15 Best Personality Development Books You Must read (for the 40+)
“The Only Journey Is The Journey Within.”
Rainer Maria Rilke
Do you persevere to learn something new each day? Do you always strive to be the best version of yourself especially since you have started the second phase of your life?
Personal development books can be your answer to help you achieve your goals.
Yet, choosing the right personality development book can be a daunting task. We have compiled a list of 15 top personality development books to make your life easier.
These are books that we felt are the best books for personal development to read while you are pursuing your journey toward self-development in your midlife.
Included in the list are books that will help you to
- improve your self-esteem
- develop time-management skills
- enhance positive thinking
- and help in building better habits
Table of Contents
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What If You Could Wake Up Tomorrow And Any – Or Every Area Of Your Life Was Beginning To Transform?
How many times have you vowed to yourself to change your life in and out? Yet you give up on it as you do not have the proper guidance and tools to help you with this.
A personal development book can be your friend and help you to reinvent your life in your 40s and beyond.
Self-help books offer guidance, advice, and inspiration to help you overcome obstacles in life and develop positive thinking. They guide you to win friends and influence people.
Most books on the list here are centered on achieving a goal or overcoming an obstacle, and some also teach skills that may help you cope with the many different circumstances life exposes you to as you move through life.
Most people believe that personal growth can only happen with introspection and self-reflection.
While this is true to an extent, if you couple up those moments of introspection with books that cater to those aspects, you will realize that the books on personal development can give you an insight into what actions you need to take to help you in your journey towards personal growth.
What Are The Best Books For Personality Development And Self Improvement In Life After 40?
Personality development and self improvement books can help you to become a better person. Especially as you hit your 40s and beyond, you should put in effort from your end to make small changes that lead to a better future.
This effort you make is not for someone else but for your betterment. In this self-development books, can prove to your best friends for life!!. They can help you to
- develop positive habits
- learn new skills
- and manage your emotions
For those who are looking for the best books about personality development, the following list should provide some helpful suggestions.
Atomic Habits by James Clear
The 1st book on the list is the book by James Clear, Atomic Habits. While working towards personal growth developing good habits is the key.
In the book Atomic Habits, James Clear discusses how habits are formed and how they can be broken down. In his introduction, he tackles the question of how to form a habit in a single sentence: “The key is to identify a cue, routine, and reward. If you know what triggers the habit and what makes it satisfying, then that’s all you need.
He discusses how he became successful in his own life by focusing on how to form good habits. He explains that if you have a bad habit, for example, if you have the habit of driving too fast, then it can be replaced by getting into the habit of driving slower.
The key is to create an environment where you are more likely to do the right thing rather than what you are used to doing.
Highly effective people according to James Clear concentrate on developing healthy habits for getting things done. For being successful in life you need to understand which habits you need to cultivate and which to let go of.
In Atomic Habits, James Clear offers a new approach to living life with intention and achieving your goals. You’ll learn how to take an idea or goal and break it down into manageable behaviors.
This will bring you closer to your goal, and help you focus on building consistent habits around these behaviors. But this isn’t just about building habits. It’s about understanding why you do what you do in life.
Eat the Frog by Brian Tracy
While juggling the different aspects and grinds of the day as a blogger, and mother to a teenager I feel like I’ve always been pretty good at multitasking. But sometimes one feels overwhelmed.
At times it feels like my to-do list has become stifling and I’m not sure how to get out of it.
When I was reading the book Eat the Frog by Brian Tracy, he suggested that we should tackle our toughest task in the morning and break it up into smaller tasks so we can keep moving.
I found this idea to be quite intriguing since I have many times found myself procrastinating on tasks that need to be completed.
Brian Tracy, the author of Eat the Frog, is a motivational speaker and author. His book is designed to help people learn how to get more done each day.
The book is based on the idea that if you eat the frog in the morning, you will have less stress about your workload throughout the day.
He suggests that the best way to get anything done is to start with what you’re most likely to procrastinate on.
For example, if your “frog” is something like paying your bills, make a list of all the things you need to do and check them off one by one.
You’ll be surprised how quickly this can get done when compared to waiting until the last minute to get it done.
If you have a list of things that you need to tackle, then do what Brian Tracy calls “eating the frog.” Start with the hardest task on your list, and mark it off as done.
In Eat the Frog, Brian Tracy helps readers identify their major tasks and helps them learn how to address those difficult jobs more effectively.
To estimate your time “worth” for a task you need to consider the cost of not doing it as well as the amount of time that it will take you to complete it.
