If you haven’t read Pearls of Wisdom: 30 Inspirational Ideas to Live Your Best Life Now!, you may want to check it out. Jack Canfield kicks off the book by explaining the two things to which he attributes his enormous success: (1) learning how to access his intuition, and (2) quickly acting on his inner guidance. Thirty additional chapters follow, each written by a different self-help author. You may know some of the authors (such as Marci Shimoff or Janet and Chris Attwood). Others are up-and-coming, so you may not have discovered them yet. The following will give you a feel for 7 of these new authors:

Liz Byrne: If there were a Jillian Michaels of self-help, it just might be Liz Byrne. She’s a straight talker, and if you tell her you’ve been thinking about meditating, she’ll tell you to just sit down and do it! As Liz explains in her chapter of the book, not having a routine is one of the biggest obstacles to meditation. So go to your designated place, sit down, go through your personal meditation routine, and see how much better you feel when you just do it!

Sheila Pearl: When Sheila’s husband suffered from dementia and eventually passed away, she could have succumbed to depression and bitterness and just given up on life. Many people have done just that when they suffer from unthinkable tragedies. But instead, Sheila shares how she used her painful circumstances as an opportunity to help her evolve in her awareness and consciousness. She inspires us to look for blessings even during our darkest hours.

Stephanie Bennett Vogt: Stephanie is a professional space clearer who helps us to see how our homes and workplaces are extensions of us. If they are cluttered and congested, they won’t circulate energy (chi). On the other hand, our spaces thrive when they’re nourished and well-tended. Just like people, they respond to love. So “love up” your home by doing what makes you feel good: cooking for your family, putting fresh sheets on the bed, or just listening to your favorite music.

Craig Meriwether: When Craig tells you there is a reason problems keep showing up and that these challenges are really a gift that can help you create an amazing life, he’s not just feeding you “woo-woo pseudo philosophy.” He uses scientific principles, such as the law of thermodynamics, to explain how you can take the pressure and chaos of your life and use it to move to a higher level. If you’re willing to let go of anger, sorrow, and negative beliefs, you can tap into your own resourcefulness and literally change your life.

Rev. Stacy Goforth: Rev. Goforth does a beautiful job of showing us that the “Golden Rule” is the cornerstone of all the major religions, providing examples from over 15 different faiths. She explains that we all want the same things: to be happy, to experience peace, and to feel love. When we interact with others based on our similarities rather than our differences, we get back even more love and understanding than what we give…and that’s a great way to live our lives!

Jacob Nordby: Jacob takes us on a journey of imagination involving a homeless man with a note that simply states, “The greatest gift you can offer the planet is to awaken and walk in love.” He then explains what it really means to awaken, and he leaves us with a recommendation to tap into gratitude and watch it transform the world around us.

Randy Davila: As the CEO of Hierophant Publishing, Randy is exposed to a lot of different spiritual and self-help books that provide wisdom and instruction on how to live a more fulfilling life…so he knows that prayer, meditation, and positive thinking are all indispensable practices. He also reminds us that sometimes the most overlooked method of self-help is to just go out and help someone else. Helping others makes us feel good and it also takes the focus off of us.

It’s always nice to curl up with a book by a renowned self-help author like Jack Canfield, Wayne Dyer, or Deepak Chopra…but it’s also fun to discover new voices. Pearls of Wisdom gives you the opportunity to check out some of self-help’s up-and-coming authors, such as the ones mentioned above. You might just discover a new favorite author!

Kara Lane