10 Personal Development Books That’ll Change Your Life in All the Right Ways

These 10 personal development books have had a huge positive impact on my life. I have a hunch you’ll love them too. They span a wide range of topics, including discovering your greatest strengths, failing your way to success, the best way to become a millionaire, and how the how the whole world is conspiring to shower you with blessings. Please enjoy these 10 short-but-sweet recommendations, because these are some of the best books I’ve encountered.

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This book is pure genius, and it’s loads of fun. It’s one of my all-time favorite books. I’ve read and listened to the audiobook four times so far. You probably know author Scott Adams as the cartoonist who writes Dilbert. In his New York Times bestseller “How to Fail,” Adams explains how he failed his way to outrageous success, and how you can too. It’s a liberating thought, since we all have human imperfections. Adams says: “Everything you want out of life is in that bubbling vat of failure. The trick is to get the good stuff out.” I love Adams’ simple strategies for winning big. This book is packed with brilliant ideas. A few of my favorites include “Goals Versus Systems,” “Deciding Versus Wanting,” “The Energy Metric,” “Timing is Luck Too,” and “The Math of Success.” My husband suggested this book to me several years ago, because Scott Adams shares in this book how he overcame his voice disorder spasmodic dysphonia, which I also have.

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Life is difficult for every person alive. So we all need skills for how to survive and thrive in everyday life. Author and psychologist Dr. Siebert says the survivor personality is composed of learnable skills, including curiosity, empathy, and flexibility. Dr. Siebert says survivors have dynamic personalities: “survivors are both serious and playful, they are hard-working and lazy, self-confident and self-critical.” Survivors embrace the paradox. The book also gives tons of practical suggestions for fine-tuning your survival skills by learning to turn your misfortune into good luck. For example, Dr. Siebert suggests welcoming adversity and deciding for yourself, “somehow, someway I am going to handle this and make things turn out well.” He says to remind yourself of your natural ability to pull through. Several years ago, I spotted this book when a medical sales colleague was reading it. I was intrigued. He ended up giving me his paperback copy, which I still have and refer to.

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This book’s title explains it’s subject matter superbly. It’s full of tactics to help you move the story forward and get things done. Life is full of obstacles like procrastination, distractions, and perfectionism. In “Finish,” author Jon Acuff shares useful tactics to help you check items off your to do list – big and small. My favorite ideas include “Make it Fun if You Want it Done,” “Leave Your Hiding Places and Noble Obstacles,” and “Use Data to Celebrate Your Imperfect Progress.” I listened to the Finish audiobook early this year as part of my sales team book club at work. It was a hit all-around as forward progress is our collective goal.

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This fun book is hilarious, brilliant, raunchy, and motivating all at once. Author Jen Sincero points out that there’s only one you, with your unique mix of talents, magic, and visions for the future. She basically says it’s your duty and birthright to make all of your wildest dreams come true, for your own benefit and for everyone else you can positively impact. Sincero says that to be effective, above all, you must love yourself. This book is incredible from beginning to end. But it’s also the kind of book where you can flip to any page and you’re sure to find a gem that’ll brighten up your life. I originally found this book on the shelf at Target and bought it as a gift for my aunt. Then I bought the audiobook for myself. “You are a Badass” is a New York Times Best Seller. The book has a sequel called “You are a Badass at Making Money,” which is also a fun, empowering read. I bought that sequel as a gift for my enterprising adult nephew.

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Discover your greatest strengths with this powerful little book. Author Tom Rath says that when you use your strengths, you are more likely to flourish at work and in life in general.  StrengthsFinder has 34 short chapters that each describe a strength theme. The book includes an online assessment code, so you can take a 15-minute Gallup quiz to discover your top 5 strengths. My top 5 strengths are: 1. Futuristic 2. Woo (Winning Others Over) 3. Communication 4. Intellection 5. Strategic. I think these strengths fit me, and I have them posted above my desk at work, so I remember to use them. I originally learned about StrengthsFinder from my cousin who is very successful in sales. Then my husband took the assessment with his college academic advisor work colleagues. Then I bought the book for myself. I also bought my talented sales manager the book. Whenever a friend or colleague tells their strengths, it’s a real treat, and I find it absolutely fascinating.

