Books have a special way of changing how we think, act, and see the world. Psychologists say that reading can make you more empathetic, help you think critically, and even make you better at solving problems. As C.S. Lewis famously stated, “We read to know we are not alone.” Books can do more than help you grow as a person; they can also ignite creativity, make you think about your morals, and push you to make changes. Have you ever stopped after finishing a chapter and noticed that your point of view had changed? Many studies demonstrate that interacting with different ideas and stories makes neural connections stronger and helps you understand other people’s experiences better. In this roundup, thought leaders talk about how reading has changed their lives, both personally and professionally. They also talk about how reading can have a modest but powerful effect on people.
Editor’s Note: Some reflections in this roundup touch on sensitive topics, including mental health, grief, and burnout. Reader discretion is advised.
How Simone de Beauvoir Empowered My Design Philosophy
The book that changed my life was “The Second Sex” written by Simone de Beauvoir. The book created a powerful impact by making the world change through its words. Through her words she expressed the unspoken experiences which countless women experienced but lacked the ability to express. The moment I finished reading the book I understood how our daily existence became clear to me.
The book showed me that women choose their femininity rather than being limited by traditional expectations of weakness and quietness. The spirit of empowerment exists in all our creations because we design lingerie that empowers women and swimwear that represents freedom and clothing that enables women to tell their personal stories independently.
Julia Pukhalskaia, CEO, Mermaid Way
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Contagious Doubled Our Engagement in Three Weeks
Reading Jonah Berger’s Contagious changed how I see viral content. I tweaked a campaign based on his STEPPS framework and doubled our engagement in three weeks. This stuff actually works. If you’re trying to figure out why some things blow up and others don’t, this book breaks down the psychology behind it in a way you can use immediately.
Justin Herring, Founder and CEO, YEAH! Local
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Radical Candor Transformed My Team Into Truth Tellers
Kim Scott’s book Radical Candor rewired how I lead. For six months I’ve used her framework, and now my team doesn’t just quietly agree with a plan. They actually question it and point out flaws, which makes our work better. It’s not about being harsh, it’s about caring enough to be direct with each other.
Daniel Hebert, Founder, yourLumira by SalesMVP Lab Inc
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To Kill a Mockingbird Taught Me True Courage
To Kill a Mockingbird landed in my hands when I was much younger, but I did not fully understand its weight until I read it again as an adult. The story is simple on the surface, but the way it talks about courage, prejudice and moral responsibility feels painfully honest. It shows you what happens when ordinary people decide to stand on the right side of things, even when it costs them something.
I watched friends read it over the years, and every single one of them came away quieter, a little more reflective. They saw the world with a bit more tenderness. They questioned their own assumptions. The book nudged people toward empathy without ever sounding righteous. That is the kind of social change I believe in. It made me want to pay closer attention to fairness in my own decisions, both at work and in life.
Nir Appelton, CEO, Adorb Custom Tees
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Humankind Inspired Me to Build Better Healthcare Solutions
Reading Rutger Bregman’s Humankind was a lightbulb moment. It argues people are mostly decent, which challenged everything I knew from reactive healthcare. After I kept getting misdiagnosed, seeing proof that cooperation actually works gave me the idea to build something like Superpower. If you’re skeptical things can actually get better in big, slow industries like medicine, this book is for you.
Max Marchione, Co-Founder, Superpower
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Henrietta Lacks Sparked Real Ethics Debates Among Students
I always come back to Rebecca Skloot’s The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. I used it with my students once and it sparked better conversations about fairness than any textbook ever did. Suddenly they weren’t just learning about ethics, they were arguing about them. The story is raw and forces you to ask hard questions. If you want students to feel something, not just know it, this is the book.
Carmen Jordan Fernandez, Academic Director, The Spanish Council of Singapore
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Educated Reminds Me Why Education Access Matters Most
Tara Westover’s Educated sticks with me. A girl who never set foot in a classroom ends up with a PhD from Cambridge. It reminds me of when we launched UrbanPro. The rollout was messy, but watching tutors overcome their own struggles felt like seeing smaller versions of Tara. It makes me believe that making learning easier to access can actually help people change their lives.
