Below is a list of what I believe are some of the best personal development books and products available based on the personal benefit I have gained from using them.I hope that you benefit as greatly as I have if you do choose to take any of my recommendations.
Turning Passions Into Profits by Chris Howard
Turning Passions Into Profits provides specific techniques for rapidly closing the gap between where you are today and where you’d like to be tomorrow. In this book, Christopher Howard teaches powerful, innovative tools for modeling and replicating the ultimate success of some of the world’s greatest leaders and billionaires.
With the ability to select and incorporate some of the traits, strategies, thought patterns, and behaviours of those already achieving results, individuals can plot a course and arrive at a chosen destination quicker than they ever thought possible. It provides concrete tools and strategies to fully understand the governing principles outstanding achievers use to realize their vision.
In addition, Turning Passions Into Profits supplies exercises to apply these communication and leadership tools to master these skills-ultimately gaining career, financial, and personal success.
Instant Wealth, Wake Up Rich by Chris Howard
This book takes you on a journey on how to build wealth with passion and purpose. The power to create great wealth is already within you. But monetizing that raw energy doesn’t happen by itself.
As Christopher Howard shows, building great wealth is a dual process. It begins by identifying your passion-the things you truly and deeply care about, whatever they may be. Next, passion needs to be endowed with purpose: a clearly defined vision of the future you intend to create. Once this happens, money is simply the natural reward. When you bring the value of passion and purpose to the marketplace, financial prosperity is the instant result.
It’s like awakening to a new reality – not just for yourself, but for everyone who shares in your success. And make no mistake: sharing is a key element in the success of Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, Richard Branson, and the other billionaire entrepreneurs Chris introduces in these pages. Instant Wealth-Wake up Rich! proves that ultimate success is by no means a matter of selling out principles in order to become rich. On the contrary, it’s becoming rich in order to bring that riches to the world.
As a true entrepreneur himself, Christopher Howard has put these lessons to work in the creation of his own fast-growing international business. What’s worked for him-and for so many other hugely successful entrepreneurs-can work for you too. All it takes is passion, purpose, and waking up to instant wealth.
http://www.amazon.com/Instant-Wealth-Wake-Rich-Entrepreneurial/dp/0470503939/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b#_
Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and the Middle Class Do Not! by Robert T. Kiyosaki
In this solid collection of practical advice on how to become a millionaire, Kiyosaki (Rich Dad’s Guide to Investing) adds to his rapidly growing library of well-received works on achieving financial freedom. Built on his number one rule of genuinely understanding the difference between assets (income-producing property) and liabilities (bank-owned mortgage), he reveals lessons learned from his “rich dad” (the entrepreneur father of his childhood friend), e.g., the rich do not work for money (money works for them), the rich mind their own business (not merely working at a profession), and invest time in learning financial literacy (mostly not learned in school).
With the contrasting philosophy from his poor dad his own highly educated but debt-ridden, asset-poor professor father this approach clearly is head and shoulders above the gamut of countless other financial advice titles that merely focus on how financial tools work. The always crisp narration by Richard M. Davidson maintains attention to this important book, which all twenty-somethings should be forced to listen to in its entirety. Be forewarned; listeners will have to acknowledge self-responsibility for their own financial problems that yet another, still higher-paying job will not solve. Without question, this is absolutely essential for all libraries.
The Secret by Rhonda Byrne
“The Secret” is a book that has been beautifully packaged and marketed. It has created a media buzz that few other books manage to attain. The book promises you all the money you want, good health, great relationships, and an abundance of happiness. You just have to buy one of the very well packaged products from the expanding franchise of “Secret” related publications to find out what the “Secret” is. The Secret is to think positively, to become a magnet for the goal you desire, to use the law of attraction to draw your dreams closer.
Rhonda Byrne has skillfully assembled a number of self help gurus and motivational speakers together and got them to talk about the law of attraction and positive thinking. Contributing gurus include John Assaraf, Rev. Dr. Michael Beckwith, Lee Brower, Jack Canfield, Dr. John F Demartini, Marie Diamond, Mike Dooley, Bob Doyle, Hale Dwoskin, Morris Goodman, Dr. John Gray, Dr. John Hagelin, Bill Harris, Dr. Ben Johnson, Loral Langemeier, Lisa Nichols, Bob Proctor, James Arthur Ray, David Schirmer, Marci Shimoff, Dr. Joe Vitale, Dr. Denis Waitley, Neale Donald Walsch and Fred Alan Wolf.
