Over the past couple of weeks my articles have focused on the area of personal growth. Two weeks ago I shared 6 Steps to Grow Daily, and last week I followed it up with an article on How to Create a Reading Plan. This article will give you a starting point for developing your reading list as I share with you my top 10 book choices.

1. The World is Flat - Thomas Friedman

One of the best books I’ve read in a long time, The World is Flat, provides a vivid understanding about the changes that have happened to the world in the last decade. In many ways, The World is Flat provides a starting point for some of the other books on this list. The first section entitled “Ten Flatteners that Changed the World” goes into detail about some of the world-changing moments that have put human history on our current path.

2. Good to Great – Jim Collins

Good to Great is a fantastically researched book that exposes what good companies who became great companies have in common. It is a follow up to the best seller “Built to Last” that brought us great concepts such as the BHAG – Big Harry Audacious Goals. Good to Great is a powerful book for both business and personal growth. Valuable concepts include the Fifth Generation Leader and the Hedgehog Concept.

3. 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – Stephen Covey

In his classic book on personal development Stephen Covey shares what makes people highly effective. This book has become the standard in the field of personal growth. Concepts such as Be Proactive, Think Win-Win, and Seek First to Understand are principles that Covey illustrates throughout his book. My favorite section is called First Things First, which spawned its own book that has also been important for me.

4. How to Win Friends and Influence People – Dale Carnegie

Another classic in the personal development field, How to Win Friends and Influence People is a powerful book. The interesting thing is how basic the principles within the book are. They are obvious and yet profound at the same time. And while we may innately know that all of the tips in this book are good for our relationships, so often we don’t do them. Ideals such as “smile”, “become genuinely interested in other people”, “be a good listener” and “think in terms of the other man’s interest” are explained. Because so many of the principles are basic to life, this book serves as a powerful reminder too, helping us each to build more friendships and influence others.

5. Purple Cow – by Seth Godin

This short little book from marketing guru Seth Godin, is all about being remarkable. Godin explains how if you are driving through a rural area and notice the cows they will eventually all look the same – one cow looks very much like the next cow. If however, there was a purple cow it would catch your attention. The purple cow would be remarkable, and you would stop to see it, take photos of it, and tell others about it. Godin argues that your product or service needs to be remarkable. It can’t be the same as every other product; your product must become a purple cow.

6. The 4-Hour Work-Week – Tim Ferriss

No book in recent history has created as much excitement and even controversy as Ferriss’ 4-Hour Work-Week. Ferriss’ book is about a new lifestyle concept, one with less work, more time to focus on other life goals. For me, the most important part of the book are Ferriss’ concepts of productivity. He believes and teaches how most of us can accomplish far more each day if we eliminate the things that interrupt us, batch our communication tasks, and outsource more of our lives. While, I think Ferriss under values work, I recommend this book to many people for the productivity differences it can help with.

7. Rich Dad Poor Dad – Robert Kiyosaki

In this important book, Kiyosaki teaches financial principles through the stories of his two “dads”, one who had money and one who didn’t. He argues that the rich and poor think about money very differently and as such, teach their kids very different things about money. This book is very effective because it is presented as a narrative rather than a list of facts and ideas.

8. The Total Money Makeover – Dave Ramsey

Dave Ramsey the radio financial guru offers wonderful advice for people on how to become debt free and improve their financial future. The book offers a simple process, following what Dave calls “baby steps”. Each step builds on the previous steps and helps you move towards total financial freedom – being debt free. The value of this book lies in its simplicity and its ability to help anyone make progress towards freedom from debt.

9. 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership – John Maxwell

In this book one of the world’s top leadership experts, John Maxwell, breaks down leadership into 21 laws. Each law is based around a memorable story to illustrate the point. Leadership laws include the “Law of the Lid”, the “Law of Navigation”, and the “Law of Respect”. Each law provides valuable leadership lessons on its own, and when put together provides a complete treatise on leadership.

10. Renovations of the Heart – Dallas Willard

This is the most important book I have read on spiritual growth. Willard calls people to fall of the life of Christ and to take on Christ-like character for ourselves. The book calls people to a transformation that can take place in people through our spirit. If you long to follow the historical Jesus, not necessarily what today we call “Christianity”, this book will be of interest to you.

Well those are my top 10 choices. Currently, I’m reading Getting Things Done by David Allen, and it may easily crack this top 10 list. The only problem is, I’m not sure which one it should replace.

Your turn:

What are some of your top book choices? What are you reading currently? Do you have any feedback on any of my selections?

The Success Professor – Danny Gamache

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