We asked rising stars from the community to tell us about a book they’ve read and the impact it had on them.  We’ve highlighted some of those responses below.

Lindsay Hoffman | Journalist, Motivational Speaker & Entrepreneur

One of my favorite books that I recommend anyone who sees this to read is: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. I love this book because of its message about trusting yourself and your journey. It reminds us that the fear of failing is much worse than failing itself and that no one suffers when they go for their dreams. It also reminds us to trust our instincts. One of my favorite quotes from the book is “When you want something all the universe conspires in helping you achieve it.” Read more>>

Dakota Higgins | Artist

As cliche as it is to announce, I must join the chorus of voices that highlight the difficulty of selecting just a single work (be that a book or essay or movie or artwork…) to consider for its subjective importance. Glancing at my bookshelf, I am reminded of the several books that have had an impact on me at various points in my life; I am reminded of the circumstances under which I read them; the degrees to which I enjoyed them or found them difficult or frustrating or thrilling, beautiful, annoying, smart, whatever. I generate a brief synopsis or key takeaway for each and resist the notion of singling one out to discuss. It feels arbitrary. Read more>>

Javier Collazo Lopez | Actor, Writer & Singer

I recently read a book called The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. I had to read this book for my English III class, and I found it to be very interesting and helpful in many ways. The Power of Habit talks about different people who went through memory loss, injuries, and trauma that set them back a few steps in life. These people were able to recover and continue on with their lives by remaking a habit. The book also talks about how to make a new habit, how to break bad habits, and how to change a bad habit into a good one. Read more>>

Jean Donnay | Entrepreneur and artist

The E-Myth.l was a book that opened my eyes to just how much I did not know about running a business. The book talks about how to think about your business as a business and not a job. You want your business to be able to work without you there so that you can focus on growing it. The book really has me sit down and analyze my business structure, systems, as well as to see what type of person I am with regards to running a business. I highly suggest the book to everyone. Read more>>