In 2014, I felt lost. I had many questions.
My biggest question was, “What’s the purpose of life?”
This led me to reading books.
Here, you can find some of the life-changing books I’ve read since then. Some of these have helped shape the way I think and the way I view life.
I don’t agree with everything written in these books. But I believe they’re all good starting points.
(Started this page: January 29, 2021)
(Last Update: March 5, 2024)
2014 – 2020
Spirituality:
- The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
- The Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh
- The Way of Zen by Allan Watts
- Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu
- The Book of Life: Daily Meditations with Krishnamurti by Jiddu Krishnamurti
- Freedom From the Known by Jiddu Krishnamurti
- Total Freedom: The Essential Krishnamurti by Jiddu Krishnamurti
- Waking Up by Sam Harris
- What Is Zen by Norman Fischer, Susan Moon
- The Bible (New Testament)
- The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins
- The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
- The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer
- Live Free by Steven Bancarz
Business & Finance:
- Principles: Life and Work by Ray Dalio
- Unleashing the Ideavirus by Seth Godin
- Anything You Want by Derek Sivers
- 22 Immutable Laws of Branding by Al Ries and Laura Ries
- Rework by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
- Start with Why by Simon Sinek
- The Four-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferris
- Outrank by Damon Burton
- Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us by Seth Godin
- E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber
- I Will Teach You to Be Rich by Ramit Sethi
- The Almanack of Naval Ravikant by Eric Jorgenson
- The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker
- Poor Charlie’s Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger by Peter D. Kaufman
- Purple Cow by Seth Godin
- Thick Face, Black Heart: The Warrior Philosophy for Conquering the Challenges of Business and Life by Chin-Ning Chu
- The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
- The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick) by Seth Godin
- How to Get Rich by Felix Dennis
- Charlie Munger: The Complete Investor by Tren Griffin
- The Way of the Shark: Lessons on Golf, Business, and Life by Greg Norman, Donald T. Phillips
Creativity, Learning, & Productivity:
- The Little Book of Talent by Daniel Coyle
- Deep Work by Cal Newport
- So Good They Can’t Ignore You by Cal Newport
- Focus by Leo Babauta
- The Art of Work by Jeff Goins
- Reignite by Paul Jun
- Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer
- The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
- Brainwashed by Seth Godin
- Mastery by Robert Greene
- Connect the Dots by Paul Jun
- Your Music and People by Derek Sivers
- Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport
- On Writing Well by William Zinsser
- 7 Must-Know Strategies to Learn Anything Faster by Scott Young
- Building An Empire With Words by Paul Jun
Philosophy & Psychology:
- The Analects of Confucius by Confucius
- Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
- The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday
- Ego is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday
- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
- The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
- Mindwise by Nicholas Epley
- Antifragile by Nassim Taleb
- Status Anxiety by Alain de Botton
- Mindset by Carol Dweck
- The Power of Meaning by Emily Esfahani Smith
- Atomic Habits by James Clear
- Habits by Mark Manson
- Think Straight by Darius Foroux
- Moral Letters to Lucilius by Lucius Annaeus Seneca
- Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert
- The Paradox of Choice by Barry Schwartz
- The Art of Selfishness by David Seabury
- A Guide to the Good Life by William Irvine
- The Consolations of Philosophy by Alain de Botton
- How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
- Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
- The Bed of Procrustes by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
- The Elephant in the Brain by Kevin Simler and Robin Hanson
- Factfulness by Hans Rosling, Ola Rosling, Anna Rosling Rönnlund
- Radical Acceptance by Tara Brach
- The Willpower Instinct by Kelly McGonigal
- The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene
- How Successful People Think by John Maxwell
- The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking by Oliver Burkeman
Parenting:
- The Conscious Parent by Shefali Tsabary
Science, Tech, & History:
- Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari
- Thinking Physics by Lewis Carroll Epstein
- Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance
How to Live (Self-Improvement):
- Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
- Slipstream Time Hacking: How to Cheat Time, Live More, And Enhance Happiness by Benjamin Hardy
- The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck by Mark Manson
- The Little Book of Contentment by Leo Babauta
- Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg Mckeown
- Simplify by Joshua Becker
- Choose Yourself by James Altucher
- 12 Rules for Life by Jordan Peterson
- Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins
- The Flinch by Julien Smith
- Everything is Fucked by Mark Manson
- Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain
- Hell Yeah or No by Derek Sivers
- Striking Thoughts: Wisdom for Daily Living by Bruce Lee
- Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends on It by Kamal Ravikant
- Reinvent Yourself by James Altucher
- Tools of Titans by Tim Ferris
- On Becoming an Individual (or HOW TO SAVE THE WORLD) by David Cain
- The Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz
- Good Vibes, Good Life by Vex King
- Forgive and Forget by Lewis Smedes
- What Matters Now by Seth Godin
Fiction (A Few Favorites):
- The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
- The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
- Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives by David Eagleman
- Siddharta by Hermann Hesse
- Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang
- The Chamber by John Grisham
- Harry Potter (series) by J.K. Rowling
- Percy Jackson & the Olympians (series) by Rick Riordan
- A Return to Christmas by Chris Heimerdinger
2021
- How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big by Scott Adams
- The Courage to Be Disliked: How to Free Yourself, Change your Life and Achieve Real Happiness by Ichiro Kishimi, Fumitake Koga
- Navigating a Newborn by Courtney Zentz (TinyTransitions.com)
- Stillness is the Key by Ryan Holiday
- The Art of Persuasion by Bob Burg
- The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau
- Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha: An Unusually Hardcore Dharma Book – Revised and Expanded Edition by Daniel Ingram
- The Happiness Hypothesis by Jonathan Haidt
- Who Not How: The Formula to Achieve Bigger Goals Through Accelerating Teamwork by Dan Sullivan and Benjamin Hardy
- Happy 95% of the Time by Walter Doyle Staples, PhD
- No Self, No Problem: How Neuropsychology Is Catching Up to Buddhism by Chris Niebauer Ph.D
- Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything by BJ Fogg Ph.D
- Live Your Truth by Kamal Ravikant
- How to Live by Derek Sivers
- Finite and Infinite Games: A Vision of Life as Play and Possibility by James P. Carse
- Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin (sponsored by Damon Burton)
2022
- The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive by Patrick Lencioni
- The Ideal Team Player by Patrick Lencioni
- Business Made Simple by Donald Miller (sponsored by Damon Burton)
- The Gap and The Gain: The High Achievers’ Guide to Happiness, Confidence, and Success by Dan Sullivan and Benjamin Hardy
- Mindfulness: The Most Effective Techniques by Ian Tuhovsky
- Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen
- Divergent by Veronica Roth
- A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
- Enough by John Bogle
- Playful Parenting by Lawrence Cohen PhD
- Several Short Sentences About Writing by Verlyn Klinkenborg
2023
- The One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard & Spencer Johnson
- The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron
- Sophie’s World: A Novel About the History of Philosophy by Jostein Gaarder
- Useful Delusions: The Power and Paradox of the Self-Deceiving Brain by Shankar Vedantam & Bill Mesler
- The Strangest Secret by Earl Nightingale
- $100M Offers: How To Make Offers So Good People Feel Stupid Saying No by Alex Hormozi
- Brain Rules for Baby: How to Raise a Smart and Happy Child from Zero by John Medina
- Résumés Are Dead and What to Do About It by Richie Norton
- 10x Is Easier Than 2x: How World-Class Entrepreneurs Achieve More by Doing Less by Benjamin Hardy and Dan Sullivan
- Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain by David Eagleman
- No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention by Reed Hastings and Erin Meyer