The secret to The Secret becoming such a hit around the world is that it is selling dreams to people. By creating mystery around a product and promising to give people what they have always dreamed of has always been a fast-track to riches. That doesn’t mean that this is a bad book, it just means it is a very well marketed book. There is nothing new in The Secret, as every idea in it has already been published in a thousand other self help books. So if you love tearing through a new self help book each week, or even if you have never read a self help book but would like to see what they have been going on about for the past 20 years, this is a book worth buying.
Ageless Body, Timeless Mind by Deepak Chopra
Deepak Chopra is a famed physician and philosopher born in India and currently living in North America. He’s an adamant voice against wars, any violence, and believes firmly that the mind holds undiscovered healing powers that can easily prolong life, improve health, and even work to control the universe around you.
Those who have read Chopra’s work know that he doesn’t simply latch on to words of those past. Instead, he uses science to explore the more mystical side of life. By examining modern quantum physics, Deepak then blends the science with ancient wisdom, and in Ageless Body, Timeless Mind, he uses this melding to illustrate how humans are preprogrammed to think that they’ll all grow old and die.
In the book, Chopra doesn’t challenge death’s place in life. He doesn’t attempt to defeat it. Instead, he offers up a theory that people are not doomed to decline before death. Accepted wisdom is that with age comes a host of ailments. The older one gets, the sicker they get; they experience loss of functions, take on an “ugly” appearance, and die as shells of their former selves. Ageless Body, Timeless Mind deals with living a very long and very healthy life – he suggests that this is the true birthright and destiny of all people.
Ageless Body, Timeless Mind challenges people to harness the power of their mind to ward off aging. It’s a scientific fact that, every year, 99% of all the body’s cells are replaced with new ones. This means that we basically have a new body every year. Deepak explains that an aging appearance has nothing to do with time; it has to do with a person who is preprogrammed to feel as if they’re growing old.
Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway by Susan Jeffers
Are you afraid of making decisions . . . asking your boss for a raise . . . leaving an unfulfilling relationship . . . facing the future? Whatever your fear, here is your chance to push through it once and for all. In this enduring guide to self-empowerment, Dr. Susan Jeffers inspires us with dynamic techniques and profound concepts that have helped countless people grab hold of their fears and move forward with their lives. Inside you’ll discover:
- what we are afraid of, and why
- how to move from victim to creator
- the secret of making no lose decisions
- the vital 10-step process that helps you outtalk the negative chatterbox in your brain
- how to create more meaning in your life
With insight and humour, Dr. Jeffers shows you how to become powerful in the face of your fears–and enjoy the elation of living a creative, joyous, loving life.
Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
This international bestseller was first published in 1937 and is quoted by many wealthy people as a key contributor to their growth in riches. The book is the result of 20 years of research into the thinking and behaviours of five hundred of the richest people in the USA. Napoleon Hill, a contemporary of Dale Carnegie who became wealthy himself, presents the book as a detailed philosophy to becoming rich.
The book itself proffers a philosophy of wealth based on thirteen “steps” and is essentially a manual of self discipline and mental focus with plenty of exercises and drills to help generate results. Some of the steps are not out of the ordinary, eg. developing desire, faith, imagination, organised plans and persistence.
Perhaps more interesting though are the steps on specialised knowledge, auto-suggestion, the power of the Master Mind and sex transmutation. In post-depression America these latter steps may have appeared odd or strange but with the passing of time these steps are not out of step with some of the modern thinking in quantum physics and philosophy. A book well worth reading whether you seek material wealth or spiritual wealth.
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Easy, light to read, moving. There is a reason why this book is so well loved by many. A simple story, written in simple words of a simple shepherd boy from Spain- who became a shepherd so he could see the world.. he travels, he reads, he meets women.. life is good.. only a reoccurring dream of great treasures hidden in the pyramids of Egypt kept him uneasy.
The book is about his decisions, experiences and his journey to find his true destiny: a story of following your heart. To say more will reveal the ending.. which is as simple as the story itself. You will laugh with the great pyramids and the shepherd boy at the end.. and pray too that maybe you too can one day find your way the way the boy has found his.
