There is no age for learning and self-development. So, it is absolutely necessary to surround ourselves with all the things that promotes our personal development at every stage of life. Art plays a rather extraordinary part in this process. It opens an entirely new dimension in our minds that makes us look at the world with a different and a better perspective. What better way to learn and grow than to read some world famous personal development books.
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Here are the 10 books that are highly recommended for personal development:
1. Small Move, Big Change by Caroline Arnold
Procrastination is a common trait of every student. Every year all of us promise ourselves that we will not leave any assignment for until the last minute. But in the end, we always end up forgetting about our new resolution.
Caroline Arnold dives into this habit in her book, Small Move, Big Change, discovering that most of us fail at keeping our resolutions because they are too vague and too big. According to her, incorporating tiny behavioural modifications into our daily habits can help us achieve our aim of getting rid of the bad habit of procrastination. She has said this in her book that it all comes down to identifying our habits and external cues that can be linked to tiny resolutions that stick because they are so easy to achieve.
2. The Magic of Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz
The main ingredient of becoming successful is believing in oneself which is exactly what this book is about. It fills you up with this belief that you can achieve big things in life.
Having the right temperament while working for your goals is of utmost importance. That is why this book is a must-read if you wish to go ahead in your life with a winner’s attitude. This further helps in maintaining your confidence level and gets you ready to face every situation with a positive mindset.
3. The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin
The name of the book rightly explains its content. This is essential reading for everyone who wants to actively understand what makes them happy and how they can improve their life according to their values of happiness.
The author, after realising that she wasn’t as happy as she should be, even though her life was going pretty well, decided to study happiness and dedicated a whole year of her life to her “happiness project.” She focused on 12 different areas of her life and methodically tracked habits and behaviours that increased her happiness. While acknowledging the fact that everyone’s happiness project will be different, she presents to the readers a blueprint to create their own happiness. This one ranks pretty high on the list of personal development books, since it talks about the the internal happiness which is a must for anyone to excel in life.
4. Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
Think and Grow Rich is one of several old-school classics in the list of good books for personal development. For twenty years, author Napoleon Hill studied the most successful people of his time, including the likes of Henry Ford and Alexander Graham Bell and in turn, wrote this book.
Contrary to its name, this is one of the first books to focus on how to care not just about the cash in your pocket, but also the thoughts in your head. It talks about the importance of positive thinking and covers all the basics from planning, decision making and persistence.
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5. Failing Forward: Turning Mistakes Into Stepping Stones For Success by John C. Maxwell
Failure is something that almost all of us have to deal with in this life as only a few get to be successful in their first attempt. While we all understand that failing is a part of life but accepting it and still emerging out strong is an art that we often fail to master.
John C Maxwell in this book helps out to deal with failure and help you treat failure as a momentary event rather than something that is a permanent fixture in your life. He brings out how each failure will help you out in growing better. This book will help you to overcome your failures by making you see them in a new light and helping you in learning to analyze them better.
6. The Attention Revolution: Unlocking The Power Of The Focused Mind by Alan Wallace
We all are living in a world with various distractions. Sometimes, focusing on our goals becomes too hard of a work to do and we often find our minds wandering to a million places.
That is where this book comes to the rescue. Wallace in his book, The Attention Revolution, has taken the initiative to help out many by sharing techniques of meditation that will help you to be more focused and attentive towards things you are easily distracted from. It helps in self-control and directs your mind towards the important things instead of the things that distract you from your goal.
7. Daring Greatly by Brené Brown
Of all personal development books, researcher and author Brené Brown’s Daring Greatly strikes at the heart of the most important issue of all: our lack of self-worth and struggles with shame. In the time of social media, issues such as lack of self-worth and self-confidence have become more prevalent than before.
The main takeaway of Daring Greatly is that the author makes you understand that you’re not alone in thinking that you’re not worthy. In fact, most people think the same way. The author further say that you are worth it and you can find that self-worth and great strength in the willingness to open up and be vulnerable.
8. Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen
The book basically delivers what it promises in its title. It devises a simple framework to help you get things done.
The basic principle behind the Getting Things Done, or GTD method, is the idea that you should get all your thoughts and tasks out of your mind so they don’t clutter your headspace. First, apply the 2-minute rule. If a task takes less than 2 minutes to complete, do it now. If it takes longer, follow a simple five-step workflow: capture, clarify, organise, reflect, and engage. By following these two principles you can virtually take control of all projects and tasks in your life. This book helps you change your entire mindset towards your daily routine.
While the original book was published in 2001, Allen has kept it updated and relevant to today’s way of living the busy and fast-paced life.
9. The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss
Since its publication in 2007, The 4-Hour Workweek has been heavily criticised by some, while becoming something of a business and lifestyle bible for others. The main premise is that the traditional concept of retirement, deferred gratification, and the 9-to-5 is outdated and that there’s no reason to wait until you’re old to enjoy yourself.
Ferriss shares how he managed to reduce his working hours to just 4 hours per week by automating and outsourcing large chunks of his business, while increasing his income from $40,000 per year to $40,000 per month.
You do not have to be interested in becoming an entrepreneur to read this book. The author, through this book, talks about productivity, time management, and learning techniques—and most importantly, the concept of lifestyle design and how you can take control over what your life looks like.
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10. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
Originally published in 1936, the lessons of Dale Carnegie’s classic self-help book still stays true to this day.This is one of the many timeless book that one must read in order to get a better insight on life.
No matter if you’re in high school, college or at any stage of your career, understanding how to connect with other people is one of the most important things you need to do. This book will teach you how to navigate relationships, have meaningful conversations with anyone you talk to, and win over people who think differently to you. Especially in today’s world of online influencers and social media, it’s more important than ever to learn how to be influential in your career and social life. This might be the one personal development book on the list that you must get your hands on.