Thousands of authors speak of their personal experiences or of the lessons they’ve learnt throughout their lives, their books have helped change lives and still do today. In this list, I have collected the books that have personally effected me or are just so brilliant that everyone talks of them.

۱. “What I Wish I Knew Before I Was 20” by Tina Seeling

This book is highly popular and you have probably seen it in many bookstores. When I worked at a bookstore, this book was sold out by the end of every week! It speaks of how we can turn problems into opportunities and take a chance when we need to. It contains many essential and important points that everyone, no matter where they work and what they do, should know in order to make smarter decisions and live more effectively.

۲. “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success” by Carol Dweck

If you have issues on self-control and wish to grow as a person, this book is for you. The author is straightforward and logical in delivering her points. For those who are looking for ways to push themselves harder and get closer to their goal, this book will definitely get you closer to that mindset. While the book is primarily based on psychology and science, it is still pleasant to read and easy to digest.

۳. “Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength” by John Tierney and Roy Baumeister

This book focuses on willpower, the thing that drives and pushes us to achieve the things we want. It’s when we put aside our procrastination and allow ourselves to be driven by the a goal or dream. The book gives out ways we can control our thoughts and emotions to combine them into willpower.

۴. “۷ Habits of Highly Effective People: powerful lessons in personal change” by Stephen Covey

You’ll be familiar with the 7 habits that every successful person lives by. The book focuses on self-mastery and building a strong character to deal with others around you. Making a good impression on others and allowing others to see you as someone they can trust and rely on, is really important in the business world. Stephen Covey will walk you through those habits and help you find that strong character within you.

۵. “Who Moved My Cheese?” by Spencer Johnson

This book uses an interesting way of delivering its message. It uses four character (us) that are trying to find their favorite food (happiness and success) in a big maze (our lives). A short parable about change, this book will help you accept the changes that happen to you everyday and learn the lessons that could be picked from our previous actions.

۶. “Girl, Stop Apologizing” by Rachel Hollis

Women are often placed in a position where they have to get an approval from men, where they constantly have to apologize and suffer for doing a something that is “unwanted” by those around them. Speaking of a major issue, Rachel Hollis talks of how women shouldn’t be in this position and how they can survive it while not putting themselves down. This may seem like a book written for women, but it is also useful to men who are put in a similar position.

۷. “The 6 Pillars of Self-esteem” by Nathaniel Brandon

Reading this book is just like going to 6 sessions of therapy, it is written in such a friendly and professional way, that makes you feel like you are sitting across your therapist. We all lack the amount of self-esteem we need in order to live a happy life, and in this book you can find out how you can get to that point. By going through each of the pillars, the author uses specific examples and details to make you understand where you went wrong and how to pick yourself up again.

۸. “Motivation Manifesto” by Brendon Burchard

Habits shape our everyday lives whether they are good or bad. Changing those habits and replacing them with productive ones will allow you to have a successful day, everyday. This is the argument Brendon Burchard uses to convince us to understand the habits we have and their effects on our life. If you’re wondering why your life isn’t moving forward and you aren’t moving closer to your goal, this book is a must-read.

۹. “Talking to Strangers” by Malcolm Gladwell

Not being able to understand one another is very damaging, you may lose opportunities and misjudge someone just because you misunderstood them. This happens quite often, whether it’s in the business world or your normal life. Having the right communication skills, will not only allow you to understand others better, but will also allow you to express your thoughts in a better way.

۱۰. “#girlboss” by Sophia Amoruso

Sophia Amoruso is the owner of the brand Nasty Gal, a successful fashion brand. She talks of her story and how she came to be so successful. She points out that by learning from your mistakes and your loss, you can understand when you need to quit and when to ask for more. Books that speak of personal experiences are the most helpful, because readers can place themselves in their position and learn what they need to do and what they shouldn’t do.

۱۱. “The Forty Rules of Love” by Elif Shafak

Don’t be fooled by the title; this is not a romance novel, but a book full of life lessons and a new dimension of thinking. While the book itself is a fiction, the story is based on the two greatest poets and spiritual instructors in history; Rumi and Shams of Tabriz. The book contains two timelines, one in the present and one in the past. This book is a must-read, because it will introduce you to a whole new level of spirituality and life lessons.

I hope you have chosen at least one of these books to read, because you won’t regret reading them. After reading these books, you will have the right mindset to reach your goal and make the right decisions.

These days we are all experiencing a new way of lifestyle, one we are not used to. Everything we used to do have been affected by this pandemic, leaving us isolated in our homes. Even the way we leave and enter our home has been affected. The situation has also left us searching for ways we can keep our job and have an income when we have no choice but to stay home.

Experts advise us on ways we can cope with the situation at hand, we can also apply our personal experiences to make things easier for ourselves. So, In this article I will share some things my family and I learnt from constantly migrating to different countries, hence living an unpredictable life at home.

