Happy New You: The Year to Write Your Own Success Story

Something I’ve always loved about the first weeks of any New Year is the feeling of positivity and optimism that seems to be everywhere. There is a lightness in the air, a sense of hope and belief that anything is possible.

Then as the weeks go by, our old habits return, a more pessimistic mindset can start to reappear and suddenly the busy-ness of life takes over and we’re back putting obstacles in our way.

What I’d welcome you to do is decide today, right now in fact, to really embrace a new way of thinking. If you need motivation, just look at how far you’ve already come. We’ve survived an incredibly difficult couple of years and found ourselves with a stronger resilience to face whatever comes our way.

Let’s use that resilience to refresh and rewrite our story for 2023 and beyond. Just as you reboot your computer, use the holidays to install a new mindset that says, yes, this is the year you realise the best version of you.

I’ve always been a voracious reader and live in the belief that one of the great joys of reading is the ability to plug into shared wisdom.

Reading and rereading is inherent in my culture. The 300 Tang Poems (an anthology of poems from the Tang Dynasty compiled by scholar Sun Zhu in around 1763), is still found in many Chinese households. Students just like me would read the poems, often memorising them to learn how to read and write.

I still consistently reread a number of books. I’ve read Dale Carnegie’s book ‘How to win friends and influence people’ more than 100 times and I’m still applying it in my daily business and personal life.

And therein lies an important lesson for success. It’s not about how many books you read. Whether it be history, poetry, personal stories or different perspectives – it’s about applying the principals and philosophies these books inspire to your own life.

My summer holiday reads for a life-changing 2023

Gifting your mind with inspiration and wisdom will help set you up for a prosperous 2023. I’ve put together a list of books and podcasts I’ll be reading and listening to over the break.

Classic biographies about highly successful people:

The House of Morgan, By Ron Chernow

‘The House of Morgan. An American banking dynasty and the rise of modern finance’, by Ron Chernow. The panoramic story of four generations of Morgans and the companies that transformed the modern financial world. An essential book when it comes to understanding money and power.

The Cartiers, By Francesca Cartier Brickwell

‘The Cartiers: The untold story of the family behind the jewelry empire’, Francesca Cartier Brickell. Follows the journey of 3 brothers who turned their grandfather’s humble Parisian jewelry store into a global luxury brand icon

Thou Shall Prosper: Ten commandments for making money, By Rabbi Daniel Lapin

Thou shall prosper: Ten commandments for making money, Rabbi Daniel Lapin – Practical, Jewish business wisdom

‘Titan. The life of  John D Rockefeller Sr’, By Ron Chernow

‘Titan. The life of John D Rockefeller Sr’, by Ron Chernow. The story of history’s first billionaire and patriarch of America’s most famous dynasty. Their motto “Never copy, only create” resonates strongly for me.

Invent & Wander: The Collected writings of Jeff Bezos

‘Invent and wonder’: The collected writings of Jeff Bezos. What interests me here is the masterclass in business values, strategy and execution, and the importance of a long-term mindset. His book is enticing as it offers new insights into thinking about today’s challenges, and more importantly, tomorrow’s challenges.

3 must-read books

The Science of Getting Rich: How to make money and get the life you want, By Wallace D Wattles.

This book helped me tremendously as it talks about creating an abundance mindset.

Secrets of the Millionaire Mind, By T.Harv EKer. 

I’ve read and re-read this one and listened via audiobook or video. It provides practical insight – not just theory – into how to dramatically increase your income and accumulate wealth.

The Psychology of Money: Timeless Lesson on Wealth, Greed and Happiness, By Morgan Housel

This book talks about the psychological background of people’s relationship with money. It’s not just about having a great job, a great investment or business. To have money you need to have the right psychology.

4 must-read wealth books

1. Think and grow Rich, By Napoleon Hill
2. Rich Dad Poor Dad, By Robert T. Kiyoskai
3. The Richest Man in Babylon, By George Samuel Clason
4. The Magic of Thinking Big, By David J. Schwartz

3 Wealth and Success Podcasts and channels

1. Impact Theory with Tom Bilyeu.
2. Valuetainment with Patrick Bet-David
3. Team Fearless

3 Ironfish webinars to watch

1. The Art of Property Investment
2. Turbo Charge Your Cashflow
3. 5 Secrets to Wealth

From everyone here at Ironfish, we wish you happy, healthy and prosperous 2023.

If your property journey has stalled and you’re looking to kick start it into gear, join us at our upcoming webinar on Jan 24^th at 7pm as Will Mitchell, Ironfish Head of Property and Research, shares his tips on  Getting re-started’ on your property journey.

Already made the conscious decision to get your property investment journey back on track? Contact our team of Property Strategists and undertake your goal setting and portfolio planning session at an Ironfish Discovery session.