Top 10 Motivational Books of All Time

BY GEOFFREY JAMES @SALES_SOURCE

Every business library should include at least one of these gems.
11.2k SHARES

In previous posts I've identified the most influential business books
of all time, and the best sales books of all time. In this post, I
list the books that drive readers to change their lives, improve their
lot, and build better careers. Beware of the final (No. 1) book!

10. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

While he gets a bit preachy sometimes, Steven Covey's road map for
living doesn't just help you develop better habits, it convinces you
that acquiring them will make you a better person.

Best quote: "Sow a thought, reap an action; sow an action, reap a
habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a
destiny."

9. How to Win Friends & Influence People

Prior to Dale Carnegie's classic, mixing business relationships with
personal relationships was considered a bit underhanded, like
nepotism. After Carnegie, the business relationships and personal
relationships were seen as not just as compatible, but absolutely
inseparable.

Best quote: "The unvarnished truth is that almost all the people you
meet feel themselves superior to you in some way, and a sure way to
their hearts is to let them realize in some subtle way that you
recognize their importance, and recognize it sincerely."

8. Think and Grow Rich

Napoleon Hill interviewed "40 millionaires" to discover the common
thought processes and behaviors that had led to their success. His
study of these "best practices" was revolutionary in a world where it
was largely assumed that great wealth resulted from a combination of
greed and luck.

Best quote: "All the breaks you need in life wait within your
imagination. Imagination is the workshop of your mind, capable of
turning mind energy into accomplishment and wealth."



7. Awaken the Giant Within

Anthony Robbins is unlike most motivational writers in two ways.
First, he treats training the mind and body as a technological
challenge rather than moral imperative. Second, he somehow manages to
be both an inspirational role model and the most annoying guy on the
planet.

Best quote: "If you can't, you must. If you must, you can."

6. As a Man Thinketh

Motivational books are usually about taking immediate action. By
contrast, this 1902 classic by James Allen is a bit more, well...,
thoughtful. It explains how your thoughts mold your personality, and
how that personality drives you to take action and determines the type
of action you'll take.

Best quote: "The dreamers are the saviors of the world. As the visible
world is sustained by the invisible, so men, through all their trials
and sins and sordid vocations, are nourished by the beautiful visions
of their solitary dreamers."

5. The Greatest Salesman in the World

Far more than just a sales book, Og Mandino's faux-biblical parable
encourages your to live your life to the fullest by believing in
yourself and your ability to help others. Required reading for anybody
who sells. Which is just about everybody.

Best quote: "I will live this day as if it is my last. This day is all
I have and these hours are now my eternity. I greet this sunrise with
cries of joy as a prisoner who is reprieved from death. I lift mine
arms with thanks for this priceless gift of a new day."

4. Don't Sweat the Small Stuff

A big part of motivation is clearing your mind of the clutter that
weighs it down. Richard Carlson helps you differentiate between what's
really important--and deserving of your attention--and what's just
"noise in the system."

Best quote: "Stress is nothing more than a socially acceptable form of
mental illness."

3. Drive

Motivation comes from the judicious use of carrots and sticks, right.
Not so, says author Daniel Pink. His book illustrates the fact that
motivation comes from many sources and that, at the highest level of
performance, motivation come from your deepest and most profound sense
of who you are and want to be.

Best quote: "For artists, scientists, inventors, schoolchildren, and
the rest of us, intrinsic motivation--the drive to do something
because it is interesting, challenging, and absorbing --is essential
for high levels of creativity."

2. The Power of Positive Thinking

When it was first published, both psychologists and theologians
attacked this book as heretical, and accused author Norman Vincent
Peale of being a crank. Today, science has verified the book's basic
concept--that being optimistic makes you healthier and happier and
thus more likely to succeed.

Best quote: "Action is a great restorer and builder of confidence.
Inaction is not only the result, but the cause, of fear. Perhaps the
action you take will be successful; perhaps different action or
adjustments will have to follow. But any action is better than no
action at all."

1. Your Favorite Here

Okay, I've provided you with nine incredibly motivating books, any one
of which could literally change your life.

Now it's your turn.

What book ought to be on this list? What book has motivated you? What
motivational book do you recommend to your friends?

Leave a comment!