6 Personal Development Books That Changed My Life

Over the 2 years that I’ve run this blog, I’ve earned an astonishing $0.49 in Amazon referral fees!

In a bold move to double that number by the end of 2010, I’m presenting you this list of personal development books.

As a completely unintended byproduct, you will also get to read a list of fantastic books that changed my life! And they can probably help you too. Though, as Johnny B. Truant says, you wouldn’t buy a book on how to bake a cake, read it, then wake up the next morning and start complaining that cake hasn’t magically materialized in your oven.

You change your life. That being said, these books will give you one helluva kickstart!

1. How To Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

Probably the most sold book ever on interpersonal relationships… and for a good reason. Carnegie unravels the fundamental principles of dealing with other people. For example, “Remember that a man’s name is to him the sweetest and most important sound in any language.”

He also has a knack for using plenty of stories to really get his points to stick deep inside your mind, and take action based on them. Which is a very worthwhile trait in any personal development book.

2. The Way of the Superior Man by David Deida

In case it’s not obvious… this book is for men. Unraveling the mysteries of why women act the way they do (and how to deal with it when they do), this is a great book for any man to read.

Often, Deida simply explains a behavior that you’re already familiar with… and once you finally understand it, it suddenly stops driving you crazy. You know why a woman is doing it, so you don’t need to worry about “fixing” it anymore. It’s natural and healthy.

3. Change Your Life in Seven Days by Paul McKenna

I might be a bit biased on this one, because it’s the first personal development book that I’ve ever read.

That being said, I’ve recently skimmed through it again, and it definitely lives up to my first impression (and second, and third… and half-a-dozenth. I’ve read this book a lot.). McKenna covers a lot of ground with this one, with plenty of specific techniques you can apply immediately. From understanding your self-image, to controling your state through the images you make in your head, to achieving a feeling of flow… this book has it all.

4. How to Argue & Win Every Time by Gerry Spence

Another fantastic book on dealing with other people. Spence tells many interesting stories of what he learned as a professional lawyer. He talks a lot about using your power and how persuasive arguments don’t try to diminish another person’s power, but insead acknowledge their power and persuade based on evidence.

Again, Spence has a knack for making the concepts stick in your brain and helping you apply them.

5. Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

Hill spent nearly 20 years researching this book, interviewing the most successful people of his time, as employed by Andrew Carnegie… and he wasn’t paid a single dime for it. Carnegie felt that putting him in touch with the right people to give him the chance to discover the formula for success would be enough, and he was right.

It’s hard to describe exactly what’s so great in this book, but it’s one of the best-selling personal development books in the world, and for a good reason.

6. Mind-lines: Lines For Changing Minds by Michael L. Hall and Bob G. Bodenhomer

I’ve only read this book recently, but I really think it deserves the place among these classics.

As you may or may not know, I recently established a habit of reading for an hour every day. And while with most books I easily do that in one session, I had to split up my Mind-Lines reading time into at least two half-hour sessions each day. Because my mind was completely wiped after half an hour of this book.

That doesn’t mean it’s poorly written. It just contains a lot of great content that makes you think. On every… single… damn… page.

The book covers conversational reframing – which is basically all about changing the perspective of how you view things, blowing limiting beliefs right out of the water, and a lot more. Read the Amazon reviews for more detail, I’ll just say it’s a great book – well worth reading!

Honorable mention: How to Be Rich And Happy by Tim Brownson and John P. Strelecky

This is the only non-affiliate link in this list.

Firstly, it’s a great book. It’s the first book I’ve ever seen (and I’ve seen a lot) that takes you through a detailed thorough process of discovering your core values. Plus another 200 pages of good stuff.

Another reason I’m mentioning this is because of the 1,000,000 book giveaway. Quite simply, after working on this book for over 2 years, barely a few months after releasing it, Tim and John decided to give up their profit and instead give 1,000,000 copies to people who need it most (single mothers, the unemployed,…). 90% of your purchase price will go towards printing and distributing those copies.

Oh, and they’ve introduced several price points, including one at $17. So if you’ve been avoiding it until now because of the rather high price, have another look.

…

And that’s the list.

I’m a huge fan of good personal development books. While I’m a blogger and I understand the attraction of blogs – hey, you can read over a hundred blog posts in the time it takes to read a book… there’s just something about a book that usually makes you understand stuff on a deep level and take action on it.

Although you might read a hundred blog posts instead of a book, the book will probably get you to take more positive action and thus impact your life more.

Are there any personal development books that really impacted your life? Please let me know in the comments!

(photo courtesy of candiedwomanire)