I’ve just finished an intense 3 week training period with Ronan, a 19 year old tennis player.
At the end of it, we were discussing on how he could continue on his wave of improvements. This is when I remembered about the saying “you are the average person of the 5 people you spend the most time with”.
Said differently, my yoga teacher Patrick Creelman used to tell us that “environment is more important than willpower.”
All in all to say that if you spend all your time and energy nurturing your social media-Netflix addictions, I’m not certain you will grow up much as a person. Having said this, it could hard to find people who inspire us to become the best version of ourselves on a daily basis.
One of the solutions? I’ve advised Ronan to read inspiring books.
So, I’ve spent time revisiting the list of books that have shaped my life in a positive way.
Here is my list, with what they gave to me.
May this inspire you!
Fiction Books
#1: Way of Peaceful Warrior, by Dan Millman
I’ve read this book a long time ago, probably when I was 19 or so.
And I still remember some of the lessons, like:
- how to be in the present, in the flow
- the importance of non-attachment to the results
- the importance of relaxing my body
#2: The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho
Through this story, I’ve been reminded by the importance of following the signs in my life. Which means being aware and focused on the present moment in the first place!
Fun fact: In 2007, a series of signs told me to move to Hong Kong. My life has been totally transformed since then, thanks to this decision. Warning: following signs doesn’t mean the path is going to be easy!
#3. The Legend Of Bagger Vance, by Steven Pressfield
This one goes one step further than the Peaceful Warrior. It showed me how to connect to the divine through sport, golf in this case. Life changing.
#4. Zen In The Art Of Archery, by Eugen Herrigel
There is a moment in this book when the author is kicked out by his master because he didn’t follow what he’s been instructed, which was to let go the arrow vs. attempting to aim at the target.
Letting go is a key for mastery!
#5. The Celestine Prophecy, by James Redfield
This is the most spiritual book of this list. Introducing the world of energy. A big lesson for me was to understand how people steal energy from each others. Very useful to improve relationships, with myself and with others.
Non Fiction Books
#6. The Way Of The Superior Man, by David Deida
David Deida is one of the few people that completely changed my life. His whole teaching is what’s missing in our society nowadays: it builds men and women, who are aware of their gifts and ready to offer them to each others.
Big lessons from this book: the importance of focus for men. The ability to say no. Being fierce. And the big takeaway was to understand what women want from their men, both in bed and in their relationship.
Warning: don’t buy this book if you’re not ready to change in a big way.
#7. The Subtle Art of Not Giving A Fuck, by Mark Manson
These days I’m constantly reminded by what my friend Diane advised to me: “choose your battles, Benoit!”
In the same vein, Mark Manson explains we have a limited amount of things (called fucks in this book) in which we can focus on in our lives.
My favourite quote in the book: “What pain do you want in your life? What are you willing to struggle from?”
#8. Antifragile, by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
This was an incredibly difficult book to read, at least for me. At the same time, this concept of choosing the stress I wish to have in my life, so that I become more and more antifragile, is something that is now at the core of my life, and the athletes I coach.
This book, and the following one, Skin In The Game, shows a lot about what’s missing in our society these days: taking responsibility, being courageous, and strong.
#9. Tools Of Titans, by Tim Ferriss
Tim’s podcast (The Tim Ferriss Show) is the one I have followed to the most. I have loved listening to these world class successful people.
I have bought books from it, and even started to look at strength training in a whole different way when I heard Pavel Tsatsouline, basically explaining why despite my efforts and knowledge, I was not making big improvements in my strength training.
If I had to pick one from this book, it would be Derek Sivers, definitely someone very special to me!
#10. The Score Takes Care Of Itself, by Bill Walsh
if I’m not mistaken, Bill Walsh has been the most successful NFL coach in history. In this book I’ve been inspired by Bill’s focus on details. In his views, if you do all the work, then results follow. I’ve read recently another book showing how Christophe Urios, a successful French rugby coach, uses the same principle.
Since being in details is not a natural gift for me, this book has inspired me to be better in this regard.
Conclusion
Here you are with my list of some of the books that have had the most long lasting positive effect in my life. I could have added:
- Mindset, by Carol Dweck
- The Four Tendencies, by Gretchen Rubin
- Gates of Fire, by Steven Pressfield. Talking about being strong, Spartans knew about it for sure!
- Extreme Ownership, by Jocko Willink
Finally, if you wish to read a book to help with your Confidence, may I add mine to the list?
Yes, I certainly can!
Enjoy reading and investing your time to develop who you are, strong and free!
Benoit
PS: hey, for a better world, consider buying these books from a local book seller (this is the reason why I haven’t added Amazon links to these references, except mine because it’s only available there at the moment. Oops). It will help them survive and help us all to thrive.