Whilst browsing one of my favourite forums, I came across the following list of recommended reading. Apparently it was first published in Success Magazine. Looking down the list, at the time of posting, I have read 11 of the 25 books listed and I would say that they are all worth a look.
Of the remaining 14 books that I have yet to read, a couple were already on my own reading list. But I am very happy to add the others as they are all classics, so I do expect to be reviewing them all over the course of time.
Anyway, it is a nice concise little reading list that you might like to use in your own personal development.
So here is Success Magazine‘s list of the top 25 Personal Development Books:
1. Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
2. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
3. The Richest Man in Babylon by George Clayson
4. 9 Steps to financial Freedom by Suze Orman
5. Who Moved My Cheese? by Dr. Spencer Johnson
6. The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Peale
7. Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz
8. Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Don Millman
9. See You at the Top: 25th Anniversary Edition by Zig Ziglar
10. Acres of Diamonds by Russel Conwell
11. Maximum Achievement by Brian Tracy
12. As a Man Thinketh by James Allen
13. The Law of Success In Sixteen Lessons by Napoleon Hill
14. The Seasons of Life by Jim Rohn
15. 7 habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
16. The Slight Edge: Secret to a Successful Life by Jeff Olsen
17. Become a Better You by Joel Osteen
18. The One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard & Spencer Johnson
19. The Greatest Salesman in the world by Og Mandino
20. Chicken Soup for the Soul by Canfield and Hansen
21. Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude by W Clement Stone
22. Developing the Leader Within You by John Maxwell
23. Good to Great by Jim Collins
24. Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
25. Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins
The following three books from the above list can be obtained right here at White Dove Books. You can get all three of them, as PDF downloads here:
Think and Grow Rich
As a Man Thinketh
Acres of Diamonds
All three of the above books are worth reading in my opinion, but after reading Think and Grow Rich, you might be left wondering about the famous secret. If so, you can always read my book Napoleon Hill’s Awesome Secret again it’s available as an immediate download.
My least favourite item in the list is the Tony Robbins book. Personally, I have never been very keen on his writing style. I don’t mind when someone inserts little quotes by famous people above the chapters of a book, in fact it is something I have done myself in one of my own books. But I do find it a bit tedious when the author starts quoting himself. It seems a bit egotistical to me and I don’t understand why Tony thinks it acceptable. I know Tony has a lot of followers and good luck to him, but his style is just not for me.
The books of Spencer Johnson are a pleasure to read. Who Moved My Cheese (a book about stakeholder management) and The One Minute Manager (co-written with Ken Blanchard) are told in the form of a parable - a learning story - both highly recommended. It is a genre I love and have been recently experimenting with myself in The Making of a Warrior.
The Chicken Soup for the Soul book (now a whole series) is just a pleasure to read. Lot’s of heart-warming stories that you can just curl up with and enjoy. There may be less to learn in some respects, but sometimes, you just want an easy and enjoyable read and that’s exactly what this book provides.
Norman Vincent Peale is interesting in that his books make use of the Bible to extract life lessons. A contemporary of Napoleon Hill, his style is very similar, making extensive use of anecdotes and stories to illustrate his points. It is difficult to think of him without thinking about the subject of positive thinking with which, for me, he is synonymous.
My hands-down favourite book in the list is The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Dr Stephen R Covey. It was a landmark book in personal development and a deserved international best seller. The habits are something I have been working on myself for a period of about fifteen years now and I also teach them to others in my management workshops.
For plenty more reading recommendations, please see my comprehensive Reading Lists.
My Top Recommendations
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I’ve dropped on to Mr. Will Edwards by chance, and I am taken with his books , there is a lot to this man, and all the work he does.
Great post! I’m looking through these ebooks recommendations and already planning on reading a few I noticed on your list. The current book that I’m on now was written by Tony Robbin, called Money: Master the Game. It’s an enticing novel that I recommend to those who wish to better their marketing skills and looking for the right motivational words to get them going.
The last comment about over thinking is very true but it doesn’t have to be that way, learn from my mistakes.
I’ve read half the books on this list and a dozen others, thinking that the more I read the more my life will improve, big mistake.
I did absorb all the information in the books while taking notes to boot but I wasn’t truly making the info become part of my daily routine and this was the mistake.
If you agree with the advice of the first book you pick up then stop there and act upon it. Take their knowledge and make it apart of your daily routine. Don’t move onto the next book (or chapter) without taking the first action step. Take into practice what they said on the first page, first chapter or first section, always make it a habit to learn then act then repeat. Most daily routines take 6 weeks to become that way. I.e, if you work out for two weeks straight you are far less likely to continue vs. working out for 6 weeks straight (obviously considering rest days). The body and mind become, lack of a better word, addicted after approx. 6 weeks of routine.
So, once the first book or page or paragraph becomes second nature, then and only then move onto the second.
If you read every self help book you get your hands on but never act upon the info 100%, then it will lead to analysis paralysis, and you will feel more lost then when you stated. You will know 500 things you “need” to do daily to better your life but won’t be able to act upon any of them.
An added note: You may feel as though you don’t have time to learn a new routine but one of the benefits of self development is learning to streamline tasks so then you do have more time. Basically, if you read a five hour book that could cut one hour off your busy day, then after a week you will have two hours of free time
I hope my advice helps, to whom ever reads this.
The only one I have read is How to Win Friends and Influence people. I have found the book to really quite true and its something to think about, and makes you think more thoroughly about the way that you make people feel.
I generally don’t buy these personal development books as I feel that it is possible to read too much and quite frankly to think too much. Though they are enjoyable and do provide some inspiration. I much prefer books which are specific to me, for example, quit smoking and so on.