Engaging in a daily practice of reading can significantly impact one’s attainment of success or mediocrity. It aids winning individuals in exerting more effort, traveling further, and moving quicker than their competitors. Engaging in literature not only facilitates intellectual growth by exposing oneself to the perspectives, insights, and narratives of others but also imparts enlightenment. If you read on a daily basis, or aspire to do so, the following are a dozen suggestions for titles to acquire in the near future.
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What advantages do these motivational publications provide?
A daily reading of an inspirational book will assist you in maintaining peak physical condition and fostering a more optimistic outlook on life and yourself.
Reading a motivational book provides the following inspiration:
- Surmount your constraints.
- Make more prudent decisions
- Do more positive things frequently.
Despite initial difficulty, make an effort to read a motivational book each morning or whenever is most convenient for you.
Top 21 Best Books to Read for Success and Motivation!
1.Straight From the Gut by Jack Welch
“A key quote from this book that has stuck with me throughout my career is: ‘I’ve learned that mistakes can often be as good a teacher as success.’ As I’ve encountered challenges throughout my career, I’ve learned to think of them as lessons, taking into consideration what went wrong and how I can improve as I continue to grow as a professional. Some of my own personal and professional growth, as well as that of our company, has come as a result of mistakes and losses. Once the pain has subsided, real creativity, fight, improvement, and growth have resulted.”
2. Leading at a Higher Level by Ken Blanchard
“This book focuses on authentic, servant-oriented managerial leadership. Ken Blanchard presented these concepts to my leadership team at Microsoft and it transformed how we planned, operated, and encouraged staff to build skills and continually improve performance. It provides a strong set of leadership principles and managerial methods to create truly high-performing organizations. Every leader can benefit from reading this one.”
The chief marketing and strategy officer of Nintex, a provider of process management and automation with over 8,000 clients in over 90 countries, is Dustin Grosse.
3. Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow
“Not only is this a great history lesson on the founding of the U.S., but also an example of how leaders can build a lasting legacy. Alexander Hamilton’s life shows that no matter how humble your upbringing is, with curiosity, hard work, and perseverance you can succeed. Hamilton survived a troubled upbringing, hurricane, and war, and then went on to build longstanding institutions like the Treasury, the Coast Guard, the Navy, and many of today’s tax policies. His life is a reminder that you can overcome any obstacle and become stronger because of it. It’s also enjoyable to read and compare to the musical.”
—Jeff VonDeylen, CEO of Ensono, a global provider of hybrid IT services with a client referral rate of one hundred percent and over 2,000 employees across six countries
4. Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
“In reading the book–and periodically coming back to it–I have found it invaluable as a way of bringing to consciousness the situations in which I’m likely to fall prey to biases using the two systems of thought posed by Kahneman: System 1 being the mostly intuitive, unconscious way we navigate the world and make quick decisions; and System 2 being the more analytical mode that is slower and more focused. As I consider the daily flow of business decisions, I’ve been able to catch myself making irrational decisions precisely because of those biases, which has helped me course-correct. It’s also allowed me to recognize similar patterns of thinking in others, and to challenge and coach people’s thinking by making them aware of our common, and uncommonly stubborn, patterns of irrational thought.”
—Adrian Slobin, Chief Executive Officer of Nerdery, a digital business consulting firm that provides services to around 200 enterprises spanning various sectors
5. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
“Why is a comic science fiction series my go-to recommendation for insights on how to be successful in business? Two words: ‘Don’t panic.’ Throughout my career, from working in global technology organizations to founding multiple technology startups, there have been countless situations where panicking would’ve been a natural response. But when you panic, you are unable to make sound decisions. As a software entrepreneur, you learn that this ride isn’t a straight line up and to the right. It’s a rollercoaster. When you’re riding the rollercoaster and your head is upside down … you should not panic. As a bonus, this book is an absolutely entertaining read that continues to inspire both my creativity and my curiosity.”
—Doron Gordon, founder and chief executive officer of Samanage, a cloud-based service management platform that facilitates and automates service delivery for over 2,000 organizations globally and has won multiple awards.