It is one of the good growth books available that can help you, especially if overcoming the habit of procrastination is what you want to achieve to enhance your personality.
The One Thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan
We all know the importance of doing one thing at a time. Whether it’s tidying up, cooking, or finishing homework it’s important to be focused on the task at hand.
But how do you apply it effectively in your day-to-day life especially when you are bombarded with so many things or tasks at the same time?
If you’re anything like me, your attention span might be short and you don’t want to focus on just one thing.
At least 10 years ago, one of the most popular books in business today was written by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan. They reveal to us what they call “The One Thing.”
In the book The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results, author Gary Keller discusses how to focus on just one thing to achieve success.
He describes that it is often that starting point of “The One Thing” that leads to extraordinary results.
Keller also discusses the importance of being willing to take action. He says that there is no substitute for taking some sort of action, even if it’s small, to get things done.
Many people struggle with the idea of what to focus on to get more done and become more successful. This holds especially true for people in their midlife who are juggling multiple responsibilities simultaneously.
The One Thing is a book that provides an answer to this problem. It shows the reader how focusing on one thing will help them achieve success.
It explains the concept that one cannot do everything at once, but rather just focusing on one thing can help you get outstanding results.
What I learned from this book is to concentrate on one task at a given point in time. So, what I try to do throughout my day is to create time blocks for completing different tasks and then according to those time blocks assign one task for those time blocks.
In this way, my mind knows what to focus on in those 2 to 3 hours I have chosen for that task.
What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast By Laura Vanderkam
The most successful people often do different things before breakfast. Some people will work out in the morning to start their day off with exercise, others might take 15 minutes in the morning to read a book or listen to music because they believe it will help them be more productive throughout the day.
No matter what you do in the morning, it is important to find something that helps you get ready for your day and allows you to set yourself up for success.
This is the idea behind the book What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast by Laura Vanderkam.
Author, Laura Vanderkam, in What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast writes about the importance of morning habits and how to incorporate healthy choices into your morning routine for a more fulfilling life.
She has interviewed numerous successful people and researched their morning habits.
In the book, she talks about what successful people do before they start their day at work. Some of the activities that these people partake in include
- meditation
- exercise
- yoga
- coffee-brewing or tea-making
- reading works from authors such as Michael Pollan and Eckhart Tolle
- journaling
- and spending time with family
Laura Vanderkam writes about the importance of morning habits and how to incorporate healthy choices into your morning routine for a more fulfilling life.
She starts by talking about what she does when her alarm goes off in the morning and her activities when she first wakes up.
Then, she shares what products and/or routines she uses to get ready in the morning. Vanderkram advises people not just to go through the motions in the morning but to really take time and enjoy their mornings.
I am not a very morning person. I am still in the process of developing the habit of getting up early in the morning.
In this process, I have found that after getting up it is better to try to do tasks that kind of help me feel happy about the day like stretching myself by doing some yoga or just lazing around on the balcony watching nature and the birds to relax my mind.
At times I incorporate those activities which are maybe routine pieces of stuff like checking my emails etc which do not require a lot of brain power so that I slowly get accustomed to the habit of getting up early in the morning.
I aim to graduate to that level where in the mornings I can, as Brian Tracy says do the tasks that are the toughest. This way the rest of the day, I do not have to get stressed about completing them.
What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast by Laura Vanderkam is one of the best personal development books you can read especially if you aim to become a morning person!!
The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
Trying to live in the present moment is one of the best ways to live a fulfilled life. Eckhart Tolle, the author of The Power of Now, discusses the importance of living in the now and listening to your intuition.
He says that living in the now can be difficult because you are often propelled by ego-based fear which tries to make you believe that happiness lies ahead in some future time or place.
Spiritual enlightenment, a term that carries with it an air of mystery and grandeur, is a goal for many people.
Eckhart Tolle’s book The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment provides a roadmap to guide readers on their journey through this mysterious path by defining the steps to take in being fully present in the moment.
By following his guidelines, you will be able to transcend all other distractions and become more aware of the world around you.
In this book, Eckhart Tolle presents a revolutionary way of living. The key is to focus on the present moment and to stop living so much in your head.
That is living either too much in the past or too much in the future. The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment will help you get more out of life, right now.
This is a book that will be very helpful for people who are facing some kind of crisis in their lives. These are the times you either harp too much about your past trying to analyze every aspect which led to the current situation or worry too much about the future.
Doing either yields no results. So learning to be in the present and just living your life one day at a time is a precious lesson that will yield immense personal growth in your life.
