Graduation day is coming up fast, and after years spent pouring over textbooks, every grad could use a little wisdom that won’t be on a final exam. These books will help you grow, recalibrate your mind and prepare for the world ahead.
The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown
The Gist: In college, it’s easy to start comparing yourself to everyone around you and feel caught in a downward “less than” spiral, as in, “I’m less talented than Sarah,” or “I’m less pretty than Judy,” as our little comparisons start eroding the way we view ourselves. Brown’s book focuses on 10 guideposts — or lessons — to help you reframe the way you look at yourself and let go of the negative mindsets that eat away at us.
Tweetable Takeaway: “Perfectionism is NOT self-improvement. Perfectionism is, at its core, about trying to earn approval and acceptance.”
>>Where to find The Gifts of Imperfection
Thrive by Arianna Huffington
The Gist: Our modern definition of success glorifies being busy, being stressed and saving sleep for “when we’re dead,” but where does that really get us? As Huffington notes in the book, our constant rush, rush, rush through life can make us mistake activity for productivity, and all we’re doing is burning ourselves out. The book weaves compelling research from around the world to show how our addiction to busyness (and our smartphones) harms our mental, physical and spiritual health.
Tweetable Takeaway: “Don’t let your constant [inner] critic filibuster your dreams.”
Start Something That Matters by Blake Mycoskie
The Gist: If you’ve got a business idea — or dreams of changing the world — swirling around in your head and you don’t know where to start, kick things off with this book. Mycoskie discusses how he came up with the idea for TOMS and launched his renowned business…even though he didn’t know anything about the shoe industry when he started. The book is filled with lessons learned along the way, and ways that you can launch your own for-purpose project.
Tweetable Takeaway: “People make their decisions based on what the facts mean to them, not on the facts themselves.”
>>Where to pick up Start Something That Matters
The Opposite of Loneliness by Marina Keegan
The Gist: Keegan’s collection of essays and stories kicks off with the final column she wrote for the Yale Daily News, titled “The Opposite of Loneliness,” which perfectly sums up those bittersweet final weeks of school and that desire we all have to be part of something larger than ourselves. Sadly, Keegan died in a car crash just five days after graduation, but her inspiring words live on.
Tweetable Takeaway: “We have to remember that we can still do anything…we MUST not lose this sense of possibility because in the end, it’s all we have.”
>>Where to pick up The Opposite of Loneliness
#GIRLBOSS by Sophia Amoruso
The Gist: The founder and CEO of NastyGal clothing explains how she went from selling vintage clothes on eBay to owning a $100-million-plus fashion empire — and how you can learn from her successes and failures so you can take charge of your own life. Amoruso is all about living your life on your own terms, and those days after graduation are perfect for doing a little soul-searching and figuring out what, exactly, those terms are.
Tweetable Takeaway: What it means to be a #girlboss: “You take your life seriously, but you don’t take yourself too seriously.”
The Collegiate Cookbook: USF Gameday Edition by CollegiateCook.com
The Gist: Okay, okay, we couldn’t resist, and quite frankly, if we weren’t so passionate about this project, we’d feel a little sleazy for plugging it in this roundup. This is our cookbook, which features all sorts of recipes to ensure your game day is 100 percent delicious. The best part? 25 percent of the proceeds go to student scholarships at the University of South Florida.
Tweetable Takeaway: Pulled Pork Sliders. Enough said: http://bit.ly/1ktC02V
>>Where to Pick Up The Collegiate Cookbook: USF Gameday Edition
Are there any other 2014 graduation gift ideas you’d recommend? Add them in the comments below!
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