One of the questions that have daunted the imaginations of mankind since prehistory is “How do I master myself?” People are capable of endless and amazing things once their potential is unlocked, but the very notion that it must be unlocked speaks to the belief that it is locked.

Now, full disclosure, you won’t find the answer to that elusive age-old question in this article. However, here is a list of some of the best self help books. They have provided readers from all walks of life with the answers that they needed. These books are ranked from least to most expensive.

Benefits of Reading Self Help Books

Before we share the best self-help books with you, let’s look at some reasons to pick up this category from your library. 

Increase Positivity

Self-help books are designed to motivate you and make you feel better about life while providing proactive strategies or mindful approaches to your daily life. When you spend time focusing on reading self-help books, you begin to have a raised awareness of your sources and what’s around you.

Over time, you’ll find that your outlook and thinking strategy evolves. Suddenly, you make the connection that how you think and your outlook towards yourself and life has a huge significance on life events. 

Make Better Choices

Many of us can get stuck in a rut where we wake up in the morning, go to work, return home and do the exact same thing the next day. Without even being aware of this predictable structure, we do little to make any positive changes.

Fortunately, self-help books come with an array of exercises and strategies to help you make better choices. First, this involves you taking a look at your life and the elements you’re happy with and sections you’d like to change. Being honest is an important part of this process.

The best self-help books inspire you to be more aware of how you fill your time. Are you truly doing what you love? And if you realize that you’re not, self-help books will provide you with the strength and strategies to make a positive change. 

They Help You Grow

Humans aren’t trees. We’re not put on earth to stand still, and it can be a good thing to move on and grow. However, knowing how to grow and improve can be a difficult task.

The best self-help books are typically written by people with first-hand experience of the topics they discuss or they have knowledge in the field. Their words can provide you with strategies to turn the next page so you receive the motivation and advice for personal growth. 

Ways To Choose The Best Self Help Books For You

There are a plethora of self-help books on the market right now which can make choosing the best one for you a difficult task. However, here’s a guide to overcoming any confusion. 

Research The Author

We believe information from sources and people we trust. Spend some time researching the author. Do they have the education and formal training in the fields they’re discussing? Or do you connect with the author on a personal level? 

Authors that are talking about topics they clearly have no thorough understanding in create a huge disconnection between the text and the reader.

Personal Issues

Relating to a scenario or person within a self-help book makes it easier to interpret their ways and begin unsolving the issues in your life. Does the self-help book touch on real-life experience or personal issues you’re going through?

Although you won’t personally know the author, feeling like you can relate and trust in their story makes it much easier to appreciate their angle. Therefore, you’re more likely to open your mind to new suggestions. 

Realistic Solutions

We agree that how you think impacts your decisions and persona, but ‘thinking positive’ isn’t a solid, researched strategy to impact your life. Look into whether the book offers tips and advice on how to think positive. 

The book should provide realistic solutions such as daily exercises, meditation strategies and more to help keep you on track. Even better, if these solutions are backed up by studies and scientific evidence, you’re more likely to feel a connection and a spark of inspiration. 

Look at Readers’ Reviews

Finally, another great way to find the best self-help books for you is to research what other readers had to say. Did it make a genuine impact on someone’s life? Do people talk about the positive outcomes this book had on their daily life?

It’s a great idea to purchase your first self-help book based off of a recommendation by someone you trust. Although we’re all different and interpret things in personal ways, feedback is important.

The Best Self-Help Books

1: How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie

Dale Carnegie’s “How to Win Friends and Influence People” is one of the best self help books of all time. To this day, over 30 million copies of this book have been grabbed from bookshelves worldwide. In 2011, it made number 19 on Time’s list of 100 most influential books.

This book takes a simple concept and teaches the reader how to use this concept to gain influence, success, and even friends. This is one of the things that places this book among the best self help books ever.

It stresses that the key to having a highly respected opinion is to assure others of their worth and being a good friend. The end result is that you become a trusted confidant and a voice that people listen to. Surprisingly, “How to Win Friends and Influence People” can be purchased in paperback format Barnes & Noble.

2: The Alchemist, Paulo Coehlo

Paulo Coehlo’s cult classic, “The Alchemist,” isn’t a self help book in and of itself. In all actuality, it’s a novel. Still, the influence that it has had on readers worldwide is sufficient to land it on the list of best self help books. Paulo wrote “The Alchemist” in only two weeks; when asked how he was able to accomplish such a feat, he responded, saying that “it was already written in my soul.”

Paulo’s reason for how he was able to complete the book so fast falls right in line with the heart of this story. It is about a young Andalusian shepherd boy who leaves home and heads for Egypt. He is in search of a treasure that he saw in a dream.

The true premise of this tale is revealed when Melchizedek, an old king, instructs Santiago, to sell his sheep to travel to Egypt. What the old king says to Santiago has transformed the minds and lives of people globally, “when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”

Along the way, Santiago meets an Alchemist. The Alchemist teaches the young shepherd how to realize his truest self. So,  he has to prove his oneness with the universe as he continues his journey for the treasure.

This book will inspire and entertain you at the same time. “The Alchemist” is among the best self help books available.

3: Rich Dad, Poor Dad, Robert T. Kiyosaki

Robert Kiyosaki’s “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” has been one of the best selling self help books since it was published. It was first marketed in 1997. In this book, Kiyosaki proposes that wealth and poverty mindsets exist separately from the actual states wealth and poverty.

He breaks down the poverty mentality that the poor dad is likely to pass on to his son. Also, he compares it to the wealthy mindset and sound financial advice that a rich dad teaches his son. While this book offers the reader a wealth of advice about how to attain wealth, “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” will not break your bank.

4: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing, Marie Kondo

This personal development book is not only one of the best self help books in recent memory, but it is also probably on every mother’s list of best self help books for college students. Kondo focuses on clutter and the effects that it has on thinking.

In the book, the author and organizing consultant teaches her KonMari method for organizing. This method is all about gathering all of one’s belongings. The next step is keeping only those things that “spark joy,” and putting them in proper places.

So, moms should slide two of these into their kids’ luggage as they send them off to college. One should be for their child and the other for their child’s roommate. They will agree with you that it is one of the best self help books when they see the effects that having a clean room has on their mind and their grades.

5: The 10 Best-Ever Anxiety Management Techniques: Understanding How Your Brain Makes You Anxious and What You Can Do to Change It, Margaret Wehrenberg

This personal development book written by Margaret Wehrenber is one of the best self help books for anxiety. This book combats the prescription driven culture of modern mental health with ten science-backed methods for beating anxiety.

6: Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor E. Frankl

Somewhere, it is written in stone that “Man’s Search for Meaning” is one of the best self help books for men. Psychiatrist Victor Frankl uses his experiences in Nazi concentration camps to teach men how to get over themselves and weather life’s harshest storms. 

7: The Universe Has Your Back: Transform Fear to Faith, Gabrielle Bernstein

Gabrielle Bernstein’s capacity for faith is one of her abilities. Therefore, it is likely that she knew this book was going to be a #1 bestseller. It is one of the best self help books for women ever. This book can help women from any or no religious background. It teaches them to realize their full self with its multitude of spiritual insights. 

Bottom Line

Now, you know all these best self help books. Still, none of them will do you good if you don’t get a copy and crack it open. As you can see, help is around the corner, at your local bookstore.

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