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101 Best Personal Growth Books
July 14, 2010 by Steve
Must read books on personal growth. The books with a start (*) are my absolute favorites. I’ve read seventy-four of these books. The ones I haven’t read were recommended to me by close friends (and are now on my reading list). Be sure to scroll to the bottom and add your own:
- The Complete Conversations with God ~ Neale Donald Walsch *
- Using Your Brain for a Change ~ Richard Bandler *
- Unlimited Power ~ Anthony Robbins *
- Awaken the Giant Within ~ Anthony Robbins
- Don’t Shoot the Dog ~ Karen Pryor
- The Psychology of Persuasion ~ Robert Cialdini
- How to Win Friends and Influence People ~ Dale Carnegie
- The Mastery of Love ~ Don Miguel Ruiz
- Get the Life You Want ~ Richard Bandler
- Happier Than God ~ Neale Donald Walsch
- A Vision of Power and Glory ~ John Kehoe
- The Other Side and Back ~ Sylvia Browne
- Creative Visualization ~ Shakti Gawain
- Quantum Healing ~ Deepak Chopra
- Your Body’s Telling You: Love Yourself! ~ Lise Bourbeau *
- The Four Agreements ~ Don Miguel Ruiz
- Happy for No Reason: 7 Steps to Being Happy from the Inside Out ~ Marci Shimoff
- The Practice of Happiness ~ John Kehoe *
- The Power of Now ~ Eckhart Tolle
- Power vs Force ~ David R. Hawkins *
- Secrets for Success and Inner Peace ~ Dr. Wayne Dyer
- A New Earth ~ Eckart Tolle
- The Law of Attraction: The Basics of the Teachings of Abraham ~ Esther and Jerry Hicks
- The 5 Rules of Thought ~ Mary T. Browne
- The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success ~ Deepak Chopra
- The Science of Success ~ James Arthur Ray
- Money and the Law of Attraction ~ Esther and Jerry Hicks *
- The Attractor Factor ~ Joe Vitale
- The Strangest Secret ~ Earl Nightingale *
- The Astonishing Power of Emotions ~ Esther and Jerry Hicks
- Excuse Me, Your Life is Waiting ~ Lynn Grabhorn *
- Ask and It Is Given ~Â Esther and Jerry Hicks
- The Power of Intention ~ Dr. Wayne Dyer
- The Amazing Power of Deliberate Intent ~ Esther and Jerry Hicks *
- The Secret ~ Rhonda Byrne
- The Vortex: Where the Law of Attraction Assembles All Cooperative Relationships ~ Esther and Jerry Hicks
- The Lazy Way to Success ~ Frank Gratzon *
- Mind Power into the 21st Century ~ John Kehoe *
- The Mind Map Book ~ Tony Buzan
- The New Psycho-Cybernetics ~ Maxwell Maltz
- As a Man Thinketh ~ James Allen
- The Hidden Power ~ Judge Thomas Troward
- The Master Key System ~ Charles F. Haanel
- The Power of Self Mind Control ~ Burt Goldman
- The Biology of Belief ~ Bruce H. Lipton *
- Man’s Search for Meaning ~ Viktor Frankl
- The Power of Positive Thinking ~ Vincent Peale
- The Leader Who Had No Title ~ Robin Sharma
- Emotional Intelligence ~ Daniel Goleman
- You Can Have What You Want ~ Michael Neill
- Do One Thing Different ~ Bill O’Hanlon
- The World Is As You Dream It ~ John Perkins
- The One Minute Manager ~ Ken Blanchard
- The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari ~ Robin Sharma *
- Body Mind Mastery ~ Dan Millman
- You²: A High Velocity Formula for Multiplying Your Personal Effectiveness ~ Price Pritchett *
- A Touch of Greatness ~ Frank Tibolt
- People Are Idiots and I Can Prove It! ~ Larry Winget *
- The Saint, The Surfer and the CEO ~ Robin Sharma
- Remember Everything You Read: 7 Day Speed Reading ~ Stanley D. Frank
- The Power of An Hour ~ Dave Lakhani
- Mastery: The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment ~ George Leonard
- The 80/20 Principle ~ Richard Koch
- It’s Not Over Until You Win ~ Les Brown
- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People ~ Stephen R. Covey
- Born To Win ~ Lewis Timberlake
- Who Will Cry When You Die ~ Robin Sharma
- The Road to Wealth ~ Robert G. Allen
- Six Thinking Hats ~ Edward de Bono
- Rules for Renegades ~ Christine Comaford-Lynch
- The Purple Cow ~ Seth Godin
- Ben Franklin: America’s Original Entrepreneur ~ Blaine McCormick
