Call it self-help, betterment, motivation, goal-setting, spirituality, airy-fairily being in touch with one’s self or whatever label you like. But our motivation and our attitude largely governs our destiny. Most people find that hard to swallow, especially those that think they are at the mercy of their environment and the world owes them something. If you don’t know where you are going, how can you expect to be motivated to get there?

I find this whole phenomena incredibly interesting, and subscribe to the concept that you are what you think. It’s not a matter of being in love with yourself, but more about being confident about your abilities and your purpose. When was the last time the most interesting person in the room was the serial complainer? Who wants to be that person? Not me and probably not you. Think about it.

What’s this got to do with design, you ask? Nothing exclusively to this particular field, however life design, graphic design, business design, success design and the like are all similar in that they require strategy and planning to succeed. ‘Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail’. To do anything well in life requires some kind of planning or ‘design’.

Okay, so if you’ve fallen asleep by now then perhaps I’m rambling or not making my point. But if you’re interested, then here’s a list of books and resources that I find invaluable or even just entertaining and interesting.

One last thing. What was it that got you out of bed this morning? Chances are it was money. Life really can be a holiday, if we trade something we enjoy doing for money.

g’Blog

Each week I post a quote I’ve read, lesson I’ve learnt or observation I’ve made to our Creative Grease blog – g’Blog. It’s a collection of inspirational and motivational quotes I come across in my travels and learnings. It’s accessable from our home page. Go have a look for yourself.

Books / Audiobooks

Outliers – The Story of Success
by Malcolm Gladwell
For those of us who feel like our peers are more gifted and talented than we are, this book proves that being ‘gifted’ is just the foot in the door of success. The other 90% is hard work and persistence.

High Performance Leadership
by Brian Tracy

High Performance Sales
by Brian Tracy

Man’s Search for Meaning
by Viktor Frankl

Steve Jobs
by Walter Isaacson

The Success Principles
by Jack Canfield

21 Success Secrets of Self-made Millionaires
by Brian Tracy

The Wolf of Wall Street
by Jordan Belfort

Guerilla Marketing Weapons
by Jay Conrad Levinson

Purple Cow
by Seth Godin

The Knack: How Street-Smart Entrepreneurs Learn to Handle Whatever Comes Up
by Norm Brodsky and Bo Burlingham

All Marketers are Liars
by Seth Godin

The Designer’s Guide to Marketing & Pricing
by Ilise Benun & Peleg Top

The Millionaire Next Door
by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko

Delivering Happiness
by Tony Hsieh (CEO of online shoe and clothing shop Zappos.com)

Business Stripped Bare
by Richard Branson

The One Minute Manager
by Kennith Blanchard & Spencer Johnson

Rework
by Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hanson

Eat that Frog
by Brian Tracy

Commonsense Direct & Digital Marketing
by Drayton Bird

The Think Big Revolution
by Michael Port

Maverick!
by Ricardo Semler
The Seven-Day Weekend
by Ricardo Semler

Seven habits of highly effective people
by Stephen R. Covey

Losing My Virginity
by Richard Branson

The 4 Day Work Week
by Timothy Ferris

The Business Coach
by Brad Sugars

The Leadership Code
by Dave Ulrich, Norm Smallwood, Kate Sweetman

Think and Grow Rich
by Napolean Hill

Work Smarter Not Harder
by Jack Collis

Thick Face, Black Heart
by Chin-Ning Chu

The E-Myth
by Michael E. Gerber

Book Yourself Solid
by Michael Port
Beyond Booked Solid
by Michael Port

The Success System That Never Fails
by William Clement Stone

Who Moved My Cheese
by Spencer Johnson

Would you like Attitude with that?
by Justin Herald
What are you waiting for?
by Justin Herald

It’s not about the bike
by lance Armstrong

Beyond Dreaming
by Brian Leaning-Mizen