“Will, can you recommend me a good personal development book please?”

I get this question weekly.

My usual response to the above question is:

“What are you trying to achieve or what is your current challenge, so I can ensure I suggest one based on your desire or needs?”

Obviously, I can’t ask you this question.

So a few years back I decided to put together my top recommendations.

I love learning from books. You often get wisdom it has taken the author decades to learn themselves, in a matter of days.

You have my personal top 60 (it was top 15 but I can’t pick what ones to remove each year) and then my top picks based on category too.

These are all books I have read or listened to AND deem worthy of making the list, there are plenty that don’t make it!

I update this list once a year (last updated 22nd Dec 2024).

The books in Bold Italic have been most recently added.

And of course, as of July 2023 my own book, North Star Thinking: Master Your Mindset and Live a Life You Love which is often a book I’ll recommend to people!

I hope you find this list useful!

PS as of 2023 I have added an “Epic Documentaries” category too.

My Top 60

1. 1. The Secret – Rhonda Bryne
   2. As a Man Thinketh – James Allen
   3. Solve for Happy – Mo Gawdat
   4. The Values Factor – Dr John Demartini
   5. Principles – Ray Dalio
   6. Psycho-Cybernetics – Maxwell Maltz
   7. Expect Miracles – Joe Vitale
   8. Shoe Dog – Phil Knight
   9. Rhinoceros Success – Steve Alexander
   10. Can’t Hurt Me – David Goggins
   11. Atomic Habits – James Clear
   12. Think and Grow Rich – Napoleon Hill
   13. Unlimited Power – Tony Robbins
   14. The Ultimate Jim Rohn Library – Jim Rohn
   15. Never Split The Difference – Chris Voss
   16. Inspired Destiny – Dr John Demartini
   17. Limitless – Jim Kwik
   18. Surrounded By Idiots – Thomas Erikson
   19. Legacy – James Kerr
   20. The Road Less Stupid – Keith Cunningham
   21. How to Be Brilliant – Michael Heppell
   22. Just Listen – Dr Mark Goulston
   23. Will – Will Smith
   24. Letting Go – Dr David Hawkins
   25. The Daily Stoic – Ryan Holiday
   26. Getting The Love You Want – Harville Hendrix
   27. Living Untethered – Michael A Singer
   28. Ultimate Wealth Mastery Library – Dr John Demartini
   29. Life Force – Tony Robbins, Peter Diamandis
   30. What’s In It For Them? – Joe Polish
   31. $100m Offers – Alex Hormozi
   32. Elon Musk – Walter Isaacson
   33. Faster Than Normal – Peter Shankman
   34. Accelerating Excellence – James A King
   35. The Power of Neuroplasticity – Shad Helmstetter
   36. The Greatest Salesman In The World – Og Mandino
   37. Who Not How – Dan Sullivan, Dr Benjamin Hardy
   38. 10x Is Easier Than 2x – Dan Sullivan, Dr Benjamin Hardy
   39. Lifespan – Dr David Sinclair
   40. Young Forever – Mark Hyman
   41. How to Persuade and Get Paid – Phil M Jones
   42. The Strangest Secret – Earl Nightingale
   43. The Gap and The Gain – Dan Sullivan and Dr Benjamin Hardy
   44. The Ultimate Bob Proctor Library – Bob Proctor
   45. The Courage to Be Disliked – Fumitake Koga and Ichiro Kishimi
   46. Stolen Focus – Johann Hari
   47. Be Useful: Seven Tools For Life – Arnold Schwarzenegger
   48. Greenlights – Matthew McConaughey
   49. Outwitting the Devil – Napoleon Hill
   50. Driven – Douglas Brackmann
   51. Buy Back Your Time – Dan Martell
   52. Vivid Vision – Cameron Herold
   53. Selling to Serve – James Ashford
   54. Breakthrough Advertising – Eugene Schwartz
   55. The Mindbody Prescription – John E Sarno
   56. Dopamine Nation – Anna Lembke
   57. Breath – James Nestor
   58. Shine – Gino Wickman and Rob Dube
   59. The Ultimate Marketing Plan – Dan Kennedy
   60. The Average Joe’s Marketing Book – Joe Polish

 

