Best Self Help Books
Topic List26 of 28 books477 recommendations totalSelf Help books, including titles recommended by Derek Sivers, Nat Eliason and Tim Ferriss. Most recommended here: Man's Search for Meaning, Atomic Habits and The Alchemist.
Where to start: Self Help Books recommended most often
Recommended books, ranked by how many of the 250 people behind this list recommended each one.
- 1Man's Search for Meaning90 recommendations · recommended by Derek Sivers, Trevor Ncube and Nat Eliason
- 2Atomic Habits52 recommendations · recommended by Sadia Badiei, Ankur Warikoo and Derek Sivers
- 3The Alchemist50 recommendations · recommended by Sadia Badiei, Trevor Ncube and Nat Eliason
- 4How to Win Friends and Influence People43 recommendations · recommended by Sadia Badiei, Ankur Warikoo and Derek Sivers
- 5The Four Agreements33 recommendations · recommended by Sadia Badiei, Aaron Rodgers and Fedor Holz
Recommended by Derek Sivers, Trevor Ncube, Nat Eliason and 67 others
Psychiatrist Viktor Frankl recounts his survival in Nazi death camps, weaving together brutal details and insights about finding meaning in suffering. The first half is a gripping, horrifying memoir; the second half shifts to a philosophical framework he calls logotherapy. The book’s core appeal is its raw demonstration that even in hell, a sense of purpose can keep you alive. Some readers find the shift jarring and the later sections abstract. The ideas resonate best if you accept the spiritual overtones and personal anecdotes over a more analytical approach.
An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
Recommended by Sadia Badiei, Ankur Warikoo, Derek Sivers and 44 others
A practical system for behavior change built on the idea that tiny, incremental improvements compound into remarkable results. Clear avoids motivation-based advice and instead focuses on environment design, habit stacking, and identity-based change—making good habits frictionless while making bad ones inconvenient. The book is structured in short, actionable chapters, each ending with a cheat sheet, so you can skip around based on what you are trying to fix. It cares less about the psychology of why you procrastinate and more about the engineering of making procrastination harder.
25th Anniversary Edition
Recommended by Sadia Badiei, Trevor Ncube, Nat Eliason and 33 others
A quick, dreamy fable about a shepherd chasing treasure who finds wisdom instead. The prose is easy, almost childlike, and the story moves through symbolic encounters that each deliver a lesson about listening to your heart. You’ll underline a few lines if you’re open to its message, but the charm fades if you bristle at repeated aphorisms. The main limitation: it can feel like a beautifully wrapped box of motivational quotes—inspiring to some, trite to others.
Recommended by Sadia Badiei, Ankur Warikoo, Derek Sivers and 29 others
Do you feel stuck in life, not knowing how to make it more successful? Do you wish to become more popular? Are you craving to earn more? Do you wish to expand your horizon, earn new clients and win people over with your ideas?
A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom
Recommended by Sadia Badiei, Aaron Rodgers, Fedor Holz and 23 others
A slim, conversational guide that draws on Toltec spiritual tradition to propose four internal agreements for reducing suffering. The reading feels like listening to an encouraging elder: warm, repetitive, and full of anecdotes. Its value is in persistent reminders that most emotional pain comes from unchecked assumptions and taking things personally. The limitation is a lack of nuance and no practical exercises; it assumes you can reframe your mind through sheer intention. Without follow-up, the advice can feel like fortune-cookie wisdom.
The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking
Recommended by Ankur Warikoo, Derek Sivers, Jim Kwik and 20 others
Quiet draws on studies, case studies, and personal stories to argue for the power of introverts in an extrovert-idealizing society. It validates introverted traits and explains how to leverage them, from the classroom to the boardroom. The mix of anecdotes and studies keeps it engaging, though the argument can feel repetitively one-sided. Extroverts might feel unfairly cast as the problem, and the ‘introvert manifesto’ tone occasionally overwhelms the nuance. The book lands hardest when it advocates for structural changes rather than just individual pep talks.
Recommended by Ankur Warikoo, Fedor Holz, Joe Martin and 19 others
EXTREMELY USEFULL! IN EVERY chapter of this book, mention has been made of the money-making secret which has made fortunes for more than five hundred exceedingly wealthy men whom I have carefully analyzed over a long period of years.
Powerful Lessons in Personal Change
Recommended by Sadia Badiei, Abhishek Kar, Joe Martin and 15 others
A leading management consultant outlines seven organizational rules for improving effectiveness and increasing productivity at work and at home.
What the Rich Teach their Kids About Money
Recommended by Ankur Warikoo, Abhishek Kar, Steve Burns and 18 others
This book reads like a personal parable, contrasting two father figures to drive home a mindset shift about money. The strength is its memorable simplicity: it challenges the “go to school, get a job, and save” script, urging financial literacy and asset-building. However, the advice is vague, repetitive, and built on unverifiable anecdotes rather than a concrete system. You’ll find no step-by-step plans or worksheets here—just big ideas that either light a fire or leave you wanting more substance. It’s best as a narrative thought-starter, not an instruction manual. Its enduring popularity hinges on its emotional appeal and counterintuitive framing, not its instructional depth.
Recommended by Sadia Badiei, Nat Eliason, Fedor Holz and 12 others
The Magic of Thinking Big reads like a stream of practical, no-nonsense advice from a 1950s business coach. It is packed with short chapters, anecdotes, and direct admonitions to build confidence, stop making excuses, and take action. The useful part is its ability to jolt you out of complacency and make you believe you can achieve more. The limiting part is its dated flavor—stories and language that may feel out of touch, and advice that repeats the same core ideas without deepening them. You’ll absorb it quickly, but some may find it too simplistic for today’s world.

