tamashiro
For anyone who has never heard of the word IKIGAI, I’ll give you a brief explanation. Ikigai is a concept from Okinawa, Japan and refers to our life’s worth and purpose. It has 4 directions to follow:
Do what you love
Do what you are good at
Do what the world needs
Do what you can be rewarded for
Tim explains that if you find your half Ikigai (what you love and what you’re good at), you eventually realize it’s more enjoyable to share it with the world and you will, in turn, be rewarded. That’s when you reach the full Ikigai.
This concept is encouraging you to find your gift and share it with the world. And Tim underlines that we all have a gift – our Ikigai – it just needs to be found. By exploring what we love and do more of what we are good at, we will eventually find it. But it is a journey, and it takes effort and curiosity to try new things.
This is one of my go-to books for continuous inspiration. I have incorporated a lot of the philosophy of Ikigai into my coaching program. We spend several sessions on understanding my clients’ strengths and what is important to them and align it to what they love and desire. The exercises I do with my clients can be challenging and sometimes even confronting. For many, it’s hard to admit what you truly want, as it might turn your life on its head.
Once my clients feel clear on their gifts, we move on to how to share them with the world – with confidence!
If you feel that you are still unclear on your life’s purpose, I strongly recommend bringing this book to the beach this summer.
4. Ask and it is given: Learning to Manifest Your Desires, Esther Hicks, Jerry Hicks
Ester and Jerry are well-known for advocating the Law of Attraction and this is furthering that concept. Compare to my first three books on this list, this is not a concrete and practical book but speaks to our spiritual beliefs in many ways.
As someone who grew up in an environment where you only really believe in things you can see, I struggle a bit with finding my spiritual side. But I like the concept that Esther and Jerry present that we are all vibrations and you need to tune your vibrations into the same “channel” as your desires.
When starting my business, I was so focused on how to best convey my knowledge and experience, how to build a nice website, and how to learn social media marketing that I didn’t even consider the internal work that comes with starting something new - following a new desire. But no business plan, no education and no how-to-guide will be enough unless you truly believe in and tune into your desire with your whole body, mind and soul.
We are so used to using our rational brain that we forget to tune into our emotions and let them guide us. Ask yourself: Do this desire fill me with worry and doubt, or does this desire fill me with expectations or joy? If you feel discouragement, you are not putting out the right vibration and will therefore not attract it.
Esther and Jerry explains this better: It is our desire that you become one with that which you are and with that which you have – while at the same time being eager for more. That is the optimal creative vantage point: To stand on the brink of what is coming, feeling eager, optimistic anticipation – with no feeling of impatience, doubt or unworthiness hindering the receiving of it – that is the science of deliberate creation at its best.
Uncover and associate with your desires and dreams is a crucial part of my program. Just yesterday, I had a session with a client on this particular topic and she was shining all through the meeting, bubbling with excitement by the end - ready to manifest it.
Tap into your desires y’all. This book can help you!
5. No more playing small, Megan Jo Wilson
This book is written for coaches who are ready to step out of their own shadow and into the light. Being visible is a LARGE part of building a coaching business, but most women have been conditioned to not take up space, and many times we are judged when we do.
I read Megan Jo’s first book last year (this is her third) and felt an immediate connection to her. I felt that she was talking directly to ME. A few months after I finished the book, I hired her as my coach. She helps womxn coaches to build their business while staying true to themselves.
No more playing small is a wonderful mix of the internal and external work that is required for us to be successful.
You will feel empowered, inspired, and strong after reading this book.
I was one of the honored coaches who got to be an early reader of this fantastic book and include our reviews in the first few pages. All of these women are unique and fabulous in their own right, so make sure you check them out too. Instead of me waffling on here, I include my review as I think it summarises it pretty well:
“I wanted a formula; she gave me a strategy. I wanted to feel confident, she gave me a sisterhood. I wanted to be heard, she gave me a voice. I wanted to be less stressed, she taught me pleasure. I wanted direction, she guided me to my desires. I wanted to succeed, she showed me how.”
If you are a coach trying to build a business (or about to start one), this is a must-have!
All these 5 books have positively impacted my career and my life in their own ways, and I hope they do the same to you. Let me know what you think of them!
What is your best book tip for the summer?
Mikaela Contreras, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Mikaela is a career development and leadership coach who works with women who are living the international life. Mikaela is Swedish, has lived and worked in 5 countries herself, and is currently based in Abu Dhabi. She is using her 10 years of experience in Talent Acquisition and Talent Development to help women in international environments to explore their true vision, purpose, and desires and to overcome any internal and external blockers to pursue them. Her mission is simple: For every woman to feel purpose and joy in her professional life!
