I never liked reading English fiction in high school. I preferred Tagalog pocketbook romances ’cause they’re cheap, comprehensible, and satisfying. Until I met Og Mandino. After I read an excerpt of his scroll, I felt like reading English texts wasn’t anymore a chore, neither a bore. But an enlightening activity. A refreshing ride. A psyche-building climb.

Have you read The Greatest Secret in the World by Og Mandino?

 I hunger for success. I thirst for happiness and peace of mind. Lest I act I will perish in a life of failure, misery, and sleepless nights. I will command, and I will obey my own command. I will act now. Success will not wait. If I delay she will become betrothed to another and lost to me forever. This is the time. This is the place. I am the man.I will act now.

Mandino’s scroll is longer, of course. A daily creed that can be spoken silently or loudly. It’s your call. From then on, I sought help from other writers of similar genre. I realized that self-help books don’t necessarily teach us to go through a lonesome struggle in life. King Solomon, one of my favorite inspirational writers, left us some bite-size words of wisdom from Ecclesiastes & Proverbs:

“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.”

“Whoever remains stiff-necked after many rebukes will suddenly be destroyed—without remedy.”

Lately, I’ve been fond of Dr. Delmer Eugene Croft, author of Supreme Personality. He has given his readers this challenge of faith or fate: “If you catch the gleam of a possibility to-day that seems too good to be true, grasp it, believe it, endeavor towards it, and tomorrow it will be true. Be freed from limitations and enter upon your boundless possibilities.”

What about you? Which self-help books do you find helpful?