6. The Dream Manager by Matthew Kelly
“With unemployment holding steady at 3.9 percent, everyone is concerned about the war for talent. The Dream Manager is a great book for any manager fighting this war. The book explains how helping employees meet their own personal goals can dramatically increase retention in your company. After reading it, it inspired me to sit down with my own team and talk with them about their personal dreams and how we could work together to achieve them. And in the process, I learned some tips for resetting my own dreams and goals, reigniting my passion for them. The book is a quick and easy read where the core concepts are told through a fable, followed by actionable steps you can take to make dreams a part of your company’s core curriculum.”
—Mike Santoro, president and partner at Walker Sands Communications and Inc. 5000 list recipient on six occasions
7. Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer
“I consistently return to this book because it not only helps drive memory, but helps to distill the important aspects of a meeting or conversation so the team can focus on what is truly important and the direction is clear. ‘Our memories weren’t built for the modern world. Like our vision, our capacity for language, our ability to walk upright, and every other biological faculty, our memories evolved through a process of natural selection in an environment that was quite different from the one we live in today.’ In a world where we are inundated with information, emails, activities, and meetings, our memories of tasks are fighting for the last storage location in our minds. This book makes it clear that memories are derived from understanding the outcome and goal. That ability to understand what is important allows us to retain the details. Getting a first person’s story of evolving their memory capabilities was extremely helpful in overcoming the doubts that this is just another Jedi mind trick. Just like a word map, make the important aspects as large and exciting as possible so you can’t forget them and the details will fill in around it.”
—Dan Neiweem, co-founder and principal of Avionos, a firm specializing in digital commerce and marketing solutions with notable clients such as Sysco, Kellogg’s, and Ulta Beauty, and a 2018 Crain’s Best Places to Work honoree
8. Managing Up: How to Forge an Effective Relationship With Those Above You by Rosanne Badowski and Roger Gittines
“[This book] gives a very real and relatable interpretation on what it means to facilitate success for those above you, and in turn, secure your own professional success. While other business books will teach you how to move up to escape the grind, [this one] teaches you how to embrace doing the ‘grunt work’ and how seemingly menial tasks are the backbone to any successful business initiative. The ability to lead those above you is a necessary skill for anyone who works in a fast-moving and collaborative environment, and [this book] really breaks down the dynamics of how to manage your boss and establish a healthy working relationship. We believe in the book so much, we’ve implemented an agency-wide initiative for all new team members to read it.”
—Catriona Harris, Chief Executive Officer of Uproar PR, a full-service digital, public relations, and creative agency that has been recognized for three consecutive years on the Inc. 5000 list and has experienced year-over-year growth since its inception in 2012
9. Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap … and Others Don’t by Jim C. Collins
“This is a great book on companies who have transitioned from being good companies to great companies, and how most fail to make the transition.”
Wilson McDowell, director and principal of Cite Partners, an Orlando-based commercial real estate firm that has completed more than 700 deals in the past four years, stated as much.
10. Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss
“Voss’s book … provides clear and actionable advice. Once applied, it can have an immediate and profound impact on your ability to drive change. The core of being a great marketer, salesperson, and real estate agent is your ability to communicate the value you add to your prospects, clients, and team. Communication is one of those undeveloped skills (like management and interviewing) that we just assume we’re good at because nobody tells us otherwise. Voss applies his experience as a former FBI lead hostage negotiator to everyday interactions.”
Jimmy Mackin, co-founder of Curaytor, a digital marketing and sales consulting company that provides services to over 800 businesses, was ranked number 303 on the Inc. 5000 list of the previous year. Curaytor has recurring revenue exceeding $12 million.
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11. Zero to One by Peter Thiel
“Despite a tech background and previous startup experience, I was a late bloomer as a founder–age 55. [This book] was instrumental in guiding me to build a lean, flexible company that develops a deep understanding of the problem and then executes. Thiel’s contrarian view of the timeworn ‘first-mover advantage’ theory turned my world upside down at a pivotal point in my life. That view propelled me forward even after determining I was last to market, because we had identified a massively underserved niche. Thiel asks, ‘What valuable company is nobody building?’ And that question made me realize that seeing competitors in a space doesn’t mean opportunities don’t exist.”
