Books

Here are some excellent books to get you inspiried about personal development, success and productivity. This list will expand and change over time, so please check back often. Even if you’re experienced with self-improvement, development, goal setting, etc. I hope you’ll find new material here to expand your horizons!

  1. The Automatic Millionaire : A Powerful One-Step Plan to Live and Finish RichThe Automatic Millionaire
    David Bach has written an easy-to-read and easy-to-follow guide to creating and building wealth. The secret is to make everything automatic so no effort is required on your part - your wealth is built without having to do anything. The Automatic Millionaire is a great companion to The Millionaire Next Door, its ideas and practices are very complimentary.

  2. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
    A classic from Stephen Covey. Learn habits that will let you work at a higher level of productivity.

  3. Think and Grow RichThink and Grow Rich.
    This book reads a bit “old fashioned,” but puts forth the concept that all potential lies in what you think about. You have to dream it before you can achieve it.

  4. The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success: A Practical Guide to the Fulfillment of Your Dreams (based on Creating Affluence)The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success.
    Deepak Chopra offers some eastern ways of looking at success. It’s a different perspective than you’ll find in books from most authors, many times thinking “outside the box” is just what’s needed to open your mind to new possibilities!

  5. The Millionaire Next DoorThe Millionaire Next Door
    An excellent book with practicle advice on now to become one of an estimated 3.5 million, millionaires in America. Packed with studys, facts, figures and research, The Millionaire Next Door provides page after page of powerful examples of why a high-wave, high-consumption lifestyle is not congruent to long-term wealth and financial independence.

  6. The Magic of Thinking BigThe Magic of Thinking Big

  7. Napoleon Hill\'s Keys to Success : The 17 Principles of Personal AchievementNapoleon Hill’s Keys to Success.
    Like “Think and Grow Rich” this book is older and reads that way. It contains excellent advice for success and personal development. It also shows how the ideas out today are really just a continuation of the ideas that have worked throughout time for success.

  8. Richest Man in BabylonRichest Man in Babylon.
    An excellent book and a quick read. It’s a parable about how to build wealth and why. Richest Man offers some very easy steps that you can start using right away to build wealth.

  9. The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don\'t Work and What to Do About ItThe E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It.
    Having run a small business, I can mentally check off all of the things not to do from this book. E-Myth also has an excellent list of challenges and self-imposed obstacles that small businesses will likely face.

  10. The Time Trap: The Classic Book on Time ManagementThe Time Trap: The Classic Book on Time Management.
    Excellent ideas on how to monitor and measure your use of time so you can manage the way you use time to get the maximum “bang for the buck.”

  11. The Instant Millionaire: A Tale of Wisdom and WealthThe Instant Millionaire: A Tale of Wisdom and Wealth.
    This is a parable and a very quick book to read. Learn how to think like a millionaire.

  12. A Better Way to Live : Og Mandino\'s Own Personal Story of Success Featuring 17 Rules to Live ByA Better Way to Live : Og Mandino’s Own Personal Story of Success Featuring 17 Rules to Live By.
    A fantastic book by Og Mandino - shares his struggles and tells how he (literally) pulled himself out of a gutter and became a success. “A Better Way To Live” is a very uplifting book.

  13. The Greatest Salesman in the WorldThe Greatest Salesman in the World.
    Og Mandino provides a list of secrets to success in sales. There is good information in the book and it covers topics that are relevant to anyone (success, goals, development, etc.)

  14. The Attractor Factor : 5 Easy Steps for Creating Wealth (or Anything Else) from the Inside OutThe Attractor Factor : 5 Easy Steps for Creating Wealth (or Anything Else) from the Inside Out

  15. The Magic Lamp : Goal Setting for People Who Hate Setting GoalsThe Magic Lamp : Goal Setting for People Who Hate Setting Goals.
    A different approach to “S.M.A.R.T.” goals, a slightly different way to set, monitor and achieve goals. Good reading to reinforce goal setting material.

