I have purchased and read (or listened to the audio-book) probably around 30 books on self-improvement (self help) and motivation. I’ve told you the common messages in a previous post. And, I’ve told you what works and what doesn’t. But what if you want to read (or listen to) these yourself? Which ones should you pick? Below are my recommendations.
Click on any of these to see a page with more. My short reviews of each book/audio are below this list.
- Unlimited Power : The New Science Of Personal Achievement
(book and abridged audio (1 CD)) – Tony Robbins
- Awaken the Giant Within : How to Take Immediate Control of Your Mental, Emotional, Physical and Financial Destiny!
(book and audio (2 CDs)) – Tony Robbins
- The Art of Exceptional Living
(abridged audio (2 CDs)) – Jim Rohn
- The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich (Expanded and Updated)
(book and unabridged audio (8 CDs)) – Timothy Ferris
- Talent Is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else
(book and audio (1 CD with MP3 files)) – Geoff Colvin
- The Genius in All of Us: New Insights into Genetics, Talent, and IQ
(book and ebook) – David Shenk
- Dreamcrafting: The Art of Dreaming Big, the Science of Making It Happen
(book and ebook) - Paul Levesque, Art McNeil
- The Idiot Factor: The 10 Ways We Sabotage Our Life, Money, and Business
(book) – Larry Winget
- Why Not?: How to Use Everyday Ingenuity to Solve Problems Big And Small
(book) – Barry Nalebuff, Ian Ayres
- Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?
(book and ebook) – Seth Godin
- Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience
(book and ebook) - Mihály Csíkszentmihályi
The Tony Robbins and Jim Rohn books and audio are extremely good at motivation and personal development and should not be missed. Read these if you don’t read anything else.
For pure motivation to become self-sufficient and leave the rat race, “The Four Hour Work Week” is an essential read and has lots of good resource links and tips.
Also for general motivation and just plain common sense delivered bluntly, “The Idiot Factor” is your best bet. Larry Winget writes several books in this style and I would recommend any of them.
The books “Talent is Overrated” and “The Genius in All of Us” are both about “deliberate practice”, a way of excelling and becoming an expert at anything you want to do. Read these and you will learn how to speed up your development process and make training programs for yourself that will boost you beyond others. They also give hope because nobody is “gifted” and it is never too late to change course and learn something new when you have these techniques in hand.
“Dreamcrafting” spells out the essential “macro-skills” that are needed by anyone to succeed and breakthrough some of the common barriers put up by themselves. I would say that this book is also an essential one because it is a backbone of many of the others. For example if you can’t master the “macro-skills” in this book, you won’t be able to implement any of the “Four Hour Work Week” items either.
“Why Not?” is a book about principled problem solving, and while not technically a development book, it does give you essential skills to use to solve common problems – and these are invaluable, so its on my list.
“Linchpin” is almost opposite of “The Four Hour Work Week” because it describes how to become invaluable at your current job. I see it as essential though because we can’t all go out a just quit our jobs right now in favor of a dream. This book will help you feel more secure in your job (if you implement the items in the book).
“Flow” shows the reader what it takes to be happy. Who wouldn’t want that? Basically, there are some conditions to achieve the “flow” state, and in that state one can feel happy and satisfied. Very much worth reading.
