I've set myself a goal to blog the books I read. I will extract wisdom from the best business and personal development books I've read and share it with you.

The Psychology of Money: Timeless Lessons on Wealth, Greed, and Happiness Author: Morgan Housel

I got asked a great question by a coachee the other day.

Is it better to fully plan your business then start, or should I just get started?

I've set myself a goal to read one self-development book per month. To make sure I truly reflect on what I'm reading, I will extract the wisdom from the best business and personal development books and share it with you.

This time, I've been reading The Squiggly Career by Helen Tupper and Sarah Ellis.

You may have been following my business book club blog over the last 12 months, where I've been reviewing the best self-improvement and business books and sharing the knowledge with you. What you might not know, is that there are a number of books that didn't quite make it. Not only did I read 12 books over the course of the year, I actually attempted a few more that I didn't get around to reviewing. So to finish off last years book blogging I've decided to give you an overview of the ones that didn't quite make it.

I've set myself a goal to read one self-development book per month. To make sure I really reflect on what I'm reading I'm going to extract the wisdom from the best business and personal development books and share it with you.

This month I’ve been reading Quiet Leadership by David Rock

I've set myself a goal to read one self-development book per month. To make sure I really reflect on what I'm reading I'm going to extract the wisdom from the best business and personal development books and share it with you.

This month I’ve been reading The Test Book by Mikael Krogerus and Roman Tschäppeler

It took less than 5 minutes for my tweet to be rubbished by a male associate of mine. My idea wasn’t perfect but it obviously had merit, so why point out small and irrelevant downsides when the overall suggestion was helpful? Why had this guy been so mean about it?  A few days later I listened to a fantastic podcast about the linguistic rituals men and women use in the workplace. It made me think. Perhaps my Twitter friend hadn't been so mean after all!

Relationships, public speaking, performing a song for Simon Cowell. All things you should put as much of yourself as you can into. A lion's den, a pair of hotpants 2 sizes too small and difficult conversations-all things you absolutely take yourself out of. I don’t mean don’t have difficult conversations but, as far as possible, we should take ourselves out of them.

Being self-employed I was naturally drawn to this book when I saw it.  Of course, I’d like to monetise my expertise and build a solid business creating my own products but is it really as achievable as we are led to believe? The internet is awash with people showing you how to build a business online, most of whom I’m more than a little suspicious of, so it was nice to pick up a practical book from a reputable authority on the subject. Perhaps it can be done after all….

Can you have a rewarding job and a good work-life balance?

Katy Carlisle seems to have found a way. In 2014 she left security of her full-time job to set up her own business. She has crafted a life whereby she carefully balances finding new and exciting work whilst always finding time for herself and her loved ones. How does she do it?