Personal Development and Self-Help Books

Following on my “The 15 Best Personal Finance Books to Read,” I thought I’d keep a reading list for personal development and self-help books too.

Since personal development entails lifelong learning, progress, and improvement, it presents a wider variety of excellent self-help book choices. 

I’ll add them as I progress with my personal growth and give my review on them.

By the way, if you want to write confidently, I also have my top six must-read books that’ll help you write well.  

Personal development and self-help books listed in this post are widely recommended among personal development enthusiasts who walk the talk.

It’s obvious that these self-help books can do wonders for our mind and body, thereby improving our lives. 

I’ve read some of them and plan to read all of them on the list eventually.

After writing a list of “the 15 Best Personal Finance Books to Read,” I bought The Richest Man in Babylon straight away.

The ridiculously cheap (Kindle) price was one factor—it just seems rude not to!

As I write a list of amazing books again, an impossible thought crosses my mind (again)

What if I could just read all these books without being interrupted by this thing called life?

Life is so unfair. Ha.

So, here’s my personal development and self-help book reading list.

I can’t wait to devour them, learn from them and share my thoughts with you.

And here are three ways you can get your hands on these awesome self-help books.

The Best Place to Get Books
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Now let’s dive in!

Personal Development and Self-Help Books: Recommended Reading List

The Alchemist

by Paulo Coelho

Best Self-Help Books - The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Paulo Coelho’s masterpiece tells the mystical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure. His quest will lead him to riches far different—and far more satisfying—than he ever imagined. Santiago’s journey teaches us about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, of recognizing opportunity and learning to read the omens strewn along life’s path, and, most importantly, to follow our dreams.

The Dip: The Extraordinary Benefits of Knowing When to Quit (and When to Stick) 

by Seth Godin

Best Self-Help Books - The Dip by Seth Godin

Every new project (or career or relationship) starts out exciting and fun. Then it gets harder and less fun, until it hits a low point – really hard, really not fun. At this point you might be in a Dip, which will get better if you keep pushing, or a Cul-de-Sac, which will never get better no matter how hard you try. The hard part is knowing the difference and acting on it

The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment

by Eckhart Tolle

Best Self-Help Books - The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle

It’s no wonder that The Power of Now has sold over 2 million copies worldwide and has been translated into over 30 foreign languages. Much more than simple principles and platitudes, the book takes readers on an inspiring spiritual journey to find their true and deepest self and reach the ultimate in personal growth and spirituality: the discovery of truth and light.

Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World

by Cal Newport

Best Self-Help Books - Deep Work by Cal Newport

‘Deep work’ is the ability to focus without distraction on a cognitively demanding task. Coined by author and professor Cal Newport on his popular blog Study Hacks, deep work will make you better at what you do, let you achieve more in less time and provide the sense of true fulfilment that comes from the mastery of a skill. In short, deep work is like a superpower in our increasingly competitive economy.

Mindset: Changing The Way You think To Fulfil Your Potential

by Carol S. DweckBest Self-Help Books - Mindset by Carol S. Dweck

Dweck explains why it’s not just our abilities and talent that bring us success-but whether we approach them with a fixed or growth mindset. She makes clear why praising intelligence and ability doesn’t foster self-esteem and lead to accomplishment, but may actually jeopardize success. With the right mindset, we can motivate our kids and help them to raise their grades, as well as reach our own goals-personal and professional. Dweck reveals what all great parents, teachers, CEOs, and athletes already know: how a simple idea about the brain can create a love of learning and a resilience that is the basis of great accomplishment in every area.

Awaken the Giant Within: How to Take Immediate Control of Your Mental, Emotional, Physical and Financial Destiny!

by Tony Robbins

Best Self-Help Books - Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins

Wake up and take control of your life! From the bestselling author of Inner StrengthUnlimited Power, and MONEY Master the Game, Anthony Robbins, the nation’s leader in the science of peak performance, shows you his most effective strategies and techniques for mastering your emotions, your body, your relationships, your finances, and your life.

