Almost a decade ago, I was convinced I wanted to leave corporate America.
I was burned out after five years of juggling chronic illness with a full-time job. At one point, I had my heart set on becoming a digital nomad. I read everything I could about entrepreneurship and building a different kind of life. A life that would allow me to rest when I needed to.
Around that time, I also became fascinated by the idea of retiring early. Not because I dreamed of doing nothing, but because I wanted the freedom to spend my time working on projects I genuinely cared about without constantly worrying about money.
The funny thing is, I never completely left.
Instead of walking away from corporate, I slowly built a life with more flexibility. One where I could continue recruiting part-time, spend more time with my kids, and make room for the creative work that lights me up.
Some of that happened through experience. Some of it came from taking small risks. But many of those decisions were shaped by the books below.
Some taught me how to invest and build financial security. Others challenged my definition of success. And a few gave me the confidence to pursue creative work that had been sitting on the back burner.
If you’re hoping to create a little more flexibility in your own career, these are the books I’d recommend.
Books That Helped Me Build Financial Freedom
One of the biggest mindset shifts I experienced was realizing that financial freedom didn’t have to wait until retirement, and that you didn’t need to start a company to get there.
Learning how to invest, save, and build wealth gave me something even more valuable than money: options.
I no longer felt like I had to stay in jobs that weren’t the right fit simply because I needed the paycheck.
Quit Like a Millionaire by Kristy Shen & Bryce Leung
Quit Like a Millionaire was the book that finally convinced me to start investing.
For years, I wanted to invest but felt completely overwhelmed. Kristy Shen and Bryce Leung explain investing in such a practical, approachable way that I finally took my first step.
More importantly, they reframed investing as a tool for creating freedom rather than simply building wealth.
Buying this book was one of the best financial decisions I ever made. My only regret is that I didn’t start sooner.
Financial Freedom by Grant Sabatier
If Quit Like a Millionaire taught me how to invest, Financial Freedom expanded the way I thought about earning money.
Grant Sabatier encourages readers to think beyond a traditional paycheck by increasing your income, building additional revenue streams, and creating financial security from multiple angles.
I didn’t implement everything in the book, but it completely changed the way I thought about work. Instead of relying on one employer forever, I started asking myself how I could build more options for the future.
Books That Inspired Me to Build a More Intentional Life
For years, I thought success meant climbing the corporate ladder all the way to the C-suite.
These books, along with surviving chronic illness, helped me realize success is much more personal than that.
They encouraged me to think about what kind of life I truly wanted, not just what title I wanted on my resume.
Wellth by Jason Wachob
While many career books focus on earning more money or getting promoted, Jason Wachob, founder of MindBodyGreen, focuses on building a life centered around your mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual health.
After spending years navigating chronic illness, this message resonated with me in a big way.
Looking back, I think Wellth inspired me to think about success on my on terms.
I’ve written more about redefining success in 40 Things I’ve Learned About Living Well.
Be Ready When the Luck Happens by Ina Garten
If I could give this book six stars, I would.
Be Ready When the Luck Happens is the motivational kick in the butt you need to just go for it.
Ina Garten walked away from a secure government job to buy a small specialty food store, eventually building a career that looked nothing like the one she originally imagined.
What I admired most wasn’t just her success. It was her willingness to trust her instincts and take the leap.
Her story reminded me that careers don’t have to be linear. Some of the best opportunities come from taking chances you can’t fully predict.
The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod
The Miracle Morning isn’t really about waking up at 5 a.m. It’s about creating space for yourself before the demands of the day take over.
Hal Elrod’s story is incredibly inspiring, but what stayed with me most was the reminder that small, consistent habits have the power to change the direction of your life over time.
These days, I follow a much more flexible morning routine.
Books That Inspired Me to Create
For a while, I was one of those people who felt like I had to go back to school or become an expert in something before I could build.
These books reminded me that I didn’t have to wait until I had all the skills or everything was perfectly mapped out before pursuing ideas that excited me.
12 Months to $1 Million by Ryan Daniel Moran
I originally bought this book for my husband, who has always loved entrepreneurship.
At the time, we were both feeling stuck professionally and looking for something that felt exciting again.
In 12 Months to $1 Million, Ryan Daniel Moran breaks down how to build a physical product business in a way that’s practical and surprisingly approachable.
We ended up using many of the ideas from this book when we launched our first beverage company.
Looking back, it was one of the first times I realized building something from scratch was actually possible.
Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
This might be the book that had the biggest impact on me creatively.
Elizabeth Gilbert writes about creativity in a way that feels incredibly freeing. Instead of waiting until you’re fearless or perfectly qualified, she encourages you to simply begin.
Reading Big Magic gave me permission to stop treating creativity like something reserved for artists or people with creative degrees.
One idea that especially stuck with me was her advice not to put the pressure of making a living on your creativity too soon. Sometimes the fastest way to lose the joy is to expect it to pay all the bills immediately.
That mindset has stayed with me ever since.
Looking Back
Looking back, these books did teach me how to leave corporate America. They taught me how to invest, build financial security, start businesses, and create opportunities outside of a traditional career.
Ironically, the more options I built, the less urgency I felt to quit. Instead, I found myself making smaller, more intentional decisions over time. I left jobs that weren’t the right fit, launched this blog, started businesses, and eventually scaled back to part-time.
Somewhere along the way, I realized I wasn’t chasing retirement after all. I was chasing the freedom to spend more of my time doing work that felt meaningful and challenged me in new ways.
If these books taught me anything, it’s that career flexibility rarely happens overnight. It comes from dozens of small decisions and putting sustainable systems in place. Opening an investment account. Starting a side project. Taking one small risk at a time. And when you feel stuck, reading another book.
Looking back, these books changed my life in ways I never expected. And with a lot less drama than quitting everything and moving to an island somewhere.
