When I was young and just starting out, I conceptualized self-development in the narrow sense of becoming more “successful” (whatever that meant).

As I’ve grown older, I’ve come to think of self-development as the much broader process of learning how to navigate reality effectively. The books I’ve chosen for this list are those that have helped me acquire the wisdom to do this. They are the books I’ve read and re-read time and again, revisiting each regularly for fresh insights and guidance.

I hope they enrich your mind and improve your life as much as they have mine.

Without a doubt, the most common question I get asked is:

"What books would you recommend for someone just starting out on their personal development journey?" (Or some version of this).

I've given this question a lot of thought and I made the following book list to address it.

Of course, you don't have to be a newbie to benefit from these books. I've chosen books that can be read at multiple levels, they also just happen to be a great entry point for beginners. The principles in these books will be just as relevant and applicable decades from now as they are today.

Personal development is about improving and evolving across all areas of your life, not just one. With that in mind, I've included books from a variety of genres, including achievement psychology, people skills, relationships, spirituality, entrepreneurship, creativity, philosophy, and personal finance.

If you follow my Instagram page @ThinkGrowPropser, you know that reading has been an invaluable part of my journey and learning process. But lately, I've been incorporating more audio-based media into my life with fantastic results.

I'm talking about podcasts, lectures, YouTube videos and of course, audiobooks. Compared to traditional reading, I’ve found audio to be an equally effective and often more efficient way to learn.

I'm not new to audio, I've consumed podcasts and audiobooks for years. Historically, these things only served as supplements to my normal reading material. But lately, I've made them a much bigger part of my learning regimen. Here are some reasons why:

I wanted to share some quick thoughts with you on a few books that have influenced me, both old and new. 

In the interest of space, I left a whole bunch of influential books off this list (like The 4-Hour Workweek and The Power of Now -- both of which have had a huge impact on my life). However, if you want a more comprehensive list, check out my previous blog post where I include a broader array of core recommendations.

This post differs in three ways: 

1. It's more specific and lists books I don't talk about as often
2. I share some of my thoughts on each book
3. I include some "non-personal development" books

Regarding that last point -- someone recently asked me what non-personal development books I recommend.

I thought this was an interesting question because the “personal development” category for me is pretty big.