10 Great Books That Will Transform Your Life
(10) 7 Habits of highly successful people : Stephen R. Covey - 7 Habits is Stephen Covey’s masterpiece. First written in 1989, this book has sold over 15 million copies since. Stephen goes through a list of Top 7 habits employed by ultra successful people. The advice is simple, to the point and easy to follow. This book is how you can attain self mastery the underlying secret for success.
(9) Rich Dad Poor Dad : Robert Kiyosaki - The 1st book I ever read on personal finance was Rich dad, Poor dad. Robert Kiyosaki narrates the story of this childhood as he was growing up in Hawaii. Shadowed by two Dad’s in his life, Robert has written a very entertaining story on how to be rich & successful. Robert argues (to a valid point) of how our education system give us no education on the art of handling money. Yet we spend a life time working for it. This book truly opened by eyes and made me look at the world from a newer perspective, as if I was on bear goggles before.
(8) The Four-hour workweek : Tim Ferriss- Tim Ferris has written wrote this epic book in 2003 and ever since it has been on the top of all best seller list. This book has deeply influenced a complete generation of new entrepreneurs & will continue to dominate even in the coming decades. Tim talks about freedom. The freedom to not be dependent on money (still not being ultra rich), job or place. He talks about being free in truest sense & living the life of your dreams. This is an excellent read for anyone looking for some inspiration. I personally agree to the overall concept that Tim has to share (about freedom, living the life of your dreams) but not with a lot of methods employed by him for the purpose. Also a few people find the title of the book slightly misleading. Inspite of theses facts it is an excellent book to read.
(7) Awaken the Giant Within : Anthony Robbins- Anthony Robbins is a very inspirational figure. This format janitor describes his story how he took hold of his life and hand crafted his destiny. Awaken the Giant is his best book loaded with information on how to take charge of your life. The reason this book is amazing is this goes deep inside you mind and explores how & why you do the things you do. Knowing how your mind works is probably the most important thing for success.
(6) Think & Grow Rich : Napoleon Hill - This is a classic book from non other than Napoleon Hill. Think & Grow Rich is one of the few Originals in Self Help. This book is Jam packed with practical advice on how to make a Ton of money & live a fulfilling life. But don’t let the title fool you; this book goes very deep. This book is not just about money but has a lot more to it. You can apply the principles to any aspect of your life and reap the benefits.
On the down side this book is a little intense & takes some work to pace through the book specially if you are a self-help newbie I would ask you to first read some other easier book before you jump on this epic.
(5) Vagabonding : Rolf Potts - A unusual Guide to the art of long term travel. At first glance you might mistake Vagabonding for a travel book. Vagabonding is a book that talks not only about travel but more importantly about life. And it’s this view of life is what is the theme of the book. This is another of those books that helps us see the world from another perspective.
The book made me think a lot about life and our journey through it. It also helped me understand a lot more about myself . It helps you understand & focus on the things that truly matter in life.
(4) Rework : 37 Signals- Rework is an very interesting book on business and startups. The reason this book is amazing is because it providers us with a view of alternate universe. A universe (which does exist) in which companies are frugal, hire few but best employees, people tele-commute to work, the company’s product has fewer features than competition & the company advertises it! Yet these companies make millions in revenue & still choose to be purposefully be small.
Even if you are not an entrepreneur or business owner I would still highly recommended that you do read Rework. This book blew away all the notions I had of business or startups. Written by 37 signals & its founder Jason fried, the guyz who gave us Basecamp, Highrise and other online software.
(3) How to win friends and influence people : Dale Carnegie – This book is a masterpiece in the art of dealing with people & how to be ultra successful. This book is a must read for everyone. This book is so amazing that it should be included as course in high schools, seriously!
(2) The Greatness Guide : Robin Sharma – The first self-help book I ever read was the Greatness guide. I have to thank Robin for bringing me into the world of self-help. It was because of this one book, my life changed and I began to craft my destiny. Prior to reading this book I was just living my life but after reading this book I took charge of it.
This amazing book is a must read for everyone. It has 101 chapters each chapter is a page or two long. The font is big and easy on the eyes and the language is very natural. This book made me think: there are 101 chapters in this book, if I am able to implement only 5 of them in my life, the book is already priceless.
(1) The Secret : Rhonda Bryan- One of the greatest self help books ever written in the history of mankind thus far! The Secret is an amazing read because this book is basically a cocktail of all the greatest self-help books. No, I am not saying that the book is not original but lots of concepts presented in this book are not new.
The reason this book really shines is because the way Rhonda Bryan has been able to present those facts in an easy, no non-sense and engaging fashion. While you had to slog through the books of other writers you can easily breeze through The Secret and not get bogged down.
I highly recommend the movie “The Secret” Which is based on the book instead of the book, simply because the movie is a very visual & enchanting. The guest speakers in the movie coupled with great visuals and excellent direction makes this movie absolutely captivating. When I first watched this movie I was spellbound! It left a profound impact on me like no other book or movie or person (for that matter) was able to.
If a person had the option of reading only 1 non-fiction book in his / her lifetime, I’d suggest “The Secret”.
Other Books That Couldn’t Make it To The List -
(1) Richest Man in Babylon : George S. Clason - A master piece in the art of managing money. This book is written as a series of very interesting stories set in the ancient Babylon. Recommend the Audiobook over the book itself because of the fact that this book is written as a story & not in the stereotype language of most books on personal finance. Seeds of wisdom are planted across the entire book and they stick because we can relate to them in the form of memorable story.
(2) The Magic of thinking big : David Schwartz - Is another amazing book.
(3) Anyone can do it : Duncan Bannatyne - Duncan is the British version of Donald Trump. His real estate ventures has earned him millions and put him on the list of Britain’s richest people. But guess what? He had pretty humble beginning. Duncan was a party junkie, lived along the beaches till 30’s & had no big plans for life (other than partying hard). This book goes to show what a strong resolve and handwork can do. When Duncan finally decided to take charge of his life he started selling ice cream off a van. He worked hard and was able to save 300,000 USD / year in a couple of year’s time after he started. I am not going to tell you the entire story but this book again excellent read for those looking to trace the footsteps of his success. The biggest lessons I learned from this book is to take the “Leap of Faith”.
No Risk = No Gain
(4) Ragged Dick : Horatio Alger, Jr. - Read more about this book >> Here