—A 2017 Techstars Global Showcase Award recipient and co-founder and CEO of Leasecake, a software service that simplifies lease administration for commercial real estate owners, tenants, and brokers; Shailesh “Taj” Adhav
12. Body of Work by Pamela Slim
“This book is a career development book for the 21st century. In this gig economy and other financial uncertainties, it helps the reader connect to their bigger career arc. My career has been a smattering of experience, and her book helped me see how it was all connected, and how I lived my values through a somewhat non-traditional path. Her humor comes through the pages, and her insights help the reader with strategies and insights to define what success means personally to them, and how to get it.”
—Stacey Oliver-Knappe, vice president of human resources for Romacorp, the parent corporation of the twenty-five-plus-country international brand Tony Roma’s
13. Narconomics by Tom Wainwright
“Not only a fascinating eye-opener on how highly effective management and ‘business’ growth is achieved for nefarious purposes, but a refreshing take on economics, growth, brand development and diversification that anyone can learn from and apply.”
–Alon Tamir, founder and chief executive officer of Studio Proper, a product design studio based in Melbourne that is expanding into the U.S. market and has doubled revenue in the past two years
14. Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make Competition Irrelevant by W. Chan Kim
“[This book] provides both content and exercises that allow a reader to analyze any project or business for its true competitive advantages. It also gives useful guidance on how to create and develop new territories within any given marketplace. Reading the book really helped me think about how I positioned my brand … in the marketplace, to give us a chance to grow the market size, versus just competing for market share.”
—Dolly Singh, founder of Thesis Couture, a Los Angeles-based fashion technology startup that has garnered significant attention from over a dozen media venues including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and San Francisco Chronicle.
15. 10% Happier by Dan Harris
“You might not think much of a business/life book that begins with the story of the author’s panic attack, but that’s exactly what makes this book so powerful. Harris, an ABC anchor and correspondent, uses honesty, relatability, and humorous self-deprecation to chart his journey from that (on-air!) panic attack, through his efforts to tame that same ‘monkey mind’ that messes with the best of us. A self-described ‘fidgety skeptic,’ he combines clever storytelling and scientific data to persuade readers to at least consider giving meditation a try. Skeptical yourself? Good. Harris’s style is perfect for you, and just might change your life. It did mine.”
—Deirdre Maloney, president of Momentum, an international training and business consulting firm that has advised hundreds of executives worldwide, is the author of four books on business and life satisfaction.
16. Work as a Spiritual Practice by Lewis Richmond
“The title says it all. This book offers a poignant yet practical approach for making ‘work’ a practice of self-discovery and fulfillment, with the added bonus of being an easy read. I first read this book 17 years ago when I was a [young] junior associate at a large Wall Street law firm, feeling adrift and deeply dissatisfied with my work and how I was using my talents. [This book] prompted me to unearth what truly motivated me.”
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—Tamara Belinfanti, co-founder of the Ethical Shareholder Initiative, professor at New York Law School, and 2013 Aspen Ideas Scholar; author of the forthcoming book Citizen Capitalism: How a Universal Fund Can Provide Influence and Income to All; co-founder of the Ethical Shareholder Initiative.
17. Insanely Simple: The Obsession That Drives Apple’s Success by Ken Segall
“Whether you’re giving a presentation or writing a report, this book highlights the importance of simplifying information in a way that is understandable by everyone in the room. If you have a product-related business, the design must be simple. For example, when you buy an HP or Dell laptop, they offer several dozen different models. However, if you go an Apple store, there are just three different laptops. That’s it, simplicity …”
Garo Armen, CEO of Agenus, a clinical stage immune-oncology company with 20 ongoing preclinical and clinical stage programs (proprietary and partnered), stated in the first half of 2019 that the company is on track to set an industry record by submitting 13 investigational new medicines in three years.
