Sometimes one little self-help book can be the kick in the pants you need to wake up to what's keeping you from living your best life, showing up as your best self, and just feeling like you rocked a room. And it's way cheaper than therapy! Here are some of our favorite new books and new classics to help you find your confidence to do anything you want to do in life, well.
Business Confidence
Girl On Fire: How to Choose Yourself, Burn the Rule Book, and Blaze Your Own Trail in Life and Business by Cara Alwill Leyba, of Girl Code fame, shows us how to take the reins of life and quit waiting for that big break. Go ahead and publish your own book, start your own podcast, design your own something — create the opportunities you want to create for yourself with these smart life and business tips.
The Myth of the Nice Girl: Achieving a Career You Love Without Becoming a Person You Hate by Fran Hauser breaks down the negative perception of "niceness" that we all struggle with in business. She argues that nice doesn't have to mean "weak" or "ineffective" and that women don't have to sacrifice their values or hide their authentic selves to be successful.
Your Next Level Life: 7 Rules of Power, Confidence, and Opportunity for Black Women in America by Karen Arrington, winner of the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Instructional Literary Work, inspires you to think big: how to set ambitious goals, reach for bigger, better opportunities and redefine what success can mean for you.
Self Confidence
Unlocking Your Authentic Self: Overcoming Impostor Syndrome, Enhancing Self-confidence, and Banishing Self-doubt by Jennifer L Hunt helps you crush your inner critic; replace negative thought loops; let go of unhealthy perfectionism and kick procrastination in the butt.
You Are Awesome: How to Navigate Change, Wrestle with Failure, and Live an Intentional Life by the New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Awesome series Neil Pasricha gives us a lesson in resilience — how not to let the thought of failure get in our way and stomp the worry that keeps us from getting what we want.
Girl, Stop Apologizing: A Shame-Free Plan for Embracing and Achieving Your Goals by Rachel Hollis, the bestselling author of Girl, Wash Your Face, challenges women everywhere to stop talking themselves out of what they really want, let go of the excuses, choose certain behaviors and skills to feel more confident and believe in themselves.
Break Your Glass Slippers by Amanda Lovelace is a book of poems that inspires you to ignore what others think about you (or what you *think* they think about you) and overcome those who don't see your worth, and making sure *you* see it clearly.
Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead by famed thought leader Brené Brown challenges the myth that vulnerability is weakness and instead argues that putting ourselves out there is far better than standing on the sidelines of life and wondering what if.
Creative Confidence
Creative Confidence: Unleashing the Creative Potential Within Us All by IDEO founder David Kelley and his partner/brother Tom Kelley shows us that creativity lies within all of us. Learn how to tap into your creative potential in work and your personal life with simple principles and strategies that allow everyone to innovate in terms of how we approach and solve problems.
Supermaker by Jaime Schmidt, the founder of Schmidt's Naturals and icon of the Maker Movement, shares how you can start or grow your own business with her secrets on marketing, sales growth, product development, customer engagement, scaling operations, and partnerships.
Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand In the Sun and Be Your Own Person by Shonda Rhimes is the bestselling memoir of the Grey's Anatomy and Scandal creator and it will make you want to say yes for a year or more. Through the wit and humor she puts into her creative work she shares how to overcome your fears and say yes to what makes you feel empowered, confident, and your best self.
Parenting Confidence
The Yes Brain: How to Cultivate Courage, Curiosity, and Resilience in Your ChildDaniel J. Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson, the authors of The Whole-Brain Child and No-Drama Discipline, helps parents teach kids how to approach life with openness and curiosity, how to gently push them out of their comfort zone, move away from negative behavioral and emotional states and expand their capacity for positivity and build confidence.
The Danish Way of Parenting: What the Happiest People in the World Know About Raising Confident, Capable Kids by Jessica Joelle Alexander and Iben Sandahl shows how Danish parents raise happy, confident, successful kids, presenting six essential principles that spell out P-A-R-E-N-T: play, authenticity, reframing, empathy, no ultimatums and togetherness.
No Better Mom for the Job: Parenting with Confidence (Even When You Don't Feel Cut Out for It) by Becky Keife uses prayer and actionable steps to teach us how to exchange negative internal dialogue for gratitude; identify and celebrate our mom strengths; and establish boundaries that set parent and child up for success.
Slay Like A Mother by Katherine Wintsch is great for moms who are trying to juggle it all (um, all of us?). This inspirational guide from the founder and CEO of The Mom Complex encourages you to live more confidently, set goals that matter, and be present.
Relationship Confidence
Big Wild Love by Jill Sherer Murray is all about finding the confidence to let go of fear and rejection and find the true love you deserve, inspired by her crazy popular Tedx Talk. Available for pre-order; due out in May 2020.
The Game of Desire: 5 Surprising Secrets to Dating with Dominance — and Getting What You Want by sexologist and intimacy coach Shannon Boodram focuses on empowering women to take control and gain confidence in their love lives and find the relationship they want and deserve, all with the humor and charm she's become Internet famous for.
The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts by Gary Chapman. There's a reason this book has been on the New York Times bestsellers' list for *10 years,* it's just so damn relatable. Learn how to keep your relationship fresh and growing by understanding how to nourish your partner's love language (and vice versa).
Money Confidence
You Are a Badass at Making Money: Master the Mindset of Wealthby Jen Sincero, author of the best-selling You Are a Badass series, helps you chuck the obstacles that keep you from making the money you want and helps change your mindset about making money, all with her hilarious personal essays and "aha" teachable moments.
Social Confidence
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life by bestselling author Mark Manson shows us how to stop trying to be positive all the time and face some painful truths so that we can truly become better, happier people.
Talking To Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell offers a great examination of how we interact with strangers, and why those interactions can often go wrong. Get a lesson in historical conversations in Gladwell's trademark style and learn how we invite conflict and misunderstanding when we don't know how to talk to strangers in ways that have a profound effect on our lives.
Before You Hit Send: Preventing Headache and Heartache by Dr. Emerson Eggerichsis helps us ask four questions before we communicate online: Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary? Is it clear? By answering these four questions honestly, we uncover why we consciously and subconsciously get into these communication disasters to begin with so we can communicate with confidence.
