Table of Contents

The Best Self-Help Books of all time

I love books and I read/listen to 7 books a week. 

Over my lifetime, I have read 1,500+ business and self-help books. Below, I have listed the best self-help books that I have ever read.

I used to be a Computer Engineer who used to manage Billion $ cellphone projects. However, I left that career to start 2000 Books where my team and I compress the top ideas from the world’s best business and self-help books into 15 minute videos.

Below is my list of the best self-help books of all time

Success Mindset

As A Man Thinketh by James Allen

The book in a few bullets:

  • “A man is what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts.”
  • Your character is changing every moment as a result of your thoughts.
  • If you want to make all conditions serve you, one of the most important things you can incorporate in your thinking is to have a clear purpose. As James Allen says, “…to begin to think with purpose is to enter the ranks of the strong ones who make all conditions serve them.”
  • You must deliberately shape your thoughts every single moment.
As a Man Thinketh by James Allen - Summary and PDF below

Mindset by Carol S. Dweck, PhD

Mindset book coverThe book in a few bullets:

  • People with fixed mindset think that their talent and skill levels are fixed.  When they fail, they assume that they are inherently flawed or do not have the skills they need to succeed. 
  • People with growth mindset understand that they can grow and develop themselves and continue to get better – no matter what the challenge or situation. 
  • One of the hallmarks of growth mindset is loving the process. Babe Ruth, one of the greatest baseball players ever, loved the process. He wasn’t worried about the outcome. He loved to bat, and that was what he kept doing.
  • All great achievement is a result of growth mindset and NEVER the result of fixed mindset.  

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Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz, MD

Psycho Cybernetics book coverThe book in a few bullets:

  • Psycho-Cybernetics = The goal-seeking mechanism inside every human being. 
  • In order to activate the goal-seeking mechanism inside of us, we must ensure that our self-image is in alignment with our goal.  
  • Only when the goal and the self-image are in alignment will there be an order issued to the subconscious mind to activate the goal-seeking mechanism. 
  • Keys to reprogram the self-image in order to activate the Psycho-Cybernetic mechanism inside of us:
    • Visualization + Imagination 
    • Intensity of Desire 
    • Repetition 
  • In order to accomplish our biggest goals, we must feel the feelings we would feel when the goal is accomplished. 
Why do we self-sabotage our goals? - Psycho Cybernetics by Dr Maxwell Maltz

 

The Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz, PhD

The Magic of Thinking Big book coverThe book in a few bullets:

  • Make your environment make you successful. Clear your house of all temptation around that could keep you from your resolve to achieve your goal.
  • The more time you feel you need to give yourself to think about a situation and how you are going to handle it, the bigger and stronger your fear will grow. Inaction and time feed fear.
  • Attack the problem that is in front of you rather than just wait for something to happen to move the things for you.
  • Sell yourself to yourself.
    • Prove it to yourself that you are amazing.
    • Convince yourself that you are not to be deterred by a challenge or problem, or that you are bigger than the problem.
The Magic of Thinking Big Summary and PDF summary - David Schwartz

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Brain Performance & Learning

Brain Rules by John Medina

Brain Rules book coverHow to keep your brain in excellent shape and get the most out of it:

  • Exercise is the ultimate wonder drug for our brains. It dramatically improves brain performance in every aspect.
  • Memory enhancement: Retrieval is one of the most powerful techniques to enhance your memory.
    • Take information in and then try to retrieve it from your memory without any help in order to retain that information for the long term.
  • Power of sleep: Sleep helps improve all aspects of brain performance:
    • consolidating learning
    • problem-solving
    • procedural thinking
  • The amount of control you feel in a stressful situation determines the level of stress you have. High perceived control => low stress level.
  • A little bit of stress can actually help us improve our performance. Too much stress, on the other hand, can diminish it.

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Make It Stick by Peter Brown

make it stick book coverHow to learn faster and better than you ever thought possible:

  • Learning happens when we try to get new knowledge and skills out of the brain, not into the brain through repetitive reading and practice.
  • When we are exposed to new learning material, the traces are fluid or plastic. The brain shapes them and creates a narrative for us to understand how it relates to what we already know.
  • The effort we are expending to retrieve a learning from memory is exactly what it takes to get it, master it, and to build mental models to fit this knowledge in with other things that are related. The knowledge will just come to the fore when we need them.
  • The more effort we have to put in to retrieve the idea, the more effective the practice. The more likely we will be able to remember it at a future time. As long as we are successful at it, we don’t have to relearn it.
  • When we practice in different settings and sequences, we get associations between the learning and the other things that we know and are learning. This makes us build a more complex embedding of that knowledge in the mind.

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Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer

moonwalking with einstein book coverMemory tricks from the world Memory Champion:

  • Make everything visual – The brain is much more efficient at remembering visuals rather than words.
    • That’s because our visual sense came way before our sense of language.
    • We were using pictures for thousands and thousands of years even before we got to language, and that’s why the visual part of our brain is one of the most developed parts of our brains.
  • To get to mastery, the 10,000-hour rule is important, but it’s not enough.
    • What you need is deep practice.
  • Use Memory palace technique in order to make ideas visual and memorize them. 
  • We are designed to remember stories
    • Our brains tend to forget ideas and concepts.
    • However our brains remember stories.
Moonwalking with Einstein Summary Joshua Foer - 5 Keys to Improve your memory

 

The Art of Learning by Josh Waitzkin

The Art of Learning book cover

  • Do things for the love of doing them. If you want to get good at anything, you must enjoy the process
  • Expose yourself to challenges, failures, and risks in order to learn and grow.
  • It’s when we invest in lossi.e., going for things even though we might fail—that we learn the most.
    • Give up the idea that you have to win all the time. You cannot be a perfect success.
  • Identify the emotional state that triggers your greatest performances and figure out ways to tap into it whenever you need it.
  • Master your fundamentals and stick to them. Depth will beat breadth any given day.

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Your Brain at Work by David Rock

Your Brain at Work book coverHow to get the most out of your brain:

  • The rational mind is overrated because it is orders of magnitude weaker than the subconscious mind. The sub-conscious will always win over the rational.
  • High-leverage uses of the rational brain:
    • Programming subconscious mind
    • Establishing powerful habits
  • Brain performance will increase as a function of stress levels, but only until a certain point, and then it will go down.
  • Each of us has something called a “director”–a part of us that’s able to think about our thinking. It is extremely important to train the director to get the most out of it. The best way to train the director is through meditation. 
  • Rather than spraying your effort all over the place, find a niche where you are the best and operate in it.
    • That will give you the very best brain performance and will allow you to get the very best out of yourself.

