The very first personal development book I read was “The Power of Positive Thinking”. It a classic book for the starters. From then on, I have been a crazy reader.

I’ve read hundreds of books in the last few years and I think it might be good if I share with you the top lessons I learned from those books.

Lesson 1: Focus on what you can change

• I started my life on a pretty rough road. Needless to say, I was destined to be average but when I was a teenager, I learned from a book that I’ll do better with my life if I focus on what I can change and not on what happens around me.
• I decided to stop criticizing the government. Yes, I know the government of my country is bad but what can I do about that?
• I stop complaining about my poverty, or the economy. I focused on whatever I can do to improve my life and got busy doing just that.
• I can’t change the government’s policy but I can learn how money works, so I did that.
• I couldn’t change the economy but I can learn how to build a business, so I did that.
• I couldn’t change anything about my parents’ financial condition but I can strive for financial independence.
• I couldn’t change the fact that I was slim from birth so I formed the habit of eating a lot of fruits, vegetables, and water.
• Most people in our world today focus on what they can’t change and that’s the problem.
• You can’t change what you can’t change and the more you focus on what you can’t change, the more excuses and complaints you’ll have and the less zeal you’ll have to pursue what is important to your success in life.

Lesson 2: Positive thinking isn’t a cliché

• Most people think that there’s a magic that happens when you are optimistic about life.
• No. let me show you how it happens; people who are optimistic belief that they can change their lives and because they have this belief, they try more things than others and because they try more things, they make more mistakes and since mistakes make you smarter, they become smarter and then when you become smarter, you become more successful.
• It’s that simple.
• For instance, because I’m a positive thinker, I’ve tried many crazy things none of my friends or family members has ever tried, because I had taken such risks, I had also made more mistakes and become smarter and when you are smarter than most people, it’s natural that you succeed more than them.
• So, be optimistic about your future and you’ll get more out of it.

Lesson 3: Humans are irrational

• You, me, everyone. We hate to admit this but studies after studies show that we’re emotional beings.
• We don’t think as deep as we want to make ourselves believe and if you understand this, you’ll be more conscious when you make decisions because the more rational your decisions are, the better your life will be.
• Think about the things we purchase. Think about the partners we married. Think about the most important decisions of our lives and you’ll see how irrational we are.
• If you know you’re irrational, then you’ll pause and think before you buy those new phones, clothes or shoes.
• Do you really need them or you’re just being deceived by the advertisers?

Lesson 4: We sell every day

• Every human job is selling a job. The earlier anyone realizes this, the better it will be.
• If you realize that your primary job is selling, you’ll learn how to do it better.

Lesson 5: Your friends make you

• My life changed when I read somewhere that the closet people to me determine my future.
• I stopped hanging out with negative and pessimistic people and that was one of the best decisions of my life.
• You don’t have a life. The only life you have is the life you get from others around you.
• Whether you accept it or not, you imitate and follow people or the time.
• Unconsciously, you’re going in the direction of your closest friends and that should make you worry about who you hang around.
• Some people will say, “Thank God I have no friend”.
• Well, that is as worse as having bad friends because, then, you’ll be influenced by your social media friends and the media.
• Your friends make you so choose your friends carefully.

Lesson 6: Difficult decisions lead to an easy life

• People who make difficult decisions end up having an easy life while people who make easy decisions end up having a difficult life. It’s that simple!
• You can’t escape pains in life. If you run away from the pains of discipline, you’ll get into the pains of regrets.

Lesson 7: Story sells

• My friend recently asked me to review his sales page. The first thing I looked for was a story but there was none.
• I told him, “We need some stories in this copy” and it’s that simple.
• If you sell anything, including yourself, you must learn how to tell stories.
• The reason is that the story is the best way humans learn.
• Not just that. The story is the best way to get people to be emotional and then persuade them to do what you want.

Lesson 8: You get what you look for

• Since I was a boy, everywhere I go, I always hear people complaining about how bad my country is.
• As an adult, I decided to look for the opportunities in my country and I found too many, not easily, but definitely.
• Believe me, you see whatever you search for in life. Look for good people and you’ll find them.
• Believe everyone is bad and you’ll see enough bad people convince you that you’re right.
• Look for how bad your country is and you’ll see a million pieces of evidence.
• Look for the opportunities and you’ll find many.

Lesson 9: Time is the thing life is made up of

• Some recent studies show that an average person now spends about 11 hours consuming media every day.
• That should concern every one of us because if we waste time, we are wasting our lives.
• You must respect the time because time is life.
• Time is the only thing you can never regain and so it’s the most precious of all things.

Lesson 10: Magic doesn’t happen in nature

• Every meaningful thing you can point to today actually took too many hours to make than you can ever imagine.
• An average scientist has to spend a decade alone in the laboratory before the world even knows that he exists.
• An average entrepreneur wastes his first 10 years before you see his fast cars.
• Things don’t happen the way the TV makes them seem and if you don’t understand this, you’ll think that something is wrong with you.