Happiful Books

This is my curated list of the best of the hundreds of personal development books I’ve read - Paul

  • The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy - Short, “tough love”, just-the-facts style of presentation of exactly how to be successful in life. Put these practices and habits into place and you will improve every aspect of your life. Half of this book is highlighted, and Paul has read it at least 5 times. If you were only allowed one book to read to improve your life, this would be the one.

  • Atomic Habits by James Clear - Learn from the definitive book on how to install good habits or end bad habits. Success in life can greatly depend on your habits (both good ones and bad ones), so it is worth learning how to master this skill.

  • Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy - A very short book filled with high-impact advice. It starts with the extremely simple but vitally important concept: “Do the most important thing first”, but goes well beyond that. Definitely worth the 20 minutes or so to read it and pull out the gems of wisdom.

  • The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor - A pretty quick and enjoyable read that proves, via studies and examples, that success doesn’t create happiness; instead, happiness creates success. He then gives you specific strategies and tactics to employ to create more happiness for yourself, and therefore more success.

  • Master Your TIME, Master Your LIFE by Brian Tracy - This is much more than time management. Like all Brian Tracy material, it is simple, easy to read, well organized, and packed with great, actionable information to improve every aspect of your life.

  • The Winner’s Mindset by Peter Nicado - The author has done a good job of pulling together all of the best advice on how to develop, like the title says, a winning mindset, as well as some practical exercises to put plans into action. He covers affirmations, goal-setting, visualization, positive attitude, motivation, and more to get your subconscious and conscious mind working for you, and then how to plan and act to achieve your goals.

  • Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins - This is by far the longest book on this list. It has some very powerful ideas, some of which are quite simple. He is one of the most influential people in the personal development world and it is well worth the investment to read it.

  • THINK and GROW RICH by Napoleon Hill - Written in 1937, this may have been the original motivational, personal development, and self-help book focused on financial and business success. Although a bit dated in style, much of the content is as important and true as ever. You’ll recognize some of his same basic principles as still taught in most personal development books published today.

  • Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor - A fun and fascinating read that will teach you the importance of proper breathing technique.

  • The 5 Second Rule by Mel Robbins - Sometimes, just 1 simple idea in a book can change your life. For many people, the 5 Second Rule will be that idea. The core of the book is the 5 Second Rule that Mel came up with to help you take action on anything you are putting off, anything you fear, any idea you have. In this easy-reading book, she clearly explains the science behind her discovery, when and how to use the 5 Second Rule, and shares the extraordinary impact it’s had on thousands of people.

  • Time Management Essentials by Anna Dearmon Kornick - This book covers many elements of the Happiful system. It’s almost uncanny how similar our advice is on Time Management and related subjects. Definitely worth reading, as her way of explaining things (and just spending more time immersed in the subject by reading the book) may help you to more fully understand and accept, and thus implement, the related lessons. Highly recommended.

  • Areté by Brian Johnson - A unique book with 451 mini-chapters, each imparting one lesson. Brian Johnson, the founder of the Heroic personal development company, has curated these 451 lessons out of hundreds of books and interviews with experts, combining ancient wisdom and modern science. I love his content and overall philosophy, whether it is expressed in the app or this book.

  • Happier by Tal Ben-Shahar - An enjoyable read that is focused on how to become happier. It provides science from Positive Psychology, stories, and analogies that combine to give you some different ways to think about happiness and changes you can make in your attitude and life to bring about greater happiness. Almost everyone will gain value from this book.

  • Everything is Figureoutable by Marie Forleo - A fun, easy-reading book that helps people to understand how their attitudes and beliefs are what are holding them back, and how to change them. Filled with lots of great takeaways and actionable ideas.

  • Limitless by Jim Kwik - Jim Kwik is primarily known for teaching about memory and learning, and his book Limitless delivers on those subjects, including very specific science-backed and proven techniques to help you improve your memory and learn more, faster. Limitless goes beyond these subjects however, with lots of other helpful and practical teaching covering mindset, motivation, focus, energy, and more (which will serve to reinforce and expand on these same subjects in our Happiful lessons). As he says, “You can learn to unlimit and expand your mindset, your motivation, and your methods to create a limitless life.”

  • The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg - Along with Atomic Habits, this is another excellent book on Habits. You will learn about the Habit Loop of Cue, Routine, and Reward, and how to change habits by keeping the Cue and Reward but changing the Routine (the action itself). The book is filled with research, stories, examples, and practical steps for making habit changes in your life, and since mastering your habits is so important to becoming happy and successful, it is a worthy supplement to Atomic Habits.

  • How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie - This is the best selling business book of all time, and certainly one of the most important. An old classic, this is from 1936 but more relevant than ever. Broken down into 4 parts: Fundamental Techniques in Handling People, Six Ways to Make People Like You, How to Win People to Your Way of Thinking, and Be a Leader: How to Change People Without Giving Offense or Arousing Resentment. Each section has several simple principles that are basic, fundamental truths about dealing with people that are as true today as they were in 1936. Many successful leaders and salespeople read this once a year to reinforce the principles it teaches.

  • Who, not How by Dan Sullivan - Simple but powerful philosophy: stop trying to do things yourself, and instead find the best person to do it, and you’ll both be better off. Quick read that will make you think differently and almost certainly lead to better results and a happier life.

  • No Excuses by Brian Tracy - This is another great book by Brian Tracy. While there are many common themes among his books, this one emphasizes the importance of taking responsibility for every aspect of your life to achieve personal and professional success. As always, he provides practical advice, poses thought-provoking questions, and focuses on self-discipline, focus, goal-setting, time management, and avoiding procrastination.

  • High Performance Habits by Brendon Burchard - Through original research and decades of coaching, Brendon identified what he calls the HP6 – 6 High Performance Habits. This book is a well-written manual on how to master those 6 High Performance Habits. It’s informative, it’s motivating, and it’s actionable. I have tested most of his advice in my own life, and while I did not add all of his suggestions to my daily and weekly routine, many of them stood the test of time and this book had a meaningful impact on the Happiful system.

  • Power of Focus by Jack Canfield, Mark Hansen, & Les Hewitt - Despite the name, this book is far more than just focus. Written in a very approachable style, it covers many topics for living a successful life, including vision and visualization, goal-setting, habits, resilience, building relationships, developing self-confidence, and more. Each chapter includes exercises and action steps, and there are stories, quotes, and even comics scattered throughout to keep you engaged. It is absolutely worth reading and going through the various exercises. 

  • Mindset by Carol Dweck - This highly influential “single-topic” book introduced to the world the concepts of a “fixed” vs. “growth” mindset. In her research, she found that individuals with a fixed mindset believe their abilities and intelligence are static, while those with a growth mindset see them as malleable qualities that can be developed through dedication and effort. Through compelling anecdotes and practical strategies, "Mindset" inspires readers to cultivate a growth mindset, unlocking their full potential and embracing the journey of continuous learning and improvement.

  • The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss - This was a groundbreaking book that likely inspired many of today’s “digital nomads”. He advocates setting up mini-businesses with outsourced labor to generate mostly or completely passive income, and remote work. He shares techniques of outsourcing, automation, and liberation from time-consuming tasks, providing a blueprint for creating a life of purpose, adventure, and abundance, where work becomes a means to enable experiences rather than working 9-5 until retiring at 65.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, which helps to defray the costs of Be Happiful. The above are paid links.