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The Practicing Mind by Thomas M. Sterner

The Practicing Mind book coverThe book in a few bullets:

  • Practice is the ultimate key to mastery.
  • In order to achieve excellence in any field, we must make the shift from thinking about the goal to thinking about the process.
  • When we desire the process and we are patient with it, we get the results much faster.
  • We have to enjoy the journey. Patience can only happen when we are actually enjoying doing things.
  • True perfection is our ability to consistently put in the work, to grow, and to become better. Enjoy the fact that you’re putting in the work and that you’re growing every day.
  • Move from being judgmental to being analytical.
    • We have to become an observer. When you can self-observe, you can self-correct without judging

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Mastery by George Leonard

Mastery book coverThe book in a few bullets:

  • The journey of mastery is not always in an upward direction. It is filled with a series of plateaus followed by a little bit of upward progress.
  • We should take ownership of the journey that we’re on, but we also need to surrender to the guidance of our master, to the journey itself, and to failing.
  • It takes time and effort to make any new learning a part of our existing brain structure. However, once we incorporate and habituate it, we can go and learn new things.
  • Homeostasis or resistance happens to everyone. Once we expect it, then we can fight and kill it by taking action.
  • You can’t hoard energy. Spend it and you’ll get more of it. Get your mind and body in action and motion.

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Mental Toughness

Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins

Lessons from a former Navy Seal and the world’s toughest man:

  • Identity is the most powerful force in human nature – Start by identifying who you want to be. Everything evolves from your identity. 
  • Own your struggles – Take an inventory of all the hardships that you’ve gone through and own them. 
  • The 40% Rule – In any situation, we are only doing 40% of what we are truly capable of. We are not tapping into that beast mode that exists in all of us. 
  • If you want to get world class at anything, seek pain in that domain. Challenge yourself to your limits. 
    • Seek pain like it’s your job.
  • Accountability Mirror – Everyday, keep yourself accountable to your goals, dreams and aspirations by using the accountability mirror.
  • The ultimate key to getting the most out of ourselves in life is to commit to something. Either we create that commitment or life will force it on us.
Can't hurt me by David Goggins - Book Summary and 8 Lessons

Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins

Awaken the Giant Within book coverThe book in a few bullets:

  • The questions we ask ourselves run our lives. Move to empowering questions that are focused on the solution rather than on the problem at hand.
  • Wherever our focus is going, that’s where our energy will be placed.
  • The most powerful force in human nature is the force of identity. We tend to stay consistent with it.
  • The people you associate with are changing your identity, whether you know it or not. Therefore, you’ve got to associate with people that you want to become.
  • To make large-scale changes in our behaviors and in our lives so that we can accomplish greatness, we must associate a lot of pain with not changing and a lot of pleasure with changing.
Change your life by Changing the Questions you ask - Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins

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Enchiridion, Discourses & The Art of Living by Epictetus

Discourses book coverThe books in a few bullets:

  • Externals such as money and reputation are ephemeral–here today, gone tomorrow.
  • Between any external stimulus and our response is our own thinking, so we have to be careful with our thoughts.
  • It is never a good idea to let others hijack our mind and let them control our emotions, opinions, or judgments.
  • Every single choice, thought, or lapse in attention matters. Let’s make sure we don’t allow ourselves these errors in judgment and self-discipline.
  • When defeated, try different paths to get a different outcome.

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Feel the Fear…And Do It Anyway by Susan Jeffers, PhD

Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway book coverThe book in a few bullets:

  • Fear is part of our human condition. The sooner we realize that everyone feels fear, the better it is for us because it stops paralyzing us. 
  • If you are in a situation where you feel fearful–
    • You are expanding your comfort zone.
    • You are going beyond where you are today.
    • You are trying to become a bigger, better, and more powerful person.
  • Growth comes when we challenge and expand our comfort zone.
  • Doing what is required in front of you is the path to feeling good. As long as you run away from that fear, it will run your life.
  • Freedom comes from knowing that you own the fear, rather than the fear owning you.
Feel the fear and Do it Anyway book summary Susan Jeffers

 

Feeling Good by David Burns, MD

Feeling Good book coverThe book in a few bullets:

  • All our moods are created by our thoughts and cognitive patterns, not by external events. They are triggered because of the way we interpreted the event, not because of the event itself.
  • We all have negative thought patterns or negative feeling patterns. Cognitive behavioral therapy is going to help alleviate that situation. It will help you understand why you think the way you think.
  • Negative thoughts that create bad emotions always contain distortions.
  • If we’re feeling like a failure or that something is not working, there is a message we’re giving ourselves which is causing these feelings.
  • Perfectionism usually melts away when we only care about the effort we are putting in.

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Grit by Angela Duckworth

The book in a few bullets:

Grit book cover

  • Grit is the perseverance and passion for long-term goals and the tendency to not abandon tasks in the face of obstacles.
  • Ultimately, it’s grit, not talent, that will determine the level of success in our lives.
  • The grittiest people are “satisfied being unsatisfied” for long periods of time as they keep on going after their goals.
  • Behind greatness is a compilation of small accomplishments from day-to-day. It is available to all of us.
  • Effort counts twice. If you think that you are not succeeding even though you have talent, evaluate your effort and then evaluate it one more time.

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How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie

The book in a few bullets:

  • We need to shut down the iron doors of the past and the future and just think about what we can do today.
  • Once you start to write down what exactly you’re worried about, what you can do about it, and when you’ll do those things — you’ll have clarity.
  • The only things that are under our control are the things that we can do something about. Stop worrying about the rest.
  • One of the easiest ways to get out of our own worry is to help someone else in need. When we set out to make others happy, we get even more happiness in return.
  • When we are solving problems that are so demanding and when we lose ourselves in action, we have no time to worry about anything else.
How to stop worrying and start living book summary Dale Carnegie

 

I Can’t Accept Not Trying by Michael Jordan and Mark Vancil

I Can't Accept Not Trying book coverThe book in a few bullets:

  • Think about goals in a step-by-step fashion. Go for the next one only after you have hit the current one. Don’t overwhelm yourself with giant goals.
  • Michael Jordan never really thought of the consequences of missing the shot. When we go after certain things in life, nothing really stands in our way.
  • If he’s going after the big shot, it’s just an opportunity for him to do his very best and gain some success.
  • Find fuel in your failure because it can make you try harder. Not taking that shot is not acceptable. Keep on trying till you figure out a way.
  • If you practice doing something the wrong way for 8 hours, you will get really good at doing something the wrong way over time. Be careful in whatever you’re doing to practice your fundamentals.

