21 Inspiring Self Help Books to Become your Best Self

These are my favorite 21 Inspiring self help books to help become your best self. There is the notion that you are not educated in a subject unless you have a college degree. That simply is not true. Personal growth means we have a responsibility to ourselves to constantly study and learn throughout our lifetime, may it be through education, reading, or self-discovery.

‘Never let formal education get in the way of your learning.’ –Mark Twain

I have always been obsessed with learning about human behavior and becoming your best self, how our emotions and environment impact our lives, and how we cane the challenges in our lives. Below are 21 of the most inspiring self help and self help books that I feel to be very beneficial in self-discovery.

Think Like a Monk: Train Your Mind for Peace and Purpose Every Day

Cover Blurb: In this inspiring self help and empowering book, Shetty draws on his time as a monk to show us how we can clear the roadblocks to our potential and power. Combining ancient wisdom and his own rich experiences in the ashram, Think Like a Monk reveals how to overcome negative thoughts and habits and access the calm and purpose that lie within all of us. He transforms abstract lessons into advice and exercises we can all apply to reduce stress, improve relationships, and give the gifts we find in ourselves to the world. Shetty proves that everyone can – and should – think like a monk.

Top Amazon Review: Think Like a Monk is deliciously thought-provoking. Each chapter took me to a place deep inside my heart, my head, and my soul. Throughout the many chapters, I had to stop and truly reflect on my life; becoming aware of the many places where true change would allow me to become a deeper loving, and more compassionate person.

The raw openness from this author, Jay Shetty, as he shared his journey of discovery through his pain, his joys, his vulnerabilities, and his love is so touching.

A few inspirational ideas that resonated with me are:
“If we try to be problem-solvers, then we become frustrated when people don’t take our brilliant advice. The desire to save others is ego-driven.”
“If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.”
“Detachment is not that you own nothing, but that nothing should own you.”
“Be kinder to yourself. And then let your kindness flood the world.”

With this last idea, I strongly recommend this book for everyone to read so that we can let our collective kindnesses flood the world.

Becoming Supernatural: How Common People Are Doing the Uncommon

Cover Blurb: What would it mean to become supernatural? What if you could tune in to frequencies beyond our material world… change your brain chemistry to access transcendent levels of awareness… create a new future… and transform your very biology to enable profound healing? This is what Dr. Joe Dispenza offers in this revolutionary book: a body of knowledge and a set of tools that allow ordinary people-people just like you-to reach extraordinary states of being.

In these pages, you’ll explore: – How to free yourself from the past by reconditioning your body to a new mind – How changing your frequency allows you to create reality in the ‘generous present moment’ – The secret science of the pineal gland, and its role in accessing mystical realms of reality – How to shift your awareness beyond the limited, predictable material world and move into the quantum field of infinite possibilities – And much more. Dr. Joe offers nothing less than a program for stepping outside our physical reality and into a new world. ‘This is who we are,’ he writes, ‘and this is the future I’m creating-one in which every one of us becomes supernatural.’. if you want to know what personal growth means, then this is the book for you

Top Amazon Review: This book is nothing short of incredible. As a surgeon, I am VERY pragmatic and analytical. Although open to different ideas regarding spirituality and the mystical I can frequently smell the “woo-woo BS” from a mile away. Joe’s work is the real deal. Revolutionary and most importantly scientific-based. As Joe would say: “How do I know it? Because I’ve measured it.” And he did. SO he has the science behind it to prove it. Not some exoteric opinion.

After reading the book my wife and I attended his last live Progressive workshop and we were blown away.

I read about 2 books a month and this book is by far one of, if not THEE best. It does not give you only theory. It shows you step by step how to apply it. I strongly suggest you buy his guided meditations in audio as it brings a completely different experience. Books like these are essential and justify the importance of personal development

If this is your first contact with his work I suggest you read Breaking the Habit 1st and then Becoming Supernatural next. And then fasten your seatbelts!