- Getting Everything You Can Out of All You’ve Got ~ Jay Abraham
- Multiple Streams of Income ~ Robert G. Allen
- Multiple Streams of Internet Income ~ Robert G. Allen
- Nothing Down for the 2000′s ~ Robert G. Allen
- E Myth Mastery ~ Michael E. Gerber
- How I Made My First Million on the Internet ~ Ewen Chia *
- Make Real Money on the Internet ~ Stephen Pierce
- The E Code ~ Joe Vitale and Jo Han Mok
- Good to Great ~ Jim Collins
- Unleashing the Ideavirus ~ Seth Godin
- You Were Born Rich ~ Bob Proctor
- Money, Success and You ~ John Kehoe
- The Science of Getting Rich ~ Wallace Wattles
- Busting Loose from the Money Game ~ Robert Scheinfeld *
- Think and Grow Rich ~ Napoleon Hill *
- Secrets of the Millionaire Mind ~ T. Harv Eker *
- Speed Wealth ~ T. Harv Eker
- The Millionaire from Nazareth ~ Catherine Ponder
- It’s Not About the Money ~ Bob Proctor
- One Minute Millionaire ~ Mark Victor Hansen and Robert G. Allen
- Richest Man in Babylon ~ George Clason
- Rich Dad, Poor Dad ~ Richard T. Kiyosaki
- How to Get Lots of Money for Anything Fast ~ Stuart Lichtman
- The 4 Hour Work Week ~ Tim Ferris
- Take the Quantum Leap ~ Fred Alan Wolf
- Parallel Universes ~ Fred Alan Wolf
- The Holographic Universe ~ Michael Talbot *
- Mind into Matter ~ Fred Alan Wolf
- The Field ~ Lynn Mctaggart
Relationships and Communication
Spirituality and Well Being
Law of Attraction and Manifestation
Mind Power
Leadership and Peak Performance
Business and Entrepreneurship
Money and Wealth
Quantum Physics Reality
These books are linked to an affiliate program that I earn a commission on if you buy them. I don’t care if you buy them or not, I just wanted to share this list of awesome books with you :)
See my Affiliate Disclosure here.
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Have an opinion? Comments welcome.
19 Comments so far




[...] Books on Personal Growth: 101 Best Personal Growth Books | Learn … [...]
My recommendation – Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh (pronounced Shay). If he doesn’t get you fired up to go work for his company, Zappos.com, then he’ll inspire you to work to make your company (where you work or where you own) a place that ‘delivers happiness’. That’s the latest in a long line, but it’s hot right now.
Hey Linda,
Thanks for the resource – he sounds similar to the Robin Sharma-type where these guys motivate and inspire you to be the better you in a job, business or wherever you are – to show your true colors… :)
A book by Tom Wootton called Bipolar In Order will change everything you believe about mental illness. It is about what bipolar looks like when it is an advantage in your life and includes a clear path to get there. The concepts apply to everyone bipolar or not.
Check out “Out-of-Control: A Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) – Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Workbook for Getting Control of Our Emotions and Emotion-Driven Behavior” by Melanie Gordon Sheets, Ph.D. – (2009). It’s a 432-page workbook based recovery program packed with insight-generating text, questions, worksheets, tools, skills, attitudes, and plans for GETTING CONTROL of OUT-OF-CONTROL emotions, behaviors, and thinking.
It explains the dynamics of Emotional Mind and why we enact destructive emotion-driven coping behaviors to numb out painful feelings and to “white-out†upsetting thoughts. The nature of the problem is the things we do to feel better end up causing us to feel worse and our problems multiply and intensify in a “cycle of suffering.†This workbook helps us to gain control of ourselves and our life outcomes. It’s a life-changing experience that inspires people to make the life changes that will change their lives. It has turned many defeated hearts into empowered spirits that are psychologically prepared to take on the challenges of GETTING ON and STAYING ON the Recovery Path.
