A Book That Changed Your Life

cisco · Nov 6, 2012

Has there been a book you've read that you can say changed your life? It may have been an adventure tale or a true life story. Perhaps it was the Bible, the Holy Qur`an or the Taoist guide Lieh-Tzu.

The book that set me on a journey to a new lifestyle was Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Written in 1974 by Robert Pirsig, it's a philosophical novel of a motorcycle journey, by a father and son, from the Midwest to California. Though I have never been to the US or in fact have never ridden a motor bike long distance, It gave me the impetus to go on a journey to discover myself. I quit my boring clerical job and hitch hiked into the sunset, in a different country, Australia.

So what book, if any, has influenced your life?

Paradon · Nov 6, 2012

cisco said:
Has there been a book that you've read that you can say changed your life? It may have been an adventure tale or a true life story. Perhaps it was the Bible, the Holy Qur`an or the Taoist guide Lieh-Tzu.

The book that set me on a journey to a new lifestyle was Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Written in 1974 by Robert Pirsig, it's a philosophical novel of a motorcycle journey, by a father and son, from the Midwest to California. Though I have never been to the US or in fact have never ridden a motor bike long distance, It gave me the impetus to go on a journey to discover myself. I quit my boring clerical job and hitch hiked into the sunset, in a different country, Australia.

So what book, if any, has influenced your life?

There are quite a few but "A Still forest Pool" by Ajahn Chah was very instrumental in guiding me in my Buddhist path. I still read it from time to time. http://www.dhammatalks.net/Books2/Ajahn_Chah_A_Still_Forest_Pool.htm

cisco · Nov 6, 2012

Thank you Paradon for putting up the link to make it available for all of us to have a read. I will take a closer look at it later on, this afternoon, when I get back from town.

In my earlier days I was very much into philosophical and religious teaching books. You may have heard of George Gurdjieff :balanced: and that scalliwag Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. :adolf: I was on my way to Pune, India and at the last moment changed my mind. Looking back on it and what finally eventuated with Bhagwan in his purpose built city in Oregon a few years later, I'm glad I did.

Books can certainly change our lives.

Mikey · Nov 7, 2012

Anyone read Art of War by Sun Tzu? I have heard that it's pretty life changing.

cisco · Nov 7, 2012

Mikey said:
Anyone read Art of War by Sun Tzu? I have heard that it's pretty life changing.

I had never heard of it but I did a search of my state library here in Tasmania and there were a number of variations of the book by the same author in different editions. One included management, a second, small business and a third, marketing. The Art of War is on the left-hand page while the other topics are on the right-hand page. Several other authors editions were reference books only and a couple of were also lending. It appears to be a very popular book in all its forms. I ordered a copy into my local library. Thanks for a reading suggestion Mikey.

andrew320 · Nov 26, 2012

There are three books that changed the rest of my life for the better:

"Free to Choose" by Milton Friedman

"The Revolution: A Manifesto" by Ron Paul

"Physics of the Impossible" by Michio Kaku

All three of thse books have been instrumental to my way of thinking, my habits in life and how to function in everyday life.

wind_drifter · Dec 23, 2012

The Road Less Traveled and Beyond by Scott M. Peck. I was in a pretty bad place in my life and the booked helped me not to get worse than I was back then. Seeing this post, I’m thinking of rereading the book and see how far the author’s insights have influenced me.

kobaja · Dec 23, 2012

Prince by Machiavelli was fairly life changing for me. Also when I heard a Tony Robbins audio book. He is an amazing communicator and was the first one I heard some ideas from.

Oh, and also 1984 scared me when I started thinking about it.

zararina · Dec 24, 2012

The Bible, lots of inspirational messages and eye opening lines.

Also I had read a bit of Chicken Soup for the Soul books on various topics which are also motivational or inspiring.

Hawkeye · Jan 16, 2013

Many books inspired me in different ways that had some impact on my life. My grandfather was an educated man that felt my school was not giving me a proper education in the literary arts. He also had a study filled with all the works of the masters and many historical figures and I was forced to read them. He made me read books about the world, then was angry when I wanted to go see it. His plan was for me to take over his horse breeding operations in Kerrville, Texas. He tried like hell to erase the Cherokee in me. If you give a savage Hemingway & Marco Polo, he shall find a war and see the world.

1 book that had an immediate impact on me and caused me to read it several times so I could completely absorb the material was, Illusions, by Richard Bach.

Your only obligation in any lifetime is to be true to yourself. Being true to anyone else or anything else is not only impossible, but the mark of a false messiah.

Imagine the universe beautiful and just and perfect.

Then be sure of one thing:

The Is has imagined it quite a bit better than you have.

The original sin is to limit the Is. Don't.

MainerMikeBrown · Jan 23, 2013

I've never read a book that changed my life, as I read mostly textbooks.

5amMarks · Jan 23, 2013

I'm not sure if it was life changing but reading The Stranger by Albert Camus in high school definitely had a serious impact on me. I've read it countless times since then and it still gives me the chills.

MainerMikeBrown · Jan 24, 2013

Although I've never read one book that changed my life, I started reading psychology books years ago. And I became quite fascinated with the subject as a result.

Mikey · Jan 24, 2013

MainerMikeBrown said:
Although I've never read one book that changed my life, I started reading psychology books years ago. And I became quite fascinated with the subject as a result.

Can you take someones mind apart now?

MainerMikeBrown · Oct 18, 2013

Although reading some of the series of books "Chicken Soup For The Soul" hasn't changed my life, it's still can make me a little happier when I read a short story from this book that's inspirational.

MyDigitalpoint · Oct 28, 2013

I have never read the Bible to date but spare pages, despite I remember trying to do it since childhood.

However the book that really changed my life was The Power of Your Subconscious Mind, by Joseph Murphy.

This book is about ESP (Extra Sensorial Perception) and was the foundation stone to find that my mind was able to do great things.

Which I would be still gifted with this power, but I think that I lost it with the pass of the time and lack of practice.

MainerMikeBrown · Jul 27, 2014

I once read a self-help book that basically stated that it's a bad idea to put all of your eggs in one basket. And that advice has helped me in life.

W. Lawngreen · Jan 28, 2015

Bit of an old thread, but The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series is so central to my life that it would seem amiss not to mention it here. I always say that the Guide "changed the way I look at comedy," but by now I can't even remember how I used to look at it pre-Guide. My more typical internet username, Lewot, is Guide-derived, being "towel" spelled backwards. For the record, my first Hitchhiker encounter was the books, but I have since then listened to the original radio series, and I often feel that that is even more magical than the books.

ThingOne · Apr 11, 2017

For me it was, and always will be - Ask and it is Given, by Esther Hicks. That is the one book that set me on my personal growth journey and it helped me understand that I could create a life that I love living no matter what circumstances I came from. I would recommend that book for everyone to read at least once in their lifetime.

Elizabeth · Apr 13, 2017

So around the start of 8th grade, so age 13. I picked out a book at my local library. Pirate Cinema by Cory Doctorow. Lets just say this is the book that changed my life. I wanted to learn more about computers and this "hacking". So I read another two books of his, "Little Brother" and "Homeland", after enjoying the first one so much. With being online and researching more about computers, coding, hacking, programs, and software made me interested in learning more, so now I will be going to college this fall to major in Computer Engineering. So the book help chose my future major.

A Book That Changed Your Life

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