Joe Dispenza is THE DISPENSER of transformational knowledge that you can use daily to become supernatural! IF YOU DO THE WORK it will improve your life beyond your wildest imagination.

What Happened to You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing

Cover Blurb: Oprah Winfrey and renowned brain development and trauma expert, Dr. Bruce Perry, discuss the impact of trauma and adverse experiences and how healing must begin with a shift to asking ‘What happened to you?’ rather than ‘What’s wrong with you?’.

Through wide-ranging and often deeply personal conversation, Oprah Winfrey and Dr. Perry explore how what happens to us in early childhood – both good and bad – influences the people we become. They challenge us to shift from focusing on ‘What’s wrong with you?’ or ‘Why are you behaving that way?’ to asking ‘What happened to you?’. This simple change in perspective can open up a new and hopeful understanding for millions about why we do the things we do, why we are the way we are, providing a road map for repairing relationships, overcoming what seems insurmountable, and ultimately living better and more fulfilling lives. This is an inspiring self help book

Amazon Top Review: This wonderful book opened up a way to hope for me. It helped me understand myself more clearly. I always thought that if you rant something and if you toughened up you could get it. I’ve been stuck in the same patterns for years and thought that was my fault, I had to toughen up more. I would fail again and again and thought something was wrong with me. “What happened to me” helped me understand what happened to me and why I was functioning this way. This book gave me the understanding I needed to start healing and understand, and how to b your best self. this pattern is here because of what happened to me and I can change it by caring deeply for myself with no judgments and dropping all the harshness I use to attach to getting out of patterns and getting better. My work to heal and get better starts here. Thank you for this book.

Braving the Wilderness-Brene Brown

Book Blurb: “True belonging doesn’t require us to change who we are. It requires us to be who we are.” Social scientist Brené Brown, Ph.D., MSW, has sparked a global conversation about the experiences that bring meaning to our lives—experiences of courage, vulnerability, love, belonging, shame, and empathy. In Braving the Wilderness, Brown redefines what it means to truly belong in an age of increased polarization. With her trademark mix of research, storytelling, and honesty, Brown will again change the cultural conversation while mapping a clear path to true belonging.

Amazon Top Review: Where to start…I feel like, no I KNOW, this book was written for me. Published only yesterday I have just finished reading it and wow, it is so powerful and so tender. I am completely grateful for all of Professor Brene Brown’s words, they have guided me towards the beautiful life I have now which both excites and terrifies me, but this particular book spoke to my heart and so now I need to start reading it again to remove and treasure all the many gems of wisdom concealed within its pages. But what is it about? It’s about ‘true belonging’ and how to navigate through this messy, messy, divided world of sides and enemies and terrorism and hate by remaining passionately true to yourself and your beliefs and holding on to love and compassion and empathy; living a life that is true, brave, courageous and most importantly, yours. This is Brown’s definition of belonging, it is perfection:

The Universe Has Your Back: Transform Fear to Faith

Book Blurb: Through acceptance, surrender, and a commitment to her continually evolving spiritual path, New York Times best-selling author and international speaker Gabrielle Bernstein has been transforming her fear into faith. Her stories and universal lessons provide a framework for releasing the blocks to what everyone most longs for happiness, security, and clear direction. These lessons can help us relinquish the need to control to relax into a sense of certainty and freedom–to stop chasing life and truly live.

Top Amazon Review: Love this book it’s so good I’m reading it slowly so I won’t finish it so fast lol it’s that good. Clears your mind relaxes your mind as you read her words and get deep Into every word it’s like you go into meditation while reading this book. It’s great I want to buy the hardcover book to have forever so I can read it over and over it’s that good. Those of you who are given this book low stars and less credit need to work on themselves spiritually and focus on that journey then you will understand this book and her words and be blown away because this book is amazing for those who are working on themselves and their peace and positivity in life.

THE The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself

Book Blurb: What would it be like to free yourself from limitations and soar beyond your boundaries? What can you do each day to discover inner peace and serenity? The Untethered Soul offers simple yet profound answers to these questions.