Mindset

Breaking The Habit of Being Yourself – Dr Joe Dispenza

Inspired Destiny – Dr John Demartini

Psycho-Cybernetics – Maxwell Malts

The Gratitude Effect – Dr John Demartini

Expect Miracles – Joe Vitale

The Chimp Paradox – Steve Peters

Mindset – Carol Dweck

Emotional Intelligence – Daniel Goleman

Mindset with Muscle – Jamie Alderton

Stealing Fire – Steven Kotler & Jamie Wheal

The Rise of Superman – Steven Kotler

The Stress Solution – Dr Rangan Chatterjee

The Kybalion – The Three Initiates

Flip It – Michael Heppell

Stoicism For Inner Peace – Einzelgänger

Ego Is The Enemy – Ryan Holiday

Good Vibes Good Life – Vex King

The Biology Of Belief – Bruce Lipton

The Myth of Normal – Gabor Maté

Life Strategies – Phil McGraw

The Gap and The Gain – Dan Sullivan and Dr Benjamin Hardy 

Shine – GinoWickman and Rob Dube

King Warrior Magician Lover – Moore & Gillette

Law of Attraction

The Secret – Rhonda Byrne

The Dynamic Laws of Prosperity- Catherine Ponder

As a Man Thinketh – James Allen

Discourse on Metaphysics – Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz

Ask and It Is Given: Learning to Manifest Your Desire – Esther and Jerry Hicks

The Abundance Paradigm – Dr. Joe Vitale

The Missing Secret – Dr. Joe Vitale

The Magic of Believing – Claude M Bristol

Ask And It Is Given – Esther Hicks & Jerry Hicks

The Kybalion – The Three Intiantes

Manifest – Roxie Nafousi

The Magicians Way – William Whitecloud

Secrets of Natural Success – William Whitecloud

The Master Key System – Charles F. Haanel

The Ultimate Bob Proctor Library – Bob Proctor

The Power of Intention – Dr Wayne Dyer

Your Invisible Power – Genevieve Behrend

The Courage to Be Disliked – Fumitake Koga and Ichiro Kishimi

The Strangest Secret – Earl Nightingale 

 

Money

The Millionaire Mind – T Harv Eker

Unshakable – Tony Robbins

The Dynamic Laws of Prosperity – Catherine Ponder

The Money Chimp – Andrew Priestly

Richest Man in Babylon – George S Clason

Profit First – Mike Michalowicz

How to Make One Hell of a Profit and Still Get to Heaven – Dr John Demartini

The 21 Secrets of Self Made Millionaires – Brian Tracy

The Science of Getting Rich – Wallace D. Wattles

The Secret to Attracting Money – Dr. Joe Vitale

Worthy: Boost Your Self-Worth to Grow Your Net Worth – Nancy Levin

Attract Money Now – Dr Joe Vitale

How To Solve All Your Money Problems Forever – Victor Boc

You’re a Badass at Making Money – Jen Sincero

The Energy of Money – Maria Nemeth

Ultimate Wealth Mastery Library – Dr John Demartini

Happy Money – Ken Honda

The Psychology of Money – Morgan Housel

Money on Your Mind – Vicky Reynal

Empowering Stories

The Alchemist – Paulo Coelho

Chicken Soup for the Soul – Jack Canfield & ‎Mark Victor Hansen

The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari – Robin Sharma

 

Gratitude

The Gratitude Effect – Dr John Demartini

Count Your Blessings – Dr John Demartini

The Magic – Rhonda Bryne

 

Dealing with Tough Times

Loving What Is – Bryon Katie

Who Moved my Cheese – Dr Spencer Johnson

Mans Search for Meaning – Viktor Frankl

Shoe Dog – Phil Knight

Chicken Soup for the Soul – Jack Canfield & ‎Mark Victor Hansen

Zero Limits – Joe Vitale

A Box of Butterfly’s – Roma Downey

The Firth Phrase – Joe Vitale

The Obstacle Is The Way – Ryan Holiday

Letting Go – Dr David Hawkins

At Zero – Joe Vitale

You Can Overcome Any Problem – Norman Vincent Peale

Everything Is Figureoutable – Marie Forleo

 

Values

The Values Factor – Dr John Demartini

 

Memory 

Walking With Einstein – Joshua Foer

Limitless – Jim Kwik

 

Communication

How to Win Friends and Influence People – Dale Carnegie

Influence – Robert Cialdini

Never Split The Difference – Chris Voss

Surrounded By Idiots – Thomas Erikson

Talking To Crazy – Mark Goulston

Just Listen – Mark Goulston

What’s In It For Them? – Joe Polish

It’s a Zoo Around Here – Nigel Risner

Rapport – Emily Alison, Laurence Alison

 

Coaching/NLP

Coaching For Performance – John Whitmore

The Prosperous Coach – Steve Chandler, Rich Litvin

NLP: The Essential Guide to Neuro-Linguistic Programming – Tom Dotz, Tom Hoobyar, Susan Sanders