A feel good book, perhaps a bit too optimistic and sugar-coated but hey (!) we all need a fairy tale once in a while.
At many points in our life, we are uncertain and doubtful of the things that we have done and the things that we are about to do.. and perhaps some people will remain happy with what they have, other seek to only to dream should they end up being disappointed when they finally find what they seek and others just stay discontent, unhappy but make no effort to better their lives… and perhaps there is no right or wrong answer.
The Holographic Universe by Michael Talbot
The Holographic Universe is based strictly on theoretical science, but it’s simply understood—grammatically—by everyone who reads it. Talbot was always celebrated for his knack of taking the completed rhetoric of science and putting into layman’s terms for the everyman to enjoy. In this book, Talbot examines the cosmos we live in and attempts to explain paranormal events, UFO sightings, and other strange phenomena by likening the entire universe to an enormous hologram.
The Holographic Universe is divided into three major parts. The first part addresses the human brain and its relationship with the universe, both as separate entities and as one. The second part of the book, if you believe in the first, really opens eyes to the ramifications of our holographic universe. Talbot speaks of the implications in human understanding of consciousness and perception. The third part of the book deals with space and time from his theoretical holographic standpoint. Talbot’s main purpose with this book is to change the minds, not of regular people, but of scientists.
From trees to storms to actual people, The Holographic Universe makes the claim that these things are actually ghostly images that are projected from a reality so far removed from our own that they literally reside beyond both space and time. Simply put, Talbot explains that the universe we perceive to be overrun with objects is actually a reflection of a unified reality.
The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell
The premise of this facile piece of pop sociology has built-in appeal: little changes can have big effects; when small numbers of people start behaving differently, that behaviour can ripple outward until a critical mass or “tipping point” is reached, changing the world.
Gladwell’s thesis that ideas, products, messages and behaviours “spread just like viruses do” remain a metaphor as he follows the growth of “word-of-mouth epidemics” triggered with the help of three pivotal types. These are Connectors, sociable personalities who bring people together; Mavens, who like to pass along knowledge; and Salesmen, adept at persuading the unenlightened.
Gladwell’s applications of his “tipping point” concept to current phenomena–such as the drop in violent crime in New York, the rebirth of Hush Puppies suede shoes as a suburban mall favourite, teenage suicide patterns and the efficiency of small work units–may arouse controversy. For example, many parents may be alarmed at his advice on drugs: since teenagers’ experimentation with drugs, including cocaine, seldom leads to hardcore use, he contends, “We have to stop fighting this kind of experimentation. We have to accept it and even embrace it.”
While it offers a smorgasbord of intriguing snippets summarizing research on topics such as conversational patterns, infants’ crib talk, judging other people’s character, cheating habits in schoolchildren, memory sharing among families or couples, and the dehumanizing effects of prisons, this volume betrays its roots as a series of articles for the New Yorker, where Gladwell is a staff writer: his trendy material feels bloated and insubstantial in book form.
Awaken The Giant Within by Anthony Robbins
Anthony Robbins is a giant in the self-improvement industry…physically and figuratively speaking. For more than 20 years, Tony Robbins has studied and mastered profound knowledge of human psychology and personal achievement.
Awaken The Giant Within is one of the most comprehensive books of knowing how the human mind works and what you can do to make positive changes in your life by simply understanding your thoughts and emotions. It is a manual that you can use to figure out your life, past and future. And once you figure it out, and I promise you that you will have a couple of a-ha! moments, then it is easier to change your behaviour, or thinking pattern, or both.
Tony Robbins will show you step by step the fundamentals of changing your thinking, then changing your emotions and finally changing your actions so you can achieve the results you want in life. The book has many examples, anecdotes, and personal stories, as well as diagrams and bulleted lists that will make it an enjoyable read. Although it has a lot of information and it may seem intimidating at first, Tony’s easy to follow writing style and humour make it a great read, that you will want to go back to every now and then.
It is an eye opener into a different world, your inner world, which so seldom gets discovered. But if you truly want to discover yourself this book will show you how and you will realize that you can indeed awaken the giant within . I highly recommend it for open-minded readers who are willing to improve their life and take it to the next level. Even for someone who is interested in learning about the human mind, this book explains it in an easy way that will make you more aware of why people do the things they do.
Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life: Living the Wisdom of the Tao by Wayne Dyer
Five hundred years before the birth of Jesus, a God-realized being named Lao-tzu in ancient China dictated 81 verses, which are regarded by many as the ultimate commentary on the nature of our existence. The classic text of these 81 verses, called the Tao Te Ching or the Great Way, offers advice and guidance that is balanced, moral, spiritual, and always concerned with working for the good.
Who Moved my Cheese? by Dr Spencer Johnson
Handling and managing change is a key thread in coaching and development with a whole range of approaches. This short, simple, metaphorical book, first published in 1988, is one of the finest examples of teaching and coaching through a story line.
Why not follow the antics of such characters as Sniff and Scurry, two little mice looking for their next fill of cheese? This is the Law of Requisite Variety explained for all in a fun way.
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Stephen R. Covey
This book was a publishing phenomenon in the early 1990s, and it deserved to be. Stephen R. Covey managed to repackage an ethical and moral tradition thousands of years in development and make it meaningful to a late twentieth century, secular audience. Most of what you find in this book you will find in Aristotle, Cicero, Benedict, Tillotson and their heirs. Covey adds a few references to psychology, a twentieth century science, and many to Viktor Frankl, a sage of the Holocaust. Covey wraps the mix in a distinctively American can-do program of easy-looking steps calling, mostly, for self-discipline. The result is a quite worthwhile, useful manual for self-improvement. I believe most readers will learn something useful from this book, will find the style familiar and easy-going, and the prescriptions adaptable.
The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success: A Practical Guide to the Fulfilment of Your Dreams by Deepak Chopra
Chopra’s spiritual understanding, coupled with his medical degree, allows him to understand the physical, emotional, and spiritual working of the mind and body. Taking readers through a practical guide to fulfilling dreams in harmonious and productive ways is the essence of Deepak Chopra’s The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success.
The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success takes the reader onto a path for success in life. Chopra expresses the need for goals and fulfilling desires with effortless ease. With an easy-to-read guide written in seven short chapters, Deepak Chopra offers advice detailing how to obtain a flourishing life.
Highlighting the importance of seeing life as a journey that must be looked at as a great experience, Chopra affirms throughout The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, “success also includes good health, energy and enthusiasm for life, fulfilling relationships, creative freedom, a sense of well-being, and peace of mind.”
Defined and detailed throughout the seven chapters are the means to experience and obtain goals, dreams, and success combined with health, positive relationships, and peace of mind.
Chopra has used his experiences, his schooling, and his cultural heritage to share his knowledge within his book offering others the peace of mind he has discovered. Each chapter can be read all together or one at a time while being considered and reflected upon for a day or a week.
The unique aspect of Chopra’s views and book is that it doesn’t matter what religion or spiritual beliefs one upholds because this text is for everyone. It’s about being a good person, and with one’s own conviction finding and applying intentions, desires, and beliefs.
This 111 page book by Deepak Chopra is an excellent read guiding readers to a satisfying life. This text can be enjoyed in a short time allowing readers to come back and reflect on a monthly basis.
The Success Principles: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be by Jack Canfield
Jack Canfield, co-creator of the phenomenal bestselling Chicken Soup for the Soul® series, turns to the principles he’s studied, taught and lived for more than 30 years in this practical and inspiring guide that will help you get from where you are to where you want to be.
The Success Principles will teach you how to increase your confidence, tackle daily challenges, live with passion and purpose, and realize all your ambitions. Not merely a collection of good ideas, this book spells out the 64 timeless principles used by successful men and women throughout history. And the fundamentals are the same no matter what your profession or circumstances—even if you’re a student, stay-at-home mom or currently unemployed.
It doesn’t matter if your goals are to be the top salesperson in your company, become a leading architect, score straight A’s in school, lose weight, buy your dream home or make millions of dollars—the principles and strategies are the same.
After learning the basics of success, you’ll move on to tackling the important inner work needed to transform yourself. Next, get ready to build your “success team” and expand all your most important relationships. Finally, because success always includes financial prosperity, you’ll learn to develop a positive money consciousness along with habits that can ensure you’ll be able to live the lifestyle you want—while keeping the importance of tithing and service central to your financial life.
Filled with memorable and inspiring stories of CEO’s, world-class athletes, celebrities, and everyday people. The Success Principles will give you the courage and the heart to start living the principles of success today.
