“Nothing happens until you decide.” ― William Hutchison Murray
The importance of a motivating force can’t be understated. How can we explain something as pivotal as the force of motivation? Though motivation sometimes seems like fodder for bargain-bin self help or pop psychology titles, it is a deeper and multifaceted concept when we stop to think about it. The best motivational books seem to tap into this.
Whether it comes from a life experience, the wise counsel of a friend, or a deep inner urge, motivation seems elusive and mysterious to many of us, but life-changing when it shows up. Luckily, many authors have written motivational books explaining how you can make it show up.
The best motivational books come from a wide number of fields, yet all have the same effect. They fill the reader with energy enough to take on the world, educate us, fill us with ideas, and inspire us to go out and take action in the world.
Read one of these books, then go out and do something great.
Classics: The Best Motivational Books of all Time
Man’s Search for Meaning – Viktor Frankl
Drawing on his own experiences as a prisoner in a Nazi death camp, Viktor Frankl asked “Why did some of us in the cames survive and some of us die?” The difference, Frankl explains, was a sense of meaning and purpose. The extremes of Frankl’s ordeal are almost unbelievable, but impart him with a wisdom that reveals itself on every page. This book will teach you how to face life’s inevitable suffering, and to forge a life of purpose that will ultimately create more happiness in spite of life’s inevitable set backs.
Mindset: The New Psychology of Success – Carol S. Dweck
Carol Dweck coined the term growth mindset to explain people who seemed to be able to encounter new challenges and overcome them. In Mindset, she explores the distinction between the growth and fixed mindsets. The book’s simple premise contains big implications for the way we think about challenges, our relationships and ourselves.
Awaken the Giant Within – Tony Robbins
Known to many for his late night infomercials, Tony Robbins can be a conflicting figure for some. Yet, there is no doubting his classic ‘Awaken the Giant Within,’ delivers motivational energy like a defibrillator. Hundreds of successful individuals from actors to CEOs have cited Awaken the Giant within as the book which pushed them to steup to new challenges. If you’re looking for an extra jolt of motivational energy, you’ll want to take on the world after reading this.
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life – Mark Manson
Mark Manson gives philosophically-informed life advice with refreshing straightforwardness for the self-help genre. He argues for the virtues of commitment, narrowing one’s focus, and redefining what’s actually important in a world of increasing distraction and information. You’ll be motivated to choose your direction, decide on what matters to you and really get down to work.
The Obstacle is the Way – Ryan Holiday
Holiday gives a 101 lesson to the core tenets of the ancient Roman philosophical school of Stoicism (which has seen a fitting revival over recent years). Stoicism was the philosophical operating system of an empire that once conquered the Western world. This is a highly practical and enlightening read that shows how the school of thought underpinning Cognitive Behavioral Therapy can enrich your life by making you more resilient to setbacks, and more willing to take on challenges and face your fears.
Drive – Daniel H. Pink
Business book author Daniel Pink debunks common myths about motivation in the workplace and shows how outdated models of encouragement may be doing more harm than good. Exquisitely researched, Pink goes on to show how our core motivators are more in line with our innermost needs for autonomy, self-actualization and service to others. This book will show you how you think about motivation and will set you in the right direction for finding it more easily in your own life and work.
Psycho-Cybernetics – Maxwell Maltz
This classic book from the 1960’s is still widely read today, due to it’s simple message of improving self image in order to create the results in life we truly want. Though some crticize it as “pseudoscience,” many successful people cite it as a turning point for them. Maltz shows how the stories we tell about ourselves are integral to the achievement of our goals, our happiness, and our motivation. He looks at how we can rewrite those stories to live better lives.
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Best Motivational Business Books
Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance – Angela Duckworth
Psychologist Angela Duckworth coins an often overlooked component of success she calls ‘Grit’. No matter what domain you’re operating in, Duckworth describes how passion and long-term perserverence in the face of challenges is what leads to one being able to achieve practially anything. This is a hugely motivating book that shows through dozens of real life examples that despite what limitations have been put on you externally, simple determination will often be all you need to reach your goals.
The Four Hour Work Week – Tim Ferris
Ferris’ hugely popular best-seller on applying automation and outsourcing to internet based businesses inspired thousands to do the same when this book was published. Beneath the actionable tips however, there was a message on the importance of time as our scarcest resource. Maybe you can afford to go on nice vacations, but are you doing anything meaningful? Ferris gives a valuable perspective for looking at money, life and what to do with them. Hugely motivating for those considering starting a business or striking out on their own.
Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers – Tim Ferriss
In a follow up to The Four Hour Work Week, Ferris interviewed hundreds of high achievers in order to find the commonalities or peculiarities that allow them to reach their goals. He covers a wide gamut of domains and the advice from those he interviews is both insightful and inspiring. No matter what field you are in, from busienss to music to academia, there will be knowledge in your book from someone already performing well at it.
The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles – By Steven Pressfield
Steven Pressfield, the author of the Legenf of Bagger Vance, wrote this illuminating non-fiction book for artists, business people, and anyone doig creative work showing how they could confront the struggle to create. Whether you are a writer staring at a blank page, a programmer staring at a blank screen, we all face the same problems when trying to put something new into the world. Not just for artists, this book shows us how we are often held back from executing creative acts in all the hundreds of ways they appear throughout our lives. You’ll feel compelled to create something after reading this.
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – Dr. Stephen Covey
Covey’s book has been popular among managers and business owners for a long time. And for good reason – the seven habits he lays out here are timeless and the strategies he gives for implementing them are actionable and straightforward. If you have aspirations to affect change in your organization or be more of a leader, putting these habits into practice will be one of the most motivating ways to start.
Best Motivational Biographies
Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story – Arnold Schwarzenegger
Action film star, Olympian and Governor Schwarzenegger sheds the light on his fascinating life, from his beginnings in a small Austrian town, through Hollywood to his inauguration as Governor of California. You’ll see how it’s not Arnie’s biceps, but his willpower that is his strongest muscle. His dogged commitment is evidenced by the amount of success and blessings his accrued over his long career despite humble beginnings.
The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon – Brad Stone
The founding story of Amazon and Founder Jeff Bezos’ begins with a cross country car ride in a mini-van and ends with Bezos as one of the most wealthies and most powerful figures in the world. Bezos began selling books, but that was never the final goal. Stone charts the course of the online retailer’s ability to gradually expand from books into, well, everything, and reveals Bezos’ insights, drive and ambition.
George Washington and Hamilton – Ron Chernow
This pair of biographies from author Ron Chernow chronicle the lives of two of America’s gresatest founding fathers. Washington’s commitment to live by his principles no matter the hardship inspires us to do the same. Hamilton’s rag to riches story starts as a poor immigrant to New York in the years before the American Revolution and ends with him becoming one of the most influential and powerful figures in a new country.
Long Walk to Freedom – Nelson Mandela
One of the most inspiring characters in modern history, Mandela’s story of hope and peace shows the depth of his courage and the extent of the ordeals he was forced to endure at the hands of South Africa’s Apartheid government. Enduring all torment to secure his nation’s presidency as well as a Nobel Peace Prize, his story shows how it is possible to enact change, sometimes against all odds.
Best Motivational Books for Students (and Young Adults)
Jonathan Livingston Seagull – Richard Bach
This is an enduring fable told about the virtues of choosing one’s own path and pursuing your dreams. This was a New York Times Best Seller for some time, and is a motivating case for individualism told in an entertaining and accessible way.
The Defining Decade: Why Your Twenties Matter – Mag Jay
Going against the modern idea of ‘thirty is the new twenty’, clinical pschologist Dr. Meg Hay argues for the supreme importance over our early years which shape us into what we will finally become in later adulthood. Jay hows us how our relationships and identity are still more malleable at this stage than almost any other, and stresses the importance of using our early years wisely in order to set ourselves up for more fulfilling careers, relationships and lives down the track. Essential reading for late teens and twenty-somethings that feel stuck or stagnant.
The Alchemist – Paulo Coehlo
Coehlo’s widely-loved classic tells what seems like a relatively simple story of a shepherd’s journey, but is actually filled with deep symbolism and enlightening messages about life and purpose. You’ll find this one in tattered travel backpacks around the world, and for good reason – this is a great introspective read that will help you decide what you really want out of life and your ‘true purpose’. Coehlo also writes beautifully.
Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, A Young Man, and Life’s Greatest Lesson – Mitch Albom
Tuesdays with Morrie tells the story of a young man, Mitch, coming into contact with his mentor Morrie on his deathbed. Knowing his time is near, Mitch repeatedly visits him for the final months of his life and each time learns valuable lessons and reflected wisdom about life.
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Last Updated on January 24, 2020 by Taylor