Life’s a beach.
Work is anything but.
This summer, here’s to hoping you find yourself oﷺnꩵ a literal sandy strip with ample time to contemplate your career, bettering yourself, what success means to you and yada yada yada.
And even if you don’t make it out East (lucky you) or down the shore (luckier you), swap the b𒊎each reads for these new self-improvement anඣd professional development tomes.
As the waves lap along the coastl🌞ine, you’ll close the final pages of these nine informative oeuvres excited,🌠 dare we say, to get back to the daily grind.
Maybe You Should Give Up by Byron Morrison (Morgan James Publishing)
🌠This book is bil🗹led as that are holding you back in life.
You’ll learn play-by-play techniques to achieve happiness, fulfಌill your dreams and stop self-sabotaging 💃for good.
Spoiler alert:🦩 It takes a lot more than hard work to get ahead in this crazy 💧world.
Creative Business Handbook: Follow Your Passions and Be Your Own Boss by Ekaterina Popova and Alicia Puig (Chronicle Books)
This tome from two self-made women who manage three six🎉-figure businesses.
Geared toward artists, designers, and makers, the insights come ᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚfrom the authorsღ’ actual experiences, so you can be sure what they suggest is actionable and road-tested.
Mind Over Batter: 75 Recipes for Baking as Therapy by Jack Hazan (Chronicle Books)
is🅘 like chicken soup for the soul, DIY dessert edition.
Basically, the baking wizard and licensed psychotherapist, Jack Hazan, founder of , shares 75 recipes that incorporate therapeutic techniques like kneading to♛ release stress (yield: Chocolate Babka Crunch) or fostering community (yield: Pesto Pull-Apart Bread).
Drawing on his Syri🌳an roots as well as on classic Americana, he delivers des♏serts with sugary, soul-soothing potential.
Life Worth Living: A Guide to What Matters Most by Miroslav Volf, Matthew Croasmun and Ryan McAnnally-Linz (Open Field/Viking Books)
is based on Yale’s popular undergrad class on the age-old questio🍃n of the meaning of life.
Here, the courꦆse’s teachers and book’s authors seek to show us the con♐tours of a good life, with road maps for getting there.
Students have called the class life-changing, and readers who experience this book’s wisdom and new perspect𓆉ives should feel the same way.
Touch Matters: Handshakes, Hugs, and the New Science on How Touch Can Enhance Your Well-Being by Michael Banissy (Chronicle Books)
To one degree or another, we’ve all been in a sensory deprivation tank these past꧟ three years.
B𒆙reak out of it with determined to open our eyes (and sensory re🥂ceptors) to the power of touch.
Given that Banissy, a professor, often lectures ܫand writes about how touch enhances workplace morale and productivity, he has plenty of ideas for anyone in a career rut.
Now, go pat your son-in-law on the shoulder when he shares his latest victory in the chess arena wi🧔th you.
The Search: Finding Meaningful Work in a Post-Career World by Bruce Feiler (Penguin Press)
With the Great Resignation as a cultural phenomenon, it’s clear that A✨mericans are looking for a greater sense of balance and — gasp — joy in the🌜ir careers.
Proof in the pudding: A 2022 Gallup poll revealed that 40% of Americans s𓆉aid their jobs negatively affect their mental health.
to thriving 🌃in this🔴 new landscape and securing meaningful work is grounded in the experiences of hundreds of Americans from all walks of life.
Find Yourself at Home: A Conscious Approach to Shaping Your Space and Your Life by Emily Grosvenor (Chronicle Books)
This is
(Or perhaps you secretly suspect you do.)
Feng Shui consultant Grosvenor will h🔴elp you breathe new life into static s🦋pace — no six-figure renovation budget required.
Inner Workout: Strengthening Self-Care Practices for Healing Body, Soul, and Mind by Taylor Elyse Morrison (Chronicle Books)
Mantra: We all need to be
Other mantra: None of us thi📖nk we have a🐈ny time to do so.
As a certified yoga and meditation and mindfulness 🦩teacher, Morrison, CEO of the self🍸-care support system, certainly knows how to make you feel more Zen, grounded and powerful (sometimes all at once).
Throughout the book, you’ll be met with prompts, self-assessment🌳s and simple exerci🐻ses designed to give your brain the reflective workout it deserves.
Choosing Greatness: An Evidence-Based Approach to Achieving Exceptional Outcomes by Christina Curtis (Worth Books)
When the g൲oing gets tough, the tough choose greatness.
for doing just that.
From itsܫ pages, you’ll glean intel on “habits that hold you back and the choices that move you forward,” all explained in easy-to-read prose from the founder ofꦅ .
Bonus: Author Christina Curtis shares key takeaways from her conversations with leaders like Richard Branson, Lara Merriken, founder of Lärabar, and 🦋Jonathan Johnson, CEO of 🦄Overstock.com, among others.
Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most by Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton and Sheila Heen (Penguin Books)
The third edition of will be unveiled o♐n August 22.🌳
First published in 1999, it shares no-nonsense advice for navigating life’s more 📖intimidating dialogues.
Imagine sitting down for a scary talk with po🔥ise anౠd calm.
It’s within your grasp!
