The 10 Best Personal Development Books I’ve Read This Year!

Seeing as how I read a lot, I have had multiple requests from friends and readers on what I have been reading lately. With that being said, this blog post will be dedicated to the 10 best personal development books that I have read so far this year, counting down from 10.

Some of you may say you don’t have enough time to read. While that may be true for some of you, for most of you, it is B.S. Recent surveys tell us that the average American spends over 4 hours a day watching TV and roughly 3.5 hours in front of a screen (phone, tablet or laptop).

Now, if you need some help making time to read, no worries! We here at Prime Your Pump have got your back! Our recent post on time logging will help you figure out where all your time is going so that you have more time to read. Because remember, leaders are readers!

By the way, if you want some tips on being more effective with your reading, you may want to check out my recent blog post where I give 16 tips on how to read better.

SPOILER ALERT!

I will simply give a quick overview of the books in the body of the blog post. However, if you want more, just scroll down to the P.S. section, where I add a bonus takeaway from each book. So, if you are going to read any of the books, you may want to skip that part. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

Ok, without any further ado…

The 10 Best Personal Development Books I’ve Read So Far This Year

(10)  Search Inside Yourself: The Unexpected Path to Achieving Success, Happiness (and World Peace)

Written by a Google employee during his “20% time”, this book is a practical (and entertaining) guide to employing mindfulness and emotional intelligence at work and in your day-to-day life. The quality content, the author’s quirky sense of humor, and the exercises at the end of each chapter made this book a very worthwhile read.

(9)  Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life

The authors traveled to the Japanese village of Okinawa to try to understand the factors that led its people to live much longer (and happier) than the global average. It was a fun and easy read with a ton of great tips that we can all put to use. I wrote a previous blog post on the 10 Rules of Ikigai if you want to check it out.

(8) No Limits: The Will to Succeed

I’m a big fan of both sports and autobiographies. This biography of the most decorated Olympian of all time, Michael Phelps did not disappoint. In a fascinating behind the scenes look at his life, you learn some of the secrets of his success that took him from a young phenom in Sydney, Australia to a bona fide legend in Athens, Greece.

(7)  Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter

The authors studied over 150 leaders across 4 continents and various industries and companies looking for common elements of great leaders which they call ‘Multipliers’. They compare them with leaders which they call ‘Diminishers’ who are poor leaders that suck the energy out of people, kill great ideas and diminish talent.

(6)  An Invisible Thread: The True Story of an 11-Year-Old Panhandler, a Busy Sales Executive, and an Unlikely Meeting with Destiny

This incredible book has really changed how I think and how I look at some people. It tells the true story of a lifelong friendship that changed the lives of a woman who was a busy sales executive and a young boy who grew up in a dangerous area of New York City in a dysfunctional and drug-addicted family.

(5)  The Time Paradox: The New Psychology of Time That Will Change Your Life.

The authors, Philip Zimbardo, and John Boyd have drawn upon their 30 years of research to show how your perspective on time and the psychology of time affect the decisions that you make. While the book was a bit dense and written in an academic style, it was extremely helpful and has impacted how I view not only myself but others. I wrote a recent blog post on the importance of understanding both our own time perspectives and those of others if you want to read more about it.

(4)  As a Man Thinketh

This short classic by James Allen shows the power of being able to master your mind. It reviews the basic elements of thought and how your thoughts impact every aspect of your life. I have read it 3 times and keep adding to my notes each time I read it!

(3)  Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10

This one came highly recommended by a friend. However, only the audio version was available on Scribd, so I listened to it instead of actually reading it. It is the story of the largest loss of life in Navy SEAL history that occurred during Operation Redwing in Afghanistan. The sole survivor, Marcus Luttrell, offers both a tribute to his courageous teammates who were lost in the battle as well as how he was able to survive 4 days after being badly injured until he was eventually saved.

(2)  Can’t Hurt Me!

This book is not for everyone as I discussed in a recent blog post. This was a book that I could not put down once I picked it up. When I did put it down, it was only to take copious notes. It details the life of a former Navy SEAL who was able to bottle up an extremely tumultuous childhood and turn it into positive energy that helped ignite the drive that has made him successful.  There is a ton of cursing and he takes everything in his life to the extreme. But if you can live with that, the lessons learned are invaluable.

(1)  50 Shades of Grey

Ok, ok, I’m teasing with this one!

While I am joking and have not read it, it does involve a great lesson in personal development which is doing what you love can evolve into your career. The author, E.L. James originally self-published the book, then it caught fire and was subsequently acquired by Vintage books in 2012. As of 2015 had sold over 125 million copies!

My real favorite book so far this year is, drumroll, please…

 (1)  Relentless: From Good to Great to Unstoppable

This is by far my favorite book that I have read this year. It is written by Tim Grover, a legendary trainer of not only basketball players such as Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Dwayne Wade, but also of people in business and every walk of life who want to be more successful.

