My 3 New Year's Best Books - for Women by Women

At the end of each year, I love to take off a few weeks from work to reflect on the past year. The successes, the challenges and the goals in which I want to achieve next year. So I've put together my top 3 books to help you be your best self. So here’s to a successful 2023 in Health, Wealth and Personal Growth! 

For Heath – The Balance Plan by Angelique Panagos 

I first got introduced to the balance plan through a friend of mine while working on an Apple TV project last year. For someone who use to be very active, dance classes 3 hours a day, 4 days a week to a career that requires constant travel, priorities and life in general changes.  

Written by nutritional specialist, Angelique Panagos, The Balance Plan helps you to understand how the key 6 hormones in a women's body has a huge impact on our lives.  

A lot of doctors would say “oh it's your diet or watch what you eat” But this book not only looks at just what we eat (with some delicious recopies I must say) but our overall health. Our mental health, spiritual health and physical health all tie in together to create a healthy lifestyle. How specific foods can alter the course of your hormones, how self-care or non self-care like stress and anxiety can create a hormone imbalance and how smells, like your environment can subconsciously create unwanted moods.  

Learning how to optimise your hormones and self-educating ourselves on how the female body works empowers us with the knowledge to take the best care of ourselves. From your 20’s, 30’s, 40’s and right through to menopause this book demonstrates the importance of hormone aliment.  

This book is a must read, no matter what age or health status I can guarantee you will be able to take something away from it in order to optimise your health.  

For Wealth – Your Best Year Yet by Jinny Ditzier 

We all know that planning provides direction for action. They say success is 90% planning and 10% execution. Planning makes the goals and objectives clear in the minds which can be applied to all areas of ones life. Some of us can quite easily drift from year to year talking about what we wish we had done without putting in the work and taking action. 

I first read this book about 10 years ago. And ten years on Sinclair London will be celebrating its 10th anniversary in October. Going from a solopreneur to a business with driven women on the payroll and working with leading corporations in the TV & Film industry. This book has real gems with proven methods of how to make this year the most successful year yet.  

Written by executive coach, Jinny Ditzier, “Your Best Year Yet” is a best-selling book. Whether you plan to achieve personal, business or career goals this book helps you with any areas of development, this book will ask you challenging questions about your expectations, accomplishments and goals for the future. So, get your pens ready and a good notebook as you will be scribbling notes down as ideas come flowing. One of my good friends brought me a journal a few years back which had the title - “I don’t have dreams, I have plans” and its been my favourite journal. (Thanks Dee)  

For Personal Growth – In the Meantime by Iyanla Vanzant 

In the Meantime is one of the best self-development books I have read. Now, I have to warn you, this is a no-nonsense book! If you are ready to do some personal growth, then this is the book for you!  

It might not be pretty, it will probably be challenging and it will touch on some points in your subconscious mind that you didn’t see as an issue. But just know, that at the end of your journey, you would have wished you had ready this book sooner. 

Written by none other than the international, inspirational speaker, thought leader and life coach, Iyanla Vanzant. Known for her work and spiritual relationship with Oprah Winfrey. Even though the book touches upon finding love, what I love about this book is that it allows you to be more in touch with who you are and knowing what you want. Being clear, comfortable and unapologetic about your moral compass thoughts and feelings which in turn makes up our identity.  

Some chapters touch upon dealing with past pains and hurts, past memories and disappointments. Iyanla Vanzant teaches us how to do our mental housekeeping so that we can clean the windows, floors, walls, closets, and corners of our minds. 

Remember, transformation is a journey of pealing back the layers of oneself, so do it with kindness and care and learn to let go of old habits. 

Having these three elements of life in check, health wealth and personal growth is to me what I call, luxury living.