These 5 Inspiring Books Have Had a Profound Influence on My Life

Dedicating yourself to continuous learning, sometimes referred to as being an autodidact, is one of the best ways to lead a fulfilling life. Rather than viewing education as simply a way to earn credentials for a particular career, consider it a lifelong experience that allows us to continuously grow and improve. Books and other forms of self-learning have profoundly impacted my life and continue to do so. Here are five of the most influential books I’ve ever read.

1. Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman

If you live until you are 80 years old, you have about four thousand weeks on Earth. Burkeman uses this number to emphasize the brevity of life and the fact that we should do everything we can to maximize the time we have here.

However, rather than presenting effective time management strategies, Burkeman asks us to completely reframe our relationship with time. He critiques some of the more popular time management methods and instead tries to provide a more holistic roadmap for alleviating that sense of “time starvation” we often feel. In Burkeman’s view, the problem lies in thinking of time as something that is ours to manage. This, he says, is a recipe for unhappiness. By accepting the limits of our own control over what happens in life, and coming to grips with the fact that no one can ever cross off everything on their “to-do” list, we can live happier lives.

2. Losing Ourselves by Jay Garfield

Jay Garfield is one of the foremost contemporary voices in Buddhist philosophy. In Losing Ourselves, he explains the Buddhist concept of “no-self” to Western audiences. The idea of not having a “self” may seem scary to Westerners at first. However, as Garfield explains, embracing this concept has the potential to set us free from many of the mental blocks that hold us back and ultimately improve our lives.

 Losing Ourselves explores a variety of arguments for and against the existence of the self, from Indian and East Asian Buddhism to Daoism, Western philosophy, and cognitive neuroscience. He deconstructs the concept of the self, shows why most people in Western nations automatically identify with it, and explains why this belief is unnatural and potentially dangerous. Garfield goes on to explore the benefits of embracing the idea of the “no-self,” including how we can use this idea to lead lives that are both more ethical and productive.

3. A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway

A Moveable Feast is Ernest Hemingway’s 1964 memoir, which was published after his death. This book discusses some of the most notable moments and relationships of the great American author’s life, including his first marriage to Hadley Richardson, his relationships with other major cultural figures of the Lost Generation, and his time living in Paris.

The memoir offers a first-person perspective into the life of struggling aspiring writers in 1920s Paris, where Hemingway and other American literary giants like F. Scott Fitzgerald lived and fraternized among themselves and with other global creative icons like James Joyce, Ezra Pound, Gertrude Stein, and Pablo Picasso. Hemingway’s story is applicable to everyone, not just writers. We can all learn from how he went from struggling to sell enough of his writing to afford books or three meals per day to being one of the most revered authors in American history.

4. Man’s Search For Meaning by Victor Frankl

Man’s Search for Meaning is a 1946 memoir by Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl. He discusses his experiences in a concentration camp and confides how he maintained his mental stability through a psychotherapeutic approach. Frankl identified life purposes to feel positive about, and essentially created mental worlds where he carried out those purposes.

In addition to providing a first-hand window into the experiences and mind of a Holocaust survivor, Frankl analyzes his experiences and discusses the development of a psychological approach he called logotherapy, which posits that finding meaning in life is one of the primary motivators in the human experience. We could all learn something from the idea of logotherapy, which includes the following three basic principles:

First, life always has meaning, even when conditions are dire. Second, the main motivation for living is the will to find some form of meaning in life. Third, each person has the freedom to find meaning in their actions and experiences, and by how they respond when faced with extreme and unchangeable suffering.

5. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

Unbroken is another story of persevering in the face of unimaginable circumstances. Biographer Laura Hillenbrand tells the life story of Louis Zamperini, an Olympic runner who became a military aviator in World War II and survived being lost at sea, only to be captured by Japanese forces and experience years of horrific abuse as a prisoner of war. Zamperini’s plane crashed in the Pacific Ocean in 1943, and he and one other airman survived over a month of being lost at sea. Both men were captured by Japanese troops and sent to separate POW camps in Japan.

For the next two years, Louie was mercilessly tortured, both physically and psychologically, by his captors. After being liberated in 1945, Louie returned to the United States, but he had a difficult time adapting to life as a free man due to his struggles with alcoholism and undiagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder. However, he eventually became a Christian and forgave his captors. Following his conversion, Louis spent the rest of his life as the leader of a non-profit for at-risk youth, touring the country as an inspirational speaker.