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Letters from a Stoic by Seneca

Letters from a Stoic book coverThe book in a few bullets:

  • We have to be able to distinguish between what’s within our control and what’s outside our control. We have to let go of what’s outside our control and instead focus all our effort and energy on what’s within our control.
  • Life will test our character again and again. The weak are the ones who complain about the circumstances and situations and break down under pressure and stress.
  • The strong ones focus on what’s within their control: their thoughts and actions. They forge their character as a result of that.
  • Accept that difficulties are part of life and that they are good for you. They are perfecting your character every single moment.

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Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

best self-help books - man's search for meaning book coverThe book in a few bullets:

  • Meaning will help us survive the toughest of conditions.
  • Suffering stops being a suffering when there is meaning behind it.
  • Meaning changes everything.
  • If you are going through hard times, you need to find the right meaning in order to be able to build character. Is it that life is hard or that you are becoming stronger as a result of hardships?
  • Every moment, either you are building character or you are destroying it. There is no middle ground. 

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Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

meditations book coverThe book in a few bullets:

  • Do the right thing today by not delaying to be a good person today. Constantly delay the small gratification from not doing what’s right.
  • Stop complaining about your present fortune or dreading the future. Instead, be in the moment and identify what you can do and cannot do. Tell yourself to only care about the things that you can control and act upon.
  • How you perceive a situation is actually how the situation feels to you and how you end up taking or not taking action. When you are distressed or angry, it is not coming from the situation but from your judgment of it.
  • We need to care less about other people’s opinion about us and instead just care more about them as people. That is one of the most powerful ways to never give away our power to others.
  • The mind will convert an obstacle into a means to achieving our goal. The obstacle is something we should be excited about because then we know it is the path forward.
Marcus Aurelius' teachings on 4 Keys to Overcome Obstacles in Life - Stoic Philosophy

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My Fight/Your Fight by Ronda Rousey

My Fight/Your Fight book coverThe book in a few bullets:

  • Once we allow yourself to see and conquer the worst-case scenario, there’s no need to fear the unknown because we’ve seen it. That’s when the fight is ours to win.
  • One failed move is not the end of the story but the beginning of the next step, which sometimes can turn out for the better because we’ve learned from it.
  • Our circumstances don’t define our feelings–we do. We can always change the feelings by what we decide to think.
  • While this is your current situation, it’s not your life’s complete story. It’s rather an instance, a point in your life as the story goes.
  • The more we program our mind by focusing on what’s important, the lesser is the space for anything else and the more we can achieve.

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Outwitting the Devil by Napoleon Hill

The book in a few bullets:

  • The thought patterns with which you are mixing the greatest amount of emotions are the ones that come to life.
  • Not having a definite purpose can cause us a lot of suffering, pain, and challenges because we’re not able to direct our lives and to control our thinking. 
  • Our success is proportional to the extent that we are willing to surmount failures.
  • Apply caution in choosing the people you are after and have harmony with the people you are around.
  • Our thoughts, whether positive or negative, build over time. Choose them well.

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Presence by Amy Cuddy

The book in a few bullets:

  • The essence of presence is power. Only when we feel powerful in a given situation can we be completely present.
  • Power is about taking up physical/emotional/time space. You truly believe in what you’re doing and you are not hesitant to show what is going on.
  • Power posing is one of the fastest ways to embolden ourselves and to change our brain chemistry to feel powerful. We need to practice this every morning, especially before big, important events in our lives.
  • As soon as we try to tailor our behavior to what others might expect of us, we lose sincerity.
  • We don’t need to be confident in order to make decisions; we just have to decide that we’re going to do something, and the confidence will come with it.
Presence by Amy Cuddy - How to Eliminate Stress in Challenging Situatuations

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Radical Acceptance by Tara Brach

radical acceptance book coverThe book in a few bullets:

  • Our imperfections make us seek approval from others. However, all of us humans are imperfect, and this is a crucial understanding. When we realize that we are all imperfect, we can feel that we are worthy.
  • We patch up our cracks and imperfections so that nobody can see what’s inside of us. However, behind those cracks is our real golden self. We have to let ourselves shine.
  • Our emotional demons in life are constantly keeping us engaged and reactive. But once we find that safe place (querencia) where we lose all our fears, we become free.
  • Radical acceptance is the starting point of having power over your emotions rather than those emotions having power over you. Acknowledge first the presence of your difficult emotions so you can be free of them. Accept and invite them into your life.
  • The body is ground zero for radical acceptance. All the emotions that are coming at us are creating sensations inside of our body. We have to quiet our mind to be able to go deep inside and observe these sensations without judgment.
Radical Acceptance - How to develop radical acceptance as taught by meditation guru Tara Brach

 

Resilience by Eric Greitens

Resilience book coverThe book in a few bullets:

  • Practice is the key to our growth in any endeavor. It’s important to start.
  • Imagine the worst possible path to an outcome and realize that even in the face of all those obstacles, you will prevail.
  • The worst form of stress is the ABSENCE of stress. Instead of wishing for an easier life, let’s welcome stress in order to grow and become resilient.
  • Heroes are heroes not in spite of their flaws but because of them. All of us have the power to be a hero in our own ways.
  • We’re stopped not by the lack of knowledge of how to do something but by our lack of commitment and courage to do it.
Resilience by Eric Greitens Book Summary - 1 Key Idea and Audiobook summary with PDF Action Guide

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The Confidence Gap by Russ Harris

The Confidence Gap book coverThe book in a few bullets:

  • The word “confidence” comes from Latin roots “con,” which means “with,” and “fid” which means “trust.” Confidence really means to act with trust.
  • Most people wait for the feeling of confidence in order to take action, but it is the other way around. Confidence requires action.
  • To develop confidence in any area of life, the first step is to identify the goals you have in that area.
  • Know the specific actions you need to take which are aligned with your values. Be very clear, therefore, on the values you have.
  • Accept your feelings or emotions as they are.

