2024 has thus far been a whirlwind of emotions, experiences and healing. Over the span of 5 months, these books have cracked me open and allowed me to meet parts of me that I didn’t know existed.

I’m excited to share this list with you in the hopes that they offer the insights that you need in the season of your life that you chose to read them.

1. The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks

This book has been on my read list for years, and I finally decided to dive in at the beginning of the year.

My biggest takeaway was the author’s idea of our “Upper Limit Problem.” Essentially, it’s our glass ceiling. Our inner thermostat setting of how much love, creativity and success we allow ourselves to have. The upper limit problem will often lead to self-sabotage and bring us right back down to our comfort zone, preventing us from experiencing the abundance of what Hendricks calls our “Zone of Genius.”

Little did I know, I was about to experience the sheer vengeance my upper limit problem, and my subconscious mind would sabotage me right smack in the cushiest part of my comfort zone. More on that here.

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2. The Mountain is You by Brianna Wiest

Two people from entirely different areas of my life had recommended this book to me within the span of a couple months. The title itself spoke to my soul because it resonates with a philosophy that rings true within me: that we are both the problem and the solution to all of life’s challenges.

A lot of the book consisted of the basic, fundamentals of having a growth mindset and one’s own transformation and healing. But what I really admired was how she was able to breakdown each aspect and offer simple, actionable steps to implement in our day to day life. It made actually doing the work seem doable.

3. Anatomy of a Breakthrough by Adam Atler

I first learned about Adam Atler from his episode on Diary of a CEO. Around the 5 minute mark he spoke of a survey that he’d been running for years where he posed the simple question, “Are you stuck in some way?”

There was a resounding, “YES!” that rang in my head.

That was the moment I realized I had been frozen and stagnant in my goal pursuit and something had to change. I knew it wasn’t going to be a swift pivot because my nervous system was not ready for that, but this book became the stepping stone that changed the direction of my proverbial Titanic.

My favorite chapter is called Friction Audits and the Art of Simplification. As a serial over-thinker, simplifying the problem for myself is not a strong suit— ironically, it’s one of my super powers as a coach. It opened my eyes to how often we try to solve problems by adding complexities rather than subtracting and simplifying.

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4. Be Your Future Self Now by Dr. Benjamin Hardy

Reading this book was a bit of a push for me. I started it, took a break, and then pushed through to finish it. Much like Anatomy of a Breakthrough, this book was a stepping stone, a crutch to help me gain momentum to get back on my feet.

This book was beautifully organized. Separated into three sections— Part 1: 7 Threats to Your Future Self, Part 2: 7 Truths about Your Future Self, and Part 3: 7 Steps for Being Your Future Self. The

Part 1, Threat #2: A reactive narrative about your past stunts your future, was a major eye opener. The author wrote,

“From a psychological standpoint, time is more holistic than sequential. We often think of time as the past that is behind us, the present that we’re now living, and the future that is ahead. But psychologically, the past, present and future exist together here and now.”

That rang so true for me, as I easily spend a lot of time ruminating about the past and future in the present moment. I realized that I often live my life in a perpetual loop of “this happened in the past, so what if it happens again in the future??” And this vicious cycle has held me back from achieving dreams and goals.

The author also wrote, “Behavior follows identity.” This book is all about teaching you how to be the person you hope to become now, and not waiting for your external reality to validate your desired outcome.

I can’t recommend this book enough!