I set a goal of 20 books in 2025, between reading physical novels and mostly listening to personal development and business books.

I’ve learned to stop pretending that I’m someone who sits down quietly and reads personal or business development books cover to cover. That’s just not how my brain works. What does work for me is listening while I walk, drive, clean, or do life. Every year, I invest in an Audible membership for this exact reason. One of my favorite hacks this year was choosing a book to listen to on flights at 2x speed and taking notes on MY favorite takeaways.

I read novels for enjoyment. These books, though? These are the ones that helped me think more clearly, lead more intentionally, and make better decisions in my life and business.

Not because they gave me answers, but because they helped me ask better questions.

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Why better questions matter more than more advice

There is no shortage of advice.

There is a shortage of discernment.

At some point, more information stops being helpful and starts becoming noise. I see this constantly with business owners and leaders who feel overwhelmed, inconsistent, or stuck, not because they lack discipline or motivation, but because they’re overrun by too many opinions.

The books below stood out because they didn’t add to the noise. They created clarity.

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Strong Ground — Brené Brown

This book reframed leadership for me in a big way. Leadership isn’t louder or more performative, it’s steadiness. It’s staying grounded when things feel uncomfortable or uncertain. It is learning to show up and perform in the pocket, when the pressure is heavy and the clock is ticking.

Better question:
Where am I trying to perform instead of lead? A hard question that many of us can stand to recon with.

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The Body Keeps the Score — Bessel van der Kolk

This book deepened my understanding of how much our bodies hold onto stress and survival patterns, even when our minds want to move on.

It reinforced something I see constantly in business and in live: growth doesn’t happen in chaos. It happens in safety.

Better question:
Is the environment I’m creating and relationships that I am tolerating actually supportive of growth?

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The Almanack of Naval Ravikant — Eric Jorgenson

This one fundamentally changed how I think about wealth, freedom, and success, beyond just money.

It emphasized leverage, long-term thinking, and peace as real indicators of success.

Better question:
What am I optimizing for, and is it actually what I want?

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The Untethered Soul — Michael A. Singer

A reminder that not every thought needs engagement and not every emotion needs to drive action.

This one is subtle but powerful, especially for people who think deeply and feel intensely.

Better question:
What would change if I observed instead of attached?

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It’s Not You — Dr. Ramani Durvasula

This was grounding and validating. It gave language to unhealthy dynamics many people feel but struggle to articulate.

Clarity replaces self-blame when patterns are named.

Better question:
What am I internalizing that isn’t actually mine to carry?

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$100M Offers — Alex Hormozi

This book brought me back to simplicity in business. It stripped away unnecessary complexity and reminded me that good business is clear, honest, and rooted in real value.

Better question:
Am I making this harder than it needs to be?

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The Let Them Theory — Mel Robbins

A powerful reminder that not everything requires my energy, reaction, or intervention.

Letting people be who they are creates more peace than trying to manage outcomes.

Better question:
What would happen if I let go instead of gripping tighter?

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The Power of the Pivot — Alisha & Maurice Pennington

This reframed pivoting as a strategic decision, not a failure. Alignment matters more than urgency.

Better question:
Am I moving because it’s aligned , or because I feel pressured to move fast?

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The 5 Types of Wealth — Sahil Bloom

This book expanded the definition of wealth beyond money, time, health, relationships, and purpose all matter.

Better question:
What kind of wealth am I actually building?

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Final Thoughts

This was not an easy year for me.

It was clarifying, uncomfortable, grounding, and at times genuinely hard. There were moments where growth didn’t feel like progress, it felt like friction. Like slowing down when everything in you wants to push harder. Like letting go of certainty before the next thing is fully formed.

What compounded the growth wasn’t absolutely not just reading more, it was learning how to pause long enough to ask better questions.

Questions like:

• What actually deserves my energy?
• What am I building, and why?
• Where am I gripping instead of trusting?
• What inputs are helping me expand, and which ones are just creating noise?

These books didn’t fix anything for me. They didn’t hand me a blueprint or a 10-step plan.

What they did was help me think more clearly during a season when clarity mattered more than speed. And that clarity has quietly compounded, in my leadership, in my business decisions, in my parenting, in my boundaries, and in how I show up for my life.

If this year taught me anything, it’s this: real growth doesn’t come from constantly adding more. It comes from removing what no longer fits, and choosing your inputs with intention.

You don’t need more information. You need better questions.

And sometimes, that’s where everything finally starts to change.