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The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown

The Gifts of Imperfection book coverThe book in a few bullets:

  • The key to confidence in life is to learn to be ourselves, to embrace our whole selves, and to own ourselves as we are.
  • Stop trying to be someone else.
  • Authenticity is the greatest accomplishment in life. Let others see your true self. That is the ultimate confidence.
  • Being authentic is a process. It takes time and effort.
  • The fundamental understanding for building self-confidence is to never trade in our authenticity for approval from others. When we stop believing in our worthiness and we start hustling for it, we’ve already lost the battle.
The Gifts of Imperfection Book Summary - 8 Best ideas from Brene Brown

 

The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday

The book in a few bullets:

  • It’s not about what the obstacle is–it is always about how we perceive the situation and how we act towards it. 
  • Our job is to see the opportunity in every obstacle. Once we have that kind of perception, everything will change.
  • To amplify our power in the face of obstacles, we have to focus on what’s within our realm of control, influence, or whatever we can change.
  • Love your fate, no matter what it is.
  • Perseverance overarches persistence. It is what helps us move forward even in the face of challenges.

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The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle

The book in a few bullets:

  • We have to pay more attention to the NOW rather than just the arrival part.
  • Suffering comes from resistance. When we resist what is in our way, we’re also resisting the present moment.
  • When you accept that something is challenging or tough, it actually becomes easier.
  • Inner peace is possible whether you’re happy or unhappy.
  • To develop your consciousness, separate yourself from your ego and your emotions. 
    • The more you just observe your emotions as they happen, the less power those emotions have on you.
How to Find Inner Peace - Actionable strategies from the book "Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle

 

The Power of Your Subconscious Mind by Joseph Murphy, PhD, DD

The Power of Your Subconscious Mind book coverThe book in a few bullets:

  • Whatever our conscious mind keeps telling our subconscious mind, that is what our reality will become.
  • The subconscious will not listen to us if we just tell it once or twice or thrice. It is only programmed over a lot of time with intensity of effort and intensity of emotion.
  • Repeating affirmations leads to a state of consciousness where the subconscious will accept the affirmations that you have as true.
  • Imagination is the key to programming. It is our most powerful faculty.
  • When your attention wanders, the key is to discipline your mind so that you bring it back to imagining the goal as if it’s already been accomplished.
You must design your life's blueprint - Here's HOW (The Power of Your Subconscious Mind - Dr Murphy)

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The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem by Nathaniel Branden

Six Pillars of Success book coverThe book in a few bullets:

  • We will never get our self-esteem from others. We should stop looking for approval from outside.
  • When you are giving responsibility to an external circumstance, condition, institution, or person, you are giving up your life. Don’t wait for something to come and save you. “If it’s going to be, it’s up to me.”
  • Self-esteem tied to accomplishments is not self-esteem at all. In that case, it is dependent on external realities.
  • It’s not easy to let go of your emotions if you don’t experience them fully. When we fully experience something, it has direct healing power.
  • Acceptance of our flaws, challenges, and failures will allow us to move forward because then we’ll know what we need to work on.
How to build Self Esteem - the most powerful way (from the book 6 Pillars of Self Esteem)

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The Undefeated Mind by Alex Lickerman, MD

The book in a few bullets:

The Undefeated Mind book cover

  • The best thing you can do for yourself is to find a way to make your goal a must for you.
  • It’s not about never being defeated, it’s about rising up and going to the battlefield no matter how many times you have been defeated.
  • Our job is to face the uncertainties that are ahead of us and attack.
    • If we wait around to have the perfect answer before moving forward, we will be stuck forever.
    • Indecision will get ourselves in grave trouble.
  • To build an undefeated mind, we should be able not only to handle pain. We should also accept it. 

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The Upside of Stress by Kelly McGonigal, PhD

The Upside of Stress book coverThe book in a few bullets:

  • The path to greatness and to a meaningful life is full of stress but that is the way life is. It is how diamonds are created.
  • When you think of a current situation as a challenge, you are calling forward the physiology, the psychology, and the chemistry of courage. Your body thinks of it as a workout.
  • Think of a stressful situation that you have to overcome on a regular basis and of how you will respond in that situation.
  • Top performers not being calm under pressure means they truly have a strong challenge response. They don’t think of the current situation as a threat.
  • Stress makes us social. When you are stressed out, go find ways to either seek help or to go help others. That will help you release more oxytocin, help you live longer, and help you inoculate against the negative side of stress.

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When Panic Attacks by David Burns, MD

When Panic Attacks book coverThe book in a few bullets:

  • The daily mood log is one of the most powerful cognitive behavioral therapy techniques for panic, anxiety, or any other cognitive challenges.
  • It’s not easy to change negative beliefs right away. But as you continue to revise them and put them to the test, you’ll find that they will melt away.
  • In handling panic, anxiety and negativity, think in terms of GRAY. Don’t think black-and-white. Don’t think that you’re either a winner or a loser.
  • Consider substituting with kinder, gentler language all the emotionally powerfully-charged words you sometimes use. Limit the “should” word.
  • What we can do more is control our effort. We can never control the outcome as soon as other people are involved.

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Willpower by Roy F. Baumeister and John Tierney

Willpower book coverThe book in a few bullets:

  • Willpower is like a muscle. We can build it over time by exercising it, but if we use it through the day, its strength will be depleted.
  • The highest leverage use of willpower is creating keystone habits and breaking bad habits.
  • We need to stop using willpower for small challenges or problems that don’t necessarily have a long-term impact on our well-being and on our lives.
  • Find low-glycemic index foods and incorporate them in your diet. You’ll see a huge improvement in your willpower and you’ll be able to sustain it throughout the day.
  • Find the why behind whatever you’re doing, and you will find that you have much more willpower than what you initially gave yourself credit for.
The Laws of Willpower - from Willpower by Roy Baumeister

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Personal Finance

Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki

rich dad, poor dad book coverThe book in a few bullets:

  • Rich Dad, who only had an 8th grade education, believed in the kind of education where he was constantly feeding his mind about business and finances. Go and get the best possible education that can help you start your own business and give other people jobs.
  • Your greatest asset is your mind. Instead of focusing on conventional education, we need to think about educating ourselves financially and in everything else that goes around building a financial portfolio or business.
  • Fear and greed run the lives of the poor and the middle class. They have this fear of not having enough money so they keep on working hard on their job and on trying to make more money. They’re fearful of starting their own business or venture.
  • The rich pay themselves first.
    • As soon as any income comes in, they invest a portion of it into their assets.
    • The remainder of their income is then used for expenses and liabilities.
    • They ensure that their expenses are much lower than their income, and that their liabilities are much lower than their assets.
  • Practice the “principle of reciprocity” by helping someone else sell something. If you want sales, this can have huge impact on your business. The idea is that you get back whatever you give out.

