Here’s my list of the 11 best self-help books of all time, in no particular order.
- Meditations – Imagine a self-help book written by the emperor of roughly ⅓ of the planet. Yeah, that’s what this is.
- Man’s Search for Meaning – Frankl also survived Auschwitz, but he also happened to be a celebrated psychiatrist. This book argues for a therapeutic model based on a human sense of meaning, with much of it argued from Frankl’s experiences with the Nazis.
- The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck – Hyping my own shit here, but it’s sold 16 million copies worldwide for a reason.
- The Road Less Traveled – Based on the famous line from Robert Frost, Peck’s book is often considered a self-help classic for its realism and sober viewpoints on suffering, love and growth.
- The Four Agreements – Maybe the most condensed piece of wisdom on the market. Can be read in a day, yet practiced for a lifetime.
- Atomic Habits – The best book on habits and their compounding power in our lives ever written.
- Stillness is the Key – The culmination of three books on Stoic philosophy applied in modern contexts. Stillness is more important than ever in our wild and wacky world.
- Indistractable – A supremely practical guide to managing your attention in a world that’s constantly fighting for it.
- Tiny Beautiful Things – Incredibly vulnerable, poignant and well-written. Strayed’s responses as an advice columnist are some of the most beautiful pieces of advice I’ve ever come across.
- Daring Greatly – Brown’s best, in my opinion. This book shows how her ideas about vulnerability look in the real world.
- 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – Another self-help classic, this time geared towards productivity and discipline. Timeless.