A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life
Recommended by Ankur Warikoo, Aaron Rodgers, Steve Burns and 14 others
Mark Manson Collection 2 Books Set Includes Titles In This Set:- The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fck, Everything Is Fcked.
A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment
Recommended by Trevor Ncube, Steve Burns, Aaron Rodgers and 14 others
Tolle delivers a series of teachings urging you to detach from past and future to find peace in the present moment. The writing is calm and direct, often circling back to the same core message: you are not your mind. Some passages feel like gentle revelations, while others repeat until they lose punch. The absence of concrete techniques may leave you stranded if you need more than insight. It works best as a contemplative slow read rather than a linear argument.

The Art of StressFree Productivity
Recommended by Derek Sivers, Daniel Pink, Ali Abdaal and 8 others
A dense but actionable manual for capturing, clarifying, and organizing commitments. It promises a trusted external system to reduce mental clutter, though setting it up can feel like a part-time job. Useful when drowning in scattered tasks and needing a full reset; less so for quick hacks. Some advice feels dated as apps absorbed parts of the method, but the core idea of externalizing memory still resonates. Clear, pragmatic writing walks through each step, but the detail can become repetitive. You’ll likely skim once you grasp the flow.

How to Take Immediate Control of Your Mental, Emotional, Physical and Financial Destiny!
Recommended by Derek Sivers, Nat Eliason, Graham Stephan and 2 others
Wake up and take control of your life! From the bestselling author of Inner Strength, Unlimited Power, and MONEY Master the Game, Anthony Robbins, the nation's leader in the science of peak performance, shows you his most effective strategies and techniques for mastering your…

Recommended by Tim Ferriss, Ran Segall, Terry Crews and 1 other
The book 'How to stop worrying & start living' suggest many ways to conquer worry and lead a wonderful life.The book mentions fundamental facts to know about worry and magic formula for solving worrysome situations.Psychologists & Doctors' view:Worry can make even the most…
The Secret to Love that Lasts
Recommended by Sadia Badiei, Jay Shetty, Mark Manson and 1 other

How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life
Recommended by Jay Shetty, Matt Ogus, Deke Bridges and 1 other
Jen Sincero's 'You Are a Badass' reads like a bar conversation with a tipsy life coach who swears a lot and promises you can manifest a Lamborghini. Across 27 bite-sized chapters, she mixes stories of her own rock bottom with blunt directives like 'Love yourself like a crazy person' and 'Your brain is your bitch.' The immediate, no-nonsense motivation is the useful part: you'll finish sections ready to act, armed with mantras to hush self-doubt. But the book’s simplistic abundance logic sidesteps real-world constraints, and by chapter 15 you may find the Law of Attraction cheerleading more exhausting than empowering.
The Science of Success
Recommended by Keith Rabois and Timothy Keller
Keith Rabois recommended this book on a Medium blog post.

21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time
Recommended by Ankur Warikoo
Eat That Frog! strings together brief, prescriptive tips aimed at stopping procrastination by pushing you to handle the day’s most important task first. Chapters are short and directive, each delivering a simple rule or habit to test quickly. what works best is immediate: concrete reminders you can apply the next morning. The limitations are clear: repetition, a surface-level treatment of causes behind procrastination, and a steady motivational tone that some readers will find simplistic or preachy.