You’ll learn:
- How to change the outcome of any event, simply by changing your response to it
- How to access powerful mentors and friends who’ll open doors for you
- How to complete past projects, heal past relationships and process old hurts, so you can embrace the future
- How to prepare and be instantly ready when opportunity comes knocking
- How to implement the unique time management system that insures you’ll have time to focus on success
- How to say “no” to the good, so you’ll have room in your life to say “yes” to the great
- How to ask for and get everything you want…from people who can give it to you
- Why you should drop out of the “Ain’t It Awful” Club and instead surround yourself with successful, positive and nurturing people
- How to maximize your success with money, your finances, your future…and so much more!
How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci: Seven Steps to Genius Every Day by Michael Gelb
Learn about the Renaissance genius of Leonardo Da Vinci and how to bring more inspiration and brilliance into your own life. The cover of this book caught my eye in a bookstore and I bought it on the spot. I instantly loved the theme of the book, the cover design, and general book design. And as I began reading, all of my expectations were surpassed by Michael Gelb’s insightful writing.
The book provides life, writing, inventions, and art of Leonardo da Vinci, complete with many illustrations from his notebooks and great works of art. Acclaimed author Michael J. Gelb, who has helped thousands of people expand their minds to accomplish more than they ever thought possible, shows you how.
Drawing on Da Vinci’s notebooks, inventions, and legendary works of art, Gelb introduces Seven Da Vincian Principles—the essential elements of genius—from curiosità, the insatiably curious approach to life to connessione, the appreciation for the interconnectedness of all things. With Da Vinci as your inspiration, you will discover an exhilarating new way of thinking. Step-by-step, through exercises and provocative lessons, anyone can harness the power and awesome wonder of their own genius, mastering such life-changing skills as problem solving, creative thinking, self-expression, goal setting and life balance, and harmonizing body and mind.
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
How to Win Friends and Influence People is the first, and still the finest, book of its kind. One of the best-known motivational books in history, Dale Carnegie’s groundbreaking work has sold millions of copies, has been translated into almost every known written language, and has helped countless people succeed in both their business and personal lives.
First published in 1937, Carnegie’s advice has remained relevant for generations because he addresses timeless questions about the fine art of getting along with people: How can you make people like you instantly? How can you persuade people to agree with you? How can you speak frankly to people without giving offense? The ability to read others and successfully navigate any social situation is critically important to those who want to get a job, keep a job, or simply expand their social network.
The core principles of this book, originally written as a practical, working handbook on human relations, are proven effective. Carnegie explains the fundamentals of handling people with a positive approach; how to make people like you and want to help you; how to win people to your way of thinking without conflict; and how to be the kind of leader who inspires quality work, increased productivity, and high morale.
As Carnegie explains, the majority of our success in life depends on our ability to communicate and manage personal relationships effectively, whether at home or at work. How to Win Friends and Influence People will help you discover and develop the people skills you need to live well and prosper.
Transformation: The Mindset You Need. The Body You Want. The Life You Deserve by Bill Phillips
Mention the name Bill Phillips to any of the million people from all walks of life who are now transformed as a result of the energy, inspiration, and knowledge shared in his #1 New York Times bestseller, Body for Life, and watch their faces light up with appreciation and pride!
Within these pages, Phillips delivers on the title’s promise. In a unique fusion of art, science, common sense, and the wisdom of the life experience itself, Transformation illuminates the right way to making significant, meaningful, and healthy changes. Specifically, Phillips guides readers step-by-step through his 11 Transformation Tenets, which, when practiced daily, “energizes authentic and lasting change, beginning deep within your heart and then radiating out into every aspect of your life, and are reflected in everything you see, do, feel and experience. Truly . . . the Transformation is the way to change everything . . . beginning within your Self, but only beginning there.”
What I find most rewarding about this book is that it presents a holistic program for healing your mind from unhealthy things like grief, trauma, repressed anger, anxiety, fear, and depression. Phillips believes that a healthy mind and healthy thinking are the way to lose weight and get fit for the long term. And he presents a lot of solid science to back up his theory.
Phillips delivers this information much more like a compassionate therapist than a personal trainer. The bottom line message of this new book is: If you want a healthy body, do the work to have a healthy mind (and emotions). That is the promise of mind-body medicine.
