5 Must Have Self Improvement Books

As some of you know, I am an avid reader.  I read everything; blogs, magazines, novels, biographies, self help, ebooks, and short stories.  I’ve found that you can learn much about life through all of these mediums.

I first began reading self improvement books back in college.  I can honestly say my life has improved ten fold since taking up the habit of continually reading on how to better different areas of my life.  I was lucky enough to have an uncle who pushed me towards these types of books, and friends who were equaully interested in these subjects.

TSB is not just about improving your love life, sleeping with more women, or making your more attractive to the opposite sex.  TSB is about helping you create a lifestyle that fosters these things and more.  Having the ability to attract a beautiful woman is meaningless if you are not living a complete and happy life.

I thought that I would share some of the books that I’ve read over the years that helped me grow into the person I am today. These books vary in themes from personal finance, to spirituality, to handling people.

5 Must Have Self Improvement Books

How to Win Friends and Influence People: I read this book for the first time back in college when I was living in a party house with 1o friends.  As fun as living with 10 like minded guys can be, it also presented me with some pretty tough situations and circumstances. I read Carnegie’s book my sophomore year, and can honestly say no book has made such an immediate impact on my life. The book perfectly breaks down what drives human behavior. And once you understand how people are motivated it is much easier to deal with them.

The book also taught me valuable lessons like:  You can never win an argument.  This realization alone will make your life a whole lot simpler.  Although you can’t win an argument this book gives you all the tools you need to convert someone to your way of thinking. The results are genius and immediate.  If you apply the principles in this book on a daily basis you will have more friends, get further in life, and be a respected and well liked person.

Your Erroneous Zones: I read this book my junior year of college. This book is no such much about handling people as it is about handling your self. Your erroneous zones, as Dr. Wayne Dyer puts it, over the erroneous ideas that have been instilled in your mind since the day you were born.  These ideas were fostered by everyone in society who has not realized the error of their ways.

This book will show you the uselessness of guilt and worry, it will condemn the need to seek approval and validation, it will show that the only true happiness occurs in the moment.  Some people suffer more than others from these erroneous beliefs… my biggest problem in life always stemmed from my constant worrying and living inside my head too often.  This was the first book that really enlightened me to the realization that I was wasting  precious moments.

Rich Dad Poor Dad: This book is the Double your Dating of personal finance.  The book will not give you concrete examples of how to improve your financial situation, but it will awaken you to the fact that everything you’ve been taught about money is probably wrong.  Just as DeAngelo’s book will spark a confident awareness in your love life, Rich Dad will spark that same awareness in your financial life.

I read this book a year or two after graduating college.  At the time I was waiting tables debating what I wanted to do with my life.  After reading this book I realized that I had many more choices than I first assumed.  I can not say that this book has made me rich yet… but I can say that it set me on a path to getting there.

Real Magic: If there is a such thing as magic this book got me closer to experiencing it than any other time in my life.  Most people are aware of the principles taught in the book “the secret.”  The principles revolve around creating a picture of what you want in your mind, and revisiting it over and over until you get it.  Although I always trusted this idea I never dedicated myself to fulfilling it until reading Real Magic.

At the time I was hopelessly in love with a girl who viewed me as a friend and let me know over and over again that she did not see me as anything more than a friend.  At the instruction of Dr. Dyer I created a vision of myself with her romantically and held it in my mind.  What I didn’t do was plan how it was going to happen, as that is what I always got hung up on in the past.  Dr. Dyer instructed me to see it, feel it, and know that I already possess it.  I kept this in my mind for a month leading up to a trip I was taking with “my friend.”  The first night together we wound up kissing.  It happened magically without the planning and self guessing that usually went along with my attempts.  If you knew the situation as I had, you would believe in magic too.

48 Laws of Power.  This book is dangerous if put in the wrong hands.  Much of this book is based on manipulation and control.  While I can’t say that I have never used the principles to my advantage, I try not to use them for self serving purposes.

Why I recommend reading this book is to learn how other people are manipulating and controlling you.  I had a girl in my life who wreaked complete havoc on my mind.  I was wrapped up with winning the “war” I was battling with her.  After reading this book I realized what it was that she was doing that had such control over me. By realizing what she was doing I was able to protect myself against it… and she was no longer able to hurt me.

These are just 5 books that have helped shape my life.  I will continue to list more books that have has a positive impact on my life in the future… I hope that some of these books can have the same effect on your lives.