This may be the most widely-known self-help book on my list. Tim Ferriss has become a wildly popular author, speaker, and podcaster. And it's no wonder! This book is a special one because every reader gleans something different from it. The 4-Hour Workweek changed the way I organize my time and made me consider creative ways to make money. Ferriss's philosophy of designing a lifestyle for today rather than deferring it for later has driven his success. That idea certainly hit home for me. Why should we wait until retirement to relax, travel, and enjoy our lives? Instead, we should take "mini-retirements" while we're young and adventurous.

Ferriss challenges the nine-to-five job in favor of focused, productive hours on YOUR terms. This might seem far-fetched to the person with a desk and a boss. I'll admit, I was skeptical. But Ferriss shares actionable steps to show your boss that a remote work arrangement is viable. If you have an entrepreneurial itch, Ferriss also shares tangible ways to make money with minimal risk. And no, you don't have to innovate a new product or the latest app. Anyone can do it.

Ok y'all, this is a nerdy one. But I promise, it's good! Sprint was written by a designer at Google Ventures who developed a process to solve critical business questions in just five days. The book shows how different companies used the Sprint process to solve real problems. Blue Bottle Coffee ran a Sprint to translate the brand's image into its website. In five days, Savioke refined and prototyped a robot to deliver amenities to hotel guests. Flatiron Health ran a Sprint to unite cancer patients with clinical trials.

But the five-day Sprint is not just for startup businesses. You can use the process to solve problems in your own business or personal life, whether you have a team or work alone. No matter your career path, I promise you'll gain something valuable from this book.

What better time to read a book about decluttering than in the middle of spring cleaning season? Ruth Soukup is a renowned author and blogger, and I recommend this book to all my friends. Throughout our lives, we accumulate so much STUFF. Clutter is not only irritating, but it's counterproductive. Research shows that we accomplish far more when we work in a clean, organized space.

Here's one of my favorite tips from the book. Place a decorative basket or bin in a corner of your home. This becomes a collection zone, where you'll place stray items: shoes, toys, hats, books, etc. Before bed each night, spend five minutes putting everything in its place. This will keep clutter out of your living space during the day and ensure everything is back where it should be at night. Ruth is a wizard, and her tips will truly help you reset your home, mind and soul.

I am an introvert. Along with one-third of the population. For those of you who know me, it's no surprise that I have to recharge after spending time with groups of people. Socializing in almost any respect drains my energy. Growing up, I was taught that any combination of shy, introverted, or socially anxious was a fault. I wished I could be like my outgoing friends who surrounded themselves with people effortlessly. I'm sure some of my fellow introverts have had similar experiences.

In this book, Susan Cain accuses our society of idealizing extroverts. She maintains that our culture misunderstands and undervalues introverts, which is detrimental to progress and innovation. This book urged me to appreciate how powerful I can be as an introverted person in an extroverted world.

We all write. Even Beyoncé writes. Whether you write songs, memos, e-mails, or blogs, this book will teach you to write well. Rather than focus on tedious grammar rules, William Zinsser trains you to declutter your sentences. I'll be the first to admit that I inflate text with excessive adjectives and adverbs. In reality, readers have short attention spans. They prefer to digest simple sentence structures with compelling action verbs.

According to Zinsser, "the secret of good writing is to strip every sentence to its cleanest components. Every word that serves no function, every long word that could be a short word, every adverb that carries the same meaning that's already in the verb...these are the thousand and one adulterants that weaken the strength of a sentence." On Writing Well conditioned me to scrutinize each word, simplify my style, and effectively deliver my message.

Where do you turn when you need an answer to a question? A restaurant recommendation? Literally any piece of information in the world? You Google it, right? Search engines have become a security blanket as our society craves instant information. Turning up in a Google search is the most effective way to grow an audience. In fact, businesses can't survive without an online presence anymore. That was a long ramble to introduce search engine optimization, or SEO. SEO is the practice of building an audience by appearing at the top of Internet search results. Naturally, this is an important skill for a marketer, developer, blogger or business owner.

SEO for Growth is one of many books I've buried myself in as I climb the learning curve. But I particularly enjoyed this one because it laid the groundwork before diving into actionable steps. It didn't just assume that I knew the technical jargon. The book explains how search engine algorithms work and how Google digests text, images, videos and other content. Next, SEO for Growth suggests ways to improve search rankings, including keyword research. If you want to rank for specific keywords, you need to know what consumers are actually searching for. One year ago, I couldn't have told you what SEO meant. Thanks to this book and others like it, I am continuing to learn SEO tips to make ModMoney a success.