Productivity

Deep Work by Cal Newport

Deep Work book coverThe book in a few bullets:

  • When we’re focused on one thing, neuronal connections fire again and again to the exclusion of everything else (myelination).
  • We have to train our brain so that it’s not constantly addicted to things that are taking us away from our highest quality work. These include:
    • addiction to novelty
    • distractions
    • attention switches
  • When we keep switching between tasks, we have a lot of attention residue from each of them. We cannot do any high-quality work if we keep accumulating it.
  • When we disconnect completely, our work output actually goes up. We have a limited amount of time in which we need to do work, and we are allowing your subconscious to work on stuff that our conscious is not able to find solutions for.
  • Define your own rituals or systems to create deep work, but realize that you cannot bank on willpower, good intentions, or motivation to get it done.
Deep Work Interview with Cal Newport

 

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Do the Work by Steven Pressfield

Do the Work book coverThe book in a few bullets:

  • Resistance is like clockwork. It’s our job to take the fight against it every single day.
  • We must start acting before we even think we’re ready to move forward, rather than to keep on researching.
  • Have a bias towards action and production no matter how imperfect the situation feels and no matter how bad it looks to you.
  • When we are going after our great work, we can’t be playing small; we have to hit big. In the process, we will fail a lot, but we must continue to push the boundary and go for the big hits.
  • Your #1 ally in this game of achieving greatness and in trying to do your greatest work is not your brain. Your #1 ally is your heart. It’s saying anything is possible.

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The War of Art by Steven Pressfield

The War of Art book coverThe book in a few bullets:

  • Everyone is going through resistance, but some people are conquering it. We need to be one of them.
  • Being courageous doesn’t mean that you do not have fear or that you have no more fear. Courage is something you actually have to do. You have to invoke it even in the face of challenge and fear.
  • A sovereign man is someone who uses the power that’s within himself. He does not give his power away to other people. He associates his own words with himself.
  • Embrace what you’ve been given and play the cards you’ve been dealt. Whatever comes your way, you have to act in spite of it.
  • As you rationalize your bad behavior every single time, you’re also rationalizing your procrastination. You have to dominate them.

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Eat That Frog! by Brian Tracy

Eat That Frog book coverThe book in a few bullets:

  • We need to start off our day by doing the highest-leverage task first. The rest of the day would then feel like a breeze because you have conquered your most difficult challenge.
  • Find the 3 things that are at the intersection of:
    • the greatest value you create in this world, and
    • your greatest strength
  • Create deadlines in order to allow yourself to move really fast. With deadlines, you find a way to get things done and you don’t waste a lot of time.
  • Just resolving to do the task in a really small amount of time creates momentum. It will make you feel like you can do more and more.
  • For every 10 minutes you invest in your planning, you get 90 minutes of time saved.
How to Accomplish Big Goals - 1 oil barrel at a time | from "Eat that Frog" by Brian Tracy

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Essentialism by Greg McKeown

Essentialism book coverThe book in a few bullets:

  • Everything starts with the fact that there is free will. We can choose to do certain things and to not do other things.
  • The limits that we have on ourselves make us limitless. The structure that we put in life makes us free.
  • We need to look at 100 years out from before and after our death in order to get really clear on what is essential to us.
  • We have to discern in order to be able to grow exponentially. Essentialism requires that we cut down everything else except for a vital few opportunities.
  • Only when it’s a HECK YES should we say YES to it. Otherwise, the answer is NO.

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Getting Things Done by David Allen

Getting Things Done book coverThe book in a few bullets:

  • The mind is good for creating ideas, not for keeping a lot of information. We need to stop pouring a lot of information into our heads and instead start creating systems where we can store ideas that we don’t need.
  • To have a mind like water or to be stress-free, we need to be appropriately engaged in the most important task. That’s when we can be extremely productive.
  • We need to create mental space for ourselves in order to produce at the highest level.
  • Identify your top 3 or 4 trusted sources and always keep the incoming information in there. You cannot have too many different trusted sources if you want to keep your focus.
Getting Things Done Audiobook Key Ideas - David Allen

 

Goals! by Brian Tracy

Goals book coverThe book in a few bullets:

  • Your goals need to be:
    • clear
    • specific
    • detailed
    • written (The “written” part is where a lot of people miss out.)
  • If the goal is too easy, it won’t inspire you. Usually, a goal that inspires you is going to ask a lot more than what you thought was initially available inside of you.
  • Always consider your major purpose when setting goals. Identify it and make sure your goals are in alignment with it. Otherwise, you’re just wasting time.
  • All of us are always visualizing, but the ones who win are those who realize that they need to focus their energy on their one goal, rather than scatter their energy all over the place.
  • Having a sense of completion gives you endorphins and allows you to feel good about your progress.

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Mini Habits by Stephen Guise

Mini Habits book coverThe book in a few bullets:

  • Take just 1 small step in the direction of your goal and suddenly you’re bypassing the inertia in your brain. If you try to force your way with 10 or 100 steps, your subconscious will fight that change.
  • In order to make our habits stick and to get stuff done, we need to be able to move to implementation state ASAP. The specificity of the cues is what makes this implementation possible.
  • Even though we think we have willpower, it is a very limited resource. It is almost impossible to use it on a daily basis to do large quantities of our most important work.
  • Repetition is the language of our subconscious mind. If we repeat a certain task over and over again, it becomes automated and embedded in our brain.
  • As we repeat a habit, it builds its own momentum. The habit then becomes too difficult to break.
Mini Habits Book Summary - Stephen Guise Animated Book Review

 

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Smartcuts by Shane Snow

Smartcuts book coverThe book in a few bullets:

  • People who have giant networks are called superconnectors. Find them in your field of endeavor and make connections with them to accelerate your success.
  • When we have 10x goals, we start to get much more excited about them. We are much more interested in making them happen.
  • Businesses that don’t have a big mission or purpose don’t inspire people, and hence they don’t attract big thinkers. They will not attract a lot of money either.
  • Find people who have done what you want to do and work with them. Entrepreneurs who have mentors tend to grow 3.5x faster.

