James Phu

A very practical book on how the brain actually works and what we can all do to live a happier and more peaceful life. The information in here is backed by the latest neuroscience and showcases how with just a bit of dedication, you can literally see the world differently.

This is a follow up book to the Buddha’s Brain, where Rick digs a level deeper into how we can all change our mindset to become more positive, grateful, loving, kind, compassionate, strong, etc. The method that Rick teaches is something I have implemented in my life.

One of the classic self-improvement books that is a must read by everyone.  Napoleon Hill interviewed many of the most successful people of his time in order to write this book. It also contains a secret. Can you solve it?

Written by the "Father of Positive Thinking". This classic book is filled with real life stories of people who used positive thinking to get over hurdles in their lives. This book redefined the self-help genre back in the 1950's and it's lessons are still very relevant for living in the present.

Hugely practical book that is jammed packed with advice and tips that help make your entire life better.

The chapter about how to "Cure yourself from Excusitus (aka Excuses)" is worth the price of this book.

This book was given to me as a gift from a rock star business coach.  I asked him if he could think of any books I could use to coach myself to become a better person.  One week later this book arrived at my office. This book is highly practical and such an easy read.  I now keep this book in my nightstand just in case of emergencies.

Written in the early 1900’s, this book is a timeless classic on how to use the power of thought.  This book can be read in about 1 hour and is a book that I will re-read each year.

There is something to be said about how successful people truly become successful.  Don’t get mesmerized by the smoke and mirrors that things came easy to them or that they were lucky.  There is something else that inevitably leads to their success.

Life can definitely get crazy as there is a lot of distractions and chaos around us all the time.  How can you refocus yourself so you achieve big things in life?  Focus on BIG ONE thing...

This is a fantastic, to the point book to about how to become an Essentialist. This book will teach you concepts such as “How to say No” and “How to build a great routine.” I have recommended this book multiple times to colleagues that I work with who are just overloaded.

I read this book after I published my Morning Routine blog, and I still learnt so much.  My morning routine is constantly evolving and reading this book gave me invaluable tips on how to wake up refreshed and as well a few things I could add to spice up my routine.

Have you ever met someone for the first time and knew right away that he or she had a ton of charisma? Ever wonder why? In today’s world, people with charisma seem to be more successful, have more friends and be happier.  There is no reason why you can’t become more charismatic. I have always been interested in body language and how it plays are part in communication.  What I personally love about this book is that it left me with a variety of practical tips that I now use in my every day life.  

The key to building habits are: 

1. Define a cue or trigger for the habit
2. Create the routine
3. Define the reward
4. Cultivate the craving that drives the habit loop

This book talks about how one can break bad habits such as nail biting or smoking and also how to create good habits such as eating well and exercise. 

This book also extends to what entrepreneurs can do to drive good habits in their business.

Written by the creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series. Jack breaks this book up into 60+ different principles that you can use to improve your life.  My favorite principles were: "Take 100% responsibility for your life", "Release the brakes", and "Practice Persistance".

I love how this book breaks up his ideas into chapters so you can always go back and refer to them.

PS: This is a very long book (~600 pages)

This book takes you through a summary of many research studies that have been conducted to help improve your:

• Happiness
• Confidence
• Stress levels
• Parenting skills
• People skills

What I liked about this book was that the author gave quick exercises that could be performed in under one minute in order to quickly enhance something.

Many self-help books tell you to do this without any proof that works their advice actually works.  Richard does the opposite. He uses research studies to back up his statements and as well as disprove common myths about the self-help industry.

This is how a book should be written.  Short, concise and straight to the point.

Essentially this book talks about the inner battle that all creative types face when they start to work. 

Steven calls these inner demons - "Resistance".  

How can you defeat the Resistance?  

How can you actually get to work?

How do you ignore all the negative self-talk that will inevitably happen when you release your creative child into the world?

This book is a must read for any creative person, birthing creations into the world.

Must read book for everyone.  

For introverts it teaches you more about...you.

For extroverts it teaches you how you should be more like an introvert at times because there are many qualities that an introvert has that are better.  This book also teaches you how to better understand an introvert.

This book digs into topics such as:

• Does group brainstorming work?
• How to raise an introverted child?
• Why are Asians more likely to be introverted than Americans?
• Why did Wall Street have a massive crash?
• Nature vs Nurture
• Extroverted vs Introverted leadership.

A poetic book that argues the fact that we have all been trained to become cogs in a machine.  

Because the world has changed so much in the last century, we no longer need people who can follow instructions well.  Rather we need people can be use their uniqueness and creativity to make art that changes people. 

This is a fantastic read.

I didn't know what to expect when I first picked this book up, but it was a great surprise to see that this book dug into topics such as Buddhism and Stoicism.

The premise of the book is simple, you don't always have to think positive to be positive, in fact thinking positively can cause you to become more negative. 

I highly recommend this book.

There are two types of mindsets.

1. A fixed mindset - You don't believe you can change who you.  In a way you believe you are born the way you are.
2. A growth mindset - You believe that much of who you become you can control.  You believe in hard work and effort rather than innate talent.

This book can change the way you live you life and raise children.

Read it!

How to come back back from adversity and shame?

This book is filled with stories from Brene's life that showcases how she has managed to go through her ongoing difficulties of shame.

Throughout your life, you will run into many obstacles.  You can allow the obstacles to stop you, to stunt you, to laugh at you, or you can choose to go through or around it.

This book is written in very Stoic manner, and can be used to be a reference guide when you run into obstacles in life.

This is the best self-coaching book I have read to date.  Triggers provides an easy to use template of how you can improve your life.

This is a great book that goes deeply into self-coaching and changing personal behaviours for the better.

 A classic guide to mental peak performance.  This book was a mixture of zen life philosophy and tennis.

It talks about not allowing your thinking mind to get in the way of your performing mind.

If you ever wonder why you choke during big moments? Or why you never improve over time? Or how to better coach people? Read this book.

Daniel Coyle also wrote a book called The Talent Code where he talks about how to build talent.  

In this book, Daniel summarizes his learnings that has taken him all over the world during his search for the worlds most successful talent hot beds.  

This book is best used a reference and can be finished in a couple of hours. 

A classic book on how to unleash your creative self.  This book talks about two powerful methods to help unblock a blocked artist.  Morning pages and Artist's Dates.

If you are looking for a book to help you deal with your fears, perfectionism, and other emotional issues holding you back, this will be a great book for you.

Using design thinking methodologies to help design your life.  Those of you familiar with design thinking will absolutely love this book. As this book takes you through the entire life cycle of redesigning your life. 

If you feel stuck, choose this book to help you get unstuck.