2007 Review: Top 10 Recommended Books to Improve Your Life

2007 has been a great year for my reading experience. I read a lot of books, more than I did in 2006, and they give me the value I need to improve my life. While I always learn something from each book, there are some books which stand out in their usefulness. These are the books that give me the most value to improve my life.

In this post, I’d like to share the top 10 of them. They cover practically all aspects of our life, from finding purpose, improving reading skill, and getting the most out of relationships. I have written about most of them in my posts here, though there are a few which I have never mentioned before. I believe you will find them useful as I do.

Without further ado, here they are (in no particular order):

1. Success Built to Last

Who need this book: those who want to live a life that matters

This book gives you the essence of living a life that matters. The advice given here is based on interviews with many successful people. Among others, it talks about finding your passion, finding the courage to pursue them, and dealing with failure.

Based on this book I wrote the post 37 Lessons to Help You Live a Life that Matters.

2. Never Eat Alone

Who need this book: those who want to succeed through their relationships

Relationships are essential for success. Who you know is just as important as what you know. This book gives you a lot of practical tips on how to build relationships and win people’s heart. It covers practically all aspects, such as how to know the right people, how to increase your influence, how to handle cold calls, and how to strengthen your personal brand.

Based on this book I wrote the post 106 Tips to Become a Master Connector.

3. Now, Discover Your Strengths

Who need this book: those who want to achieve their maximum potential

We will waste a lot of time and energy if we do things which are not our strengths. On the other hand, focusing on our strengths allows us to move beyond the average and achieve near perfect performance in what we do. This book shows you how to identify your strengths and build your life around them.

Based on this book I wrote the post 12 Essential Lessons to Maximize Your Personal Strengths.

4. The 4-Hour Workweek

Who need this book: those who want to live their dream lifestyle

This book made a buzz around the blogosphere, and for a good reason: it gives us the much needed idea on how to live our dream lifestyle. Too many of us become the “slave” of our work without ever thinking about the lifestyle we actually want. This book shows you how to have the time and mobility you need to design your lifestyle.

Based on this book I wrote the post 63 Life-Changing Quotes on Lifestyle Design.

5. Made to Stick

Who need this book: those who want to successfully sell their ideas

Whether you are a writer, a speaker, or a professional, chance is you need to make other people grasp and act on your ideas. Unfortunately, it becomes increasingly difficult to win people’s attention when there are more and more things competing for it. This book shows you how to create ideas that stick; ideas that people will remember for long time and change the way they act.

6. Thinkertoys

Who need this book: those who want to get creative ideas

Many of us need creative ideas for our work and life. Fortunately, there are a lot of techniques you can use to come up with creative ideas. This book gives you a ready-to-use collection of such techniques. It’s the best book I’ve found so far that collects creative thinking techniques in one place.

Based on this book I wrote the post Thinkertoys’ 10 Tips to Become an Idea Person.

7. Fire Them Up!

Who need this book: those who want to inspire others

If you want other people to work with you enthusiastically, you need to inspire them. It’s one of the most difficult things to do though. This book gives you seven secrets to inspire others based on interviews with many successful people: ignite your enthusiasm, navigate the way, sell the benefit, paint a picture, invite participation, reinforce and optimistic outlook, and encourage their potential.

Based on this book I wrote the post What is Your One-Liner?

8. Organizing from the Inside Out

Who need this book: those who want to improve productivity by organizing their home and office

Do you want to quickly find the right tool when you need it? Do you want to feel the peace of mind by being in the place where everything is organized? If your answer is yes, then this book will help you get there. It contains three-step method to solve cluttering problems and organize your space: analyze, strategize, and attack.

9. Breakthrough Rapid Reading

Who need this book: those who want to improve their reading speed and comprehension

Since I love to read, I always try to improve my reading skill. This book is the best I’ve found so far. It’s very practical and contains a lot of exercise to give you not only the theory, but also the practice to improve your reading skill.

10. The Bogleheads’ Guide to Investing

Who need this book: those who want to increase their wealth through effective investing

Investing may look like a complicated matter, but this book shows that investing is actually simple. In fact, a simple method in investing often outperform the complicated ones. This book gives you a simple method of investing and the way to organize your financial life around it.

Based on this book I wrote the post 13 Essential Rules for Investing.