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Talent is Overrated by Geoff Colvin

Talent is Overrated book coverThe book in a few bullets:

  • It will take 10,000 hours of cumulative practice (or over 10 years) in order for us to become great at anything.
  • Actual practice and constant repetition of the parts you find challenging or hard can build your strength and long-term potential.
  • Practice and performance feed each other. When you practice more, you perform better. When you perform better, you practice more. It’s a loop that feeds into itself.
  • All the great sportsmen and sports teams, musicians, and businesses have great coaches or mentors. Getting them is a critical step in your overall progress and in becoming really good at what you do.
  • A combination of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation will turbo-charge your effort in your practice and can take you to greatness.

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The 12-Week Year by Brian Moran and Michael Lennington

The 12-Week Year book coverThe book in a few bullets:

  • When planning, shrink the year down into 12 weeks (a quarter of the year). This brings a sense of focus, clarity, and urgency to whatever you’re trying to do.
  • Greatness every moment of every day, not greatness as an end result, is what makes you a champion in the long term.
  • Identify your keystone actions and do them every day no matter what happens. Without them, your whole system will collapse. Your progress will stop.
  • Don’t keep your goal to yourself. Other people will hold you accountable, and that’s a good thing. It will force you to be successful.
  • If you’re scoring over 85% in execution but you’re still not getting anywhere close to your goals, then consider changing your strategy.

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The 4 Disciplines of Execution by Sean Covey, Chris McChesney, and Jim Huling

The 4 Disciplines of Execution book coverThe book in a few bullets:

  • Devote your focus on your Wildly Important Goals. If you have too many goals, it becomes a mishmash.
  • Find someone who has done the same goal before you and ask them how they did it. That is the fastest way to progress.
  • Only if you’re tracking your lead measures are you able to drive performance. Without data, you have no way of improving your production and your execution in general.
  • When you have a scoreboard where you can see your score and you can see yourself making progress, then you get a winning feeling.
  • When others hold us accountable, we are more engaged. We want to do better because we know others are watching.

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The 5-Second Rule by Mel Robbins

The 5-Second Rule book coverThe book in a few bullets:

  • As soon as you realize you need to take action, count down in your head from 5 to 1, then start doing it.
  • When we count down, the prefrontal cortex gets engaged instead of the amygdala, which might have been struck with fear, anxiety, or self-doubt.
  • We cannot wait for feelings in order to act. Treat feelings as merely suggestions.
  • It’s in our nature to take a lot of activation energy to get started, but it takes very little energy to keep going.
  • Whether we’re anxious or excited, the physical sensations in the body are the same–it’s all a matter of perception. Next time you feel anxious, just reappraise it as an exciting situation.

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The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People book coverThe book in a few bullets:

  • The key difference between being proactive and being reactive lies in how we respond to a situation. The latter just respond blindly.
  • To become highly effective, we must begin with the end in mind. Understanding that we are the writers of our life’s program enables us to create it.
  • Our values and mission are critical to our execution of the program. They are the ones that should drive the program, not willpower.
  • Having that burning WHY or desire is critical.
  • Acting or trying to be someone else will destroy relationships. It will not create the paradigm of interdependence.
  • Seeking first to understand before being understood is a fundamental law of influence.

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The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker

The Effective Executive book coverThe book in a few bullets:

  • Effectiveness is much more important than efficiency. It is a fundamental trait of anyone who thinks, acts, and creates results for themselves.
  • 1 quarter of your day spent in consolidated chunks of time is way more powerful than 3 quarters of your day spent in dribs and drabs of time here and there.
  • The results we get in life are a function of the demand we place on ourselves, not  of the effort we put in.
  • The secret of those who are able to do a multitude of things is that they are able to concentrate their energies at any given time on what is most important.
  • We can’t really build on our weaknesses. We can only build on the parts of us that are strong. If we build on our strengths, they can make our weaknesses irrelevant.

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The One Thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan

The One Thing book coverThe book in a few bullets:

  • Success builds sequentially. We’re much better off focusing on one thing and constantly working and improving on it in order to have massive results.
  • We need to narrow our focus, not widen it. A lot of times, achievement in life doesn’t come from addition but from subtraction.
  • We need just enough discipline to install the right habits. Start by building 1 habit over a period of 66 days. Eventually you’ll make that change. Then move on to the next habit.
  • Anytime we say yes to something, we’re going to be saying no to a lot of other things. Be careful with what you say yes to.
  • We’re all after greatness. We’ve got to focus on that one thing and build on it, and over time we will be toppling dominoes as high as the distance from the Earth to the moon.
The One Thing book summary Gary Keller and Jay Papasan

 

The 10x Rule by Grant Cardone

The 10x Rule book coverThe book in a few bullets:

  • Take 10x more action than what you thought you would need to take because you will have 10x more problems, challenges, and obstacles in your way once you go 10x on your goals/targets.
  • Beware of the trap of having goals that are too small for you. You can only succeed and win by having goals that excite you.
  • Make yourself bigger than the next problems that come your way, rather than wish that the problems would go away.
  • Don’t compete. Rather, dominate. Think of how you can dominate the space so that competition becomes irrelevant.
  • Commit to plan and figure it out as you go, rather than trying to figure it out before you commit. Only when we are committed can we really execute on the big dreams in our lives.
The 10x Rule Book Summary Grant Cardone

 

The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferris

The 4-Hour Workweek book coverThe book in a few bullets:

  • Retirement is not the final goal. Now is the time to enjoy life while physically fit and active.
  • A person who makes a lot of money but has to work a lot of hours has relatively low income while a person who makes less money and works a lot fewer hours has relatively higher income.
  • Being effective (what you do) is infinitely more important than being efficient (how you do it).
  • Use both the Pareto Principle and Parkinson’s Law by limiting tasks that produce the results to the top 20% and shortening the time for those tasks.
  • Have a low information diet. Cut out most of social media because it eats away your attention.
How to Build an Online Business that makes you money - Part 1

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The 80/20 Principle by Richard Koch

The 80/20 Principle book coverThe book in a few bullets:

  • 20% of your efforts, action, or input is what leads to the majority of your results, output, rewards and victories.
  • Focus as much as possible on the things where you are getting maximum results. Those are what will get you to move towards your “Achievement Islands” rather than your “Achievement Deserts.”
  • The greatest innovations and accomplishments are always a result of people designing their own game.
  • We don’t need 100, 200, or 500 friends. All we need is just 6-7 key allies and then we can do tremendously in our lives. From there we can leverage the power of our relationships.
  • In order to multiply our output, we need to move our resources from an unproductive place to a productive place.

