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These two books are very similar, and they also came out around the same time in 2006. These books cover the power of your mind as well as your ability to influence how your life plays out. They challenge common negative ways of thought in favor of the idea that everything will be better than okay if you simply allow it to be.
They both have the philosophy around energy connection between us and everything else and that this energy vibrates at certain frequencies. Our thoughts and feelings control these frequencies that we give off and attract related things into our lives.
The universe/ world is inclusive, meaning it cannot tell if you are telling it not to bring you something or that you don’t want it, if you are focused on a certain thing, it will gravitate to you.
But which one would be the better pick for you to read? That mostly just depends on how you’d prefer the information to be delivered.
The Secret has many quotes and examples of people who have found immense success using this way of thinking.
“The only reason why people do not have what they want is because they are thinking more about what they don’t want than what they do want.” – The Secret by Rhonda Byrne.
The Law of Attraction focuses more on putting the concepts in “The Secret” into practice through affirmations and examples of mindset shifts. It is a bit more repetitive in its delivery to make sure that the concepts are really internalized.
“It’s all coming together for me. Because my life is supposed to go well, and things are supposed to feel good for me, and life is supposed to be fun, and I am supposed to feel ease. And things are supposed to work out for me, and things are working out for me.” – The Law of Attraction by Esther and Jerry Hicks.
Atomic Habits by James Clear is one of the most famous and well-known self-improvement books, and for a good reason.
In this book, he talks about the significance of small 1% improvements each day through creating and adjusting your habits. He goes over strategies and techniques on easy ways to do this in your life such as habit stacking and reducing friction.
A lot of the time, people do not decide to change their lives in a day or a week. Taking growth step by step and practicing the sort of lifestyle you want to have and being the person you want to be, is possibly the greatest imaginable use of your time.
“Every action you take is a vote for the person you wish to become.” —Atomic Habits by James Clear
Being good with and understanding others will create an unbelievable amount of opportunities for you in your life. Learning how to build and strengthen relationships as well as basic diplomacy and networking can single-handedly transform your life.
People often get jobs, travel, and have many amazing experiences just because of their connections. If you are good with people, it saves a lot of headaches if you are ever working with or interacting with them. Which, likely you are.
Relationships do take effort, however, the simplicity of the rules and concepts in this book makes it easy to know exactly where to spend your energy and effort for the best results.
“Any fool can criticize, complain, and condemn—and most fools do. But it takes character and self-control to be understanding and forgiving.” – How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
The Richest Man in Babylon is a book on the fundamental concepts of building lasting wealth. Much of the time people struggle to understand the concepts or digest all of the needlessly complicated financial lingo. These concepts are discussed in almost any other financial book and are delivered in an entertaining way through stories.
This book teaches on the very fundamental and important rules of wisdom on how you spend your money, and the difference of those who are unwise, and those who use these methods.
“A part of all I earn is mine to keep.’ Say it in the morning when you first arise. Say it at noon. Say it at night. Say it each hour of every day. Say it to yourself until the words stand out like letters of fire across the sky.” –George S. Clason, The Richest Man in Babylon
The Pathless Path explores alternative ways of perceiving life, accomplishment, and success. The author talks about his experience with the unfulfilling nature of the rat race and hustle culture.
He also talks about realistic ways of changing your life and disconnecting from the “keeping up with the Joneses” societal expectations.
As the name suggests, this book challenges the idea of needing to have your whole life planned out, and needing to stick to that plan to not be a failure.
“This is what the pathless path is all about. It’s having the courage to walk away from an identity that seems to make sense in the context of the default path in order to aspire towards things you don’t understand.
It’s to experiment in new ways, to remix your own path, to develop your own personal definition of freedom, and to dare to have faith that it will be okay, no matter how much skepticism, insecurity, or fear you face.” — Paul Millerd, The Pathless Path
A lot of people think that happiness is something to be chased, and that you must work hard to get there. But that could not be farther from the truth.
Happiness and contentment is a state of mind, it is something we can have without needing the approval of others to “obtain” it. Our minds are something we must nurture and care for. Investing in your own learning and health is the best thing you can do in your life. Life does not have to be a struggle.
Maybe you are at a point in your life where you feel you may need a different perspective. Celebrate that realization! Change is a natural and beautiful part of life and if you read or listen to any of these books you will be taking a step in the right direction.