Whether this is your first exploration of inner space, or you’ve devoted your life to the inward journey, this book will transform your relationship with yourself and the world around you. You’ll discover what you can do to put an end to the habitual thoughts and emotions that limit your consciousness. By tapping into traditions of meditation and mindfulness, author and spiritual teacher Michael A. Singer shows how the development of consciousness can enable us all to dwell in the present moment and let go of painful thoughts and memories that keep us from achieving happiness and self-realization.

Amazon Top Review: I don’t know where to start with this book.
As an avid spiritual learner, I bought this on recommendation from my Dad and couldn’t put it down. It encapsulates the way we should live our life perfectly, logically, and with such ease.
I often find when I read books of this genre it initially sticks in my head but then fades with time, but there is something about Michael Stinger’s words that resonate in my mind like magical words to refer to.
He goes through the journey of battling with one’s inner dialogue, transcending the power of energy, and cultivating these skills to refine yourself and realize how simple life can be.
With these skills, you can finally free yourself of your mind.
“You are the passenger of your body”

The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom 

Book Blurb: In The Four Agreements, bestselling author don Miguel Ruiz reveals the source of self-limiting beliefs that rob us of joy and create needless suffering. Based on ancient Toltec wisdom, The Four Agreements offer a powerful code of conduct that can rapidly transform our lives into a new experience of freedom, true happiness, and love.

Amazon Top Review: This book is amazing I stayed up late listening to it and going to listen to it many times over. Had a big breakthrough and an ah-ha moment whilst reading it. I strongly suggest it to help break through your fear-based “agreements.” You won’t regret buying and reading this book. I bought one for my mom for mother’s day because I think she too will enjoy it. I would love to buy more of them and give them to random people so they too can be free. It’s a wonderful book and the price is well worth the power of the book.

Radical Confidence: 10 No-BS Lessons on Becoming the Hero of Your Own Life

Book Blurb: Radical Confidence is the “empowering, transformative, and practical” (Jay Shetty, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Think Like A Monk) story of how Lisa unpaused her life to cofound a company that went from zero to a billion dollars in just five years and became the leader in the world of personal development. Transforming herself with a growth mindset, Lisa learned to face her insecurities and inadequacies, embrace new challenges, solve her problems, tell her negative voice to shut the eff up and become the hero of her own life by life-hacking her way to feeling confident.

A part deeply personal memoir, part guide to life, Radical Confidence “challenges the deep-rooted beliefs that prevent so many of us from knowing or reaching for our dreams” (Dr. Nicole Lepera, New York Times bestselling author of How to Do the Work). Lisa teaches you how to:
-Dream big
-Boost your confidence
-Toughen the F up
-And learn how to save yourself

Amazon Top Review: I loved this book. I rarely endorse books anymore. But the truth is we’ve all been hit with so much uncertainty and judgment over these last few years that we need a radical shift. We need our energy and courage and momentum back. We need to reclaim the best of who we are and have the guts to go live life again on our terms. We need Radical Confidence!

The Gift: 14 Lessons to Save Your Life

Book Blurb: A practical and inspirational guide to stopping destructive patterns and imprisoning thoughts to find freedom and joy in life. World-renowned psychologist and internationally bestselling author, Edith Eger’s, powerful New York Times bestselling book The Choice told the story of her survival in the concentration camps, her escape, healing, and journey to freedom. Readers around the world wrote to tell her how The Choice moved them and inspired them to confront their past and try to heal their pain. They asked her to write another, more prescriptive book. Eger’s second book, The Gift, expands on her message of healing and provides a hands-on guide that gently encourages readers to change the thoughts and behaviors that may be keeping them imprisoned in the past.

Amazon Top Review: I was reading this book from the library and decided I needed to buy a copy to reread later and share with friends and family members. Every chapter is filled with pointers on how to heal the past and move forward in this challenging world. She writes about her younger days in Auschwitz which she describes as “hell on earth” and how she was able to move on with her husband and family and then in her 40s become a Psychiatrist. The wisdom she shares at 92 years old is a “gift.”

