I recently turned 50. and I wanted to share with you in this post and in next week’s post, my 50 favorite books in my half-century of life. I hope you like them, and they inspire you.
- Atomic Habits. 2018. James Clear. With more than 15 million books sold, Clear explains the keys to developing good habits and finishing with the bad ones.
- Authentic Happiness. 2002. Martin E. P. Seligman. An extraordinary book written by one of the pioneers of positive psychology and happiness, Dr. Seligman.
- Blink. 2005. Malcom Gladwell. Written by one of my favorite authors and focuses on the importance of listening to our instincts.
- Book Yourself Solid. 2006. Michael Port. As the author himself explains, “the fastest, easiest and most reliable system for getting more clients than you can handle even if you hate marketing and selling”.
- Branding Personal. 2013. Erick Deckers & Kyle Lacy. Brilliant book, a pioneer in explaining how to use social media to enhance your personal brand.
- Drive. 2009. Daniel Pink. Great book by one of my favorite authors. It explains in a clear and innovative way what motivation is and what types of motivation exist.
- Elon Musk. 2023. Walter Isaacson. A great biography, very current, about a person who is changing the world with his different entrepreneurial projects.
- Emotional Intelligence. 1995. Daniel Goleman, the greatest disseminator of the concept of emotional intelligence, with his masterpiece.
- First break all the rules. 1999. Marcus Buckingham & Curt Coffman. One of my favorites on this select list. From the Gallup collection, the book explains what great leaders have in common.
- Flow. 1990 Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. The renowned psychologist explains clearly how to improve your happiness and find greater meaning in your life.
- Free agent nation. 1999. Daniel Pink. Another book by Pink, in which he explains the keys to freelance professionals and why they will be increasingly important in the labor market.
- From strength to strength. 2023. Arthur Brooks. As the Dalai Lama himself says, “with this book, Arthur helps people become happier as they get older.”
- Getting from College to Career. 2007. Lindsey Pollak. Very interesting book to help young people (and those not so young) to guide and manage their professional career.
- Good to Great. 2001. Jim Collins. After 5 years of research, Collins explains why some companies make the leap… and others don’t.
- How to win friends and influence people. 1936. Dale Carnegie. A true classic and pioneer in the literature of personal development.
- How will you measure your life? 2012. Clayton M. Christensen. Truly extraordinary book focused on one of the most important questions you can ask yourself in your life.
- Influence. 1984. Robert B. Cialdini. Best-seller with 40 years of history. Explain how to influence other people. Essential reading, not only for marketing professionals but also for anyone who wants to influence others.
- Man’s Search For Meaning. 1946. Viktor J. Frankl. Possibly my favorite book. Frankl narrates his own experience in several concentration camps, in which he learned that, even in the worst circumstances, we are masters of our attitude.
- Never eat alone. 2005. Keith Ferrazzi. Great book, turned into the great “bible” of networking and managing professional contacts.
- Now, discover your strengths. 2001. Donald O. Clifton & Marcus Buckingham. Another Gallup book that helps people identify their talents, develop them into strengths, and enhance their performance.
- Onward. 2012. Howard Schultz. The book narrates the return of the founder of Starbucks, Howard Schultz, who had to return to the CEO position after 8 years away from day-to-day life, to recover the business “without losing its soul.”
- Outliers. 2008. Malcom Gladwell. Gladwell explains entertainingly, the main ingredients of truly successful people, leaving some unforgettable and surprising contributions.
- Peak. 2016. Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool. Professor Ericsson reveals his findings after 30 years of investigating those who achieve extraordinary results in different disciplines and lays the foundations to improve performance for anyone.
- Positioning. 1999. Al Ries y Jack Trout. Truly extraordinary. Focused on how to position companies by carefully analyzing their strengths and weaknesses and also those of their competitors.
- Primal Leadership. 2002. Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis & Annie Mckee. Great book that explains the keys to applying the concepts of emotional intelligence to leadership.
In the next post “50 years, 50 books (Part II)” I will share the rest with you.
