Recommended Reading

Self development and career development can be a difficult thing to do and it isn’t made any easier with the huge range of books, CD’s and DVD’s that are available.

Which books are worth investing in and which ones are simply being marketed well is often difficult to tell! In an effort to help you sort the wheat from the chaff I offer the following self development reading list as a starting point.

This list has been compiled from suggestions taken from a large number of training and development specialists (for a complete explanation of how the list was compiled please see the foot note at the bottom) and also includes books that I have found to be beneficial in both my personal and career development.

Also listed towards the bottom of this page you will find some blogs, CD’s and DVD’s that people recommended alongside their book recommendations. Equally many of the books listed are available as audio books which can be a very convenient way of accessing the material.

If there has been a book that has changed your life that is not included in the following list then please do leave a comment and list it there. Equally if you have a strong opinion about any of the listed books then feel free to comment and help guide other people’s reading.

Happy reading!

Stephen

Stephen Hart

October 2008

Why read self development or career development books?

The right self development book at the right time can change your life. A poor one will hopefully give you one or two new ideas. Either way the investment in time and money is, in my opinion, vastly outweighed by the potential benefits.

For those on a tight budget do remember that most library’s will either have these books in stock or be able to order them.

Where to start

For those readers keen to develop themselves but wondering where to start I will not give a specific book recommendation; sorry in all honestly I just can’t do that. Your situation is unique and only you know what kind of inspiration or push you need.

I’d simply say, pick a catagory that sound like the area in your life you would like to develop and pick a book from that catagory.

Should you find that indecision really cripples your chosing then have a friend pick a number from 1-93 and simply get that book, from the complete list, and read it – irrespective of which one it is! Using that method I can’t predict what you will learn but I can predict you will learn something!

The listings

I offer two listings of the same books here – the first is split into loose catagories whlst the second is a complete list of all the titles.

I would strongly recommend that you review the contents of the book before purchase or reading as self development books by their very definition cover a lot of ground ranging from the spiritual to hard core science and everyone will have their own preferences.

Also whist I have been careful about putting the books into set catagories what is ‘career development’ to me might be ‘leadership’ to you. You have been warned!

Edenchanges

Before you dash further on into the books may I take a second to invite you to browse  through the rest of this  site once you have read through the book listings. Edenchanges is here to offer personal and career development and many of the topics touched on in the following books will appear amongst the many blog entries that I post.

Now on with the books!

Self Development

1. A Guide for the Perplexed – E.FSchumacher
2. A New Earth – Eckhart Tolle
3. As a Man Thinketh – James Allen
4. Awaken the Giant Within – Anthony Robbins
5. Better than Good – Zig Ziglar
6. Celestine Prophecy – James Redfield
7. Change your Life in 7 days – Paul McKenna
8. Even Eagle’s Need a Push – David McNally’s
9. How I Taught My Grandmother to Read and Other Stories- Sudha Murty
10. How to get from where you are to where you want to be – Jack Canfield
11. Illusions – Richard Bach
12. IMPACT Code – Nigel Risner
13. Ishmael – Danniel Quinn
14. Learned Optimism – Martin Seligman
15. Lessons from the Art of Juggling – Michael Gelb, Tony Buzan
16. Loving What Is; Four Questions That Can Change Your Life – Byron Katie
17. Man’s Search For Meaning – Viktor Frankl
18. Psycho-Cybernetics – Maxwell Maltz
19. Seven Spiritual Laws of Success – Deepak Chopra
20. Smart Questions: Learn to Ask the Right Questions for Powerful Results – Gerald Nadler and William Chandon
21. Synchrodestiny – Deepak Chopra
22. The 7′ Habits of Highly Effective People – Stephen Covey
23. The Age of Miracles – Marianne Williamson
24. The Art of Peace – Morihei Ueshiba
25. The Autobiography – Benjamin Franklin
26. The Bible
27. The Four Agreements – Don Miguel Ruiz
28. The Greatest Thing in the World – Henry Drummond
29. The Greatness Guide! – Robin Sharma.
30. The Last Lecture – Randy Pausch
31. The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari – Robin Sharma
32. The Power of Now – Eckhart Tolle
33. The Power of Positive Thinking – Norman Vincent Peale
34. The Purpose Driven Life – Rick Warren
35. The Secret – Rhonda Byrne
36. The Shack – William P. Young
37. The Travellers Gift – Andy Andrews
38. Tipping Point – Malcolm Gladwell
39. Type Talk – Otto Kroeget and Janet Thuesen
40. Unlimited Power – Anthony Robbins
41. What Should I Do with My Life? by Po Bronson
42. You Can Win – Shiv Khera
43. Your Best Life Now – Joel Osteen

Thinking

1. Frames of Mind – Howard Gardner
2. How to have a Beautiful Mind? – Edward De Bono
3. How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci – Michael Gelb
4. Multiple Intelligences, Howard Gardner
5. Serious Creativity – Edward de Bono
6. Six Thinking Hats – Edward De Bono
7. The Creative Brain – Ned Herrmann
8. The Magic of Thinking Big! – David Shwartz
9. The Mind Map Book – Tony & Barry Buzan
10. The Whole Brain Business Book – Ned Herrmann
11. Use Both Sides of Your Brain (Use Your Head) – Tony Buzan