Time Line Therapy and the Basis of Personality – Tad James & Wyatt Woodsmall

The Ultimate Coach – Amy Hardison & Alan D Thompson

The Structure of Magic 1 – Richard Bandler and John Grinder

The Structure of Magic 2 – Richard Bandler and John Grinder

Time Management

Life Leverage – Rob Moore

Getting Things Done – David Allen

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less – Greg McKeown

 

Purpose

Start With Why – Simon Sinek

 

Being More Present

Your Inner Awakening – Byron Katie

Loving What Is – Byron Katie

A Mind At Home With Itself – Byron Katie

The Surrender Experiment – Michael A Singer

The Power of Now – Eckhart Tolle

The Untethered Soul – Michael A Singer

The Stress Solution – Dr Rangan Chatterjee

Stolen Focus – Johann Hari

Increasing Consciousness

Power vs Force – Dr David Hawkins

A New Earth – Eckhart Tolle

The Kybalion – The Three Initiates

The Secret of Light – Walter Russell

Happiness

The Happiness Advantage – Shawn Achor

Solve for Happy – Mo Gawdat

The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem – Dr Nathaniel Branden

Motivation & Inspiration

10x rule – Grant Cardone

Rhinoceros Success – Steve Alexander

Drive – Daniel Pink

The Motivation Manifesto – Brendon Burchard

Mentors – Russell Brand

The Best Motivational Speeches of All Times – Various

Notes From A Friend – Tony Robbins

Biographies

Will – Will Smith

Losing My Virginity – Richard Branson

Finding My Virginity – Richard Branson

Elon Musk – Ashlee Vance

Steve Jobs – Walter Isaacson

The Art of the Deal – Donald Trump

Where The Magic Happens – Caspar Craven

A Better Me – Gary Barlow

Can’t Hurt Me – David Goggins

Jump In – Mark Burnett

Behind The Mask – Tyson Fury

Living With  A SEAL – Jesse Itzler

First Man In – Ant Middleton

Battle Ready – Ollie Ollerton

The Answer Is Yes – Neville Wright

Nothing Is Impossible – Dynamo

Just For The Love Of It – Cathy Odowd

We Can All Make It – Sara Davies

Before and Laughter – Jimmy Carr

Bootstrap Your Life – Oliver Cookson

Elon Musk – Walter Isaacson

The Big Fight – Sugar Ray Leonard

Playing with Fire – Theo Fleury 

The Ride of a Lifetime – Robert Iger

Be Useful: Seven Tools For Life – Arnold Schwarzenegger

Greenlights – Matthew McConaughey

Being More Successful

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

How to Be Brilliant – Michael Heppell

The Four Agreements – Don Miguel Ruiz

Think and Grow Rich – Napoleon Hill

The Ultimate Jim Rohn Library – Jim Rohn

You Were Born Rich – Bob Proctor

The Alter Ego – Todd Herman

Now Is Your Change – Niyc Pidgeon

Ask! – Mark Victor Hansen & Crystal Dwyer Hansen

The Magic Of Thinking Big – David Schwartz

Conscious Luck – Gay Hendricks

The Big Leap – Gay Hendricks

I am Enough – Marisa Peer

Becoming Supernatural – Dr Joe Dispenza

12 Rules For Life – Jordan Peterson

The Psychology Of Success – Brian Tracy

The Miracle Morning – Hal Elrod

From Good To Amazing – Michael Serwa

The Daily Stoic – Ryan Holiday

High Performance – Jake Humphrey, Damian Hughes

The Inside Track – Peter Sage

Faster Than Normal – Peter Shankman

Accelerating Excellence – James A King

Life Strategies – Phil McGraw

The Power of Neuroplasticity – Shad Helmstetter

Notes From A Friend – Anthony Robbins 

Greatness – David L Cook 

The Laws of Lifetime Growth – Dan Sullivan

Outwitting the Devil – Napoleon Hill

Driven – Douglas Brackmann

The Future

The Future is Faster Than Your Think – Peter Diamandis & Steven Kotler

The Singularity Is Near – Ray Kurzweil

Scary Smart – Mo Gawdat

 