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The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy

The Compound Effect book coverThe book in a few bullets:

  • The compound effect is sneaky: initially you don’t see any results for a while, but the consequences are very dramatic. By the time they start showing up, it’d too late.
  • To get big results, the only way is to make sure you have routines in place to move things forward. Make sure you do what you said you would do.
  • Measurement is required in order to improve, and tracking is a really simple way to do it. With tracking, you’ll see your progress and you’ll get massive results.
  • Your expanded associations are the people you need to spend more time with. They will move you up in life.

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The Power of Full Engagement by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz

The Power of Full Engagement book coverThe book in a few bullets:

  • Time is not the only indicator of how well you’re performing or of your total output. What is even more important is the energy you bring into that endeavor.
  • We have to constantly push the boundary of energy in order to grow that energy.
  • All energies can be best utilized if we create rituals. We need to have formulaic, step-by-step rituals for all the important aspects of our life.
  • Give your best to a task ➜ take some rest, completely disengaged from that task ➜ go back to working on it again. We need to build this rhythm into our daily, weekly, and monthly cycle–constantly oscillating between pushing the limits and resting.
  • Find at least 3 fundamental values that you must live by. 

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The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson

Slight Edge book coverThe book in a few bullets:

  • It’s always in the small slight edge choices where you can really change your life.
  • Underestimate what you expect to get done in a year. Overestimate what you can do in 10 years. Many people do it the other way around.
  • Everything has a certain time before it takes off. There’s that period where the slight edge is taking hold, and after that it becomes unstoppable.
  • There is no straight path to success. Most of the time we are off-course, but we’re constantly making small corrections and constantly moving towards our target.
  • Constantly align yourself with your goals every single day. See them as already accomplished.
Slight Edge Book Summary

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The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg

The Power of Habit book coverThe book in a few bullets:

  • Whether it’s a bad habit or a good habit, the craving causes the habit loop to keep working. The stronger and the more addictive the craving, the more you’re going to indulge in the habit.
  • To install a new habit, identify the new thing you would much rather do instead of the old behavior you had, then start doing it whenever you have the same cue to lead to the reward.
  • If you improve your willpower in 1 area of your life, it will affect every other area of your life.
  • Identifying your inflection point is key to improving your willpower. Once you know where you’re likely to give up, you can now design a behavior and identify actions to take.
  • Surround yourself with like-minded people who are able to improve themselves in the area of your choice. See them transform and you will also transform.
A simple awareness training exercise to change your habits - The Power of Habit

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Turning Pro by Steven Pressfield

Turning Pro book coverThe book in a few bullets:

  • The area of life in which you need the most help is usually that in which you are acting like an amateur. Start acting like a pro in order to improve that area of life.
  • The biggest difference between an amateur and a pro is in their habits.
  • The pros get a psychological salary, not just a dollar salary. They get the joy of working for the sake of working.
  • Hurt is not part of the amateur’s dictionary. If the conditions are not right, the amateur will not play.
  • The pro knows that there is no waiting around. They just attack the situation, knowing that action will cause inspiration.

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Social Skills

Click by Rom and Ori Brafman

The book in a few bullets:

Click book cover

  • Couples who experienced “love at first sight” were found to have a more passionate relationship–even after 25 years of marriage.
  • People perform more effectively and cohesively in the company they click with.
    • They easily understand each other even without much effort or words.
    • They are also able to discuss difficult matters constructively.
  • Displaying vulnerability helps in building friendships and relationships that last. It makes others easily open up to you as well.

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Crucial Conversations by Kerry Patterson, et al.

The book in a few bullets:

  • The best way to handle a situation where people shy away from difficult conversations is to face it.
  • People who are highly skilled in the face of difficult and controversial discussions  usually have better career prospects, relationships, and even health. They are also more productive at work.
  • The ABC’s for crucial conversations:
    • Agree” where you can.
    • Build” on what others have already said with more relevant information.
    • Compare” your path with theirs.

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Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman

Emotional Intelligence book coverThe book in a few bullets:

  • We need emotional intelligence in order to be able to harness the most out of our raw intellectual horsepower.
  • The ability to delay gratification and to handle impulses are among the most fundamental psychological skills. They are crucial to serving long-term goals and achieving success.
  • You have self-efficacy when you have the feeling that you can handle life’s challenges as they come.
    • Elite players can stand in the face of pressure and regulate their emotions so that they get themselves into the peak performance zone. They don’t let the external situation dictate their emotional state, hence they can do their very best.
  • Self-awareness, also called meta-cognition, happens when you can be above the flow of your experiences. That awareness of emotions as they go through you is the ultimate key to emotional intelligence and to great performance in all walks of life.
Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman

 

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

How to Win Friends & Influence People book coverThe book in a few bullets:

  • You will make more friends in 2 months being genuinely interested in other people than in 2 years trying to make them interested in you. People are more interested in themselves.
  • Encourage others to talk about themselves–their accomplishments, their well-being, the things that they enjoy.
  • There is a reason why we have two ears and one mouth. If you aspire to be a good conversationalist, be a great listener. Give the gift of your full attention.
  • To get people to like you, talk in terms of their interest, not yours. That’s the royal road to a person’s heart. You’ll also get to see the world from their eyes and learn what they had learned.
  • Make the other person feel important and do it sincerely. People want to feel like they’re important in your life. When you can show it to them, that’s when you become important to them.
How to Win Friends and Influence People Book Summary - Animated Book Review

 

Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi

Never Eat Alone book coverThe book in a few bullets:

  • Plant the seeds today for the relationships that will grow, develop, and give us tremendous results or fruits. Relationship-building is a long-term game.
  • The probability that one will get rejected is all part of the game, but you cannot just shy away from asking for what is important to you.
  • The power or strength of our relationship grows exponentially with the number of users in it. Broadening your relationships will pay off over time.
  • No matter how big your mentors are and no matter how small you are, there’s always something you can give to them to make their lives better.
  • Involve other people in your passions. When you’re passionate about something, it becomes contagious.
Never Eat Alone Book Summary - Keith Ferazzi

