Self-help Books That Can Change Your Life For The Better

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, read online

Think and Grow Rich is, by any reckoning, one of the foundational works in the modern “self-help” literature genre, a bedside book for nearly all businessmen and success coaches, and an indispensable guide for every young person who wants to achieve financial independence and nourish his or her leadership qualities. This book will motivate you to take decisive action in every aspect of your lives. Whether it is project realization, career path, or personal development – this book has all the answers. Think and Grow Rich was first published in 1937, and despite its seemingly unsophisticated name, it was the product of diligent and extensive journalistic investigation, conducted by Napoleon Hill, which lasted for nearly 20 years. Having armed himself with a recommendation letter from Andrew Carnegie, a stupendously rich American industrialist, Mr. Hill interviewed more than 500 immensely successful and wealthy people, such as Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, John D. Rockefeller, etc. However, “growing rich” does not strictly apply to the financial side of the self-realization process. The author has given a flexible definition to the term “richness”. It also incorporates knowledge, success, the ability to overcome odds to achieve a goal, and other values that constitute a rich life. “Happiness is found in doing, not merely possessing”. Every person has to take 13 steps on the path to wealth which are: desire, faith, auto-suggestion, specialized knowledge, imagination, organized planning, decision-making, persistence, master minding, sex transmutation, subconscious mind, the brain, and the sixth sense. Think and Grow Rich has withstood the test of time, and it would definitely change your life if you could consistently abide by its principles and implement its ideas.                            

The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle, Amazon

There is an ancient, knightly motto, “Fais ce que dois, advienne que pourra”, which can be translated as “Do what you must and come what might”. It implies that we should not ruminate about the past or the future, but instead live in the moment, appreciate every day that is given to us, and take decisive action. It is a general idea and a rather simplified explanation of the concept which Eckhart Tolle developed in his books, the most influential of which is called The Power of Now. Last year, the Watkins Review, the most reputable magazine about contemporary spirituality, ranked him 4th in its Spiritual 100 List, having placed him above such prominent personalities as Paulo Coelho and Oprah Winfrey.

In his book, the author doesn’t profess any particular religious belief or adhere to any particular doctrine. He has absorbed the essence of all traditions and doesn’t contradict any spiritual teaching, whether it is Christianity, Judaism, or Islam. Eckhart Tolle explains in very understandable terms that the path, the truth, and the light all exist within ourselves.                

All problems, sufferings, and pain are but creations of our egoistic brains which are clinging to the falsity of “self”. It is possible to break away from such captivity only by comprehensively existing in the Present Moment, and in that very Moment we are gaining our true self, as well as happiness and the realization that personal completeness and perfection are not a goal but a reality which is open to us Right Now. This is way more than just an ordinary book: every page of it is filled with vital energy, it has the power to kindle emotions in readers and to change their lives for the better.          

How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie, Amazon

We are living in a time of groundbreaking inventions and the transformation of social foundations. How should we adapt to such changes and understand ourselves, mend our relationships with other people, and achieve success without breaking our humanistic foundations? How to Stop Worrying and Start Living is another self-help masterpiece that will provide comprehensive answers to these questions, though it was written more than 60 years ago. Why is it still relevant today? The answer is quite obvious: while historical periods, technologies, and values are undergoing constant change, human nature and society remain constant.

How to Stop Worrying and Start Living is a creative and cognitively simple set of guidelines for taking action, a “code of laws” for interaction in any social unit or cultural milieu. It also has 3 simple and at the same time golden rules of overcoming whatever fear and anxiety you might experience before an immensely important event. 

1. Ask yourself, “What is the worst that can possibly happen?”
2. Prepare to accept it if you have to.
3. Then calmly proceed to improve on the worst.           

            Just these 3 rules, if you apply them on the regular basis, will make you more calm and collected when facing the challenges that our unpredictable world is hurling at us. 

“…the best possible way to prepare for tomorrow is to concentrate with all your intelligence, all your enthusiasm, on doing today’s work superbly today. That is the only possible way you can prepare for the future.”            

            This book is suffused with precious knowledge that will have a major impact on your mindset.

The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem by Dr. Nathaniel Branden, Amazon

This not so voluminous literary work is focused on the one particular aspect of human psychology where oftentimes it is really hard to find a proper balance. The book teaches us how to cultivate a healthy self-esteem that has nothing in common with arrogance. A high degree of self-esteem sparks the desire to achieve higher goals and to be more ambitious. It is a catalyst for magnificently positive changes in your life. So, without further ado, we present to you the glorious six pillars or practices which will forge your confidence: 

1. The practice of living consciously.
2. The practice of self-acceptance.
3. The practice of self-responsibility.
4. The practice of self-assertiveness.
5. The practice of living purposefully.
6. The practice of personal integrity.

These are just the tops of the pillars that you can see from the faraway hill of your self-doubt. Every page of this book will get you closer to the top, and after you finish the last page, you will be standing firm on these pillars, reaching for the skies.

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