Career Development

1. Artful Work – Dick Richards
2. Click! – George Fraser
3. Deep Change – Robert E. Quinn
4. Fish – Stephen Lundin
5. Go Giver – Bob Burg with John Mann
6. Good to Great – Jim Collins
7. High Five – Ken Blanchard
8. How to Win friends & influence people – Dale Carnegie
9. Influence Science and Practice by Cialdini
10. It’s Not How Good You Are; It’s How Good You Want To be – Paul Arden
11. Mavericks at Work – Bill Taylor & Polly LaBarre
12. Never Eat Alone – Keith Ferazzi
13. Now, Discover Your Strengths – Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton
14. Power Plays: Shakespeare’s Lessons in Leadership -John Whitney and Tina Packer
15. The Fifth Discipline – Peter M. Senge
16. The No Asshole Rule – Bob Sutton
17. The Success System that Never Fails – W Clement Stone
18. Think and Grow Rich – Napoleon Hill
19. Whale Done – Kenneth Blanchard
20. What Got You Here, Won’t Get You There – Marshall Goldsmith
21. What would Machiavelli Do – Stanley Bing

Leadership

1. Cracking The Code To Leadership by Tom Herrington, Pat Malone & Jim Georges
2. Elizabeth I: CEO – Alan Axelrod
3. Servant Leadership – Robert Greenleaf
4. Synchronicity the inner path to leadership – J. Jaworski
5. Why Should Anyone Be Led by YOU? – Robert Goffee

Sales

1. How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling – Frank Bettger
2. Take the Luck Out of Selling – Michael Brook
3. Trusted Advisor – David H. Maister, Robert Galford, and Charles Green
4. Zig Ziglar on Selling – Zig Ziglar

Money

1. Born Rich – Bob Proctor
2. Rich Dad, Poor Dad – Robert T. Kiyosaki
3. The Richest Man in Babylon – George S. Clason

Meditation

1. The Quiet – Paul Wilson

Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP)

1. Frogs into Princess – Richard Bandler and John Grinder
2. Persuasion Engineering by Bandler AND LaValle

Training

1. The Accelerated Learning Fieldbook – Lou Russell
2. The Accelerated Learning Handbook – David Meier

Misc

1. Selfish Gene – Richard Dawkin
2. The Gospel According to Starbucks – Leonard Sweet

The complete list

1. A Guide for the Perplexed – E.FSchumacher
2. A New Earth – Eckhart Tolle
3. Artful Work – Dick Richards
4. As a Man Thinketh – James Allen
5. Awaken the Giant Within – Anthony Robbins
6. Better than Good – Zig Ziglar
7. Born Rich – Bob Proctor
8. Celestine Prophecy – James Redfield
9. Change your Life in 7 days – Paul McKenna
10. Click! – George Fraser
11. Coaching with Passion – John van den Heuvel
12. Cracking The Code To Leadership by Tom Herrington, Pat Malone & Jim Georges
13. Deep Change – Robert E. Quinn
14. Elizabeth I: CEO – Alan Axelrod
15. Even Eagle’s Need a Push – David McNally’s
16. Fish – Stephen Lundin
17. Frames of Mind – Howard Gardner
18. Frogs into Princess – Richard Bandler and John Grinder
19. Good to Great – Jim Collins
20. Great Expectations – Charles Dickens
21. High Five – Ken Blanchard
22. How I Taught My Grandmother to Read and Other Stories- Sudha Murty
23. How to get from where you are to where you want to be – Jack Canfield.
24. How to Win friends & influence people? – Dale Carnegie
25. Illusions – Richard Bach
26. IMPACT Code Nigel Risner
27. Influence Science and Practice by Cialdini
28. Ishmael – Danniel Quinn
29. It’s Not How Good You Are; It’s How Good You Want To be – Paul Arden
30. Learned Optimism – Martin Seligman
31. Lessons from the Art of Juggling – Michael Gelb, Tony Buzan
32. Loving What Is; Four Questions That Can Change Your Life – Byron Katie
33. Man’s Search For Meaning – Viktor Frankl
34. Mavericks at Work – Bill Taylor & Polly LaBarre
35. Multiple Intelligences, Howard Gardner
36. Never Eat Alone – Keith Ferazzi
37. Now, Discover Your Strengths – Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton
38. One is the Go Giver – Bob Burg with John Mann
39. Persuasion Engineering by Bandler AND LaValle
40. Power Plays-John Whitney and Tina Packer
41. Psycho-Cybernetics – Maxwell Maltz
42. Rich Dad, Poor Dad – Robert T. Kiyosaki
43. Selfish Gene – Richard Dawkin
44. Serious Creativity – Edward de Bono
45. Servant Leadership – Robert Greenleaf
46. Seven Spiritual Laws of Success – Deepak Chopra
47. Six Thinking Hats – Edward De Bono
48. Smart Questions: Learn to Ask the Right Questions for Powerful Results – Gerald Nadler and William Chandon
49. Synchrodestiny – Deepak Chopra
50. ‘Synchronicity’ the inner path to leadership – J. Jaworski
51. Take the Luck Out of Selling – Michael Brook
52. The 7′ Habits of Highly Effective People – Stephen Covey.
53. The Accelerated Learning Fieldbook, Lou Russell
54. The Accelerated Learning Handbook, David Meier
55. The Age of Miracles – Marianne Williamson
56. The Art of Peace – Morihei Ueshiba
57. The Autobiography – Benjamin Franklin
58. The Bible
59. The Creative Brain, Ned Herrmann
60. The Fifth Discipline – Peter M. Senge
61. The Four Agreements – Don Miguel Ruiz
62. The Gospel According to Starbucks
63. The Greatest Thing in the World – Henry Drummond
64. The Greatness Guide! – Robin Sharma.
65. The Last Lecture – Randy Pausch
66. The Magic of Thinking Big! – David Shwartz
67. The Mind Map Book – Tony & Barry Buzan
68. The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari – Robin Sharma.
69. The No Asshole Rule – Bob Sutton
70. The Power of Now – Eckhart Tolle
71. The Power of Positive Thinking – Norman Vincent Peale
72. The Purpose Driven Life – Rick Warren
73. The Quiet – Paul Wilson
74. The Richest Man in Babylon – George S. Clason
75. The Secret – Rhonda Byrne
76. The Shack – William P. Young
77. The Success System that Never Fails – W Clement Stone
78. The Travellers Gift – Andy Andrews
79. The Whole Brain Business Book, Ned Herrmann
80. Think and Grow Rich – Napoleon Hill
81. Tipping Point – Malcolm Gladwell
82. Trusted Advisor – David H. Maister, Robert Galford, and Charles Green
83. Type Talk – Otto Kroeget and Janet Thuesen
84. Unlimited Power – Anthony Robbins
85. Use Both Sides of Your Brain (Use Your Head) – Tony Buzan
86. Whale Done – Kenneth Blanchard
87. What Got You Here, Won’t Get You There? – Marshall Goldsmith
88. What Should I Do with My Life? by Po Bronson
89. What would Machiavelli Do – Stanley Bing
90. Why Should Anyone Be Led by YOU? – Robert Goffee
91. You Can Win – Shiv Khera.
92. Your Best Life Now – Joel Osteen
93. Zig Ziglar on Selling – Zig Ziglar