Written in mid-20th-century plain prose, this book delivers short chapters of earnest, faith-centered pep talks, affirmations, and anecdotal examples meant to lift outlook through repeated practice. The most useful moments are the memorable lines and simple routines you can borrow when you need a quick morale lift. Limitations: it leans heavily on faith as the primary remedy, repeats similar stories and lines, and uses dated phrasing that can feel simplistic to readers seeking contemporary psychological language or step-by-step techniques.
Show 4 more books with a single recommendation
Turning Mistakes Into Stepping Stones for Success
Recommended by Aisha Yesufu
Failing Forward: Turning Mistakes into Stepping Stones for Success
How to Stop Worrying, Relieve Anxiety, and Eliminate Negative Thinking
Feel overwhelmed by your thoughts Struggling with anxiety about your daily tasks Or do you want to stop worrying about life The truth is...We all experience the occasional negative thought.
The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing
Recommended Self Help Books by Ankur Warikoo
Ankur Warikoo recommends 7 books on this list. See all book recommendations by Ankur Warikoo
Recommended Self Help Books by Sadia Badiei
Sadia Badiei recommends 7 books on this list. See all book recommendations by Sadia Badiei
Recommended Self Help Books by Derek Sivers
Derek Sivers recommends 6 books on this list. See all book recommendations by Derek Sivers
Self Help Books: common questions
- What are the most recommended self help books?
- Man's Search for Meaning, Atomic Habits and The Alchemist are the most recommended self help books on BookMentions, ranked by how many people recommended them.
- Who recommends self help books?
- Ankur Warikoo, Sadia Badiei, Derek Sivers and Nat Eliason are among the people who recommend books on this list. Each name links to their full set of book recommendations.
- Which of these self help books should I read first?
- Man's Search for Meaning is the most recommended here with 90 recommendations, which makes it the safest place to start.
Built from recommendation data, category signals, and source-backed book records. Use this list as a starting point; open any book to see proof, context, and Amazon options where available.
Explore more lists
Best Self Discipline Books
15 booksSelf Discipline books, including titles recommended by Derek Sivers, Nat Eliason and James Clear. Most recommended here: The War of Art, Mindset and The Power of Habit.
Best Productivity Books
22 booksThe productivity books people actually finish and apply — focus, habits, time management and attention. Ranked by how many people recommended each title, with the source behind every pick.
Best Goal Setting Books
16 booksGoal Setting books, including titles recommended by Derek Sivers, Matt D’Avella and Alexis Ohanian. Most recommended here: Atomic Habits, How to Win Friends and Influence People and Measure What Matters.
Best Time Management Books
55 booksTime Management books, including titles recommended by Derek Sivers, Tim Ferriss and Frank Chimero. Most recommended here: The Power of Habit, Essentialism and The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
Best Wealth Books
16 booksWealth books, including titles recommended by Matt D’Avella, Abhishek Kar and Akshay M. Most recommended here: Think and Grow Rich, Rich Dad Poor Dad and The Richest Man in Babylon.
Best Procrastination Books
20 booksProcrastination books, including titles recommended by Derek Sivers, Nat Eliason and Ev Williams. Most recommended here: Deep Work, Getting Things Done and The ONE Thing.
About this list
This list aggregates books that appear in public recommendation sources, reader-interest signals, and category data. Books are ranked by their position from the source list; recommendation counts and ratings are shown where available. Open any book to see source-backed recommendation proof, editorial context, and Amazon options — the per-book detail page is where the trust signals live.
Recommended books by person: who recommends self help books
Books recommended by the people below. Open a profile to see everything they recommend, with the source behind each pick.
- Ankur WarikooBooks recommended by Ankur: 7
- Sadia BadieiBooks recommended by Sadia: 7
- Derek SiversBooks recommended by Derek: 6

- Nat EliasonBooks recommended by Nat: 5
- Trevor NcubeBooks recommended by Trevor: 5
- Aaron RodgersBooks recommended by Aaron: 4
- Abhishek KarBooks recommended by Abhishek: 4
- Daniel PinkBooks recommended by Daniel: 4
- Fedor HolzBooks recommended by Fedor: 4
- Jim KwikBooks recommended by Jim: 4
- Joe MartinBooks recommended by Joe: 4
- Nick HuberBooks recommended by Nick: 4