In this book, Grover explains the essential traits that are shared by achievers in sports, business, and life in general. Just like Can’t Hurt Me above, I must warn you that it is extremely intense and not for everyone as his advice doesn’t exactly promote a balanced lifestyle.

But then again, those who are ultra-successful are obsessed and sacrifice many of the things that a balanced life provides.

Before We Go, a Funny Story…

One of those 125 million copies of 50 Shades of Grey was sold to a friend of my Mom’s who after reading it gave it to my Mom in a brown paper bag, telling her to ‘throw it out’ after reading it!

A little word of advice to my Mom’s friend if she is reading this. There is no need to be ashamed about reading 50 Shades of Grey as there are at least 124,999,999 people who are a freaky as you are!

You can rest assured that I, for one, will not judge you.

And on that note, it’s time for me to end this blog post so I can go continue reading the Kama Sutra…on my iPad!

Until next time, keep reading and as always…PYMFP!
–Rick

P.S. As promised, scroll down for the bonus takeaway from each of the 10 best personal development books I’ve read this year.

(10)  Search Inside Yourself

Emotional intelligence consists of 5 dimensions:

(i)  Self-awareness – knowledge of your internal states.
(ii)  Self-regulation – management of your internal states.
(iii)  Motivation – Emotional tendencies that regulate reaching your goals.
(iv)  Empathy – awareness of other’s feelings and concerns.
(v)  Social skills – inducing responses in others.

(9)  Ikigai

“Fill your belly to 80%.” Instead of eating until they are full, the Japanese people in Okinawa stop eating when their stomachs reach 80% capacity. This limits overeating and prevents drawn out digestive processes that speed up cellular oxidation.

(8) No Limits: The Will to Succeed

If he wasn’t in the mood to practice, Phelps figured out how to get himself in the mood. And when he was tired? That was when he threw down the hard sets in his training. By pushing himself when he was exhausted it gave him the confidence to deal with anything at any time!

(7)  Multipliers

One of the big takeaways is that there are 5 disciplines common to all multipliers which the authors get into in more detail in the book: (1) they attract and optimize the best talent, (2) they bring out the best thinking in people, (3) they challenge their employees, (4) they debate decisions without letting their ego get involved, and (5) they instill a sense of accountability.

(6)  An Invisible Thread

The big takeaway from this book is that you never know how a simple act of kindness can affect another person’s life and completely influence their future.

(5)  The Time Paradox: The New Psychology of Time That Will Change Your Life.

There is a cool section in this book relating to retirement which was of interest to me as both my parents are recently retired. The authors explain that when people retire, they leave a job and acquire new time. They go on to present a ‘retirement primer’ which I may discuss in a future post, within it they offer some sage words of advice:

“…it is imperative to think young, to retain a youthful outlook…Read more, now that you have time to do so. Join or form a book club. Do crossword puzzles if you find them pleasurable. Listen to music on your iPod. Develop a new skill, such as photography. Watch good television programs, but do not allow yourself to be a couch potato.”

(4)  As A Man Thinketh

I just love one of the analogies Allen uses in the book:

“A man’s mind may be likened to a garden, which may be intelligently cultivated or allowed to run wild; but whether cultivated or neglected, it must, and will, bring forth. If no useful seeds are put into it, then an abundance of useless weed-seeds will fall therein and will continue to produce their kind.”

(3)  The Lone Survivor

The main takeaway for me here is one of extreme gratitude for all of those who put their lives on the line every day to protect our freedom. Thanks to all of you!

(2)  Can’t Hurt Me!

We are all capable of so much more than we think. The main takeaway here is to push past your usual stopping point in something every day so that you can grow.

(1) 50 Shades of Grey

You have two options for reading books you are embarrassed to read in public such as 50 Shades of Grey: (1) either use a Kindle or iPad or (2) own the fact that you are a little freaky!

(1) Relentless: Relentless: From Good to Great to Unstoppable

I probably had 100 takeaways but I’ll give you my top three: (1) Do something you don’t want to do every day. (2) Do the hardest things first. (3) Never say “we have a problem” because that casts something as a negative. Instead say, “we have a situation to address or an issue to resolve.”

What Do You Think? Best Personal Development Books

Have you read any of the 10 best personal development books that I have read this year? Do you have any recommendations for other books? Please share your thoughts in the comments below!

 If you enjoyed this post, it would mean the world to us if you shared it with people you care about via any of the social media platforms below!

Popular Previous Posts:

This is How a Statistician Sees Relationships!
15 Dr. Seuss Quotes: The Genius of Theodor Seuss Geisel!
6 Amazing Life Lessons from When Breath Becomes Air
Positive Self-Talk: This is How to Talk to Yourself Better!
This is How to Read Better: Leaders are Readers!