Books That Make an A+ Difference

These books have changed how I think and shifted the dial in my life. With 50 to choose from I am sure you’ll find a few that can positively shift the dial in your own life too.

I’ve split them into five categories:

1. Psychology and Performance
2. Philosophy and Values
3. Leadership and Influence
4. Mindfulness and Spirit
5. Habits and Behaviours

If you want to ‘dip your toe in’, or are only starting to learn about these topics, then I recommend that you choose any of the books I’ve put in bold. The bold books are a good starting point within that category. To be clear, they aren’t necessarily my favourites, but they’re books that I think are a great place for you to start in that category.

If a book is in italics, then it’s one that I’ve started, but haven’t finished reading yet. However, I’ve already found enough gems of wisdom in it to know that it deserves to be in this list. I am sure you’ll find plenty of wisdom for yourself in this list, so happy reading 😊.

Psychology and Performance

1. Mindset by Dr. Carol S. Dweck
2. PEAK Secrets from the new Science of Expertise by Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool
3. GRIT by Angela Duckworth
4. The CBT Workbook by Stephanie Fitzgerald
5. Coach Yourself by Anthony Grant and Jane Greene
6. Rethinking Positive Thinking by Gabriele Oettingen
7. Unlimited Power: The New Science of Personal Achievement by Tony Robbins
8. The Inner Game of Tennis by W. Timothy Gallwey
9. The War of Art: Break through the blocks and win your inner creative battles by Steven Pressfield.
10. Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahnemam
11. The Mindful Athlete by George Mumford

Philosophy and Values

1. Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life by Hector Garcia and Francesc Miralles
2. Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
3. Sapiens by Yuval Hariri
4. The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday
5. Ego is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday
6. The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday
7. Letters from a Stoic by Seneca the Younger
8. Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey
9. Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
10. How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius by Donald Robertson
11. Principles: Life and Work by Ray Dalio
12. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson

Leadership and Influence

1. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Dr. Robert Cialdini
2. Getting to Yes by Roger Fisher, William Ury, and Bruce Pattern
3. The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene.
4. Coaching for Performance by Sir John Whitmore
5. Cracking the Sales Management Code by Jason Jordan
6. The Mind of the Leader by Rasmus Hougaard and Jacqueline Carter
7. Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel H. Pink
8. REORG How to get it right by Stephen Heidrai-Robinson and Suzanne Heywood
9. Legacy: What the All Blacks Can Teach Us About the Business of Life by James Kerr
10. The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology that Fuel Success and Performance at Work by Shawn Achor

Mindfulness and Spirit

1. The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
2. A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle
3. The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success by Deepak Chopra
4. Waking Up by Sam Harris,
5. Letting Go by David R. Hawkins
6. The Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh
7. Meditation and Mindfulness by Andy Puddicombe
8. The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz
9. Seeking the Heart of Wisdom by Joseph Goldstein and Jack Kornfield

Habits and Behaviours

1. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Stephen R. Covey
2. The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
3. Tiny Habits by BJ Fogg
4. Triggers by Marshall Goldsmith
5. The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod
6. Atomic Habits by James Clear
7. High Performance Habits by Brendon Bouchard.
8. Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss

If you want to dig a little deeper, then send me an email to gareth@mindhabit.com.au and I’d be happy to discuss any of the books with you a bit.

Also, apologies if you are looking for the hyperlinks to click that take you straight to my favourite online retailer… They’re not there. I could tell you I didn’t add them because by forcing you to make the small effort of searching online yourself, you’re then more likely to actually buy and read it. I could tell you that, but I’d be lying, in reality it’s just that I didn’t dedicate the time to do it for you (sorry about that).

Let’s finish on a positive with a quick lesson from Elon Musk on the importance of reading:

“I read books and talked to people. I mean that’s kind of how one learns anything. There’s lots of great books out there and lots of smart people.”

I believe he said this in response to someone asking him how he learned to build rockets. We can’t all be Elon Musk — and you shouldn’t try — however, he’s a smart guy so I reckon we’d all do well to take his advice when it comes to learning.

Thanks for your time, happy reading.

Cheers, Gareth

Originally published at https://www.mindhabit.com.au on May 5, 2021.