Best Personal Development Books of All Time

“Strive for continuous improvement, instead of perfection.” — Kim Collins

I’ve read a lot of personal development & self-improvement books over 25 years at Microsoft to help me get ahead and stay ahead.

The world changes fast, and Microsoft changes even faster.

As my mentor taught me, the fastest thing you can change in any situation is yourself. To keep up, I had to learn how to change myself faster and learn new skills.

I’m sharing the books that have helped me the most around personal change, self-improvement and personal development.

Happy learning and growing!

10 Best Personal Development Books

Here is a list of my top 10 personal development books you might find helpful in your quest for personal growth and development …

Brilliant NLP by David Molden and Pat Hutchinson: This is a beautifully concise book on how to use (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) to get better at everything you do.
How To Have a Beautiful Mind by Edward de Bono: This book helped me learn how to be more interesting and how to cultivate my curiosity. His argument goes – if you are a good thinker, you can be beautiful … and anyone can be beautiful.
Overachievement by John Eliot, Ph.D.: Dr. Eliot helps you figure out what brings out your best performance so that you can do that in more of your everyday scenarios. It’s one of the best books on how to think, feel, and do your best, based on real science and proven in practice with athletes – as well as corporate warriors.
Personal Development for Smart People by Steve Pavlina: Rather than a bunch of habits and practices, Steve Pavlina takes a principle-based approach to give you a simple framework for personal growth. This book will stand out as one of the few that really leans in and acknowledges the hard work of personal development – but also will remind you all along the way, why your journey is worth it.
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey: This is a true classic on personal transformation. Stephen Covey does a brilliant job of honing on the 7 habits that really differentiate effective people. He also gives you a wealth of new ways to look at old problems so you can be more effective and make more conscious choices towards a more effective you.
The Inner Edge: The 10 Practices of Personal Leadership by Joelle Jay: This book felt to me like a dojo of personal growth and greatness in a box. It is filled with extreme insight, along with incredibly pragmatic method, models, and mindsets for self-leadership. It’s one of the greatest books on the planet in terms of structuring your journey of personal development.
The Success Principles by Jack Canfield: I couldn’t believe the first time I discovered this book. I read it fast once, then re-read it slow, multiple times. I couldn’t believe that here in my hands was the secrets of the most successful, all under one volume. Canfield does a great job demystifying success and turning it into a set of principles that anybody can master, if they set their mind to it.
Unlimited Power by Tony Robbins: I don’t know if there’s any book that shook my mind more, or redefined what’s possible for me in this lifetime, than this book. You can tell that Tony Robbins was on fire when he wrote this book. It’s like he tried to do a Vulcan mind-meld with the world and share the greatest secrets he figured out about unleashing your potential.
Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman: This is one of the most helpful books for helping you learn how to truly be in the moment and how to do what makes you come alive, even when it’s not easy. It’s a book about moving forward, with anticipation, and joy, while at the same time, noticing what’s all around you. Check out my Lessons Learned from Peaceful Warrior.
What You Can Change and What You Can’t by Martin Seligman, Ph.D.: Psychologist Martin Seligman shares his insights on what works and what doesn’t when it comes to change, based on outcome studies and a lifetime of observations in how people change (or don’t.) You will learn interesting things about fears and phobias, as well as some of the inner workings of your personality.