A Radical Awakening: Turn Pain into Power, Embrace Your Truth, Live Free 

Book Blurb: A Radical Awakening lays out a path for women to discover their inner truth and powers to help heal others and the planet.

Dr. Shefali helps women uncover the purpose that already exists within them and harness the power of authenticity in every area of their lives. The result is an eloquent and inspiring, practical, and accessible book, backed with real-life examples and personal stories, that unlocks the extraordinary power necessary to awaken the conscious self.

Amazon Top review: This is an amazing book by Dr. Shefali. This book will make you laugh and cry. You will be brought to your deepest fears, face them and come out on the other side feeling whole, knowing yourself better, and ready to face the world with authenticity, courage, self-love, and self-respect. I highly recommend this book to all who wish to awaken to the truest versions of themselves.

The Power of One More: The Ultimate Guide to Happiness and Success 

Book Blurb: You’re one more intentional thought and action away from discovering your best life

In The Power of One More, renowned keynote speaker and performance expert Ed Mylett draws on 30 years of experience as an entrepreneur and coach to top athletes, entertainers, and business executives to reveal powerful strategies to help you live an extraordinary “one more” life.

Perfect for anyone who wants more bliss, wealth, or better relationships, The Power of One More is an indispensable roadmap to realizing and exceeding your personal and professional goals by tapping into the superpowers and gifts you already have inside you.

Amazon Top Review: This book DELIVERS. The inspiration, the strategies, and the humanity that Ed put into this book will elevate your life. The truth is, we all know that we get too discouraged too often… give up too soon, too often. We fall on our faces. We don’t always believe in ourselves. We lose our focus and motivation and real progress. But this simple idea of ONE MORE, and the habits and emotional strength that Ed teaches…. my word this is POWERFUL. I cried at how he honors his father and felt like leveling up when I heard about his mindset and life practices. Get this book.

Becoming Bulletproof: Protect Yourself, Read People, Influence Situations, and Live Fearlessly 

Book Blurb: Becoming Bulletproof means transforming yourself into a stronger, more confident, and more powerful person. Evy Poumpouras—former Secret Service agent to three presidents and one of only five women to receive the Medal of Valor—demonstrates how we can overcome our everyday fears, have difficult conversations, know who to trust and who might not have our best interests at heart, influence situations, and prepare for the unexpected. When you have become bulletproof, you are your best, most courageous, and most powerful version of yourself. Poumpouras shows us that ultimately true strength is found in the mind, not the body.

Amazon Top Review: Where to begin? This is one of those few books I will never part with. I am truly at a loss for words. I learned about Evy recently when my Mom sent me a YouTube link to one of her interviews. I was so inspired by her that I knew I had to read her book. It exceeded my expectations. Drawing from years of personal experience which she details throughout, Evy imparts wisdom applicable to any situation or season of life. The book is authentic and inspiring. The final lines say it all: “You are the hero you’ve been waiting for. You are the hero the world has been waiting for.” Thank you, Evy! What a gift this book is.

The Highly Sensitive Person’s Guide to Dealing with Toxic People

Book Blurb: In The Highly Sensitive Person’s Survival Guide to Dealing with Toxic People, you’ll learn evidence-based skills grounded in cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) to help you recognize and shut down the common manipulation tactics used by toxic people, such as gaslighting, stonewalling, projection, covert put-downs, and love bombing. You’ll also discover targeted tips to protect yourself from the five main types of toxic people:

• Garden-variety boundary-steppers
• Crazymakers and attention-seekers
• Emotional vampires
• Narcissists
• Sociopaths and psychopaths 

Amazon Top Review: This book made me want to find the author and give her the biggest, most grateful, squeeze everything out of her, hug. I have wondered my whole life why I seemed to be more affected than those around me by pretty much everything. I’ve felt different and weird because I can sense things and at the same time take action and continue to process much more than it seems everyone else is around me. I finally learned about HSPs earlier this year and when I heard about this book on Dr. Lisa A Romano’s YT channel, I bought it straight away.

