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The 10 Books That Changed My Life

These books changed the way I think, and because of that, I go back to them time and again.

Mike Sturm
Curious

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Photo by Kimberly Farmer on Unsplash

There is something special about books. Whether they’re paper books, e-books, or even audiobooks — the book has power that few other pieces of media do.

Perhaps it’s the self-contained nature of the book that makes it so potentially powerful. It has clear boundaries that separate it from the swirling sea of information outside its covers. It seems to force us to take shelter in it — shelter from all the other information flying at us.

Here’s my list of 10 books that changed the way I think, and thus changed my life forever.

Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity

By David Allen

I found this book right as I began my first office job out of grad school. I was a point in my life where I needed to decide what my career path was going to be. This book gave me a way of looking at my work and my life that pushed me to go well beyond “I just need to finish my work and go home”. If you let it, this book will change your approach to damn near everything. It provides a set of tools to achieve and maintain peace of mind. No joke.

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