Recommended series of books

1. Chicken Soup Books – Ken Blanchard and others

2. One Minute Manager and its derivatives.
3. The “50 Series” books by Tom Peters: The Brand You 50, The Professional Service Firm 50, and The Project 50

Authors

Anything written by the following authors is recommended highly

1. Dale Carnegie
2. Napoleon Hill
3. Og Mandino
4. Richard Bach

Blogs

1. Bob Sutton – http://bobsutton.typepad.com/my_weblog/
2. Guy Kawasaki – http://blog.guykawasaki.com/
3. Mavericks at Work – http://www.mavericksatwork.com/
4. Penelope Trunk – http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/
5. And this one obviously! – http://www.edenchanges.wordpress.com

Audio & DVD

1. Deep Change – Robert Quinn
2. Down the Rabbit Hole
3. Fierce Conversations – Susan Scott
4. Get the edge – Anthony Robbins
5. How to be a Winner – Zig Ziglar
6. Leadership from the Inside Out – Kevin Cashman
7. Lessons in Mastery – Anthony Robbins
8. Living health – Anthony Robbins
9. Personal Power II – Anthony Robbins
10. Taming Your Gremlin – Rick Carson
11. Ultimate relationship program – Anthony Robbins

History of this Page and Contributors:

In October 2008 I posted, on the business networking site Linkedin, the question “What books do you recommend to people for self development?”

The response was excellent and it occurred to me that the final list would be of benefit to anyone who is interested in their own personal development. I worked through the suggestions, removed a couple of books, for a variety of reasons and added others. Thus this page was born!

A final point worthy of note is that because I listed the question in one of the Training Groups all the contributors are training specialists of one sort or another. Effectively this list is the result of many years of professional coaching and training experience.

Contributions were kindly received from the following learning and training professionals all of whom can be found on Linkedin.com:

Praveen G Kumar; George Hathaway; Oscar van Rooy; Lorretta Davis; Jesus Rivera; Greg Lewis; Rupa Mehta; Karen Sieczka; Letitia Baldwin; Kathie Sucidlo; Dawn Nocera; Mike Robertson; Nikki Massaro Kauffman; Dave Dec; Crystal Miller; Kolya Miller; Randi Kline; Leland Bartlett; Michael Brook; Caslav Mancic; Michael Brown

Photograph from http://one-little-thing.deviantart.com/gallery/ with thanks.

Final Thought

As I mention at the top of this page this website Edenchanges is dedicated to personal and career development and I would like to think that you will find many useful, practical and though provoking articles listed. (Well I would say that wouldn’t I)

I invite you to book mark Edenchanges or add it to your favourite RSS reader and visit often.

Best regards

Stephen Hart