It focuses on REAL LIFE and the issues and struggles of a recovery population: anger, depression, anxiety, desperation, multiple losses, substance abuse, suicide attempts, cutting, verbal and physical aggression, temper tantrums, eating disorders, relationship problems, codependency, etc. It focuses on severe coping disorders yet applies to other problematic coping habits (smoking, overeating, overshopping, rebound relationships, etc).
It’s a practical blend of understandings of human nature and techniques of change from DBT, CBT, Psychodynamic theory, and AA. Some mechanisms and tools of change include: radical acceptance of self, others, and what’s “coming at us;†willingness; distress tolerance; “Mindfully Protecting My Peace and Stability;†prioritizing; boundaries; using Rational Mind to Think Through self-defeating thoughts and impulses; Wise Mind problem-solving; the Wise Mind Worksheet; â€participating effectively;†Following Through with recovery plans “Game Plans;†Leaning Into pain and problems; life-enhancing coping skills; and productivity.
It’s a one-of-a-kind work by a Ph.D! The informal, down-to-earth language and style is unique. Her warm, humorous, southern character and her passion for connecting with those she serves permeates this work. It captures the dynamic process of the Group she leads for general, forensic, and VA inpatients. It is emotionally penetrating, if you have difficult issues, seek qualified help to process and work through this book.
Thanks Steve, good stuff for reading… I have a few books to add on :
Leadership and self-deception
The autonomy of peace
Quiet leadership
Crucial confrontation
Positive No
I just received an email from you and I have been looking at your site. You menioned that I could add my book at the bootom of the page, and that is what I am doing right now.
I would love for you to consider to add my book: Just Treat Me Like I Matter: The Heart of Sales. I would be great for your Business and Entrepreneurship section.
Thank you for your email. I am delighted to be learning about your sight. You have some great material!
I look forward to hearing back from you! Diane
Hi Diane,
Thanks for your comment and getting in touch regarding your book. Please send me a quick email (just reply to the one I sent you) and we can review some options for sharing your book.
In my opinion, the list would only be complete with John Maxwell’s Failing Forward. Thanks for the list!
I suggest that you add
Money is My Friend by Phil Laut
It is a classic like Think and Grow Rich and practical as well.
Thanks for the list. I’ve read most and am now curious about the others.
I highly recommend you adding It Was YOU, All Along as a best read in the law of attraction and manifestation category. Why? Because too often these books state the same concepts heard all too often. What they miss are the nuances of how anyone can understand how to implement them into our complex lives. The book has received 22 outstanding reviews on Amazon. Thank you for your time. Understand the fundamentals, but master the nuances. Warm regards, Gary Spinell
Steve,
“How To Stop Worrying And Start Living” by Dale Carnegie is another great book.
This is a great list! I would add The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks. It’s a common sense and practical approach to dealing with the limiting beliefs that keep you from your greatness!
Hey Teri – thanks for adding to the list!!
“The 55 Concepts, A Guide to Conscious Living” by Michael Cavallaro.
A really simple read, but I’ve been living it for the past 5 years and I keep finding deeper and deeper levels. That’s the true test of a classic.
“The wisdom of Florence Scovel Shinn”
” Magnificent Obsession” by Lloyd C. Douglas
We had the pleasure of seeing John Kehoe in New Zealand many years ago. I still refer to his books. Another awesome Canadian. Thank you!:-))
I love John Kehoe!
Hiya Steve,
Great stuff here so far!
Wanted to add one more book by Vijay Eswaran – In the sphere of silence
It’s an amazing book about bringing out the best of each of us!
Looking forward to my 7 day manifestation starting tomorrow!
Cheers,
Aishah
Dear Steve,
Thank you for the recommendations and for the articles. What a pleasure reading and learning.
Here is my must book: Man’s Search for Meaning is a 1946 book by Viktor Frankl chronicling his experiences as a concentration camp inmate (WWII) and describing his psychotherapeutic method of finding a reason to live.
: http://www.amazon.com/Mans-Search-Meaning-Viktor-Frankl/dp/0671023373
Keep doing good and helping others,
Tamara