 

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Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss and Tahl Raz

never split the difference book coverThe book in a few bullets:

  • To position yourself well in negotiations, combine your emotions with empathy to your advantage (“tactical empathy”). This does not necessarily mean you agree with the other party, it only means you see and get their perspective. Let them know that you understand them and calm them down to make them behave rationally.
  • Splitting the difference means compromising and you have to avoid it at all costs. Don’t give in as it won’t necessarily solve the issue. The other party tends to have thoughts that they keep to themselves, or is probably asking for things they don’t really need.
  • Maintain your judgment and rationality despite any deadline set. Most deadlines are flexible. It’s your patience and the information you get that are highly crucial.
  • Always understand where the other party is coming from. Know them well. Establish trust.
  • Always let the other party make the first offer. Usually it would be far from your expectations, so be prepared. But this is the way to know the limit for your counterpart, and from there you can almost get a much better deal.

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The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene

best self help books - the 48 laws of power book coverThe book in a few bullets:

  • You will absorb the good and the bad of all the people around you without even knowing it. It’s almost like an infection. Therefore, you have to quarantine yourself against the negative ones. (Law 10: Avoid the Unlucky and Unhappy)
  • You can create your own identity — not the identity that society is forcing on you.
    • Think of yourself like an artist. You are constantly molding your identity to what you want it to be. Once you start acting like that person, you will become that person. (Law 25: Recreate Yourself)
  • Plan all the way to the end and see all the different steps in your path. Don’t let emotions dictate your decision in the heat of the battle. You have to know what you will do when certain situations arise. (Law 29: Plan All the Way to the End)
  • The way you carry yourself will determine how you’re treated, so act as if you are the person you want to become.
    • In life, you can set your own price. If you ask for little, you get little. If you ask for more, you get more. (Law 34: Act Like a King to be Treated Like One)
  • Assuming that what works on one person will work on every other person is the clumsy approach to motivating others. The right way to find out what they need in order to be persuaded: get them to open up and talk. The more they talk, the more they reveal their minds and hearts, and the more you can move them. (Law 43: Work on the Hearts and Minds of Others)
48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene - Summary of greatest ideas

 

The Art of People

The Art of People book cover

  • Self-awareness is at the core of the art of people. 
    • Understand yourself well first and then it will be easy to understand others.
  • People fall into different categories. Are you a leader, a follower, or a people-pleaser? Find out where you fit and establish yourself.
  • Make active listening a habit. The more you truly care about what the other person is saying, the more you’ll understand and the stronger your relationships will become.
  • Create your own advisory board of 7-11 individuals who can help you reach your goals.
    • Have at least 50% of it made up of people you already know and a minimum of 2 persons that you have mutual connections with.
    • Set regular meetings and compensate them.

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The Charisma Myth by Olivia Fox Cabane

The book in a few bullets:

The Charisma Myth book cover

  • Anyone can be charismatic. All it takes is mastering certain non-verbal behaviors that give us charisma.
  • Charisma begins in the subconscious mind. When you imagine yourself as charismatic person, your body language will follow.
  • Even a 5-minute conversation can build a bond.  Give your full attention and let others feel important.
  • Charisma is the combination of power and warmth. You cannot have charisma without having both.

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The Like Switch by Jack Schafer, PhD and Marvin Karlins, PhD

the like switch book coverThe book in a few bullets:

  • Listen wholeheartedly/with undivided attention.
  • Observe non-verbals and body language for they reveal a lot about the quality of the interaction. If you notice distancing actions from the other person and if you find yourself talking too much about yourself, switch to something that interests the other person more.
  • Vocalize your acknowledgement of others and your compliments on them. It will make them feel good about themselves and they will see you as a friend.
  • Empathize to let the other person know that you understand what’s happening around both of you.
  • To achieve a thriving partnership, have C.A.R.E.:
    • Compassion (offer kind words and a helping hand)
    • Active listening (give attention to what they are saying)
    • Reinforcement (praise and acknowledge when they do something well)
    • Empathy (understand how they feel and actually care about it)
Counterintuitive Ways to get people to Like You - from the Like Switch by Jack Schafer

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Biographies

Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance

best self help books - elon musk biography book coverThe book in a few bullets:

  • When you have a very strong “why,” the how will come.
  • If something is important enough, the outcome doesn’t matter. You just have to keep on going after it.
  • Elon Musk has shown willingness to bet it all for what he believes is important. He has a very high tolerance for pain and is relentless, and that is why his rate of success is so high.
  • He has a hardcore work ethic. He’s famous for saying that if he worked a hundred hours a week, he would be able to do in 5 years what you would take 10 years to do.
    • Apart from working every day of the week, he would set up his desk in the middle of the factory on weekends just to emphasize that he’s working, and he expects everyone else to be working hard as well.
  • At 12 years old, Elon Musk was reading 10 hours a day. Soon he would run out of books to read in the school library. He would then go on to read all the Encyclopedia Britannica books. His thirst for knowledge early on is the reason why he’s one of the most knowledgeable men out there.
  • To build electric cars and a rocket company, he figured it all out. He read about them, went to the experts, and fed on knowledge. This has always been a constant thing in his life.
Elon Musk Biography Summary Ashlee Vance

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

Autobiography of Ben Franklin

  • Ben Franklin was the original polymath. His list of achievements is truly mind boggling…. How can one person accomplish so much? Here are some of his accomplishments:
    • Signed both the American Constitution and Declaration of Independence
    • Scientist
      • Invented Bi-Focals
      • Invented the Lightning Rod
      • Invented the Franklin Stove
    • First US Ambassador to France
    • Post Master General of America
    • Real Estate Investor
    • Entrepreneur who used to own a printing press
    • Author of poor Richard’s Almanac and his autobiography
    • Financially free before the age of 40
  • Benjamin Franklin resolved to build his character at a very young age.
    • He identified 13 values he would work on for the rest of his life.
    • Over a period of 52 weeks, he would visit each of these values 4 times.
  • Character is all about being able to live true to your values in your life. Ben Franklin aspired to live up to his values every single day of his life.
    • What are your values? You have to identify them and endeavor to live by them.
  • Ben Franklin used the principles of deliberate practice to learn new things at a rapid pace. He talks about his learning system in this book.
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