Prosperity Thinking Books That Inspire

Books I’d Like To See Updated

So I’m starting to work on revising my thirty-year-old bestseller, Moneylove. I will add at least as much new material as is contained in the original text, which I intend to keep mostly intact, since it has been so impactful for so many of the two million people who bought it over the years.

This, and the fact that a friend suggested a blog post that might be interesting is to have a list of my favorite books, led me to come up with a more unique list. This is a list of books whose authors are no longer with us, but whom I would like to see come back and update their most iconic books, taking into account this new world we live in, with the Internet and the new economic realities, and all the other challenges of a modern society. This is my intention with the new edition of Moneylove, and I would love to see what their efforts would produce. In no particular order of importance, here is my list:

1. Think And Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

He was first inspired by billionaire Andrew Carnegie of U.S. Steel in 1908, and then went on to, at Carnegie’s urging, interview hundreds of successful people to eventually come up with his 30 million copy bestseller in 1937. Perhaps his most famous statement: “What the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” I don’t think he interviewed any women, there just weren’t any female millionaires in those days, so that would certainly influence his results today. But it would be fascinating to see what his take would be on the 21st Century.

2. Love by Leo Buscaglia

I met Leo shortly after publication of his first book in 1972. He was mostly famous for his Love 1A course at USC, and on other college campuses where he spoke. He became world famous with his PBS appearances in the 1980s, but was always accessible, and perhaps my all-time favorite speaker. He was a friend and mentor and though he spoke mostly about love and human relationships, he created an energy that could only be described as prosperity consciousness. I would love to know his take on the Social Media of today.

3. The Handbook To Higher Consciousness by Ken Keyes, Jr.

Ken was also a friend and teacher for me, and his most famous book also came out in 1972, about the time I first met him. He was the first to talk extensively about “unconditional love” and had some of the greatest knowledge and understanding of how the human mind works. A paraplegic confined to a wheelchair, he was one of the happiest people I’ve ever known. And his concept of all our problems being caused by “addictions” that could be upgraded to “preferences” is a great way to look at poverty consciousness.

4. Anatomy Of An Illness by Norman Cousins

Another friend and great mentor, Norman was the first to popularize the idea that our minds are so powerful they can actually fight serious disease. He devoted the end of a distinguished life to promoting research into endorphins. He also was the first to suggest that the brain is the largest secreting gland in the human body, and thus had awesome possibilities and potential. In his 1979 book, Norman wrote, “William James said that human beings tend to live too far within self-imposed limits. It is possible that these limits will recede when we respect more fully the natural drive of the human mind and body toward perfectibility and regeneration. Protecting and cherishing that natural drive may well represent the finest exercise of human freedom.”

5. You Are Not The Target by Laura A. Huxley

The widow of Aldous Huxley wrote this pioneering self-help book in 1963. She died at the age of 96 in 2007. One of the lines I resonated with most: “Our creative potential has many aspects, but undoubtedly the most important one is to make good use of ourselves and what we are here and now, at each successive moment.” And whenever someone gets in my face with anger or upset, I remember her admonition to always realize you are not the target, you just happen to be there.

Your Own List

So who can you come up with who is no longer around that you would like to hear from in the context of what is going on in the world today? Make your own list, re-read some of the most impactful authors in your life, reflect on what you think they might have to say now.

Jerry