Some of the best books I have found are through recommendations. It’s either my bookworm friends or through podcasts of people I admire recommending a book that ends up on my shelf.

Although I refrain from pushing people to read books, I have loved, but there are certain books that I can’t shut up about. They have helped me tremendously, and as my way of giving back to the authors, I have recommended some of these books over a hundred times.

They are poignant, thought-provoking, and helped me immensely, and I reckon they can be a beacon of inspiration for people following the same journey. Here’s a list of 5 such books.

Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell

Outliers are one of the few books I have read twice. It was the first book of Gladwell that I read, and it made me a lifelong fan of his work.

Whenever people ask me about reading a non-fiction book, this one is always the first on the list. It challenges the dogma of success and how talent, hard work is the only reason people become successful. It also presents some hardcore research to make their point.

We may feel like we control our life, but there are tons of other factors that make us who we are. For example, the place where we’re born, our parents, and our inner circle contribute to our success more than we know.

The book talks about the unfair advantages and other factors contributing to the success that nobody pays attention to. The famous 10,000-hour rule that became a hustle culture reference also came from this book.

The cases that Gladwell talks about in the book make you look at success from a different lens. Even when you disagree with Gladwell’s point of view, the amount of research he’s done for his case studies is mindblowing.

This was an important book for people who try to control every step on their journey towards success and compete with people who have an accumulative advantage in their subject of interest.

Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach

I have some issues with conventional wisdom. Some old people think that things should be done in a certain way and we’re all blindly following it.

The reason this book has always been on top of my recommendation is the crisp and profound representation of seagulls oscillating between choices and dreams.

Every time a friend talks about how their parents, their friends are not okay with them following their dreams, I ask them to be Jonathan, the seagull.

Your courage and determination allow you to leave the status quo and live a life you design for yourself. You have to offend those who don’t care about living life to the fullest or flying in Jonathan’s case.

He continues to practice and fly like no seagull has flown before.

He becomes a devil for his flock and then becomes a god when they understand his impact on the younger generation of seagulls when he wanted to fly like a bird. His determination, hard work, and persistence made him break the barriers and achieve the unbelievable.

Jona’s story reminds me not to be afraid of who I am. He believed in himself and his dreams when no one else did. This inspiring and encouraging story is a reminder that we all can live a life of freedom and desire.

In the beginning, you’ve got to be your supporter, and once you achieve great heights, people start treating you like God.