Daring Greatly by Brene Brown
Brene Brown, in her book Daring Greatly, discusses the different ways that people live with fear. She defines fear as “the unknown or the unknowable. It’s an uncomfortable feeling most of us have when we are about to do something really important.”
Brown is most interested in one type of fear which she defines as “vulnerability, or exposure. Confronting our fears can be daunting, but it is necessary to live a more authentic life.
She offers her insights on how you can confront your fears in this book, Daring Greatly.
Brown discusses what shame is and how it is an emotion that people carry with them throughout their lives. She offers hope for those who are struggling with shame by explaining how to heal from it.
Brene Brown’s research and work have illuminated the central idea that vulnerability is at the heart of creativity, connection, and courage.
Acknowledging your vulnerabilities can lead to a sense of safety in opening up with others and taking risks in life. If you are looking for motivation to restart in your midlife this book is a must-read for you.
Daring Greatly is an insightful and compelling research-based book on the topic of vulnerability. From her interviews with people around the world, she concludes that “vulnerability is not weakness; it is our most accurate measure of courage.”
Dr. Brown found that vulnerable people do not leave themselves open to attack or rejection, but rather they “meet the world with their true selves…ready to understand and be understood.
She has through the ideas shared in this book created a new wave of research studying vulnerability. She’s found that it’s how you choose to deal with the inevitable struggle in life, rather than avoid it, that creates these moments of meaning and connection.
She defines vulnerability as “the willingness to show up and be seen.” It takes courage to share our stories, vulnerabilities, and failures with others. The reason for this is that we are often afraid that someone will judge us for them or reject us.
We all face challenges in life either at the emotional level or at the physical level. But many of us are afraid to open up about them.
This book teaches us that it is okay to discuss and talk
- about your failures
- your traumas
- and your experiences in life
In fact, by doing so you may in turn help someone who is facing a similar situation as yours overcome theirs.
Quiet: The Power of Introverts In a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain
For anyone who has felt the weight of being an introvert Susan Cain’s Quiet: The Power of Introverts In a World That Can’t Stop Talking will prove revelatory.
She argues for the value of the introverted personality type, showing how it often leads to deep thinking and creativity.
She says that society does not always understand or appreciate introverts because they are typically seen as different from extroverts.
Susan Cain believes that our culture values extroverted personalities and it’s time for us to take a step back, look at what we value in our society, and try to change the norms.
Further Susan Cain in her book discusses why introverts are so often misunderstood and how introverts can find ways to fit in with a world that never stops talking.
In the chapter, “The Extrovert Ideal,” Susan talks about how extroverted cultures emphasize talking and making noise. She goes on to describe how the average American child will hear 30 million words by age 12, or nearly double what it was 50 years ago.
According to her, introverts are often mistaken for shy people. Yet, introverts have plenty to say and their silence is not from being less engaged but from being more reflective. They just need a situation that will allow them to feel good about themselves.
This is one of the best personality development books and a must-read for all those introverts out there who have been conditioned to believe that something is lacking in them whereas such a myth is far from the truth.
Awaken The Giant Within by Tony Robbins
Tony Robbins, a self-help guru, and motivational speaker, has written more than 20 books and developed an audio program on personal growth. In his book Awaken The Giant Within, Robbins teaches you motivational skills to empower yourself with your power.
This technique will allow you to find your inner strength and work through difficult obstacles in life.
To achieve this, Robbins wants you to listen to affirmations daily, which will help you develop a strong inner dialogue that will last a lifetime.
The book includes chapters like “Your Past Does Not Equal Your Future,” “How to Create Vision,” and “Examples of Success“.
In the book, he discusses how to take full control of your life. He starts by defining what it means to be in control in chapters one and two.
Tony also teaches you how to master your emotions and develop the willpower necessary to take control.
This book will change your perspective on life if you allow it to teach you what you need to know to live the best life possible.
Further in the book Robbins talks about how to achieve your goals in life and reach your potential. He talks about how to take control of yourself and live the life you want to live.
The book contains personal stories and anecdotes from his own life as well as exercises and techniques for achieving your goals. In the book, he talks about how your life is based on your decisions and how you can take control of your future by changing your decision-making process.
Awaken the Giant is a psychological blueprint that will help you wake up and start taking control of your life, starting with your mind and moving through your body, relationships, work, and finances until you’re the giant you’ve always wanted to be.
Though it is almost more than 25 years since it was published it continues to be one of the top 10 self help books of all time.
Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi
In the book Never Eat Alone author Keith Ferrazzi explains the art of networking and provides practical advice on how to harness the power of good relationships and become an effective networker to build a career you enjoy.
The book Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi is a guide to navigating the social world of business, with tips on how to make connections, network, and build relationships.
The author discusses how important it is to learn about other people to do business with them successfully. The point of the book is that to be successful in life you need to keep making friends in all stages of your life. This will help you in your life’s endeavors.
It stresses the fact that you need to ask yourself what can you do for someone rather than what can the other person do for you, to form lasting relationships.
The author harps on the importance of building strong relationships. He also emphasizes the importance of reaching out to people and having a genuine interest in them to form these relationships.
He also points out that in this era of social media which is so focused on being in front of large groups of people, it can be hard to build lasting relationships with people one-on-one.
He goes on to share his story of how he started as a lonely little boy with no friends and grew up to be an internationally acclaimed business consultant.
This is a very relevant book for today’s parlance with people believing everything and forming relationships based on the lives people project in their social media profiles.
Yet, it is the relationships and bonds you develop with people in real life that help you cruise through life both at the personal levels as well as the professional levels.
When I read this book I could relate to it well as the PIPS membership of Sadie Smilie is based on this framework. Here we network with other bloggers, encourage each other, and at the same time form lasting relationships where each one understands the other.
As a Man Thinketh by James Allen
James Allen’s As a Man Thinketh, which was published in 1902, is an “evergreen classic” because it has stayed popular for over 100 years. The book outlines the concepts of karma and positive thoughts.
It covers how to contemplate the thoughts you feed your mind so that you may live in peace and prosperity. The book also discusses personal growth and self-improvement through inaction.
This book is a piece of literature that deals with the importance of man’s thoughts. In this book, James Allen argues that a person’s thoughts have a great impact on his life.
As he describes it, this impact can be either negative or positive depending on what kind of thoughts you have.
He spends much of the book describing the different activities and actions that a man may undertake as a result of his thought process. These activities he says will bring about many consequences in a man’s life.
In this 1902 book, As a Man Thinketh by James Allen, the author attempts to explain how thoughts can control feelings and actions.
To emphasize this fact, he uses several examples from the Bible and his own life. These references are all meant to show that thoughts have a powerful ability to produce both positive and negative outcomes.
Once you read this book you are convinced by the end that thoughts always affect your lives in some way, either positively or negatively.
So if you need to develop your personality controlling your thoughts and emotions and introducing elements of balance in your life is the key to your success.
The Energy Bus by Jon Gordon
Jon Gordon is an author who has written many personality development books, including “The Energy Bus.” This book is about how to use the power of positive energy to reach success.
It is written in a way that anyone can understand and follow. It teaches people to achieve goals by focusing on their progress instead of their setbacks.
In his book, Jon helps readers find energy from within by tapping into their natural creativity and power. Drawing from his own experiences as a sports-loving kid, entrepreneur, and motivational speaker, Jon reveals how to take back control of your life by adopting the right mental attitude.
It is often said that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel- but what if you did? What if, instead of the same old story that’s led to your current energy crisis and environmental degradation, you got behind a new kind of transportation technology that could save you from disaster and be better for everyone at once? Jon Gordon argues just this.
This book is about how one person can change the world and will inspire you to do the same.
Life is all about energy and vibrations. The more positive the energy around you, the more positive will be the vibrations around you. So, it should always be your endeavor to keep away from any kind of toxicity either in your selves or in your surroundings.
Success Principles by Jack Canfield
Success Principles by Jack Canfield is a self-help book on how to achieve success in life through the power of positive thinking. The book consists of chapters on how to set goals, overcome adversity, and change unproductive thoughts.
The author also discusses how to be more productive in one’s work and personal life, as well as achieving the most crucial factor in success- maintaining a positive attitude.
Success is a choice only you can make. Even the most successful people in the world recognize that they have to work hard, and no one can do it for them. Jack Canfield’s book, Success Principles: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want To Be, is about achieving success in life.
The book is divided into three sections-
- success principles
- strategies of success
- and putting success principles into action
Nothing happens or no amount of positive thinking can work for you if you fail to take appropriate actions. The actions need not be huge but nonetheless, you need to take some steps to achieve what you have set yourself to.
Inner Engineering by Sadhguru
Inner Engineering is a self-development manual for the mind, written by Sadhguru which he created to help people learn about themselves.
