If you want to be successful, reading books to help you grow in life is a very important discipline. I’ve been reading for a minimum of one hour a day over the past 53 years.
As a result, I’ve read more than 3,000 books in the fields of personal development, psychology, motivation, creativity, financial literacy, economics, relationships, communication skills, parenting, spiritual growth, health and fitness, leadership, marketing, social media, sales skills, social change, and environmental sustainability.
Today I want to talk to you about the importance of reading every day as part of your daily disciplines for success. I’ll share with you 11 books I highly recommend that have also helped me.
The Way I Choose Books to Help You Grow
As you probably know, I divide my life into seven specific areas:
- Job and career
- Financial
- Relationships
- Health and fitness
- Fun and recreation
- Personal
- Contribution
The personal area of my life includes education, spiritual development, and any possessions I want to own or experiences I want to face. Contribution means making a difference, such as through philanthropy and leaving a legacy.
As you’ll see from the 11 books I share with you today, they cover most of these areas.
“Love for No Reason” by Marci Shimoff
The first book I recommend you read is “Love for No Reason” by Marci Shimoff. I’ve read this book more than once, both for personal growth and as part of my research for a book I’m writing about love and fear.
I believe there are really only two major feelings that motivate all of our behaviors. We are either motivated by the desire to express or receive love, or we are motivated by fear.
“Principles” by Ray Dalio
The next book I recommend is “Principles” by Ray Dalio. Ray is a top hedge fund manager that Tony Robbins interviewed for his book, “Money: Master the Game.” The chapter on Ray’s investment strategy was probably the most powerful in Tony’s book.
Like myself, Ray believes in organizing his life around principles and then religiously implementing strategies that actualize those principles in both his personal and business life.
“The Genie in Your Genes” by Dawson Church
“Genie in Your Genes” by Dawson Church is an amazing scientific treatise on why your genetic code doesn’t determine your life.
The book, which is backed by 300 scientific studies, shows how to take control of your health and well-being with thoughts and feelings that raise the level of vitality and happiness.
It also contains a lot of research on the science behind EFT tapping and energy healing.
“The Tapping Solution for Manifesting Your Greatest Self” by Nick Ortner
Speaking of tapping, another book I recommend is Nick Ortner’s book called, “The Tapping Solution for Manifesting Your Greatest Self.”
Nick, who is a friend of mine, is one of the premier tapping experts who I first met when he interviewed me for the DVD he produced called “The Tapping Solution,” which he later turned into a book as well. He has also published a book called “The Tapping Solution for Pain Relief.”
“The Tapping Solution for Manifesting Your Greatest Self: 21 Days to Releasing Self-Doubt, Cultivating Inner Peace, and Creating a Life You Love” contains some powerful tapping techniques for removing one’s inner blocks, identifying one’s highest possible vision, and anchoring it in our bodies as well as our behavior.
“Be Obsessed or Be Average” by Grant Cardone
The next book is “Be Obsessed or Be Average” by Grant Cardone. I heard Grant speak at a conference once, and he was truly one of the best speakers I’ve ever heard.
He is totally committed to living an extraordinary life both in terms of success and in terms of making a difference. I bought his book as soon as I got home and I’m excited for you to read it.
“What’s in the Way Is the Way” by Mary O’Malley
Also on my list of books to help you grow is “What’s in the Way Is the Way: A Practical Guide for Waking up to Life” by Mary O’Malley. I am intrigued by what the book covers. Three of those things are:
- How fear controls our lives — untangling the conditioning that keeps us from trusting our complete experience
- The healing power of curiosity — a natural way to meet our lives without needing to change or judge anything
- Trusting what happens even when we feel threatened, ashamed, or afraid
“The Entrepreneur Roller Coaster” by Darren Hardy
“The Entrepreneur Roller Coaster: It’s Your Turn to #JoinTheRide” is by Darren Hardy, who also wrote “The Compound Effect,” another book I highly recommend.
