The 7 Best Motivational Books of 2016
While 2016 was a
difficult year politically, it was a great year for motivational books.
1. Originals
Subtitle: How
Non-Conformists Move the World
Author: Adam
Grant
Why It's Worth Reading: Most motivational
books (indeed, several on this list) recommend going "all out" to
fulfill your dreams. The book takes a more nuanced approach, suggesting that
you can be more innovative and creative if you maintain a sense of balance.
Best Quote: "T.S.
Eliot's landmark work, The Waste Land, has been hailed as one of
the twentieth century's most significant poems. But after publishing it in
1922, Eliot kept his London bank job until 1925, rejecting the idea of
embracing professional risk. As the novelist Aldous Huxley noted after paying
him an office visit, Eliot was 'the most bank-clerky of all bank clerks.' When
he finally did leave the position, Eliot still didn't strike out on his own. He
spent the next forty years working for a publishing house to provide stability
in his life, writing poetry on the side. As Polaroid founder Edwin Land
remarked, 'No person could possibly be original in one area unless he were
possessed of the emotional and social stability that comes from fixed attitudes
in all areas other than the one in which he is being original.' "
2. Grit
Subtitle: The
Power of Passion and Perseverance
Author: Angela
Duckworth
Why It's Worth Reading: Conventional
business wisdom (especially in hiring) is that your company will become more
successful if you hire the "smartest guys in the room." This book
explains why such teams often crash and burn, and why teams of people who have
the determination to succeed (but less natural talent) are almost always more
successful.
Best Quote: "For
years, several national surveys have asked: Which is more important to
success--talent or effort? Americans are about twice as likely to single out
effort. The same is true when you ask Americans about athletic ability. And
when asked, 'If you're hiring a new employee, which of the following qualities
would you think is most important?' Americans endorse 'being hard-working'
nearly five times as often as they endorse 'intelligence.' [However,] what we
say we care about may not correspond with what--deep down--we actually believe
to be more valuable. It's a little like saying we don't care at all about
physical attractiveness in a romantic partner and then, when it comes to
actually choosing whom to date, picking the cute guy over the nice one. The
'naturalness bias' is a hidden prejudice against those who've achieved what
they have because they work for it, and a hidden preference for those whom we
think arrived at their place in life because they're naturally talented. We may
not admit to others this bias for naturals; we may not even admit it to
ourselves. But the bias is evident in the choices we make."
3. The
Code of the Extraordinary Mind
Subtitle: 10
Unconventional Laws to Redefine Your Life and Succeed On Your Own Terms
Author: Vishen
Lakhiani
Why It's Worth Reading: While
this book (like many in the genre) is a little heavy on the "look how
successful I am" personal experiences, it contains several concepts that
are definitely worth learning. In particular, I liked the idea of
"becoming unf**kablewith," which the author defines as being "
so rock solid in your own self that judgments from others or fear of loss no
longer affect you." Great stuff.
Best Quote: "There's
an invisible code as to how the world operates--how human beings interact with
each other, how we worship, relate with our parents, perform at work, fall in
love, make money, and stay healthy and happy. Just as a programmer can program
a computer to do specific tasks by understanding its code, you can program your
life in the world around you to improve, enhance the way you live and the
experiences you have in this lifetime."
4. Be Obsessed or Be Average
Author: Grant Cardone
Why it's worth reading: While technically this is a sales and
marketing book, it's got so much positive energy that it's impossible to read
it with getting energized!
Best Quote: "When you become unapologetically obsessed, as
I am, you'll be at your very best: hyperfocused, persistent beyond
understanding, creative to the point of appearing magical, and with an
insatiable determination to win that not only attracts great talent but also
brings out the best in others. This level of obsession doesn't mean you are
selfish or self-centered; it means that you're finally operating at the levels
you are always meant to and that you can pull others around you up to their
full potential and possibilities."
5. Smarter
Faster Better
Subtitle: The
Secrets of Being Productive in Life and Business
Author: Charles
Duhigg
Why It's Worth Reading: Duhigg is
probably the best of the contemporary writers on productivity. He considers
matters deeply, expresses himself in simple prose, and avoids the clichés
endemic to the genre.
Best Quote: "Productivity,
of course, means different things in different settings. One person might spend
an hour exercising in the morning before dropping the kids at school and
consider the day a success. Another might opt to use that time locked in her
office returning emails and calling a few clients, and feel equally accomplished.
A research scientist or artist may see productivity in failed experiments or
discarded canvases, since each mistake, they hope, gets them closer to
discovery, while an engineer's measure of productivity might focus on making an
assembly line ever faster. A productive weekend might involve walking through
the park with your kids, while a productive workday involves rushing them to
day care and getting to the office as early as you can. Productivity, simply
put, is the name we give our attempts as we try to seize the most meaningful
rewards with the least wasted effort. It's a process of learning how to succeed
with less stress and struggle. It's about getting things done without
sacrificing everything we care about along the way."
6. Napoleon
Hill's Greatest Speeches
Author: Napoleon
Hill
Why It's Worth Reading: Napoleon
Hill singlehandedly created the "self-help" movement. While his most
famous book, Think and Grow Rich, feels a bit dated, his speeches
are timeless: clear, clean, and expressive.
Best Quote: "I
believe it befitting to state that twenty years ago I was working as a laborer,
at wages of a dollar a day. I had no home and no friends. I had but little
education. My future then looked very unpromising. I was downcast in spirit. I
had no ambition. I had no definite purpose in life. All around me I saw men,
some young, some old, who were whipped--just as I felt that I was. I absorbed
my environment as a sponge absorbs water. I became a part of the daily routine
in which I lived. It had never occurred to me that I could ever amount to
anything. I believed that my lot in life was to be that of a laborer. I was
just like a horse that had the bit slipped into its mouth and the saddle
buckled on its back. Here is the turning point in my career. Note it well! A
chance remark, no doubt made in a half jocular way: 'You are a bright boy! What
a pity you are not in school instead of at work as a laborer at a dollar a
day!' 'You are a bright boy!' These were the sweetest words I ever heard."
7. On
Fire
Subtitle: The 7
Choices to Ignite a Radically Inspired Life
Author: John
O'Leary
Why It's Worth Reading: An
incredibly moving and powerful story of one's family's struggle to overcome a
personal disaster and what you can learn from their experience. Heartrending
and inspiring.
Best Quote: "The
fire was a death sentence. My mom didn't know this when she walked into the
hospital room that morning. She didn't know at that moment the coming agony of
going to bed nightly wondering if her little boy would be alive when the next
day arrived. She never imagined pacing the hospital floors at night, crying in
lonely, darkened corners of the halls, or enduring the hours of agonized
waiting through dozens of surgeries with her son's life hanging in the balance.
All she knew--all we knew--was that the fight was on."
By Geoffrey James
http://www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/the-7-best-motivational-books-of-2016.html?cid=nl029week45day08
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