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This book was published more than half a century ago, and it was way ahead of it’s time. Author Dr. John Schindler’s main theme is that negative emotions can produce physical disease. So he says it’s important to find ways to cope with stress and to make your life as rich as possible. Dr. Schindler suggests viewing yourself as basically healthy, rather than constantly watching for “a knock in your motor.” He also recommends truly enjoying the simple things in life, viewing your work as therapy, and fully engaging in the human experience. My all-time favorite quote comes from this book: “The best insurance for a satisfactory future is to handle the present moment well.” I found this book on my mother’s bookshelf in high school. She had discovered and loved this book long before me. My mom is one of the most self-actualized people I know. Then when I found the book, I found great value in it too, and I reread it so much the cover fell off.

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This life-changing book describes the importance of extending trust and being trustworthy. Author Stephen M. R. Covey is the son of the well-known Stephen Covey, who wrote “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” Both men seem to believe in the value to cultivating your good character all the way down to the core. In The Speed of Trust, Covey defines 4 Cores of Credibility, including Integrity, Intent, Capabilities, and Results. He gives 13 action items, so you can proactively cultivate trust within yourself, your relationships, organization, market, and society. This book’s principles are so sound and rock solid, I think it could change the world. It’s a New York Times Bestseller. I originally heard of this book form the Dr. Laura Schlessinger show. I slowly read the print version over many months right before bed. My husband always said “The Speed of Trust” is a very slow read. That’s true, because there’s so much good stuff to process, ponder, and internalize.

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This is another one of my all-time favorite books. The title sums up the book pretty well. Author Rob Brezsny has a beautiful, optimistic, paradoxical life philosophy that’s empowering and humbling, exciting and relaxing, complicated and simple; always life-enhancing. Brezsny convincingly describes the universe as friendly and abundant with serendipity. This is a book where you can flip open any page and just soak up the goodness. Reading this book is the metaphorical equivalent to soaking in a hot tub with a glass of champagne, while knowing you have the next month of work. Or maybe you’ll go to work, but it’ll be a grand adventure. Brezsny is also the astrologer who writes the Free Will Astrology column, which I originally discovered in the back of my city’s weekly counterculture newspaper. You can view Free Will Astrology online too. Brezsny’s horoscopes are just as genius as his book. Interestingly, even as a lifelong astrologer, Brezsny admits that he only believes in astrology 80%. I appreciate that he can acknowledge the mysterious magic of life and be a skeptical realist all at once. I can relate.

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This book will help you overcome hesitation and develop a bias toward action. Author Mel Robbins introduces The 5 Second Rule, which is a quick trick to make your brain stop procrastinating when you’re feeling afraid, lazy, or doubtful. It’s really simple. You usually know deep down what you really want. So Robbins says you can activate your courage by counting down: 5-4-3-2-1 and taking immediate physical action, before you can talk yourself out of it. She explains that courage is more important than confidence. Mel Robbins is kind of a force of nature. She is full of excellent advice and bust-through-barriers conviction that we are all capable of great things. A former sales colleague introduced me to this audiobook, as we are both giant fans of personal development books that produce results.

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This book is a real eye-opener. When I was younger, I knew better, but I wanted to believe that if I lived a luxe lifestyle, the wealth would follow. My plan didn’t work. The Millionaire Next Door helped put things into perspective. According to Author Thomas Stanley’s extensive research, most millionaires became wealthy because they are incredibly frugal. They have high incomes, but they spend way less then they earn. They avoid debt, save, and invest. This book is full of incredibly wise financial advice. Thomas Stanley details the statistics on real millionaires: their professions, education, demographics, and habits. Those habits are often surprising, simple, and even boring. Yet knowing this information is empowering, enlightening, and life-changing. I was originally introduced to this New York Times bestselling book when a friend’s father gave me a copy in college. Since then I’ve returned to this book many times. By taking the principles in this book to heart, my husband and I have improved our financial health dramatically.

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I’ll probably review all of the above books in greater detail in the future. To do that, I’ll need to obtain permissions from the book publishers, as these particular books have strict copyright restrictions. In the meantime, if any of these books have piqued your interest, I encourage you to read them for yourself. I bet you’ll be glad you did.