Two Books That Will Help You Be an Authentic Badass

In this life, I want a lot of things. I want to be me. I want to be real. I want to experience life. And I want to make a freakin’ difference. What do YOU want?

No, really, think about it.

And then read on, because I’m pretty sure — no matter how you answer that question — these two books will help you achieve it, in a way that’s totally, absolutely and beautifully you.

White Hot Truth: The poetic pep talk you need.

We’ve featured White Hot Truth before because we kind of love everything Danielle LaPorte, but this book really, really stands out. All of her stuff is excellent, but this book is more personal … more raw. And it deeply dives into Danielle’s personal experience looking for her own version of enlightenment and true happiness. She shares stories, experiences and calls B.S. on a lot of the self-help industry. Which is just so refreshing. If you’ve ever needed a push to help you to tune into yourself for the answers of what makes you happy and feeling fulfilled (and truly embrace yourself from a place of self-love instead of “fixing” yourself from a desire to be something you’re not), this is it. White Hot Truth won’t save you — it’ll give you the tools and encouragement to trust your inner wisdom enough to save yourself.

Peak Performance: How to make the most of every damn moment.

This book will help you to be your absolute best all day, every day. Based on cutting-edge research, interviews with scientists and experts, and more inspiring anecdotes of leaders, athletes and extraordinary people than you can shake a stick at, this book has a lot of factual information in it, but it’s still a fascinating and usable read with real tips that you can start using today. Yes, it’s about boosting your productivity — but it’s also about finding your purpose and then reworking your life and your work so that you can better fulfill that purpose. Drawing parallels between work/career and workouts/sports training (mainly with your need for focused work with strategic periods of rest and recovery), Peak Performance is one of those books that you’ll tell your friends about and start acting immediately. It’s about getting to the real you, and then being really, really conscious about how that real you uses his/her precious time.

Read anything lately that sparked you to be more authentic and more badass? Do tell! I’ve got room on my reading shelf now! —Jenn