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Are you a woman in business? Here are 10 Life-Changing books every woman in business must read.
Business is one of the most challenging fields one can undertake.
Today, many women have become part of it and are now even leaders in the field.
Still, there’s a lot to face given that society has been male-oriented until the recent years.
You, as a woman in business, might still be unsure where to turn and how to get started to achieve your goals.
This list is a quick way to identify the roadblocks, get empowered, and learn to face them and succeed.
But remember: it goes beyond reading about successful women.
It involves embodying the lessons that they share.
African-American author Maya Angelou says it best, “Ask for what you want and be prepared to get it.”
Here are ten life-changing books that every woman in business should take the time to read.
10 Life-Changing Books Every Woman in Business Must Read
Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg.
Sheryl Sandberg is the chief operating officer of Facebook.
There’s no doubt that she is an authority on women in the workplace.
Back in 2010, she gave a groundbreaking TED talk on career women.
She claims that women subconsciously hold themselves back when it comes to careers.
She also mentions how increasing the number of women leaders could benefit everyone.
Lean In contains personal anecdotes, hard data, and backup research.
Here, you can learn to combine professional achievement with personal fulfillment.
You will have to re-examine whether you are concerned with succeeding or with becoming likable and whether you are genuine in your business pursuits.
Most importantly, Sandberg emphasizes the benefits of men supporting women both in the workplace and at home.
She maintains that mutual support can prevent both sides from frustration and failure.
This is definitely one of 10 life-changing books every woman in business must read.
Buy this book to learn more by clicking on the image link above.
Stretched Too Thin: How Working Moms Can Lose the Guilt, Work Smarter, & Thrive by Jessica N. Turner.
Mutual support is a topic that Jessica N. Turner also touches on in her playbook.
For working mothers, it is always a challenge to do everything well, whether at home or at work.
Turner, a working mom to three children, expresses her own exhaustion.
She points out that it shouldn’t be normal for working moms to feel this way.
Her book is practical.
It teaches how to establish clear boundaries and set reachable goals.
Turner’s personal experiences are the example—she now feels like a good mom, even while she’s working.
She attributes this positivity to the balance she’s been able to achieve.
Through self-care, investing in one’s marriage, and cultivating friendships, her life as a working mom improved.
Those of you who follow Turner’s popular lifestyle blog, The Mom Creative, will enjoy this book.
Her voice is full of compassion and encouragement.
This is evident in her work.
Stretched Too Thin is a moving step-by-step guide to finding peace and focusing on what really matters.
The perfect mix of research and story, its pages are full of fresh insights and poignant stories.
These all offer a glimmer of hope for the overwhelmed.
Turner’s honesty is relatable for the exhaustion and frustration of any working mom.
This is definitely one of 10 life-changing books every woman in business must read.
Learn how you can thrive as a working mom by buying this book using the image link above.
Believe Bigger: Discover the Path to Your Life Purpose by Marshawn Evans Daniels.
Another author with an honest and inspiring voice is Marshawn Evans Daniels.
In contrast, her book has a more religious angle.
Believe Bigger is a practical guide for women who are ready to discover a higher purpose and move on from past regret and disappointment.
Her personal experiences are harrowing.
Daniels was a successful sports attorney ready to marry the man she loved.
But, the day before the wedding, she learned he was cheating on her.
After being heartbroken, she found herself craving for a life of purpose and not just success.
Daniels introduces five stages of divine reinvention.
These can help you discover your ultimate calling, and find the courage to pursue it.
A big takeaway from her book is that any disruption in life is not meant to devastate or destroy, but to develop and redirect.
This motto can be a source of strength for any woman in business.
The style of writing is also perfect: it’s simple, clear, and exciting.
Daniels introduces helpful concepts with ease, such as The Purpose Map.
Of all books of the Christian or self-help genre, this book might be the most engaging and meaningful.
It manages to weave a single life story into a manual.
Thus, it is able to share a message of hope, faith, purpose, and believing bigger in an effective manner.
You also can learn how to believe bigger when you buy the book from Amazon using the image link above.
Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges by Amy Cuddy.
Amy Cuddy is a Harvard Lecturer.
This book is a follow-up to Amy Cuddy’s TED talk about “power poses”.
It is now at 14 million views.
It presents the electrifying science behind this body-mind effect.
Presence is a lifesaver to people who approach life’s challenges with dread and anxiety and leave with feelings of regret.
Cuddy shows us how to become more genuine and commanding.
Backed by research and told with passion, she encourages us to access our personal power.
