There are a plethora of motivational books available in the market. But are they really of any help or will they help you feel good and offer momentarily solace while changing nothing about your life? Well, I'd not like to make a judgment but rather leave the question open ended for you to make a choice.
We often use the phrase "I am what I am" to try and fend off any sort of leadership management training or motivational seminars. But what exactly are we? Are we the bodies we have? Definitely not, we have to be something deeper but what? A lot of philosophers and psychologists have delved into this matter before and come out with the same answer put in different words which is also the essence of all motivational books. This word is "beliefs". Yes, that's what we believe in!
Think about 5 things that you do well and 5 things that you don't and list them down. Now, try and recollect the first time you did these things. You will find that most probably, the things that you do well had memorable first experiences and the ones you don't had negative experiences. These first experiences formed your beliefs regarding your capabilities and you merely adhere to those beliefs unconsciously.
So when you go to a motivational seminar or read motivational books, you rationally question your beliefs and accept and reject rationally. You let your personality grow to the fullest. By objectively studying a situation you're able to visualize performing a task that earlier used to make you nervous. This is because you've proactively changed your beliefs about these things. Since you are nothing but a collection of beliefs, they better are well formed. You don't want them to be an accidental collection, do you?
Psychologists explain this in terms of self image. It is how much respect do you have for yourself? What do you think is your worth? Men and women who have had trouble aligning them to society can definitely benefit from following the philosophies espoused in motivational books.
The first gift that motivational books will give you is this ability to stop being responsive to external influences which earlier used to defeat you. Once you are out of this cycle and are comfortable with which you are, these books act as a guide for leadership skills training.
Here is why this is important? No matter who you are, you would always want other people to behave in a certain way to ensure that it is in your best interest. But there is a slight problem! They have no reason to behave that way! Here you can use your communication and leadership skills acquired through these motivational books. Your communication skills will be enhanced helping you inspire and motivate your colleagues and friends.
So you could use this to understand your spouse better, to make a sale by understanding your customer or motivate employees to meet performance results. While these may sound considerably different from each other, they are actually the same. The principles that are unraveled in many of these motivational books go a long way in helping you destroy dysfunctional beliefs and create personal, professional and social life of your dreams.
www.howyouget.org is a great resource to get paradigm shifting motivational books which help you to change your beliefs as well as acquire leadership management training which will help you change your life. Luigi Carlo De Micco, author, communications expert, and an international consultant whose new book, "How you get, what you want" is listed on several bestseller lists and presently being translated into other languages.