The 12 Week Year: Get More Done in 12 Weeks than Others Do in 12 Months

by Brian P. Moran  

Best Self-Help Books - The 12 Week Year by Brian P. Morgan

Most organizations and individuals work in the context of annual goals and plans; a twelve-month execution cycle. Instead, The 12 Week Year avoids the pitfalls and low productivity of annualized thinking. This book redefines your “year” to be 12 weeks long. In 12 weeks, there just isn’t enough time to get complacent, and urgency increases and intensifies. The 12 Week Year creates focus and clarity on what matters most and a sense of urgency to do it now. In the end more of the important stuff gets done and the impact on results is profound.

Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends On It

by Kamal Ravikant

In December of 2011, I gave a talk to an audience of scientists, Pentagon officials, politicians, and CEOs on the secret of life and how I’d figured it out the previous summer. Afterwards, people came up individually and told me how much what I’d shared meant to them. This book is based on the truth I spoke about. It’s something I learned from within myself, something I believed saved me. And more than that, the way I set about to do it. This is a collection of thoughts on what I learned, what worked, what didn’t. Where I succeed and importantly, where I fail daily. The truth is to love yourself with the same intensity you would use to pull yourself up if you were hanging off a cliff with your fingers. As if your life depended upon it. Once you get going, it’s not hard to do. Just takes commitment and I’ll share how I did it. It’s been transformative for me. I know it will be transformative for you as well.

The Compound Effect

by Darren Hardy

Best Self-Help Books - The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy

No gimmicks. No Hyperbole. No Magic Bullet. The Compound Effect is a distillation of the fundamental principles that have guided the most phenomenal achievements in business, relationships, and beyond. This easy-to-use, step-by-step operating system allows you to multiply your success, chart your progress, and achieve any desire. If you’re serious about living an extraordinary life, use the power of The Compound Effect to create the success you want.

12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos

by Jordan B. Peterson

Best Self-Help Books - 12 Rules for Life by Jordan B. Peterson

Acclaimed clinical psychologist Jordan Peterson has influenced the modern understanding of personality, and now he has become one of the world’s most popular public thinkers… In this book, he provides twelve profound and practical principles for how to live a meaningful life, from setting your house in order before criticising others to comparing yourself to who you were yesterday, not someone else today. Happiness is a pointless goal, he shows us. Instead, we must search for meaning, not for its own sake, but as a defence against the suffering that is intrinsic to our existence.

The Last Lecture

by Randy Pausch

Best Self-Help Books - The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch

A lot of professors give talks titled “The Last Lecture.” Professors are asked to consider their demise and to ruminate on what matters most to them. And while they speak, audiences can’t help but mull the same question: What wisdom would we impart to the world if we knew it was our last chance? If we had to vanish tomorrow, what would we want as our legacy?
When Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, was asked to give such a lecture, he didn’t have to imagine it as his last, since he had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. But the lecture he gave–“Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams”–wasn’t about dying. It was about the importance of overcoming obstacles, of enabling the dreams of others, of seizing every moment (because “time is all you have…and you may find one day that you have less than you think”). It was a summation of everything Randy had come to believe. It was about living.

Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life…And Maybe the World

by William H. McRaven

Best Self-Help Books - Make Your Bed by William H. McRaven

Based on a Navy SEAL’s inspiring graduation speech, this #1 New York Times bestseller of powerful life lessons “should be read by every leader in America” (Wall Street Journal).
If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed.
On May 17, 2014, Admiral William H. McRaven addressed the graduating class of the University of Texas at Austin on their Commencement day. Taking inspiration from the university’s slogan, “What starts here changes the world,” he shared the ten principles he learned during Navy Seal training that helped him overcome challenges not only in his training and long Naval career, but also throughout his life; and he explained how anyone can use these basic lessons to change themselves-and the world-for the better.

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