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Investigating the world’s weird books could easily take someone down an endless rabbit hole of unusual and unexpected publishing choices. We’ve already looked at a few prime examples of bizarre books on every subject from dating on a dollar budget to styling it up like Liberace, but the strangeness doesn’t stop there.

My favourite is probably #9: How to Survive a Garden Gnome Attack: Defend Yourself when the Lawn Warriors Strike (and They Will)

Here’s the complete list:

1. Fashion Cats

2. How to Teach Physics to Your Dog

3. How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found

4. Knitting With Dog Hair: Better A Sweater From A Dog You Know and Love Than From A Sheep You’ll Never Meet

5. Anybody Can Be Cool – But Awesome Takes Practice

6. Bombproof Your Horse

7. Sun-Beams May Be Extracted from Cucumbers, But the Process Is Tedious

8. How Green Were the Nazis?: Nature, Environment, and Nation in the Third Reich

9. How to Survive a Garden Gnome Attack: Defend Yourself When the Lawn Warriors Strike (And They Will)

10. Manifold Destiny: The One! The Only! Guide to Cooking on Your Car Engine!

11. Royal Knits

12. Who Cares About Elderly People?

Over the years, I have discovered a key to growing self-confidence like a great little vine.

Pruning.

That’s right. You grow self-confidence by trimming back expectations, setting limits on yourself and defining core areas of competence.

For confidence to overflow, the container must be the right size. If you think you should be able to accomplish anything, in any situation, you are setting yourself up. The reality is, you have talents unique to you. And there are plenty of areas of life in which you probably have no business pretending you are confident.

Discover your talents. Focus them. Let go of performance expectations outside those areas. Then, within your high confidence areas, prune your expectations further to make sure your feet are on the ground.

When you begin any new self-improvement program, you’re enthusiasm is high and you’re motivated by the pleasure of what you want or the pain of what you donâ??t want. But motivation naturally diminishes with time.

When your motivation wanes, you rely more on willpower. But no one has an endless supply of willpower. It’s a resource that gets “used up”. Every time you will yourself do something you don’t really want to do, you use up some willpower. Every temptation you pass up depletes your willpower reserve.

By consciously deciding to create a new habit, you can harness the power of your unconscious to create a new neural pathway. Once a new habit is established it becomes easy to do –motivation and willpower are no longer required!

Here are 7 steps to turn any desired new activity into a habit. Once a habit is established you’ll find yourself doing effortlessly. These techniques can be used for any habit you want to make or change – diet, exercise, meditation, stress reduction, sleep habits, and more.

Set Small Goals […]

Use Triggers […]

Do it Early […]

Be Prepared […]

Make it Convenient […]

Make it Fun […]

Don’t Break the Chain […]

Read the article for more details on the steps.