They can use this knowledge to develop their full potential and live more meaningful lives. Sadhguru’s principal message is that each individual must take responsibility for themselves and their own life.
The book was published in 2017 and breaks down the art of living into five components:
- being responsible for yourself
- being responsible for other people
- taking care of your physical well-being
- taking care of your energy
- and taking care of your mental well-being
Sadhguru believes that mastery over each of these elements will lead to enlightenment – the “inner engineering”.
Inner engineering as Sadhguru explains is the process of finding and filling your inner space with sources of joy, contentment, and creativity. It encompasses a series of practices to help you awaken your potential and transcend your limitations.
Sadhguru shares many ways to attain an inner state of peace, such as
- listening to one’s breathing
- becoming aware of the present moment
- meditation
- giving back to others through spirituality
- and functioning as a better person
I love what Sadhguru preaches and his knowledge of spirituality is so vibrant that one is drawn to his messages about living a life full of joy and happiness.
The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown
We have another book from Brene Brown in this list of 15 must-read books for personal development, The Gifts of Imperfection.
Brene Brown is an author, speaker, and professor who has spent the past decade studying vulnerability, courage, worthiness, and shame.
She became interested in understanding why people become overwhelmed by things like heartbreak or failure because she wanted to know how to better help them.
Her findings led her to conclude that perfecting perfectionism is one of the reasons that people end up feeling like they are not good enough.
In her book The Gifts of Imperfection, she presents a set of unique practices that will help you move towards self-compassion.
She explains that “shame is the intensely painful feeling or experience of believing that we are flawed and therefore unworthy of love and belonging.
However, she explains that it is perfectly alright if you are not flawless, and then goes on to include ten guidelines for living a “wholehearted life”.
She further writes “it’s comforting to know that you are not the only one who struggles with fear, self-doubt, and vulnerability.”
This is because of the idea that there is a sense of community when it comes to imperfections. Strangers can walk down the street, and see someone they don’t know, but still smile at them because there is some shared humanity in the world.
Many times you shy away from progressing ahead in your life because you strive to be perfect in whatever you do, the way you want to look.
Yet life is all about enjoying the journey with all your flaws. Your flaws are what make you human. This becomes even more important to understand as you age.
The Magic of Thinking Big By David Joseph Schwartz
The Magic of Thinking Big provides several guidelines for developing and strengthening the most important trait of successful people: self-belief.
The Magic of Thinking Big was first published in 1959. David Joseph Schwartz, the author, was born in 1927 and died in 1987. It is one of the top 5 influential self-help books of all time.
This book does not cite numerous studies or the most recent scientific research. The author of the book suggests developing a mindset in which you believe you are 100 percent capable of accomplishing whatever you set out to do.
The book provides you with several strategies for increasing your self-esteem and confidence. The first is to constantly improve your creative thinking abilities. The second strategy is to silence the negative thoughts in your mind.
What often separates the winners from the losers isn’t a lack of intelligence, but the ability to think big. Many people never cross their boundaries and thus never achieve their full potential due to a fear of failure.
David J. Schwartz, author of The Magic of Thinking Big, discusses how your attitude toward the situations in your life and your reactions to them play a key role in shaping your life and what can be done about them.
So, there you have it! There are many ways that these top 15 must read personality development books can help. Try out one or two of the bestsellers and then work your way through the rest of them, too!
How Do You Decide Which Are The Best Self-Improvement Books For You?
Self-improvement books can be a great way to improve your life if you find the right one for you. But how do you decide which self-help book is best for you? Here are some tips to help you choose the right personality development books to read:
- Consider your goals. What do you want to achieve? The best self-help book for you will be one that matches your goals.
- Consider your personality type.
- Decide what you need help with. There are self-help books for just about every issue imaginable, from overcoming addiction to improving your relationships.
- Choose the book that targets the problem you’re experiencing.
If you are looking to have better habits, the book by James Clear may be a good option, whereas if you are an introvert and have been conditioned to believe that you lack something, the book by Susan Cain will help in solving your woes.
Best Personality Development Books: Key Takeaways
These top 15 must-read books on developing your personality are tools that can help you reach your fullest potential.
These are some of the best self-improvement books of all time. The books will assist you in
- developing better relationships
- achieving your goals
- and improving your health
Be sure to read the books in this article! They’re engaging, easy to follow, and offer insightful tips that can improve your life.
If you want to learn more about personal development read our Blog post on 20 Irresistible Reasons Why Personal Development Is Important (For The 40+) and The Best Fiction Books For Personal Development And Mindset Mastery (For the 40+)
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