Powerful Books to Inspire Confidence and Get Rid of Self-Doubt in 2021

Are you like me? Where at any moment, you’re reading 3 books at a time.

I just can’t get enough of them!

I’m usually reading a self-improvement book, a non-fiction book (usually history), and a fiction book (usually a murder mystery).

I read so much because I love it! I imagine all the knowledge is out there, hidden in those books, waiting to be discovered and used. And so I absorb books obsessively, moving from one to the next. Sometimes a little faster than I should.

In reading all these countless books, there are definitely those that stand out. Books that have created a huge difference in my life, that have stuck with me long after I’ve closed the back cover on its pages.

This is a selection of powerful books to inspire confidence and get rid of self-doubt. All these books have changed me in some way and made me into who I am today.

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Why read?

Growing up we’re moulded into people by our parents, teachers, and society.

I believe that by reading books and learning more, we can choose how we want to mould ourselves. We can look into the mould that we’ve been created into, take control, and say, “This doesn’t work for me anymore. I’m leaving it behind and putting something new in its place.” Books can let us do that.

I’ve ordered them in the order in which I read them.

Powerful Books to Inspire Confidence and Get Rid of Self-Doubt in 2021

1. The Secret by Rhonda Byrne

Sometimes I feel like my life started with this book. I read The Secret in January of 2011. And it completely changed everything.

This is the book that allowed me to let go of a victim mentality and decide to take charge of my own life.

Some people think it’s wishy-washy. I don’t care. I’m forever grateful for this book.

Within of a year and a half of reading The Secret, I fell in love for the first time, I decided to apply to medical school, I volunteered for Projects Abroad in India in a hospital in Madurai, and I moved to Europe for medical school.

Not a single one of these things would have happened, had it not been for The Secret. To me, this book symbolizes what it means when they say, “A book can change your life.”

2. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck

This was a book that after I read it I thought, “Ooooh that’s what’s been wrong with me?!”

I sometimes think this book found me rather than I found it.

I had come across a research paper when I was doing research about burnout. And I thought it was incredible. It talked about the difference between a fixed mindset and a growth mindset.

I definitely had a fixed mindset my whole life. In school, I always thought that if I didn’t get something right away, that that was it. There was no room for improvement and it meant that I wasn’t smart enough to get it.

Obviously it was a source of great stress and shame.

Growth mindset kids on the other hand, got excited when they were given a question or problem that was really difficult to solve – a question that they had to struggle through and couldn’t solve right away. From my place of false high superiority, I thought they just weren’t as smart as me. Boy was I wrong!

A couple of months after I had read the research paper, just by accident I picked up a random book off of a bookstore shelf. Reading the first page, I thought, “This sounds familiar…” It turned out, it was Carol Dweck’s book that built off the paper she had wrote on fixed vs growth mindsets!

The book builds on the paper she wrote and it is a book that has given me the courage to struggle, to say, “I don’t know,” or “I don’t get it, but I will figure it out.” A book that has given me the confidence to work hard knowing that no matter how long it takes, it doesn’t mean anything about my capabilities.

3. Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth

The Grit and Mindset books really go together. I even think they should simply be sold together as the authors reference each other in their books.

Anyone with strict parents who expected/still expect the best of them can relate to Angela Duckworth’s story.

Before reading her book, I actually watched her TED talk.

With the book expanding on the TED talk, it really showed me what it takes to succeed, in a very simple, elegant and completely true way.

Like Mindset, it’s one of those books I wish I could have been able to read in high school. Better late than never!

Never too late to find the courage and confidence to go after the life you want!

4. Don’t Keep Your Day Job: How to Turn Your Passion Into Your Career by Cathy Heller

I decided to read this book after listening to Cathy Heller’s Podcast, with the same name. After listening to her podcast, and starting to read her book, I thought, “YES! This is what I’m talking about! This is exactly what I need to hear so that I know I’m not crazy! That this all isn’t a crazy idea!”

Reading this book was like having someone give me permission to follow my crazy dream of making the blog a success and helping women follow their passion in life.

Before reading this book, I thought that following my passion wasn’t something a responsible adult did. In fact, I had a good job, a seemingly good and solid future. Why would I throw a stable paycheck that I’ve worked hard towards my whole life to go chasing after a crazy dream?

Well because that crazy dream might work, and regardless, it will make me happy. It gives me that fire in my belly and excitement. It gives me purpose and knowledge that I’m doing something that matters.

Cathy’s book is incredible in that it takes you through the steps to get there.

Not just an inspirational book about how you can do it, but almost like a how-to guide for getting there. With chapters on each step of the way, examples from how different people applied it in different industries and then little homework sections at the end of each chapter, Cathy’s book leaves you in no doubt that you can do it. Just follow the steps and listen to her inspiration and motivational stories to build your confidence and faith in yourself.

5. The 5 AM Club: Own Your Morning. Elevate Your Life. by Robin Sharma

Where to even start when it comes to Robin Sharma’s book.

I started reading this book after I had just quit my corporate job and taken a course by Susie Moore. In it, she recommends the 5 AM Club.

On a Friday evening, while my partner was practicing piano, I opened my laptop and decided to look up the book. My library didn’t have any available copies, but they offered an excerpt from the book.

I don’t know if it was the combination of listening to the piano mixed with the hypnotic words of Robin Sharma, but I was obsessed as soon as I started reading.

