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How Self-Help Books Can Make You Happy
So you wanna figure out who moved your cheese, or just learn the seven spiritual laws of success. Whatever's standing between you and happiness, chances are someone's written a self-help book about it. Here's what they say.
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Step 1:
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Book 1: Self Help by Samuel Smiles
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Back in Victorian England, in a land before life coaches, the aptly-named Samuel Smiles wrote the first self-help book. Smiles told his readers that there's no quick fix, and the harder you worked, the happier you would be.
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Book 2: How To Win Friends And Influence People by Dale Carnegie
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Fast forward to 1936. Struggling actor Dale Carnegie writes an optimistic tome that catapults him to fame. He wrote that power and happiness would increase if you tried to see the world as others see it, remember people's names, and develop a firm handshake.
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Book 3: The Power Of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale
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In the 1950s, minister Norman Vincent Peale brought God into the equation with his message that faith is the key to achieving anything. His message? Pray, visualize solutions, and eliminate self doubt.
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Book 4: I'm OK- You're OK by Thomas Harris
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Written by a psychiatrist, this book tells us that inside, we each contain a child, an adult, and a parent. Our interaction with others will be best if both people use their inner adults.
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Book 5: Who Moved My Cheese? by Dr. Spencer Johnson
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The message of this book is that change is inevitable. The sooner you let go of the old and embrace the new, the happier you'll be.
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Book 6: The Art Of Happiness by the Dalai Lama
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Happiness is produced on the inside, not the outside, and we can train our minds to be happy most of the time.
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Step 7:
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Book 7: Chicken Soup For The Soul by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen
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This book consists of heartwarming parables, reflecting the idea that good triumphs over ill, and truth is as cute as a kitten sliding down a rainbow.
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Step 8:
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Book 8: The Secret by Rhonda Byrne
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This is the handbook of "The Law Of Attraction:" the idea that you can think the things you want into existence. Here's a taste: "You are the master of the Universe. You are the heir to the kingdom. You are the perfection of Life."
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Are you sensing a theme? Most of these books essentially tell you to think positive and visualize what you want. Maybe one of them will inspire you, and that's great. If not, know that quick fixes aren't usually the ones that last. Good luck.
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