Self Improvement Books

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Top 10 Self Improvement Books [Updated 2023]

To live is to improve ourselves. And to improve is to become better at everything we do – from daily chores to doing meaningful work, from getting up in the morning to retiring well, and from reading more books to becoming better versions of ourselves. Below is the list of books on self-improvement to read in 2023:

  1. Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy
  2. Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers
  3. The 48 Laws of Power
  4. The 5 Second Rule: Transform Your Life, Work, and Confidence with Everyday Courage
  5. The Obstacle is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trails into Triumph
  6. The Compound Effect
  7. The 10X Rule: The Only Difference Between Success and Failure
  8. What Got You Here Won’t Get You There: How successful people become even more successful
  9. Mastery
  10. Awaken the Giant Within: How to Take Immediate Control of Your Mental, Emotional, Physical and Financial Destiny!

Let us discuss each of the self-improvement books in detail, along with their key takeaways and reviews.

Self Improvement Books

#1 - Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy

by Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant

This book comes from two New York Times Bestselling Authors and is one of the few masterpieces you should not miss out on.

Book Review:

Death isn’t easy to receive when you see one of your dearest ones crashing on the gym floor. Author and Facebook COO

Sheryl’s husband, Dave, died suddenly, which made her feel that she would never find pure joy again. However, she shared her grief with a friend and Wharton Professor Adam Grant, who told Sheryl that it is possible to find joy irrespective of this painful experience.

And as a result, this book was born. Life is not certain, and we don't know what awaits us in the next corner. Option B teaches us to be resilient and ready and find joy within those darkest hours where there is no room for light. Readers worldwide read and mentioned their deep-felt appreciation for this book. This book is not for grief; it includes not only Sheryl's story but also ways to embrace uncertainty and fascinating research through which it can be possible.

Key Takeaways:

  • We recommend you read this book in one sitting to get the benefit. From real-life experience to research, you will find ways to cope with uncertainty, from a job loss to a sudden disease, from being anxious about life to be ready, and so on.
  • This self-improvement book will teach you to walk toward Option B when Option A is unavailable. Often, we don't dare to let go of Option A to embrace the next best. This book will teach you how.

#2 - Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers

by Timothy Ferris

This book is the culmination of distilled strategies, ideas, and insights from Tim’s interviews with giants.

Book Review:

The book is a powerful collection of tips, tricks, and insights from people who have achieved tremendous success. Tim has mentioned that he didn’t only publish these tactics; he also tested them, all of them in his own life, to see whether they work. And according to him, these strategies work.

Readers all over the world, there are two kinds of opinion. One type of reader mentioned that this book is very useful to them. There is a lot to learn from this book. Another kind of reader didn’t like the arrangement of the book. So, before purchasing the book, you can go to iTunes and check out Tim’s podcasts, and if you feel convinced, you can go and buy this book.

Key Takeaways:

  • This edition is very comprehensive, and you will find everything (health, career advice, mindfulness, cooking, and so on) in this 707-page book.
  • This self-improvement book can be used as a reference to improve many areas of your life. You can go to a section called “health” and apply one of the strategies in your life to see whether it works. And then, you can pick up the next strategy and apply it.

#3 - The 48 Laws of Power

by Robert Greene

This book would seem contradictory to what you believe to be fair in this world but read its cover to know its magnificence.

Book Review:

This book is a guide you should always keep. Even if you are fair in your dealings, ethical in your business, and good with people, the world does not work that way. Power-hungry people work and think much differently than you can ever know.

From all over the world, readers have mentioned that there are two things you will learn from this book – first, how not to get exploited by people in this power-hungry world; second, how to use power to dictate your magnificence. The book is very controversial but, at the same time, enlightening to people who want to work their way up to power. It also has a concise version. But you will get the maximum benefit by reading the actual one.

Key Takeaways:

  • All the laws of power are incredible. And the author not only tells you the principles but also shares many historical examples to illustrate his points.
  • One should give this self-improvement book more time (no, it’s not a book to slide your eyes through). Read, highlight, apply, and know why the laws of power work.
  • The book is produced after a lot of research. You will know once you grab the book.

#4 - The 5 Second Rule: Transform Your Life, Work, and Confidence with Everyday Courage

by Mel Robbins

Go read it right away, 5 4 3 2 1.

Book Review:

The author Mel Robbins is a powerful speaker, and she gave a TED talk a while ago where she mentioned a rule she uses to get anything done and cure any bad habit. She called it the “5-second rule”. And that concept has now become a book. In this book, Mel will show you how to create powerful habits that last, break the habit of anxiety, get things done, procrastinate less, and become the person you always wanted to be. The opinions of readers are mixed for this book.

Few readers mentioned that one could write the entire concept of the book in a single blog post. That's not valid because the book has explained not only the 5-second rule but also presented many research, ideas, insights, and personal stories that couldn't fit into a blog article. Most readers like this book and start using the magic formula easily.

Key Takeaways:

  • This self-improvement book is not on theoretical musings. This book is practical. Once you read it, you will know that Mel has used the tactics of the books to change her life. And it has done the same for many others.
  • You will be able to become much more confident, embrace uncertainty, share ideas on stage with courage and passion, stop that negative, vicious cycle of anxiousness, and break the habit of procrastination and a laid-back attitude.

#5 - The Obstacle is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trails into Triumph

by Ryan Holiday

See any obstacle on your path? The obstacle is the way.

Book Review:

Often in our lives, we are our greatest obstacle. This book will teach you how to overcome yourself and find a way to triumph. If you're new to stoicism, you would know how this 2,000-year-old philosophy can revolutionize your life. Amid all positive-thinking-revolution, this book is the harsh light, making sense of how much we don't control and how we can embrace the obstacles along the way. In the author's own words – "Whatever we face, we have a choice: Will obstacles block us, or will we advance through and over them?" The whole book is written based on the above theme. Many readers have mentioned that this self-improvement book has changed their way of life.

