What are the best personal development books? A few days ago I read in an article that one of the habits of the most successful people in the business world is their love of reading.
It is curious that one of the frequent aspects that many of the great entrepreneurs have in common is not a high IQ, nor a streak of good luck, but their eagerness to read.
It is said of Bill Gates, for example, that he reads about 50 books a year.
On the other hand, the article talked about how the readings on which these outstanding people mostly focused were related to business, leadership, personal development and history.
Best Personal Development Books (Selection)
This reflection has accompanied me for a few days and has motivated me to choose the topic of this post. In my experience I can perfectly remember the turning point that was at the age of 18, (and in a moment of uncertainty and personal disorientation) when a book of self-knowledge and development fell into my hands.
At that time, such books (which were called “self-help“) did not enjoy good press among people.
I seemed like a weirdo when I talked about the benefits that these readings provided me, there were negative prejudices towards someone who “needed” to read these books to feel better.
But that’s exactly what I got by reading them.
So, since I couldn’t spread this enthusiasm for personal development books, I decided to quietly create my own library on this subject and over the next few years managed to gather (and read) a collection of more than 300 titles on personal development and leadership.
It has been very difficult for me to have to choose only 15 titles in this selection that I would like to share with you, leaving aside other books that I think are highly recommended as well.
This group of books that I propose have been very special for me in my life, it has meant a lot to read them at the time I did it and many of them, even today, after 20 years, I continue to recommend them in my coaching or training processes.
As with reading any book, there are certain aspects that some authors comment on that I do not fully share, but, in general, most of the ideas are very inspiring to me.
These are the books on personal development and leadership that I propose you know.
I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.
15 Best Personal Development Books (Part I)
1. “The Power Is Within You,” Louise L. Hay.
It is about how to become aware of the inner strength we have to achieve things.
Sometimes we focus “outside of ourselves” on the search for that power, and the revelation of this book is the awareness of the power that you really possess in yourself.
It also speaks of self-acceptance and love for our “inner child,” as well as the power of the language we use with ourselves.
2. “You Can Heal Your Life,” Louise L. Hay.
In this book, the author shares, through her personal experience, how to achieve change through the elimination of limiting beliefs.
Our thoughts have a great influence on the realities we create ourselves.
Dr. Bernie Siegel defined it as “an excellent book to restructure our lives and achieve self-esteem and self-love“.
3. “Your Wrong Zones,” Wayne W. Dyer.
The author accompanies us in identifying the behaviors that we have internalized and automated and that block us or prevent us from performing.
It is an excellent self-knowledge book that helps us understand our personality and overcome the internal barriers of anger, fear or guilt that we may have.
4. “The Art of Loving”, Erich Fromm.
The author analyzes the capacity to love and the nature of love in its various forms: brotherly love, love of father and mother, love of oneself, erotic love, and love of God.
The author argues that in order to develop mature love, care, responsibility, respect and knowledge are necessary.
5. “The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari,” Robin S. Sharma.
This book is a business fable based on the author’s personal experiences (he was a lawyer and retired at the age of 53).
It is about the protagonist’s conversations with a friend, sharing his spiritual experiences after a radical change in his life leaving behind material possessions.
He shares the reflections after a spiritual trip to the Himalayas that has allowed him to discover a fuller way of life and at peace with himself.
6. “The guts quotient”, Mario Alonso Puig.
From neuroscience and transpersonal psychology, the author delves into the inner journey that allows us to know ourselves better.
Dr. Puig invites us to identify our comfort zone (what is familiar and familiar to us, although it is not necessarily “comfortable”) and to use the “guts quotient” to develop the strength of character necessary to change and achieve what we want.
7. “The Element,” Ken Robinson.
In this book, the author reflects on the importance of finding in our lives what we are passionate about, since discovering that “engine” changes everything.
For him, the key to success is to do especially well what we love to do.
To discover that passion, it is very useful to rely on our intuition and our imagination.
In this way we will find that “element”, which is the meeting point between our personal aptitudes and our inclinations and allows us to flow and that time seems to stop when we are in our element.
8. “The World’s Greatest Salesman,” Og Mandino.
This book reflects on the basic philosophy of spirituality in life, to consider it a wonderful gift and to live it fully.
It deals with the fundamental terms of truth, sincerity and faith and the importance of knowing our personality and our emotions in order to manage them properly in our daily lives.
What did you think of the selection of personal development books?
In the next post I will complete this selection and in the meantime… I would love for you to send me your comments if you have read any of them: What has it brought you?
What reflection from that book would you like to share?