After 6 years of living in a certain country, we decided to have our children study at home via an online school, this allowed our children to study at home and allow us to have less complications when traveling or migrating again. There was no need for them to leave early in the morning and return at noon, now they just needed to move from a room to another. Although we were still unsure about how we should manage their time, social interactions, the quality of their education and many other questions we couldn’t answer; we had no choice but to keep them online due to us having to migrate again. Having to stay in hotels and apartments, my wife and I concluded that it is best for the kids to be home schooled.

It wasn’t much of a shock to my children either; they have seen their parents work from home through the internet. I remember a while ago, someone asked me “You’re always on that phone, what are you doing there?” and my 7 year old son answered,: “He works with his phone and does not play games with it!”. His response proved to others that the internet was more than just entertainment for our family; it was also a tool for work and a new way of living.

Some of my children were keen on studying, some weren’t. I thought to myself that the reaction I’m seeing right now, could’ve taken place at a public school as well. It amazed me how they have programmed online schools to be as close and effective to a public school.

As for social interaction, I signed up my children to different activities, like martial arts, art classes, swimming lessons, acting classes and other activities; allowing them to find friends and have a healthy mind and body. By doing so, I can ensure than my children get education, physical activity and the social interaction they need in order to have a stable life while being enrolled in an online school.

These days where we try hard to get used to the online classes and meetings, while also dealing with the fact that social interactions must not take place; we tend to get confused and at times, frustrated. So, I will break down the do’s and don’ts that you need to consider in this situation.

• Online education and occupations need a steady routine. Just like as it were before, you need to keep a proper routine and determination in order to get good results.
• There are no excuses when it comes to online commissions, since you know when you will get the commission and when you should give the product to your client. So make sure you have a proper schedule to manage your time perfectly without having to risk your job.
• Take care of your devices; be sure that your device is protected by installing the right software and antivirus apps. Avoid giving your devices to your children, as they might use it to play suspicious games and bring viruses to your device.
• Don’t fall for any links or ads, be certain about the site you trust, just as you would when allowing someone to enter your home.
• Download apps that have a good review and are recommended by trusted websites. Get to know other apps more; for every little task, an application has been designed, now that you have more time on your hand, do a little exploring.

In the current situation, we are all assigned to enroll in online classes and meetings. Usually taking place on a group call, it is important to behave in a way that won’t disturb the peace required for an online call. You don’t want to embarrass yourself or not be able to take notes or understand the topic. So, in order to have a successful call, keep these points in mind:

• Be there on time
• Choose the right device to join the appointment
• Wear the right clothing when present in meetings
• Allow your class to take place in a quiet environment, if you’re in a noisy room, it will disturb the other participants.
• Place your device on a stable position, you don’t want your camera shaking all the time as it will annoy others trying to listen to what you are saying or it might disturb the focus they have.
• Try sitting on a chair when you’re join a class, moving around too much disturbs the peace a class or meeting needs.
• With the host’s permission, record the sessions, so that you can look back at it and take notes, or if you know you won’t make it for the class, ask a participant to record it for you.

We don’t know when things will get back to normal, or when the virus will be completely taken care of. But a positive result of this pandemic is everyone realizing that they have wasted a lot of their time doing things they didn’t need to do. And that there are easier and convenient ways to do things compared to the ways we used to do. Many of us start asking ourselves questions we might’ve not thought about before;

• Why should there be a meeting for the smallest things?
• Why should I put my kids to school every day early in the morning?
• How can I get things done without having to physically go to the bank, store, office and other departments?
• Can’t I make a living from working at home without having to go the office every day?

It is clear that things will change after the epidemic, we will rethink our decisions, realize the importance of things and how we spent our time. But until then, we should stay home, develop ourselves and not interact with others in order to protect our families.

There are many freelancers out there that will share their story about how they worked like everyone else did, but then decided to work for themselves as a freelancer. Many of them started teaching their methods to those seeking to work like them; they provided articles, videos and even online classes. By doing so, they’ve made things easier for all those aspiring freelancers out there, what a time to be alive!

So, you might be asking yourself, “how do I start? Isn’t it risky?” and many other questions, in that case you will have your answers by the end of this article.

Here are 10 steps you need to take in order to become a freelancer:

۱. Find out what you are good at

You need to find your skill, the most promising one.Is it writing? Editing? Cooking? Whatever it is, there is a market for it on the internet. Take a piece of paper and write down the skills you have or are passionate about. And if you don’t have a one, write the skill you are interested in and are willing to learn more about it. Don’t worry about wanting to change your skill in the future, you can change your area of work once or twice, it is completely normal (although constantly changing it will confuse your clients and yourself).

