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The sheer number of self-improvement books is overwhelming. There’s so many you could stock a whole library full of them and have no room for any other genre.

This creates a problem if you’re looking to buy a book to improve your life. Which ones do you choose? It’s a problem I had a few years ago. I wanted to read a few books on self-help but had no idea where to start.

I was overwhelmed and couldn’t decide what I should go for. I ended up buying a variety of books, some of which were good, some of which weren’t. There’s nothing like a good self-help book, but there’s also nothing worse than a bad one.

With the industry growing bigger and bigger with each passing year, it’s important to know which books you should your hard-earned cash and invest your time in.

My journey through self-help over the past few years has led me to read a wide variety of such books. Some of the most prominent self-help books have been of great use, but there are some more obscure and lesser-known ones which have helped me too.

These six books aren’t the definitive self-help reading list, no article could make such a claim. But they’re a useful set of books you should read to kickstart your learning process and take your life to the next level.

Ego Is The Enemy by Ryan Holiday

Ryan Holiday is one of the most popular authors of the modern age. He’s almost single-handedly responsible for reintroducing stoic philosophy to the masses and has written several best-selling books.

I could have picked any of his last three books, but I plumped for Ego Is The Enemy. Why? I feel it has a lot to offer in the times we live in. The rise of individuality has changed society in many countries. Instead of looking out for one another, we’re increasingly looking for ourselves instead.

This has several problems. It can lead us to develop hubris and believing our own hype. It also destroys the bonds which tie us together. The success of our species is built from working together rather than each person forging their own path.

Holiday’s book is a call to reason. To make us realise the folly of getting ahead of ourselves is not only bad for us but all those around us. Ambition is a powerful trait but if harnessed in the wrong way, your ego can grow out of control.

Reining your ego in, staying humble in the face of success and adversity is how to defeat your biggest enemy.

Your own mind.

The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck by Mark Manson

Mark Manson created a whole new self-improvement genre when he published this forthright book back in 2018. As you can tell from the title, Manson has a unique style he deploys throughout the book.

I enjoyed reading The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck, but I’ve heard the opposite from many people. It seems to be the literary form of marmite; you either love it or you hate it.

Despite this, the book has many useful takeaways which you can apply to your own life. The titular concept is easy and important to understand. Due to the rise of the internet, we’re experiencing information overload. We can now read about news stories as they happen, even on the other side of the world.

Many of us now have an interest in many topics which don’t affect our daily lives. While it’s good to be informed, if you care about too many issues, you can drive yourself mad. With so much injustice in the world, it’s just not possible to care about every single issue.

Manson’s solution is simple. You should be careful about what you give a f*ck about. It may seem too simple, but in an ever noisier and noisier world, it’s a good one to follow.

Mastery by Robert Greene

Robert Greene has written some of the best self-improvement books of the past few decades. He was Ryan Holiday’s mentor, and like Holiday I could include several of his books on this list. The one I’ve plumped for is Mastery.

This book looks at how you can attain mastery in your chosen field by using the experiences of famous figures from the past and present as examples. Greene presents a process by which you can attain mastery and shows how the likes of Santiago Calatrava and da Vinci did the same.

What I liked the most about this book was its use of historical figures. This is a hallmark of Greene’s book and it’s a great way to practice self-improvement. Often the best way to learn is to look at how others have succeeded and try to emulate their path.

The breadth of figures in Mastery provides you with plenty of inspiration from which to launch your creative pursuits. If you’re looking to master any field, this is the definitive guide you need to follow to achieve your goals.

On The Shortness of Life by Seneca

It’s a bit of a stretch referring to Seneca as a self-help writer, he was a philosopher and teacher during his lifetime. But, his work has all the hallmarks of self-improvement. Many of his writings, which have survived to this day, are letters he sent to his friend Lucilius.

In this sense, they can be seen as self-help. Seneca was writing to Lucilius to ease his concerns, answer his questions and provide him with guidance. Similar to why most of us turn to self-help today.

On The Shortness of Life is one of Seneca’s most profound pieces of work. The clue is in the title. This is a short book looking at how you can make the most of your life. The problem with life is we only get a set amount of time, but none of us know how long it lasts, or when it will end.

This can lead to a form of paralysis. By reasoning there will always be a tomorrow we tend to put off major decisions or to take charge of our life in the belief we still have time. Seneca dispels this notion by explaining how short life is and how quickly it can end.

One of the tragedies of life is that it’s long enough to make us think it will last forever, but short enough for us to waste if we’re not careful. On The Shortness of Life is a plea to make the most of the time you have. A plea you should listen to.

The Autobiography of Malcolm X

Malcolm X’s life was incredible. This is true in more ways than one. During his early life, he spent most of his time in foster homes due to the death of his father and hospitalisation of his mother.

It was during this time he got into trouble with the law and was sentenced to 10 years in prison for larceny and breaking and entering. For a lot of people, this would have been the end of the story. But for Malcolm, it was just the beginning. He met fellow convict John Bembry who inspired him to start reading. A pursuit he developed a voracious appetite for.

It was this desire to learn which lead to him becoming a leader of the Nation of Islam and a prominent civil rights campaigner. Malcolm was ultimately assassinated in 1965, but there is a lot we can learn from his story.

The Autobiography of Malcolm X is a fascinating read. His story is inspiring and his commitment to improving himself leaps out of you as you flick through the pages.

Malcolm X was a controversial figure during his lifetime and remains so to this day. But his autobiography shouldn’t be dismissed because of this. It’s a brilliant text and an insight into a man with a keen desire to learn and improve. Traits we should all aspire to.

Fragments by Heraclitus

Fragments is the shortest book on the list and the one you can read in the quickest time. Even at just under 100 pages, it’s still packed full of wisdom.

The title refers to the fragments of writing which remain from Heraclitus, a prominent thinker in Ancient Greece. Most of his work has been lost to time, but what remains of it can be found in this book. Heraclitus was an important thinker who influenced many of the great philosophers such as Socrates who followed him.

This collection of aphorisms contains a lot of wisdom and is worth turning to every few months or so. You’ll find gems such as the famous line: ‘you never set foot in the same river twice.”

The great thing about self-improvement advice is it’s timeless. Even though Heraclitus died 2500 years ago, his words are still relevant today. The human condition hasn’t changed too much in that time. We’re still as flawed today as people were in Ancient Greece.

Good advice only gets better with age and that’s certainly the case with Fragments.

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