Awaken the Giant By Taking Immediate Control of Your Mental, Emotional, Physical and Financial Destiny!

Book Blurb: Wake up and take control of your life! From the bestselling author of Inner Strength, Unlimited Power, and MONEY Master the Game, Anthony Robbins, the nation’s leader in the science of peak performance, shows you his most effective strategies and techniques for mastering your emotions, your body, your relationships, your finances, and your life.

The acknowledged expert in the psychology of change, Anthony Robbins provides a step-by-step program teaching the fundamental lessons of self-mastery that will enable you to discover your true purpose, take control of your life, and harness the forces that shape your destiny.

Amazon Top Review: This is my first book by Tony Robbins. WOW! This book is choked full of wisdom. I read 50 books a year and recommend only a couple. I PUT THIS BOOK ON MY LIST OF 10 BOOKS EVERYONE SHOULD READ. This is one of those books I wished I read when it came out in 1991. I will read this book again. Tony Robbins is a genius at getting to the core of your mental, physical and financial destiny in easy-to-understand language with lists and action items. I love that he encourages people to give back. Over 500 pages of the best advice, I have ever read!

The 48 Laws of Power 

Book Blurb: Amoral, cunning, ruthless, and instructive, this multi-million-copy New York Times bestseller is the definitive manual for anyone interested in gaining, observing, or defending against ultimate control – from the author of The Laws of Human Nature.

In the book that People magazine proclaimed “beguiling” and “fascinating,” Robert Greene and Joost Elffers have distilled three thousand years of the history of power into 48 essential laws by drawing from the philosophies of Machiavelli, Sun Tzu, and Carl Von Clausewitz and also from the lives of figures ranging from Henry Kissinger to P.T. Barnum.

Amazon Top Review: This book has controversy, but most of it stems from reviewers that believe all people are good inside and unicorns deliver their vegan low-fat cappuccino with cream. Well, most people aren’t kind, and this book prepared me for reality. It doesn’t teach one to be self-absorbed or evil or a heretic. It teaches one to stand your ground and to protect yourself from taking unnecessary burdens, unfair treatment, and manipulation from corrupt people.

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail 

Book Blurb: At twenty-two, Cheryl Strayed thought she had lost everything. In the wake of her mother’s death, her family scattered, and her marriage was soon destroyed. Four years later, with nothing more to lose, she made the most impulsive decision of her life: to hike the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon to Washington State—and to do it alone. She had no experience as a long-distance hiker, and the trail was little more than “an idea, vague and outlandish and full of promise.” But it was a promise of piecing back together a life that had come undone.

Amazon Top Review: I thoroughly enjoyed Wild! Cheryl Strayed’s account of her epic hike along a section of the Pacific Crest Trail is both heart-wrenching and entertaining. She tells her story with exceptional honesty and self-deprecating humor. I finished the book feeling as if I had made a friend such as the intimacy between author and reader. A heart-warming, inspirational tale told by a formidable yet ordinary human being. Recommended.

The Mountain is you: Transforming Self-sabotage into Self-Mastery

Book Blurb: This is a book about self-sabotage. Why we do it when we do it, and how to stop doing it—for good. Coexisting but conflicting needs create self-sabotaging behaviors. This is why we resist efforts to change, often until they feel completely futile. But by extracting crucial insight from our most damaging habits, building emotional intelligence by better understanding our brains and bodies, releasing past experiences at a cellular level, and learning to act as our highest potential future selves, we can step out of our way and into our potential. For centuries, the mountain has been used as a metaphor for the big challenges we face, especially ones that seem impossible to overcome. To scale our mountains, we have to do the deep internal work of excavating trauma, building resilience, and adjusting how we show up for the climb. In the end, it is not the mountain we master, but ourselves.

Amazon Top Review: This book is amazing it’s not a book that you can just read and be done with it, this is a reference book for life that everyone should read! You will not be disappointed.

