Best Self-Help Books
Looking for good self-help books? This is my list of the best self-help books of all-time. If you only have time to read one or two books, I recommend looking at the Top Self-Help Books section below.
Further down the page, you’ll find more self-help book recommendations. Many of these books are fantastic as well. I try to carefully curate all of my reading lists and you can be sure that any self-help book on this page is worth your time. Enjoy!
The Top Self-Help Books
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
by Mark Manson
Print | eBook | Audiobook
The Book in Three Sentences: Finding something important and meaningful in your life is the most productive use of your time and energy. This is true because every life has problems associated with it and finding meaning in your life will help you sustain the effort needed to overcome the particular problems you face. Thus, we can say that the key to living a good life is not giving a fuck about more things, but rather, giving a fuck only about the things that align with your personal values.
Manual for Living
by Epictetus
Print | Audiobook
The Book in Three Sentences: Some things are in your power and some are not—do not confuse the two and do not desire the things that are not in your power. It is our opinion of things that determines how we feel about a particular event, not the event itself. Think carefully about how you spend your life because people often spend their lives chasing things that are neither as desirable nor as important as they seem.
The Practicing Mind
by Thomas M. Sterner
Print | eBook | Audiobook
The Book in Three Sentences: All of life is practice in one form or another. Actively practicing something is very different from passively learning. You will never reach a level of performance that feels complete, so learn to love the art of practicing your skill.
The Art of Possibility
by Rosamund Zander and Benjamin Zander
Print | eBook | Audiobook
The Book in Three Sentences: Everything in life is an invention. If you choose to look at your life in a new way, then suddenly your problems fade away. One of the best ways to do this is to focus on the possibilities surrounding you in any situation rather than slipping into the default mode of measuring and comparing your life to others.
The 10X Rule
by Grant Cardone
Print | eBook | Audiobook
The Book in Three Sentences: The 10X Rule says that 1) you should set targets for yourself that are 10X greater than what you believe you can achieve and 2) you should take actions that are 10X greater than what you believe are necessary to achieve your goals. The biggest mistake most people make in life is not setting goals high enough. Taking massive action is the only way to fulfill your true potential.
Stumbling on Happiness
by Dan Gilbert
Print | eBook | Audiobook
The Book in Three Sentences: What makes humans different from every other animal is that we think about the future. However, our brains fall victim to a wide range of biases that cause our predictions of the future (and our memories of the past) to be inaccurate. Because of these mental errors it is remarkably difficult to predict what will make us feel happy.
More Self-Help Book Recommendations
Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends On It
by Kamal Ravikant
Print | eBook | Audiobook
The Book in Three Sentences: Everyone has a truth that they need to live and share. For the author, that truth was committing to the daily practice of repeating the phrase “I love myself.” When you love yourself, life loves you back.
The Compound Effect
by Darren Hardy
Print | eBook | Audiobook
The Book in Three Sentences: The compound effect is the strategy of reaping huge rewards from small, seemingly insignificant actions. You cannot improve something until you measure it. Always take 100 percent responsibility for everything that happens to you.
10% Happier
by Dan Harris
Print | eBook | Audiobook
The Book in Three Sentences: Practicing meditation and mindfulness will make you at least 10 percent happier. Being mindful doesn’t change the problems in your life, but mindfulness does help you respond to your problems rather than react to them. Mindfulness helps you realize that striving for success is fine as long as you accept that the outcome is outside your control.
A Short Guide to a Happy Life
by Anna Quindlen
Print | eBook | Audiobook
The Book in Three Sentences: The only thing you have that nobody else has is control of your life. The hardest thing of all is to learn to love the journey, not the destination. Get a real life rather than frantically chasing the next level of success.
The Richest Man in Babylon
by George S. Clason
Print | eBook | Audiobook
The Book in Three Sentences: Save at least 10 percent of everything you earn and do not confuse your necessary expenses with your desires. Work hard to improve your skills and ensure a future income because wealth is the result of a reliable income stream. You cannot arrive at the fullest measure of success until you crush the spirit of procrastination within you.
Superhuman by Habit
by Tynan
Print | eBook | Audiobook
The Book in Three Sentences: You can do just about anything if you break down the task into habits. You are more likely to stick with good habits over the long run if you start with tiny habits that are incredibly easy in the beginning. When you miss a habit once, getting back on track and sticking with the next occurrence of that habit should become the top priority in your life.
What Got You Here Won’t Get You There
by Marshall Goldsmith
Print | eBook | Audiobook
The Book in Three Sentences: Behavioral problems, not technical skills, are what separate the great from the near great. Incredible results can come from practicing basic behaviors like saying thank you, listening well, thinking before you speak, and apologizing for your mistakes. The first step to change is wanting to change.
Who Moved My Cheese?
by Spencer Johnson
Print | eBook | Audiobook
The Book in Three Sentences: Letting go of what we know is hard, but essential for growth and improvement. The quicker you let go of old things, the sooner you can learn new skills and create a better future. When you change what you believe, you can change what you do.
Read the full book summary »
The Art of Learning: An Inner Journey to Optimal Performance
by Josh Waitzkin
Print | eBook | Audiobook
The Miracle Morning: The Not-So-Obvious Secret Guaranteed to Transform Your Life (Before 8AM)
by Hal Elrod
Print | Audiobook
The Little Book of Common Sense Investing: The Only Way to Guarantee Your Fair Share of Stock Market Returns
by John C. Bogle
Print | eBook | Audiobook