Getting More Clients/Customers

Oversubscribed – Daniel Priestley

$100m offers – Alex Hormozi

Getting Customers – James Sinclair

They Ask You Answer – Marcus Sheridan

The Greatest Salesman In The World – Og Mandino

How to Persuade and Get Paid – Phil M Jones

The Average Joe’s Marketing Book – Joe Polish

SPIN- Selling – Neil Rackham

Giftology – John Ruhlin

$100M Leads – Alex Hormozi 

Selling to Serve – James Ashford

Breakthrough Advertising – Eugene Schwartz

The Ultimate Marketing Plan – Dan Kennedy

The Million Dollar Coach – Taki Moore

The Average Joe’s Marketing Book – Joe Polish

Business

The Road Less Stupid – Keith Cunningham

Ready, Fire, Aim – Michael Masterson

Principles – Ray Dalio

The E myth – Michael Gerber

Profit First – Mike Michalowicz

How to Get Rich – Felix Dennis

Essentialism – Grg McKwown

Key Person Of Influence – Daniel Priestley

Traction – Gino Wickman

Add Then Multiply – David B Horne

The Experience Business – James Sinclair

The Five Dysfunctions of A Team – Patrick Lencioni

Building a Story Brand – Donald Miller

Who Not How – Dan Sullivan, Dr Benjamin Hardy

The Fred Factor – Mark Sanborn

One Minute Manager – Ken Blanchard

Disney U – Doug Lipp

10x Is Easier Than 2x – Dan Sullivan, Dr Benjamin Hardy

Rocket Fuel – Gino Wickman, Mark C Winters

Who – Geoff Smart & Randy Street

Buy Back Your Time – Dan Martell

Vivid Vision – Cameron Herold

Bulletproof Your Exit: Randy Long

Alchemy – Rory Sutherland

Life Gives To The Giver – Joe Polish

Children’s Books

The Wise Bear Stories – Scott Cranfield

The Horse, The Boy & The Mole – Charlie MacKesy

 

Relationships

The Relationship Breakthrough – Tony Robbins Cloe Maddanes

No More Mr Nice Guy – Dr Robert Glover

Attached – Amir Levine & Rachel Heller

Getting The Love You Want – Harville Hendrix

 

Healing

Your Body’s Telling You: Love Yourself! – Lisa Bourbeau

Metaphysical Anatomy: Your Body is Talking, Are You Listening? – Evette Rose

You Can Heal Your Life – Louise L. Hay

Dying To Be Me – Anita Moorjani

The Mindbody Prescription – John E Sarno

Leadership

Legacy – James Kerr

Extreme Ownership – Jocko Willink

Leadership – Eddie Jones 

One Minute Manager – Ken Blanchard

 

Habits

Atomic Habits – James Clear

Power of Habit – Charles Duhig

High-Performance Habits – Brendon Burchard

The Miracle Morning – Hal Elrod

Routine Machine – John Lamerton

 

Health

The TB12 Method – Tom Brady

Good Sugar, Bad Sugar – Allan Carr

Easy Way To Quit Emotional Eating – Allan Carr

The 4 Pillar Plan – Dr Rangan Chatterjee

You Can Heal Your Life – Louise Hay

Metaphysical Anatomy – Evette Rose

Energise – Simon Alexander Ong

The Biology Of Belief – Bruce Lipton

Dopamine Nation – Anna Lembke

Breath – James Nestor

Life Longevity

Lifespan – Dr David Sinclair

Young Forever – Mark Hyman

The Science & Technology of Growing Young – Sergey Young

 

Sleep

Why We Sleep – Matthew Walker

 

Spirituality

The Universe Has Your Back: Transform Fear to Faith – Gabrielle Bernstein

The Celestine Prophecy – James Redfield

A Course in Miracles Made Easy – Helen Schucman

The Surrender Experiment – Michael A Singer

When Things Fall Apart – Pema Chodron

The God Solution – Neale Donald Walsh

Conversations With God – Neale Donald Walsh

The Seven Laws of Spiritual Sucess – Depack Chopra

Your Soul’s Plan – Robert Schwartz

Dying To Be Me – Anita Moorjani

Living Untethered – Michael A Singer

 

Epic Documentaries

The Secret – Multiple – Netflix

The Sum of It All – Ed Sheeran – Disney Plus

Shaq – Shaquille O’Neil – HBO

Arnold – Arnold Schwarzenegger – Netflix

Sly – Sylvester Stallone – Netflix

Beckham – David Beckham – Netflix

Heal – Multiple – Gaia

Inner Outer Worlds – YouTube

E-Motion – Multiple – Gaia

The Secrets of Success – Sir Alex Ferguson – Youtube

 

If you have enjoyed these suggestions of mine then be sure to join my Facebook group where I share my own insights and wisdom daily click here to join.

 

Until next time… make it happen.

Will

P.S. If you haven’t already I would encourage you to take my quiz to discover what type of business owner you are, knowing this can help take you from where you are now to becoming more successful personally, professionally and financially – quickly, efficiently and effectively.