Forgive my lateness on this, Happy Women’s History Month! In honor of this, I will be sharing three of my favorite books from some amazing women.
I’m going to start by saying I’m learning from some amazing Black women in the personal development space, which has long been dominated by white men since its inception, and my home library, unfortunately, reflected that. About seven years ago I really started to be conscious of who I was learning from and how their spaces were being represented. I started to “decolonize” my home library so that it reflected more of my experience as a Black woman. That’s not to say I can’t learn or haven’t learned from white men and women, but they shouldn’t be the default when seeking information, particularly on how to be successful in this country as a Black woman.
The three women I will be referencing in this post I’ve adopted as my virtual mentors in self-coaching, business, and finance. I’ve found that until you can hire your own life or business coach (if that’s your thing), sitting virtually at the feet of some carefully curated mentors specific to your needs via books, webinars, constructive content, etc. is a good start.
First is Valorie Burton, Life Strategist, bestselling author, international speaker, and CEO of the Coaching and Positive Psychology Institute (CaPP). I became familiar with her and her work about three years ago when I was looking for information about self-coaching. I’m very clear that I can benefit from therapy, but to be honest I’m not ready to do that heavy emotional lifting yet. You have to be ready to face a lot of things you’ve buried deep in the repository of your mind. Everyone is told to go to therapy but not everyone is told they must PREPARE for therapy. To be prepared to tell the truth, to hear the truth, to prepare to let go of toxic thoughts and behaviors, to face where those thoughts and behaviors came from, forgiveness, etc. WHEW! It’s a lot! I’m not ready yet and if you aren’t either, that’s alright to say.
So a baby step I chose instead was to try self-coaching. I found Valorie’s book Life Coaching for Successful Women: Powerful Questions, Practical Answers and it’s an easy and engaging read. Valorie teaches you that self-coaching is asking yourself the right questions in various situations. At the beginning of each very concise chapter, she gives you a point to ponder, and at the end of each chapter, she prompts you to “coach yourself” and provides questions for you to answer. She also has a free self-coaching course you can sign up for on her website. This has been especially helpful to me because it’s taught me, particularly when I become anxious about something, to stop and “coach myself” by asking myself the right questions instead of defaulting to the worst-case scenario.
Next is Rachel Rodgers, a true firebrand in the business coaching space who’s the CEO of the company Hello Seven. Rachel’s platform and business are all about inclusion and teach marginalized people such as Black women, people of color, the LGBTQ+ community, and the differently abled how to succeed in business who have otherwise been historically excluded from generating wealth. In her book We Should All Be Millionaires: A Woman’s Guide to Earning More, Building Wealth, and Gaining Economic Power, Rachel outlines a realistic step-by-step plan to create a 7-figure net worth over a three-year period no matter what you do for a living. This book delves into the economic systems that have historically oppressed women, particularly Black women from earning their fair share of wealth in this country.
One of my favorite quotes in the book is an answer to the question, why you should become a millionaire, Ifeoma Ibekwe stated “Because Black people can’t continue to start from scratch with every generation.” DAAAMN!!!!! One of the main themes of the book is about making million-dollar decisions that allow you to create space, set boundaries, and generate wealth as opposed to making broke-ass decisions that keep you stuck, dejected, and…well…broke. This book is very engaging, educational (the data is astounding and will quite frankly piss you off a bit), and actionable. Highly recommend.
Last but certainly not least is Tiffany Aliche aka The Budgetnista, a #1 bestselling author and an absolutely phenomenal financial educator. Her book Get Good with Money: 10 Simple Steps to Becoming Financially Whole is an invaluable source to help develop good financial habits. The book gives you actionable steps in each chapter to help build those habits that start with budget building and walks you all the way through to estate planning. Tiffany’s tone in the book is like a good girlfriend having a casual yet necessary conversation with you about your money and how to manage, grow and protect it. Also when you sign up for her email list you’ll receive a ton of financial resources that work in tandem with the book to help you on your journey to becoming financially whole, a term according to her book is “a realistic, achievable, and energizing alternative to get-rich-quick schemes and overcomplicated money management systems.”
TL;DR
I highly recommend adding these three books to your library to help you with your personal development journey whether you’re baby-stepping to therapy and want to start with some self-coaching, interested in starting a business, or need help scaling your current business or diving into the scary and often taboo topic of finance, these women provide the knowledge and the resources to truly up your personal development game. If you like one of all of these books drop me a line and let me know, I’d love to hear your feedback. Happy reading!
P.S. - No I don’t get a kickback if you buy any of these books, just wanted to share and provide some value. 😊
Thank you for sharing your 3 favorite books! Love love love the quote “because black people can’t continue to start from scratch with every generation” that’s a WHOLE word right there! I’ve been following Tiffany aka “Budgetnista” for a while and her Netflix series was awesome, made me take a good inner look at my finances. She’s extremely inspiring! No time time like the present to do better.