This, in turn, can help us achieve “presence”.
She defines this as the state in which we no longer worry about the impression we make.
Instead, we can focus on ourselves.
The first two-thirds of the book is a recount of research.
Still, all the studies that Dr. Cuddy cites are intriguing.
Those who want the specifics will enjoy the two penultimate chapters.
These include stories of people who learned to thrive by tweaking body language, behavior, and mindset.
All in all, this book is commendable for women in business who feel like they need to improve.
Whether for public speaking or skills needed to survive work, Presence can be helpful.
Bring out your boldest self by buying this book from Amazon using the image link above.
Business Boutique: A Woman’s Guide for Making Money Doing What She Loves by Christy Wright.
For those women in business who want to succeed in what they love, but are not sure how, Christy Wright’s handbook will be the perfect friend for you.
It will teach you that business is not just about loving what you do, but also about learning how to make money doing it.
Wright proposes a step-by-step, customized plan to start and grow your business.
It includes balance and time management, developing the right network of reliable people, and a summary of complex concepts like pricing, taxes, and budgeting.
After reading this, you will no longer doubt that you can feed both your soul and your bank account.
Wright’s voice has a lot of passion and is very easy to connect with.
She can translate complicated concepts into simple and actionable items.
Every chapter will end with her cheering you on.
She is like a supportive big sister excited to see you succeed.
Business Boutique makes small business management easier and more relatable for women beginners.
This is definitely one of 10 Life-Changing Books Every Woman in Business Must Read
Learn how you can succeed in doing what you love when you buy this book on Amazon by clicking the image link above.
How Women Rise: Break the 12 Habits Holding You Back from Your Next Raise, Promotion, or Job by Sally Helgesen and Marshall Goldsmith.
Another hurdle that women must face are the roadblocks set by men in the business.
Leadership expert Sally Helgesen teams up with bestselling leadership coach Marshall Goldsmith to help women realize their blind spots and remove the habits that might hinder them from moving upwards.
Helgesen and Goldsmith identify the 12 self-defeating habits that hold women back.
They maintain that things that have worked in the past might not lead to future success.
Unfortunately, this is due to the unfair ways such habits are utilized against them by men.
How Women Rise is essential reading for any woman looking for a concrete how-to for leadership and success despite gender bias.
The two authors prove that women and men and can work together in reaching goals and moving forward.
They build upon Sheryl Sandberg’s belief that women leaders are, and will continue to be driving forces.
Helgesen and Goldsmith map out how this can and must happen, starting with you.
The book is very easy to read.
From the very first part titled On Being Stuck, you will be able to relate to the feeling of being overwhelmed.
Also, you will be more driven to get past it, thanks to the two authors’ combined straightforward voices.
Their valuable insights on the matter will motivate you.
How can you rise as a woman in business? Learn more when you buy the book from Amazon by clicking on the image link above.
Like She Owns the Place: Give Yourself the Gift of Confidence & Ignite Your Inner Magic by Cara A. Leyba.
Cara Alwill Leyba is known for her authentic and warm podcast and social media stories.
She also gives advice on how to not be stuck.
Building confidence from the ground up isn’t a new concept.
But, in this book, there are no tricks.
Confidence is described as something that should always be authentic.
Those of us who think of confidence as a sugar rush are doing it wrong, according to Leyba.
We can’t fake it by changing our appearance or being as outspoken as possible.
She argues that it isn’t like “winning” as media has made it seem.
She says that personality always trumps looks.
Being confident hinges on “audacious auditing.”
It is her term for identifying toxic people and habits to get rid of.
You will not be able to avoid hearing a chatty older-sister voice in your head while reading.
Leyba shares entertaining tips.
She even reveals stories from her own life.
This woman had left her MTV job, dyed her hair pink, and hustled to later become a bestselling author.
She is proof that the path to becoming stronger and happier is difficult but achievable.
She writes the same way she talks in her podcasts.
Her stories are relatable, and she never sugarcoats anything.
But don’t take her for a talkative, all-about-me kind of author.
She sprinkles thought-provoking questions throughout the book and incites moments of self-reflection.
These are extremely helpful for any struggling woman in business doubting themselves.
This book is definitely the 10 Life-Changing books every woman in business must read.
Build your confidence and ignite your inner magic when you buy this book from Amazon by clicking the image link above.
Invested: How Warren Buffett & Charlie Munger Taught Me to Master My Mind, Emotions, and Money (with a Little Help from My Dad) by Danielle Town.
