A Beautiful Ripple Effect

There are so many inspiring individuals online and many of them share lots of great content for free. It is amazing, but can be a bit overwhelming to try to sort through all of the goodies that are available. To help you overcome the overwhelm, I have curated a selection of 10 free e-books (and personal favorites) for you!

(1) A Brief Guide to World Domination: How to Live a Remarkable Life in a Conventional World by Chris Guillebeau

In his e-book, Chris writes, “It’s a lonely road for those of us who choose to be remarkable, and the path of convention can sometimes be appealing.  That path is paved with safe lives, middle of the road monotony, and little chance of failure.  But where’s the fun in being like everyone else out there?”

This 29-page manifesto ultimately boils down to one assertion: “You don’t have to live your life the way other people expect you to.” It helps readers plan ways to achieve their goals and be one of the “remarkable few” (rather than one of the “unremarkably average”) by starting with two questions: “What do you really want to get out of life?” and “What do you have to offer the world that no one else can?”

(2) Stone Soup: Minimalist Home Cooking – A Free Cookbook by Jules Clancy

Nearly 100 beautiful pages of healthy recipes often requiring only 5 ingredients, 10 minutes, and minimal equipment. Chapters include:

• snacks & starters
• soup
• salads & vegetables
• pasta & noodles
• grain & legumes
• meat, fish & eggs
• sweet treats
• how to setup a minimalist kitchen
• how to stock a minimalist pantry

(3) Advice on Building Your Confidence Muscles by Ana Ottman

Ana asked some of her favorite female business owners to respond to this question:

What advice would you give to women business owners that want to build their confidence muscles (and generally rock at what they do)?

Danielle LaPorte, Jess Swift, Jennifer Hofmann, Jennifer Lee, Kimberly Wilson, Leah Piken Kolidas, Pace & Kyeli, Ronna Detrick, Christine Mason Miller, and Michelle Ward join in the conversation with nearly 20 inspirational women to talk about building their confidence and rocking their dreams.  Great advice not just for entrepreneurs but for anyone looking to strengthen their self-confidence.

(4) How to Live a Meaningful Life by Barrie Davenport

Forty-six pages of inspirational and actionable strategies for creating a life full of joy, fulfillment and real purpose, including chapters on happiness, balance and moderation, beauty, and personal growth.

It guides readers through an exploration of:

• What really matters to you most in your life.
• How to define your real needs for security and comfort.
• How to achieve balance and moderation to create more time and energy.
• How and why to make a contribution to the world.
• Strategies to make your relationships more meaningful and joyful.
• Practical ways to incorporate and appreciate beauty in your life.
• Why creativity is available to all of us and how to use it every day.
• Why personal growth is essential to a meaningful life.

(5) Pounding {Your Head Against} the Pavement: A Super Free, Super Awesome Workbook that Will Make the Swelling Go Down by Michelle Ward

“But how do you know that you’re ready to let go of one (possible life-long) dream and find another? How can you be sure it’s not just a phase? Can the end justify the means?”

Michelle, the When I Grow Up coach, takes readers through 7 simple exercises to help evaluate when it’s time to stop living old dreams and expired passions and how to start transitioning into your long-terms goals and awesomeness.

(6) An Organised Life: Feel the Freedom Organisation Can Bring by Kristina Karisson

This beautifully designed zen e-book is filled with tips and ideas for finding clarity of space and clarity of mind and spirit. Kristina writes:

“At Kikki.K we believe organisation is about more than just finding things quickly. It’s about that incredible sense of wellbeing and productivity that comes form being in control, and having more time for the enjoyable things in life. People often ask me, What’s the secret to being organised? I’m certainly no expert, however over the years I’ve learnt that a few minutes invested here and there can make all the difference. This guidebook has been designed to inspire you to reap the benefits of an organized life. Identify your organization goals; tackle them one at a time; take time to discover what works for you; and be good to yourself along the way. Soon you’ll achieve that wonderful sense of calm and control.”

(7) Overcome Anything: Finding the Light After Darkness by Mary Jaksch [update 5.08.2011: no longer available]

“Let’s face it, dealing with personal or family crises is one of the hardest things we have to do. It’s important to remember that no matter how dark it feels when you’re going through a crisis, it can finally be turned into something positive – something that makes us grow.”

Mary combines her experience as a psychotherapist with Zen guidance and practical counseling to anyone who is going through a significant change in life.  In her e-book, she takes readers through the first steps of overcoming fear, jealously, guilt and stress, finding forgiveness and ending depression to uncover new personal meaning and happiness.

(8)  Amazing Coloring eBook #1 by Frank de Kleine

Remember coloring books? The sense of possibility with a blank page and a new box of crayons? This simple e-book contains line drawings of lions, muscle cars, ballerinas, zebras and more. It’s perfect for a quick mid-afternoon creativity break. It’ll take you back to your glory days of coloring inside – or outside – the lines.

(9) Unveiling the Heart of Your Business: How money, marketing and sales can deepen your heart, heal the world, and still add to your bottom line.

This 3-chapter excerpt is from Mark Silver’s book “Unveiling the Heart of Your Business.” For several years it has helped turn thousands of entrepreneurs’ understanding of business completely around.

The e-book is not only a must-read for business owners who “want to make a difference, but need to make a profit,” but also offers thoughtful advice that’s relevant for anyone wishing to bring more soul into their day-to-day work. If you’re a 9-5er, a DIY-er, or somewhere in between, this excerpt helps you connect authentically in each of the relationships that comprise your working life.

(10) Emergency Calming Techniques & the Art of Meeting Yourself Where You Are by Havi Brooks

Havi’s free sampler begins with a transcript of the Emergency Calming Techniques teleclass in which she offers bits of useful information for overcoming “stuckification.”

“And by stuckification I basically mean all the things that come together to result in our feeling like everything is just terrible. That familiar, “here I am again” stuck place. So ‘stuckification’ might mean feeling stressed, frustrated, annoyed, sad, helpless, furious, irritated or cranky.”

It also includes 2 articles on smart, useful ways to stop a freak-out moment in its tracks: “Expert Advice You Can Feel Free to Ignore” (and the five puzzle pieces that actually can create more calm) and “The Step Everyone Skips on the Way To Calm (Including Me).”

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Do you have any favorite freebies online to share? Or, do you know of a great e-book available for less than $50 (working on a new post that will feature a few fabulous not so free e-books available!)? Love your comments :)!