۲. Seek training, learn more about the skill

If you think your skill may not sell or that you don’t have enough knowledge to create pieces of work on your portfolio, you’ll need training. I personally recommend online training because it is more convenient, especially if it’s YouTube. Even if you think you know everything about your chosen skill, it is still a good idea to do some research and figure what the do’s and don’ts are in that market; you don’t want to fall right after learning to stand up. So, take your time and learn the methods and listen to freelancer stories to better understand what you need to do.

۳. Have a good schedule

Timing is very important when it comes to online jobs, you want to have a routine just like you would in a office job. That way you can make sure you get the work done. So, choose a certain hour everyday to either create posts on your chosen platform or brainstorm ideas for the coming days. Mornings have proved to be the best time for work, because you are more energized. When starting out, you need to be organized in order to not confuse or frustrate yourself, by following your schedule everyday, you will turn it into a routine.

۴. Use a platform to create your first portfolio

Whether you choose photography, writing, painting or any other skill, you need to have a portfolio ready, so that your clients can see your quality of work. Using a platform to make your first portfolio is a way to slowly bring yourself in to that market. Remember that your goal isn’t to get a lot of attention on that platform, you are just trying to put your work somewhere so others can refer to it when you cold-email them. You can use platforms such as Instagram, LinkedIn, Medium, and many others. Fill your portfolio with many posts, you would want at least 10 posts, but the more the better.

۵. Create your professional contacts

How will your client reach out to you? Giving clients your personal contact is obviously not a good idea, you need to have work-only contacts in order to be professional and safe from potential hackers. Your contact list should have a phone number, an email, and social media accounts. In this stage you should also have your business name, so you can put on your email and social media accounts; the name could be your name or something smart and related to your area of work, be creative! Be sure to use these contact ONLY for your work.

۶. Keep a journal

It’s a smart thing to keep a journal and record the ups and downs you face while trying to start your own business as a freelancer. Not only will it be helpful to read the entries as you go along, it will also be great content for some websites. You will need to keep track of your steps in order to make the right decisions in the future and learn from your mistakes. You can also share your journal with others who are trying to be freelancers.

۷. Cold-emailing

Okay! You have a portfolio, professional contacts and the right amount skills necessary to start getting commissions. Now, you need to start cold-emailing websites and companies to get commissions. Keep it mind that there is always a chance that you will get ignored or rejected, but it shouldn’t stop you from cold-emailing. In these emails, you need to get straight to the point, and tell them how you can help make their website better, interest them into reading all of your email and not ignoring it after the first sentence. A good headline would be “______ freelancer interested in ______”. If asked, you would need to set a rate for your work, in that case you need to do some research to find the average rate of a ___ freelancer, then you can adjust it to the quality of your service. Be patient with this step! It will take time, but it is worth it.

۸. You got commissions, now create your website

So you were able to get some commissions from the websites you cold-emailed to, now you need to put those commissions into your own platform; your website. By some commissions, I mean at least 10 commissions; you don’t want an empty website. WordPress is the obvious choice, but there are others as well (you could use a YouTube tutorial to make your website). After creating and designing your clean and professional website, you need pages that will look pleasing to your clients. Besides a welcoming Home Page, you will need the following pages in your website:

• Hire Me Page: A page for clients to refer to once they’ve decided to work with you; it should include your contacts.
• My Portfolio: Should include the work you did for the websites you cold-emailed to, and the posts you published on other platforms.
• Services Page: In what ways can you help a client? What are you skills? Be sure to be specific about it and only write of your main services.
• About Me Page: Tell your client a little about yourself, allow them to know you and your ambitions, many clients prefer to work with people that are honest and welcoming.

۹. Don’t waste your time and money on advertisement

A lot of people tend to waste their money on unnecessary advertisements. They think that right after making a website, everyone should know about it. But in reality, you would be wasting your time and money. Why rush things? Clients will have to find you through an email or a recommendation, not through a Facebook Ad. It would surely bring more attention to your website, but not from the right people. So, be patient and allow your website to be found by proper clients and viewers.

۱۰. Do not hesitate

When we first begin commissions, we might feel that what we do isn’t good enough for clients and that they might not accept it. This hesitation and fear will eventually cause you to lose good opportunities; you need to be confident in what you do and show that you are, through the way you express yourself in your work. Nobody wants to work with someone that has no confidence and is showing that through their work. Stop being afraid and just go for it!

If you want to earn a living as a freelancer, you need to be committed. You should also keep in mind that if you aren’t getting the right results or commissions, there is something you are doing wrong; retrace your steps and see where you went wrong. If your work was rejected, pick yourself up and try harder, or find the right client for your work.

Of course, this way of work isn’t risk-free, just like any other work there is out there. The amount of risk you take depends on your decisions and actions. So don’t think that just because it is an online job, there won’t be any risk. But on the plus side, all you need for this job is creativity and a laptop!