Rakesh Kalra, Founder and CEO, UrbanPro Tutor Jobs
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Atomic Habits Turned Small Tweaks Into Sales Success
The ‘Atomic Habits’ book got me to stop chasing big, flashy changes at Prezlab. We started small, just improving how we tracked leads in our CRM each week. It wasn’t exciting, but those little adjustments made a real difference in our sales numbers after a few months. I tell people to focus on those small wins because they actually last.
Ibrahim Alnabelsi, VP – New Ventures, Prezlab
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Chaos as Teacher: Ruda Iande’s Courageous Alternative
The book that has moved me most in its message and courage is ‘Laughing in the Face of Chaos’ by my friend and collaborator Ruda Iande.
To me, the thing that really sets this book apart is its refusal to sell comfort. When I was reading, I had a feeling that Ruda was inviting readers to sit with fear, grief and burnout without spiritual bypass or productivity hacks. He really does treat chaos as a teacher, not a mistake to be cleaned up.
This book taught me that you do not need to cure the world inside your head before you can act in the world outside. You need a steadier relationship with your own nervous system and a willingness to take the next honest step.
The best part is that I have watched readers take that to heart. Leaders who were stuck in perfection paralysis began running small community projects instead of waiting for perfect certainty. Couples in stalemate used his “center first, then one clean move” practice to repair after years of gridlock. Friends wrote to say the book helped them drop the mask and ask for help.
That is social change at human scale. It spreads because the practice is portable and does not depend on a guru or a retreat.
And the courage of the book is in how personal it is. Ruda shares his failures and contradictions without polishing them. That kind of truth telling lowers the bar for the rest of us. You do not need to be pure to be useful. You need to be present and willing to move.
Lachlan Brown, Co-founder, The Considered Man
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Montessori’s Absorbent Mind Changed How I Teach Children
“Absorbent Mind” by Maria Montessori continues to influence the way I think about how children learn and what potential they bring with them wherever they go. As creator of a 5-star Montessori curriculum for homeschoolers, daycares, co-ops and non-traditional schools, I keep coming back to this book because it gets at something VITAL: children don’t need to be propelled forward – they simply require the proper surroundings in which to thrive at their own levels. When I first started working with families, I noticed how pressured parents felt to “keep up,” but Montessori’s message served as a reminder that meaningful change begins whenever we trust children’s inner drive to learn.
From my own work, this has led to one practice I recommend for all parents or educators: create a single “INDEPENDENCE SHELF” of three carefully selected activities appropriate for the child’s stage right now. Rotate accordingly every 10 days according to what your child chooses most. It is this little practice that proves to be so effective at building confidence and focus because it honors the child’s questions rather than overwhelming them.
Mandi Jackson-Zielenski, Esq., Founder & Lead Educator, Multisori
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Big Magic Turned My Fear Into Entrepreneurial Courage
One book that inspired me to just start once I had a solid plan for Cafely, despite some of my relatives pointing out how unrealistic I was being, was Elizabeth Gilbert’s book ‘Big Magic’. As someone new to the business world, I feared that my idea would be deemed unoriginal; or worse, my target audience would perceive us as just another coffee brand. Reading her book influenced me to embrace being scared and transform it into courage I can use to stop overthinking negative outcomes and just do it. I feel like it was the brain switch I needed at that moment. Even now, when I’m managing my own team, I try to impart the lessons the book taught me by encouraging them to not be afraid to share out-of-the-box ideas, which I find helped position our brand as different and get our customers to appreciate our products more.
Mimi Nguyen, Founder, Cafely
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Just Mercy Reminded Me Why I Became Lawyer
Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy changed how I see this work. After decades in the law, I’d thought it was about legal arguments and winning cases. Stevenson reminds me it’s about the story, about seeing the person behind the case. His work made me ask myself again why I became a lawyer. The book doesn’t just talk about empathy, it shows you what it looks like in action. Anyone in law should read it.
Ramiro Lluis, Managing Attorney, Lluis Law
What do you think? Which insights resonated with you the most? Share your thoughts or experiences in the comments—we’d love to hear how generosity, kindness, compassion, and making a difference have shaped your path!
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