Three books you need to read today

Here at Gill & Hooper, we love a great book. We love reading them, listening to them and talking about them. And we especially love distilling their lessons and applying them to not only our work in real estate, but to our lives more broadly.

So here are our three top recommendations for a book to jump into; to challenge what you thought you already knew about themes like success, disruption, vulnerability and purpose. If you’re looking for inspiration in your career or in your life, these are Gill & Hooper’s top picks

THRIVE BY ARIANNA HUFFINGTON

Thrive’s key message is around achieving life balance and ultimately redefining what it means to be successful in today’s world. Huffington argues that we automatically think about money and power but there’s a missing component in the framework of how we both view and achieve success, and that’s about overall wellbeing.

To us, this book explores so many core concepts that intersect with both life and business as it is a personal exploration of Huffington’s own journey and the challenges she faced in managing and balancing her time across her career and the demands of her family. Our favourite part was the discussion around different cultures in business and the examples of so many inspiring businesses around the world who are challenging the status quo.

DARING GREATLY BY BRENE BROWN

Just sign us up as Brene Brown’s biggest fans already! It’s really no secret that we are huge Brene Brown fan here at Gill & Hooper. The queen of courage, vulnerability, shame and empathy, Daring Greatly is an essential read for anyone who can see value in deconstructing much of what we are conditioned to believe about appearing strong, confident and like they know exactly what they are doing.

This book challenges us as people and leaders to understand and embrace vulnerability as an avenue to living a full and wholehearted life. Interestingly, it discusses the role of leaders in schools, businesses and communities in helping to build what Brown describes as ‘shame resilience’ – how we can help our people to cultivate and build self-worth. This book made us reflect on just how transformative vulnerability and Brown’s broader teachings could be for organisations and individuals across the real estate industry.

Pro-tip: check out Daring Greatly on audiobook, Brown is an incredible narrator!

THINK LIKE A MONK BY JAY SHETTY

Think Like a Monk literally does what it says on the tin – it gives readers advice on how to apply a monk mindset to their lives. Again, on the theme of redefining success, Shetty talks about chasing alignment over achievement and how you can overcome any roadblocks to your potential by conquering negative thoughts, accessing stillness, and creating true purpose. What’s most impressive about the book is the way Shetty provides a framework for applying the lessons of monks to our modern, fast-paced and ultimately disconnected lives to reduce stress and negativity, improve self-discipline and maintain healthy and meaningful relationships.

If you’re open to challenging your thinking, this is the book for you!