If you are afraid that you lack the skills for business, you will enjoy Danielle Town’s tell-all book.
Town chronicles her yearlong journey in learning to invest.
This tale is especially encouraging considering that Town had zero interest and skill in stocks and finance.
That was her state of mind.
What is surprising is that she has a successful investor and bestselling financial author Phil Town as her father.
Her honest voice helps you imagine how she once felt out of control with regards to her life and her money.
She’ll make you realize that strength is also accepting that you need help from someone else.
After enlisting her father’s help with implementing Warren Buffett-style value investing, she kick-started her growth.
From avoiding finance completely, she learned exactly how and when to invest money.
Danielle Town explains the brilliant strategies that brought Warren Buffet and Charlie Munger to the top of the Forbes 400.
The book contains no complex math or models.
Instead, investing knowledge is presented in 12 easy-to-understand lessons.
It gently nudges you into the complex world of investing.
By the end of it, you’ll be able to create your own investment plan.
What’s more, you will have the confidence to put it into action.
It also captures the warmth between a patient father and a headstrong daughter.
By the end, Danielle frees herself from financial shackles.
Her voice gains confidence.
From the initial frustration of learning new skills to the elation of having mastered them, her journey inspires everyone.
This is definitely one of 10 Life-Changing Books Every Woman in Business Must Read.
Invest in yourself by buying this book from Amazon using the image link above.
Playing Big: Practical Wisdom for Women Who Want to Speak Up, Create, and Lead by Tara Mohr.
Another of the most readable and fun materials on this list is leadership expert Tara Mohr’s Playing Big.
The book focuses on the practical skills women must use to voice and put in place the changes they want to see in themselves and in the world.
The title is a play on Mohr’s observation that women are taught to “play small” in their lives and careers.
This, in her view, is the source of much frustration.
Sheryl Sandberg laid out the rules for succeeding in a corporate and masculine environment.
Here, Mohr frees women from narrow limits.
The book includes practical tools to help women get rid of self-doubt and identify their calling.
This involves disentangling from depending too much on praise and criticism.
Although centered on women in business and corporate work, this book asks the reader to go inward.
You are challenged to reexamine your innermost feelings and beliefs about the self.
You will have to reconsider what it means to be a woman.
Unlike the other books, Mohr encourages the search for inner wisdom.
She claims that self-reflection is essential before you jump into the complex real world.
The book contains effective tools that can guide you in this inward journey.
She does not encourage clutching mantras developed by others.
Instead, Mohr advocates for personalized stability.
This book is definitely one of the 10 Life-Changing books every woman in business must read.
You can learn more on Playing Big by buying this book from Amazon when you click on the image link above.
Know Your Value: Women, Money, and Getting What You’re Worth (Revised Edition) by Mika Brzezinski.
And from the inner world, we finally zoom out and delve into the external world.
Mika Brzezinski, co-host of Morning Joe, curates the experiences of a wide range of successful women.
These include Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg, Harvard’s Victoria Budson, and Senator Elizabeth Warren.
Despite being from various fields, these women all have critical lessons to share.
All the personal stories provide a holistic view of gender dynamics today.
They candidly address why women are still overlooked and underpaid at the workplace.
More important, they suggest how women can ask for and get the job, salary, or recognition they deserve.
Brzezinski backs these with the latest research on why negotiating backfires for women.
She then illustrates what can be done about it.
The revised edition includes updates from the #MeToo era.
This is very relevant now – more than ever.
One of the mistakes Brzezinski insists women always make is deferring often to others, and saying sorry too much.
Of course, this doesn’t improve matters.
All in all, Know Your Value introduces crucial advice that can assist women in this.
The wanted result is women becoming their own best advocates.
It’s clear through the author’s voice that she is determined to let women know their worth, and claim it.
This doesn’t just go for women in business.
It goes for those of us who know that there are hurdles to jump over in a male-dominated world.
This empowering book gives us the insight and tools to do something about it.
This is definitely one of 10 Life-Changing Books Every Woman in Business Must Read
Buy and read this book to Know your value by clicking the image link above.
Some of these books are for women in business, while others will help women in all fields of life.
Whichever is the case, it’s up to you how you take the advice all the trailblazing women above are giving.
We live in a time when self-determination is more possible for us than ever.
Not taking the opportunity to rise up and better oneself is wasteful.
To succeed, you must first help yourself and try – to the best of your abilities.
We can best sum this up with another great quote from Maya Angelou:
“Nothing will work unless you do.”
Get started by getting one of the 10 Life-Changing books every woman in business must read above.