That night I found a PDF copy online (sorry – I later bought a copy and then a few for people I know 😊 ), cancelled all the plans I had for the weekend and read for two days straight. I think my partner would have thought I had lost my mind if he didn’t know me so well.

Monday morning, I woke up at 5AM. And I never looked back.

Much more than a “how to get up at 5AM book” it goes through everything you need to live “a world-class life”.

The difference that I saw in my own life after I had implemented all these suggestions was incredible. My productivity, my relationships, my happiness, everything was simply uplifted.

Recently, I gave the book to my sister to read when she was over at my parents. At some point, my mom got her hands on it and they were stealing it from each other trying to read as much as possible. When my sister returned to the States, she bought a copy to continue reading, while mine is still at my parents house with my mom, who regularly sends me quotes from the book.

Although it is number 5, this book makes #1 for powerful books to inspire confidence and get rid of self-doubt!

Incredible book, and I can only say thank you to Robin Sharma for writing such a great book that came at just the right moment.

6. Untamed: by Glennon Doyle

I think this is one of those books that should be given to all women on the first day of university or college. Otherwise on the day of high school graduation.

That’s how important I think this book is.

It’s written in these really short chapters that are little excerpts of her life. And yet somehow when you’re reading, you feel like you are reading about your life, but through a lens that you’ve never seen before.

It’s your life, but with all the societal expectations stripped bare or rather put up so that you see your whole life and all the decisions you’ve made in the context of the societal expectations and pressures that you’ve been put under.

It’s one of those books, that you read 2 pages, take a whew sigh, and think, “Holy shit!” Or otherwise you start crying. I did both. Sometimes at the same time.

I feel like it stripped me off all these ideas and walls I had put up for myself and made me look into the mirror at who I was pretending to be versus who I really was. And then made me ask myself, “Okay now you’ve seen both, do you want to continue down this path, or do you want to find the courage to embrace your true self and live the life you want to live, not the one that’s been laid out for you?”

Reading this book, you’ll be faced with the same question. And I think you’ll have the courage and confidence to answer truthfully, one way or the other.

7. Big Magic: How to Live a Creative Life, and Let Go of Your Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert

Elizabeth Gilbert, who wrote Big Magic, also wrote Eat Pray Love.

It is a great read about being a creative and navigating the world and the emotions that come with that. Mostly because coming from science, I didn’t know about the struggles that creatives face, or how to deal with them. It took me through the pitfalls that creatives endure.

It was great for me to read because as someone who likes to prepare for everything as much as possible it gave me things to watch out for and keep in mind.

So I would say I recommend this book to anyone who is already a creative or someone who is switching gears and now moving to a career or life as a creative.

I definitely felt that I understood more about myself and why I was feeling or acting the way I was when it came to my creative work. And because of that it gave me the confidence to move forward knowing most of my feeling were completely natural and how to fix the ones that were not serving me positively.

8. Rejection Proof: How I Beat Fear and Became Invincible Through 100 Days of Rejection by Jia Jiang

As soon as I started reading Rejection Proof, I could tell it will be a great book. That it will push me forward in my journey through practical advice and by inspiring me to find the courage to keep moving forward despite all the queasiness at doing new things along the way.

And that’s exactly what it did. It taught me how to embrace rejection, even look forward to it if you can believe!

After reading this book, I started putting myself into situations where I would most likely get a, “No,” to a question. Turns out, people are a lot more accommodating and willing to help, you just have to ASK. And second, even if it is a, “No,” it’s really not a big deal. After the initial, “Oh my god,” that was so embarrassing wore off, it became kind of exciting to get that, “No,” and to have had asked anyway.

If you’re often holding back, afraid to ask for what you want, or are embarking on a new adventure, this is definitely one to start with!

9. The New Rules of Aging Well: A Simple Program for Immune Resilience, Strength, and Vitality by Frank Lipman

Loved this book! So first let me preface by saying that this is a book for ageing well past 40, but I found that it is also a good book for people younger than 40 as a sort of preventative look. As one review said, “A must-read for anyone 20 to 120!” With a few modifications for things like ageing bones, this book gets an A+ from me hands down!

You might be wondering why a healthy ageing book is a list of powerful books to inspire confidence and get rid of self-doubt. Well, the reason is that if we’re not healthy and feel strong and well-rested, we can’t do personal development. We can barely function, never mind improve and advance our mindset and circumstances.

We need to ensure that we are healthy and strong so that all the personal development work we do actually sticks.

The way Dr. Frank Lipman explains what we need to do in a scientific way, but without getting too science-y is fantastic. Even though I’m an MD, sometimes I just want to hear from a trusted source what I need to do. I don’t always want to hear all about the molecules and pathways that show how this advice is correct.

A quick read, it’s filled with incredible information that made me take notes and start following almost everything he said. I even ended up giving the book to every woman in my family. We all love it!

Powerful Books to Inspire Confidence and Get Rid of Self-Doubt in 2021: Conclusion

And there you have it! My top 9 books for personal development for women. Reading any of these books will boost you forward. Reading these powerful books will inspire confidence and get rid of self-doubt. It will give you a fresh takes on things, improve your mindset, and inspire you to keep forging ahead.

Which book do you plan on reading first?

Share in the comments below!