I read this book because so many of the people that come to my trainings and mastermind retreats are entrepreneurs, many of them start-up entrepreneurs. Here’s the promo on the book that made me want to read it:
This essential guidebook will prepare you for the wild ride of entrepreneurship. It will warn you (of forthcoming fears, doubts, and the self-defeating conditioning of your upbringing and past), inoculate you (from the naysayers, dream-stealers, and pains of rejection and failure), and guide you (as you build those underdeveloped skills of independence, self-motivation, and self-accountability) safely past the landmines that blow up and cause the failure of 66% of all new businesses.”
“The Plant Paradox” by Dr. Steven Gundry
In the area of health, I recommend you read Dr. Steven Gundry’s book “The Plant Paradox: The Hidden Dangers in ‘Healthy’ Foods That Cause Disease and Weight Gain.”
Dr. Gundry is one of my go-to people when it comes to health and this book can help you be more health-conscious when it comes to the food you eat. You can also subscribe to Dr. Gundry’s newsletter at gundrymd.com.
“Head Strong” by Dave Asprey
Another book in the area of health, fitness, and peak performance genre is by Dave Asprey. Dave is a professional biohacker, which is someone who uses nutrition to hack (or take control of) human biology.
“Head Strong: The Bulletproof Plan to Activate Untapped Brain Energy to Work Smarter and Think Faster — in Just Two Weeks” is Dave’s third book. It focuses on applying the latest breakthroughs in neuroscience, brain science, and nutrition to protect, restore and enhance brain function.
“Beyond the Messy Truth” by Van Jones
I’d also like you to read “Beyond the Messy Truth: How We Came Apart, How We Come Together” by Van Jones. Van is a CNN political contributor and has been named by Fast Company as one of the 12 Most Creative Minds on Earth and Time’s 100 Most Influential People in the World.
The New York Times describes the book as, “A passionate manifesto that exposes hypocrisy on both sides of the political divide and points a way out of the tribalism that is tearing America apart.”
“Leonardo Da Vinci” by Walter Isaacson
Finally, when I was in my early twenties, my mentor W. Clement Stone — who was worth $600 million in 1969 — told me to read biographies and autobiographies of famous and successful people.
People like Abraham Lincoln, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Winston Churchill, Mother Teresa, and more recently, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Martin Luther King, Warren Buffett, Elon Musk, Michelle Obama, or actress Maggie Smith.
“Leonardo Da Vinci” is written by Walter Isaacson, a great biographer who also wrote biographies on Steve Jobs, Benjamin Franklin, and Albert Einstein. Leonardo Da Vinci is one of the most interesting, creative, and productive people that has ever lived, and I am excited for you to learn about why that’s so.
Choose Your Books to Help You Grow
Okay, now here’s your homework to complete. First, make a commitment to read a book for at least 30 minutes a day — an hour is better.
Then, make a list of 10 books that you commit to reading this year — some from the ones I’ve mentioned today and any other books that will help you grow and attain the life that you want.
For some additional great books to read that will support you in successfully creating the life you want, visit my website at jackcanfield.com. And to support your quest to transform your life, the first step is to sign up for my Train the Trainer Online webinar.
Remember, nothing will change for the better until you do.
As the beloved originator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul® series, Jack Canfield fostered the emergence of inspirational anthologies as a genre—and watched it grow to a billion dollar market. As the driving force behind the development and delivery of over 100 million books sold through the Chicken Soup for the Soul® franchise, Jack Canfield is uniquely qualified to talk about success. Jack is America’s #1 Success Coach and wrote the life-changing book The Success Principles: How to Get From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be and Jack speaks around the world on this subject. Check out his newest book The 30-Day Sobriety Solution: How to Cut Back or Quit Drinking in the Privacy of Your Own Home. Follow Jack at www.jackcanfield.com and sign up for his free resources today!
Image courtesy of Mental Health America.