18. Outliers is a book written by Malcolm Gladwell.
“In this book, Gladwell asks the question: What makes high achievers different? This book gave me inspiration to be better or strive to become the best at things I love to do. As an example, I wanted to get my black belt in tae kwon do. This book focuses on what it takes to be great and one of the things it focuses on is practicing and experience. I read that it took practicing each kick in tae kwon do 1,000 times a day to become proficient. I started practicing my kicks 1,000 times, three days a week, from the time I started as a white belt until I had my green belt testing. I practiced five kicks 1,000 times (5,000) for three days a week (15,000) for 48 weeks (720,000), at which time I was asked to teach other students because I had become proficient. This, for me, was the key to success. How we do things, how we commit to what we want, and our experiences make the difference in why we are successful.”
—Donna Greene, executive vice president of human resources for NextGen Healthcare, a multinational organization with over 2,900 employees that improves physician-patient relations for 155,000 health care organizations
19. Jesse Itzler authored Living With a SEAL: 31 Days of Training With the World’s Toughest Man.
“I was fortunate enough to start a company with Jesse Itzler a few years ago, and see first-hand how he approaches business and life. Jesse is the founder of Marquis Jet, a partner in Zico Coconut Water and owner of Atlanta Hawks. His book is insanely motivating. If you want different results you have to act differently. What you think you are able to accomplish is only 40 percent of what you are truly capable of. So put yourself out there, learn as you go, don’t make excuses and give it 100.”
—Jeremy Parker, co-founder and chief executive officer of Swag.com, an organization specializing in brand merchandise and promotional products, has led the company to 300 percent annual growth and collaborates with numerous companies, including Amazon, Weight Watchers, Candid Co, Waze, Facebook, Starbucks, and others.
20. Edward Steinberg authored The Making of a Great Wine: Gaja and Sori San Lorenzo.
“It’s not a book just for wine geeks. It’s actually a great business story of a personality and brand transforming the reputation of a category–in this case a wine region. Even though Barbaresco had a long and storied history, it was still relatively obscure until Angelo Gaja brought it to international acclaim with a single wine, Sori San Lorenzo. Steinberg highlights in captivating detail Gaja’s pursuit of perfection and tireless work ethic. His insistence in questioning and forging new traditions with his vineyard practices, always with innovation in mind, resonated with me. He is a renegade, an artist, and a hero of mine. He continues to inspire me today.”
— Rutger de Vink, proprietor and founder-owner of RdV Vineyards situated in Delaplane, Virginia, is renowned for producing luxury wines that have been featured on the wine lists of prestigious establishments such as Michelin-starred and other upscale dining establishments in New York City and Washington, D.C.
21. Elad Gil’s High Growth Handbook: Scaling Startups From Ten to Ten Thousand Employees
“As someone who manages a community of transformational startups looking to achieve scale, I’m interested in books that can serve as valuable guides to the opportunities and challenges that arise along the path of entrepreneurship. Elad’s unique perspective as both technology executive and investor is reflected throughout [this book]. His advice is actionable, and he tackles topics that often feel elusive or intangible for entrepreneurs such as: sourcing alternative methods of funding, evolving company culture, consistent and transparent internal communications, managing a business in an economic downtown, and how to exit a company. After reading this book, I knew our entrepreneurs at Company would want to hear more from Elad, so we hosted a conversation with him as part of our monthly Authors@Company event series.”
—Company, a 1.1 million-square-foot multi-tenant technology campus in New York City that houses startups, entrepreneurs, and enterprises collaborating to realize impactful ideas—is led by its CEO, Matt Harrigan.
Would you include any additional motivational literature on the list?
- A daily read of an uplifting book will improve one’s existence.
- Self-help texts have the potential to enhance one’s capabilities and foster a sense of self-belief.
- You delve into your own capabilities and gain additional experiences.
- Make it a habit to read motivational books, despite initial difficulties.
- We trust the preceding list has provided you with a few titles to help you get started.
- Have you read any of these motivational books?
- Existing favorites that you would like to add to the list?
