For anyone undertaking a new journey there are a bunch of tools you need to pack into your kit to take with you.  And the journey towards becoming an ambition revolutionary is just the same. As part of the process I believe you need to go wide and broad, before you go narrow; explore, expand and educate, before settling on just one thing to tackle. Deciding from an expanded view point is really quite liberating.

There are three authors who truly inspired my journey and I’ve listed them below. They are listed in no particular order, so pick one and simply start reading or listening.

“Lean In” by Sheryl Sandberg – In response to Sheryl’s 2010 TEDTalk on the ways women are held back—and the way we hold ourselves back—viewers around the world shared their own stories of struggle and success. This overwhelming response inspired Sheryl to write this book. In Lean In, she shares her personal stories, uses research to shine a light on gender differences, and offers practical advice to help women achieve their goals. The book challenges us to change the conversation from what women can’t do to what we can do, and serves as a rallying cry for us to work together to create a more equal world.

(My thoughts? Sheryl really inspired me and having the ability to watch her and listen to her via various TED resources make her concepts very real to me. And the clincher for me? Here is a high powered, highly educated woman with many, many advantages who still has to remind herself regularly to step up and lean in.)

The Confidence Code by Katty Kay and Claire Shipman – Does confidence come from our genes or can we learn it? Is it best demonstrated by bravado or is there another way to be confident? Is confidence more critical for success than competence? Why do so many women, even the most successful, seem to struggle with feelings of self-doubt? In The Confidence Code, journalists Shipman and Kay travel to the frontiers of neuroscience on a hunt for the confidence gene and reveal surprising new research on its roots in our brains. 

(My thoughts? After Lean In I didn’t think there was much else to learn on the topic. However, I read The Confidence Code on holidays and simply could not put it down. My notes about neuroscience and brain function, along with the latest in behavioural science research could fill another book all on their own. The authors’ own experiences were frank and honestly presented. And the clincher for me?  They interviewed some amazingly powerful women in very senior places and their interview with Christine Lagarde, IMF, helped me see that this lack of confidence, and these behaviours that begin to undermine, apply to nearly all women, no matter what advantages or disadvantages.)

Mindset by Dr Carol Dweck –  Every so often a truly groundbreaking idea comes along. This is one. Mindset explains:

• Why brains and talent don’t bring success

• How they can stand in the way of it

• Why praising brains and talent doesn’t foster self-esteem and accomplishment, but jeopardizes them

• How teaching a simple idea about the brain raises grades and productivity

• What all great CEOs, parents, teachers, athletes know

Mindset is a simple idea discovered by world-renowned Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck in decades of research on achievement and success—a simple idea that makes all the difference.

(My thoughts?  My journey so far had really explored the issues of the female brain and thought patterns, and whether we’re born that way or we learn these behaviours I’ll leave you to judge. However what Mindset enabled me to see is that we can change our brains. We can change our behaviour, our thought patterns, we can challenge old assumptions and, significantly, we can change our IQ.  If you have children, this is an must read.)

Happy reading!  And enjoy your journey.