Key Takeaways:

  • If you need to learn who Marcus Aurelius or stoicism is, this best self-improvement book will be a great introductory course on stoicism. Moreover, it's relevant in present life scenarios and provides action steps and insights to discover the hidden paths within your obstacles.
  • You will learn why stoicism can help you advance through pains and become more than your intellect, intelligence, and talent.

#6 - The Compound Effect

by Darren Hardy

If you want to kick-start the life of your dreams, then read this book.

Book Review:

This self-improvement book is a masterpiece. Within 173 pages, you will get everything you need to improve your life. Do you want to improve any area of your life? Track that area daily. Do you want to reach from A to B? Set powerful goals and take massive action. As a founding editor of Success Magazine, Darren Hardy gets to sit with the giants, pundits, best creators, and best businessmen/women of the world. And from these suggestions, insights, ideas, and tips, he has taken the best ideas and used them to revolutionize his life. Now, it's your turn to do the same through this book. Most of the readers told me that this book had given them a blueprint for life improvement.

Key Takeaways:

  • This book is on how little daily decisions can improve your life. And it does not only talk about a single area; it’s about every area of your life – from money and health to career and relationship.
  • This book is with beautiful stories from Darren’s personal life and the lives of the moguls he interviewed.

#7 - The 10X Rule: The Only Difference Between Success and Failure

by Grant Cardone

Book Review:

There is only one theme in this book – massive action required to achieve anything worthwhile. No matter where you are or what you do, anything is possible if you take 10X action. The author mentioned that anything he approaches in his life, he does with 10X action. If the norm is to make 10 calls a day, he will make 100.

And as a result, he could stir in his life and create multi-million dollar businesses. You can read this book if you want to hear the reasons why extreme effort is necessary. The only pitfall of this book is it may be more suited for sales professionals than entrepreneurs because a bad idea can only improve by taking massive action.

Key Takeaways:

  • You will learn a few things from this best self-improvement book, e.g., becoming omnipresent in the market; you don't need to become competitive, rather dominate your market; set goals 10X higher than you need, and so on.
  • It includes many personal stories that will educate, entertain, and teach you how to create success from scratch.

#8 -  What Got You Here Won’t Get You There: How successful people become even more successful

by Marshall Goldsmith

If you want to know why your growth stopped, this book is for you.

Book Review:

This self-improvement book won’t preach that “hard work is what you need to do.” No, this book is for those who are already successful, know the value of arduous effort and have already hit the plateau. The author has trained thousands of people over the years and sat with many one-to-one, and he found that becoming more successful needs a different version of an already successful person. So he wrote this book to help you climb up the ladder, discover your blind spots, and change multiple bad habits to create a “new you” to achieve excellence in your life and career. In addition, this book is on coaching models and many stories of clients and people the author has coached. And that’s why readers can relate to the book at a deep level. It should be your top go-to resource if you’re struggling with being more successful.

Key Takeaways:

  • This top self-improvement book will help you become aware of your blind spots and will tell you how to overcome them slowly and eventually.
  • This book is not for everybody; thus, its audience is limited. You should only read this book if you believe you have achieved a level of success and have hit a plateau.
  • The “stop list” is an excellent culmination of some bad habits that will make you aware and nudge you to improve.

#9 - Mastery

by Robert Greene

This best self-improvement book is a masterpiece, just like any other book written by Robert Greene.

Book Review:

This book is un-missable and un-put-down-able. If you read one book on finding one’s calling and applying practical steps to live your purpose, this is the book you must read. You will learn a lot about finding a mentor, finding your niche, becoming an apprentice, improving social skills, practicing your craft, and much more. Robert Greene is very well-read and can synthesize knowledge so that readers find it fascinating to read any book he writes. Of course, this book is a how-to guide; along with that, this is a biographical book as well. You would be able to peep through the masters’ early lives and would be able to discover what made them great.

Key Takeaways:

  • There is not one takeaway from this best self-improvement book. The book has biographical accounts, insights, and ideas you can apply immediately. For example, how John Keats decided to practice his craft, how Benjamin Franklin started his apprenticeship, how Faraday found his mentor, and so on.
  • This book is very lucid. It divides into sections that help you apply concepts with ease.
  • One of the best takeaways is the author, Robert Greene. You must read this book and all of his books.

#10 - Awaken the Giant Within How to Take Immediate Control of Your Mental, Emotional, Physical and Financial Destiny!

By Tony Robbins

This book is old but is also full of wise insights and breakthrough ideas.

Book Review:

If one can express this top self-improvement book in one word, it would be “self-fulfillment.” Imagine a book of 544 pages! Imagine how comprehensive the book can be. All the years of experience, insights, failures, and lessons Tony put into this book for you, the reader. If you have ever attended Tony’s seminar, you would know how powerful Tony’s coaching style is. And by purchasing this book, you can experience the same coaching method. Tony will coach you one-on-one through this book. No matter what area you’re struggling with, you will find one or more ways in this book to improve that area. If you have not read this book by thinking it is one of the self-help books, it’s time to change your mind. Once you pick up this book and start reading it, you will realize that you should have read it earlier.

Key Takeaways:

  • It is not a book. Rather, a program to change any area of your life. As Tony says, your life will change just by making a decision. Why not decide to read this book now?
  • This book is not focused on one aspect of life. It includes all areas of your life – financial, emotional, personal, and well-being. If you read one book this year, make it that book.
  • You will learn to rewire your beliefs, take charge of your life, and transform yourself from "being stuck" to "climbing around the world." This book could be your first step if you can follow your dream.