Three books you must read before you're 30.

I turned 30 this year (Why, God, why????) and I thought I'd share a little pearl of wisdom about three books that changed my perception of life in the past few years.

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (Stephen R. Covey):
Maybe it's not your case, but sometimes people go through life just going with the flow, never stopping and taking time to go deeper and try to find purpose in what they do. I was kind of like that until a friend of mine suggested this book because I was interested in a better time managemente application. The book states that being "effective" is doing what you want, with the best results possible, while you optimize your resources. In order to achieve a high level of "effectiveness" in all areas of your life, you need to go through all the seven habits, which in turn go from dependence, to independence, to interdependence. The habits can be applied to most about anything from corporate culture, to love life. It shows a way of being in control of your life and assuming responsibility for it.

Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus (John Gray):
Ever wanted your partner to come with a manual? Well this book is as close to a manual as I've found. It explores the basic differences between men and women, how they process information, how the use language, what they need and what they expect from each other. It's a book for couples, though I found that many of the things they suggest apply to general relationships between men and women, even at work or in your family. This book opened my eyes and made me realize that I had been doing it all wrong for years. It wasn't my fault, I didn't know better. We all bring baggage from our parents and our past relationships, you know? It's a good idea to try to understand it better to break away from it.

Rich Dad, Poor Dad (Robert T. Kiyosaki):
Are you one of those people for whom finances is like advanced chinese? I am. As a designer I was more interested in other things, never really worried about finances, assumed that I'd always have somebody to take care of that for me. Well, nothing like being in control of your own destiny, including money. I found that this book is a first glance at the world of finances, very easy to understand, with very straightforward suggestions. It also changes paradigms most of us have related to money, and teaches a good approach towards wealth.

Well, needless to say, these guys have created whole industries out of these and other books, however I read them and took what applied to my life, became a better version of myself, though I still have a long way to go. If you find that none of these really speak to you, at least they will force you to think a bit outside of the box, have a broader vision and maybe start looking for other materials by different authors, that will take you to making the changes in your life that will lead you to happiness.

All the best!