  16. The 80/20 Principle: The Secret to Success by Achieving More with LessThe 80/20 Principle: The Secret to Success by Achieving More with Less.
    A very interesting read about the Pareto Principal and how to start to recognize 80% / 20% relationships that are already all around you.

  17. How to Talk to Anyone: 92 Little Tricks for Big Success in RelationshipsHow to Talk to Anyone: 92 Little Tricks for Big Success in Relationships.
    Networking and being a people person are requirements for many positions in life. If you have more of an inward-directed personality this book provides good information to help you be comfortable with a more outward-directed personality.

  18. Goals: How to Get Everything You Want-Faster Than You Ever Thought PossibleGoals: How to Get Everything You Want-Faster Than You Ever Thought Possible.
    A classic from Brian Tracey. Includes a lot of information about the power of goal setting as well as a lot of information about how to state your goals.

  19. Goal Setting 101 : How to Set and Achieve a Goal!Goal Setting 101 : How to Set and Achieve a Goal!

  20. Attitude 101 : What Every Leader Needs to KnowAttitude 101 : What Every Leader Needs to Know

  21. The Power of Positive ThinkingThe Power of Positive Thinking

  22. Success Is Not an Accident: Change Your Choices, Change Your LifeSuccess Is Not an Accident: Change Your Choices, Change Your Life.
    This book contains quite a few worksheets and writing/reflecting assignments. Includes chapters on creating a personal mission statement along with instructions and steps to help you get started.

  23. Leadership 101: What Every Leader Needs to KnowLeadership 101: What Every Leader Needs to Know

  24. Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money--That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money–That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!
    You very likely won’t get rich working for someone else. Rich Dad, Poor Dad spends a lot of time on how to maximize your assets without adding liabilities to your life.

  25. As a Man ThinkethAs a Man Thinketh

  26. Og Mandino\'s University of SuccessOg Mandino’s University of Success.
    A collection of common-sense strategies for success in business, life, and relationships. Some of the material is a little dated, but classic advice never goes out of style. Each chapter is prefaced by Og Mandino and is written by famous inspirational and motivational writers of the past.

  27. Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less TimeEat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time.
    “Eat That Frog” provides good strategies to getting big, ugly projects off your “to do” list and on your “done” list.

  28. The One Minute Millionaire: The Enlightened Way to WealthThe One Minute Millionaire: The Enlightened Way to Wealth.
    Provides both a parable and a “how-to” book in one. Gives examples of how to earn more money than you thought possible in a very short period of time. Spends a large amount of time focused on selling on the Internet and buying and selling real estate as vehicles to wealth.

  29. The Fred Factor : How passion in your work and life can turn the ordinary into the extraordinaryThe Fred Factor : How passion in your work and life can turn the ordinary into the extraordinary.
    Examples of how going a little above the call of duty can change lives. Very uplifting to read and creates a lot of thought about how you interact with other people (family, friends, customers, strangers, etc.)

  30. Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free ProductivityGetting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity.
    GTD is all the rage right now. How to get clutter out of your mind and on to paper in order to spur your mind to greater level of creativity.

  31. Ready for Anything : 52 Productivity Principles for Work and LifeReady for Anything : 52 Productivity Principles for Work and Life

  32. Rich Dad\'s Before You Quit Your Job : 10 Real-Life Lessons Every Entrepreneur Should Know About Building a Multimillion-Dollar Business (Rich Dad\'s (Paperback))Rich Dad’s Before You Quit Your Job : 10 Real-Life Lessons Every Entrepreneur Should Know About Building a Multimillion-Dollar Business.
    When you start a business are you just buying another job? “Before you quit your job” contains good information on how (and why) to build a business that is greater than you.

  33. Unlimited Power : The New Science Of Personal AchievementUnlimited Power : The New Science Of Personal Achievement.
    Love him or hate him, Tony Robbins is the new personal success guru. Heavy focus on NLP to change quickly, but there are the seeds of a lot of classic success and development principals in his material, presented in new ways.