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: 

Book Blurb: In this generation-defining self-help guide, a superstar blogger cuts through the crap to show us how to stop trying to be “positive” all the time so that we can truly become better, happier people.

For decades, we’ve been told that positive thinking is the key to a happy, rich life. “F**k positivity,” Mark Manson says. “Let’s be honest, shit is f**ked and we have to live with it.” In his wildly popular Internet blog, Manson doesn’t sugarcoat or equivocate. He tells it like it is—a dose of raw, refreshing, truth that is sorely lacking today. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F**k is his antidote to the coddling, let’s-all-feel-good mindset that has infected modern society and spoiled a generation, rewarding them with gold medals just for showing up.

Amazon Top Review: This book is a game-changer. It makes you think in a way you never have. Must read for people who think they are depressed, ‘something is wrong with me’, ‘why me’ type of questions.. Trust me there is nothing wrong with you.. an eye-opener for me truly. Just order it already !!!

Girl, Wash Your Face: Stop Believing Lies About Who You Are So You Can Become Who You Were Meant to Be

Book Blurb: Do you ever suspect that everyone else has life figured out and you don’t have a clue? If so, Rachel Hollis has something to tell you: that’s a lie. If you have ever said any of these things to yourself . . .

• Something else will make me happy.
• I’m not a good mom.
• I will never get past this.
• I am defined by my weight.
• I should be further along by now.

then you could benefit from the unflinching faith and rock-hard tenacity Rachel Hollis has in store for you. In this challenging but conversational book, Rachel exposes the twenty lies and misconceptions that too often hold us back from living joyfully and productively, lies we’ve told ourselves so often we don’t even hear them anymore.

Amazon Top Review: Every chapter gives new insights into the lessons Rachel learned on her journey to become an employee, wife, mother, business owner, author, and social media lifestyle artist. She shares the many disappointments and pains along the path to success. She shares her flaws, mistakes, and “wish I could do-overs”. She shares intimate details about her siblings, marriage, children, and parents. She discusses the business she created and her transformation into a social media lifestyle blogger. She shares her passion for life and the joy of living.

The Power of Intention 

Book Blurb: Dr. Wayne W. Dyer has researched intention as a force in the universe that allows the act of creation to take place. This book explores intention— as something you do— as energy, you’re a part of. We’re all intended here through the invisible power of intention. This is the first book to look at intention as a field of energy that you can access to begin co-creating your life with the power of intention. Part I deals with the principles of intention, offering true stories and examples of ways to make the connection.

Amazon Top Review: There aren’t enough stars to rate this book, it is simply sublime and easy to read too considering the subject. the very best book I have read in a long time it deserves eleven stars. Even though it is a form of teaching it was still hard not to read right through and then digest it all.
It is a feast of the soul that macs I know for sure. The big star of course is Wayne Dyer himself.

The Power Is Within You

Book Blurb: “Louise Hay writes to your soul—where all healing begins. I love this book… and I love Louise Hay.” — Dr. Wayne W. Dyer

In The Power Is Within You, Louise L. Hay expands her philosophies of loving the self through:
· learning to listen and trust the inner voice;
· loving the child within;
· letting our true feelings out;
· the responsibility of parenting;
· releasing our fears about growing older;
· allowing ourselves to receive prosperity;
· expressing our creativity;
· accepting change as a natural part of life;
· creating a world that is ecologically sound;
· where it’s safe to love each other;
· and much more.

She closes the book with a chapter devoted to meditations for personal and planetary healing.

Amazon Top Review: Louise Hay has really made a great impact on a lot of people with this book. It is a real eye-opener for seeing why the people I encounter behave the way they do. It also made me even more grateful that I rejected so much of my upbringing when I was young and found my own spiritual path over the last 25 years. I look forward to re-reading this book many times, as it will help anyone who is experiencing a wide range of issues, and each time you read it, something new stands out! Wonderful book!

Conclusion

These are just a few of my favorite self-journey books that have helped me work towards bettering myself. I encourage you to explore and read out of your comfort zone. If you always read books that reaffirm your beliefs you will never truly grow as a person