Highly successful people have one habit in common. They read. A lot.

They read to learn. Everyday they set aside 30 minutes or more to: expanding their knowledge, learning new skills and improving their thinking patterns.

Most of what they read is non-fiction. They read the biographies and autobiographies of high achievers. They tend to be motivated and inspired by real-life stories of ambitious and successful people. In these human stories they learn how successful people think and behave, detect what is possible and grasp how those who have already done so, achieved success.
Each month, SuccessDNA, will be compiling lists of books that students, parents and educators must read to achieve goals, increase productivity, be competitive and to take performance to new heights.  Books include classics which have stood the test of time and trending international best sellers on the psychology and science of academic success.

To rise above the ordinary, read your way to success.

Happy reading!

1.  Success Principles

by Jack Canfield

In his book, Success Principles, Jack Canfield presents the view that personal achievement is neither dependent on privilege nor talent. Rather, he contends that the power to achieve is a skill that can be taught.

Success Principles helps any aspiring person get from where they are to where they want to be by teaching them the principles and strategies of success used by successful men and women throughout history.

In his book Success Principles, Canfield explains that there is one basic principle at the heart of it all – taking 100 percent responsibility for one’s life and one’s results. Canfield presents this principle as a formula, E + R = O (Events + Response = Outcome). Simply explained, an event occurs in life, you respond to that event and subsequently you have an outcome. Most people who do not get the outcome they want, tend to blame the event. According to Canfield, what they overlook, however, is the role their response has played in the outcome. Canfield maintains that if you want to start producing different results you need to change your thinking, change the pictures you hold in your head, change your beliefs and change your behaviours.

Best quote:  If you are going to be a winner, you have to acknowledge the truth—it is you who took the actions, thought the thoughts, created the feelings, and made the choices that got you to where you now are. It was you!

Purchase Success Principles in the Amazon Store.

2.  Think and Grow Rich 

by Napoleon Hill
Why is it that some people succeed? Napoleon Hill, in Think and Grow Rich, argues it has to do with the power of the mind. He declares that thoughts create one’s beliefs, which lead to actions, which in turn lead to habits, which ultimate create one’s reality.

He states that by focusing one’s thinking on success rather than dwelling on obstacles, failures or other setbacks, achieving success will be much more likely.

Hill presents the view that successful people think and behave differently and explores the relationship between thoughts, beliefs, actions, habits and success.

His view is that with sharp focus, drive, persistence and perseverance you too can achieve extraordinary things.

Best quote: Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.

Purchase Think and Grow Rich in the Amazon Store.

3.  Emotional Intelligence

by Daniel Goleman
Can emotional intelligence matter more than IQ? Can it be nurtured and strengthened or is it fixed at birth?

Daniel Goleman, psychologist and author of Emotional Intelligence, argues that a prerequisite to learning and focus, is the ability to manage one’s emotions.

Goleman’s argument gives new insights into our brain architecture. In his book he discusses the role that Emotional Intelligence (EI or EQ) plays in learning successfully, by offering the reader an insight into how the rational and emotional parts of our mind work together.

Mr Goleman believes that emotional intelligence is not fixed at birth and shows how emotional intelligence can be cultivated in all of us. He sets out four domains of EI: Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Social Awareness, and Relationship Management and states that in order to excel one needs to develop each of these domains.

Best quote: If your emotional abilities aren’t in hand, if you don’t have self-awareness, if you are not able to manage your distressing emotions, if you can’t have empathy and have effective relationships, then no matter how smart you are, you are not going to get very far.

Purchase Emotional Intelligence in the Amazon Store.

4.  Awaken The Giant Within

by Anthony Robbins

Anthony Robbins, a recognised leader in the science of peak performance and the acknowledged expert in the psychology of change, provides a step-by-step program teaching the fundamental lessons of self mastery that will enable you to clarify your purpose, take control of your emotions, overcome your limiting beliefs and direct actions towards increasing the quality of your life.

Best quote:  It’s not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives. It’s what we do consistently.

Purchase Awaken the Giant Within in the Amazon Store.

5.  7 Habits Of Highly Effective People

by Stephen R. Covey

7 Habits of Highly Effective People provides a principle-centred, character based framework for personal effectiveness and success.

In his view no one habit is more important than another.  Rather they are connected and  builds on each other in increments.  For maximum effectiveness he argues that one needs to apply these habits consistently.

This book gives you a way of doing things differently to produce different results.

Best quote:  Sow a thought, reap an action; sow an action, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny.

Purchase 7 Habits of Highly Effective People in the Amazon Store.

6.  The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success

by Deepak Chopra

In The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success: A Practical Guide to the Fulfilment of Your Dreams, Deepak Chopra offers a different perspective on the attainment of success.

He breaks away from the traditional view that personal success requires hard work, perseverance and drive. His is a more spiritual approach to success.

He states that there are many parts to success which include: good health, energy and enthusiasm for life, fulfilling relationships, emotional and psychological stability, a sense of well being and peace of mind. He defines seven principles, or “spiritual laws” that the reader can apply to achieve goals more effortlessly.

It is one of those books I guarantee you will read again and again.

Best quote: Success is a journey, not a destination.

Purchase The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success in the Amazon Store.

7.  50 Success Classics

by Tom Butler-Bowden

50 Success Classics: Winning Wisdom for Life and Work, by Tom Butler-Bowden, offers the reader a balanced synthesis of the key points from 50 of the greatest enduring works from pioneering thinkers, philosophers and powerful leaders; inspirational entrepreneurs and great leaders.

A book for those of you who are interested in uncovering the characteristics of successful people.

Purchase 50 Success Classics in the Amazon Store.

8.  The Power of Your Subconscious Mind

by Joseph Murphy

The Power of Your Subconscious Mind, by Joseph Murphy, describes what the subconscious mind is, how it functions, how to treat it, and the wonders it can do for you.

Best quote:  Just keep your conscious mind busy with expectation of the best.

Purchase The Power of Your Subconscious Mind in the Amazon Store.