Book #1
Title: Understanding Life
Author: Lawrence West

Topic: Life Principles, Self Realization, Self Actualization, Happiness, Success

How it influenced my life:  Lawrence West, author of Understanding Life, was my teacher and husband. The concepts in his book represent those principles by which I operate, in both my personal and professional life. This book influenced my context, the way I saw Life. I realized I could be free and live a happy life, after all; and, I realized I could help others too, which is my mission. There is a saying: "You can give a student a fish or a fishing pole." Understanding Life gave me the fishing pole for which I'd been searching all my life.

Book #2
Title: Siddhartha
Author: Herman Hesse

Topic: Life Principles, Biography, Happiness, Inspirational, Life Purpose, Religious Aspects, Self Realization, Self Actualization, Spirituality

How it influenced my life:  Siddhartha is the extraordinary story of Gautama Siddhartha. He was a Prince in the 6th century BC India who left his riches behind to seek spiritual enlightenment. This is the story of how he went from riches to severe poverty to becoming The Buddha. For me this story was enchanting. It taught me much about Buddhism in an interesting and empowering way. I love this story. I read it around 1968, and it remains one of my favorite books of all time.

Book #3
Title: Illusions, Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah
Author: Richard Bach

Topic: Happiness, Inspirational, Life Principles, Self Actualization, Spirituality

How it influenced my life:  Illusions begins with a "reluctant Messiah" to whom the multitudes flock for his wisdom, yet they're unwilling to really hear him or take responsibility - they want him to save them. So he imparts to them some final words of wisdom and walks away. From there the story relates the tale of a barnstorming pilot who meets an amazing man who never puts fuel in his plane's tank and never gets bugs on his windshield. It opened my mind to untold possibilities. Told with a wonderful humor, it's a fantastic book about spirituality and transcending the laws of the physical universe.

Book #4
Title: A Course in Miracles
Author: No author claimed. Foundation for Inner Peace in charge of publication

Topic: Happiness, Inspirational, Life Principles, Quality of Life, Self Realization, Self Actualization, Religious Aspects, Spirituality

How it influenced my life:  I first heard of A Course in Miracles around 1977. A Course in Miracles taught me about unconditional love and forgiveness, and over the last 20 years I've found great comfort from it on many occasions. It's one of those books you can just flip open at random, read what's there and feel an instant connection with your True Self and a Higher Power. More than a source of comfort, however, it contains brilliant information for living a more fulfilling life, one that is in alignment with our True Self, who we really are.

Book #5
Title: A New Earth - Awakening to Your Life's Purpose
Author: Eckhart Tolle

Topic: Happiness, Inspirational, Life Purpose, Life Principles, Quality of Life, Religious Aspects, Self Actualization, Self Realization, Spirituality

How it influenced my life:  I first heard of Eckhart Tolle about 4 years ago when Robert Kiyosaki gave me a copy of Tolle's book, The Power of Now. Later I read A New Earth, which I also loved. Eckhart Tolle has an extraordinary ability to describe the true nature of who we are as Spiritual Beings. His wisdom is insightful and inspires me. He makes seemingly complex ideas simple so they can be understood and applied to real life. I felt happy and powerful as I read this book, and it gave me a more expanded view of how beautiful Life really is.

Book #6
Title: Rich Dad, Poor Dad
Author: Robert T. Kiyosaki

Topic: Business, Goal Setting, Investing, Money-Finances, Real Estate Investing, Self Employment, Success

How it influenced my life:  Rich Dad, Poor Dad offers the brilliance of financial genius Robert Kiyosaki, who presents extraordinary views on how to be rich, not only financially but how one can live all of life abundantly. My house is not an asset because it doesn't put money in my pocket?? I never saw it like that before! But when I understood why my house isn't an asset, I was then able to accurately assess all my other assets and liabilities too. Rich Dad, Poor Dad gave me many eye-opening perspectives that helped me increase my financial well-being.

Book #7
Title: Atlas Shrugged
Author: Ayn Rand

Topic: Business, Environment, Happiness, Life Principles, Quality of Work Life, Self Realization, Success

How it influenced my life:  I read Atlas Shrugged as a teenager. An amazing book about capitalism but much more importantly, it's about freedom, integrity, quality, and proper exchange. Unfortunately those impactful words fall far short of being able to truly convey the sense of freedom and hope I felt reading Atlas Shrugged. Hard to describe but here's a question: Would you rather have a genuine gold coin or a paper bill representing the same amount the coin is worth? I'll take the gold coin every time because it has true worth, as does this book, for me.

Book #8
Title: The Richest Man in Babylon
Author: George S. Clason

Topic: Business, Goal Setting, Investing, Life Principles, Money-Finances, Real Estate Investing, Success

How it influenced my life:  A wonderful fable that teaches the essentials about wealth. I read it in the 1970's. It expanded my knowledge and gave me workable common sense techniques I could put to use immediately to improve my financial situation. This is a simple story with a profound message.

Book #9
Title: Dynamic Laws of Prosperity
Author: Catherine Ponder

Topic: Business, Happiness, Life Principles, Money-Finances, Quality of Life, Self Actualization, Success

How it influenced my life:  I read the Dynamic Laws of Prosperity in 1977. It opened my eyes to new, more empowering ways of seeing prosperity, be it money, spirituality, health, friends, etc. The basic idea is that there is no scarcity except in our minds, and if we open ourselves to receive, prosperity will flow in to us. This book took me from struggling and little success to understanding there is abundance inherent in Life, and it's simply up to me to let it come in. It was an amazing liberation.

Book #10
Title: Here and Hereafter
Author: Ruth Montgomery

Topic: Happiness, Inspirational, Life Purpose, Quality of Life, Religious Aspects, Self Realization, Spirituality

How it influenced my life:  I read this book around 1970. It opened my eyes to a whole new world - the world of reincarnation, the possibility of an afterlife, and many other mystical ideas that blew my paradigm wide open. Interestingly, author Ruth Montgomery started the book with the intention of proving the falsity of reincarnation, psychic abilities and the like. Well, it all made sense to me, and I resonated with the information. This book made me feel like I was home.