Are you looking for the best mindset books? I’ve got you covered.
The list below includes some of the most inspiring books on mindset you’ll ever come across, ranging in topics from stoicism to influence to the surprising power of habit.
Let’s get right in!
Best Mindset Books
1. As a Man Thinketh by James Allen
Inspirational speakers, thinkers, and readers will cherish As a Man Thinketh.
The premise of the book is that a person is the result of their own thoughts.
Your positive thoughts can bring you happiness and success, whereas your negative thoughts can bring you misery and failure.
Put simply, your thoughts influence your actions, and your actions influence the outcome of your life.
What’s in it for you:
- A clear explanation of the relationship between human psychology, destiny, and life
2. Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins
Are you in control of your life? Or are you being pushed in the direction of things seemingly out of your control?
In this book on mindset, Robbins teaches you how to take immediate control of your life— your emotional, mental, physical, and financial destiny.
What’s in it for you:
- A step-by-step program to self-mastery
- How to find your true purpose, take control of your life, and leverage the forces that shape your destiny.
3. Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins
Mired in poverty, prejudice, and physical abuse, David Goggin’s childhood felt like a nightmare.
However, through self-discipline, hard work, and perseverance, he managed to transform himself from a pathetic, overweight young man with no prospects into a US Armed Forces legend and an elite endurance athlete.
Goggins has set records in multitudinous endurance events, earning him the name “The Fittest (Real) Man in America.”
In this book, he shares his astounding life story and shows us how to harness our full capabilities.
What’s in it for you:
- The 40% rule
- An illuminating story of how anyone can push past pain, knock down fear, and realize their full potential
4. Deep Work by Cal Newport
Cal Newport describes deep work as the ability to focus on a cognitively challenging task without distraction.
Deep work will empower you to be better at what you do, enable you to accomplish more in less time, and offer you the sense of profound fulfillment that follows mastery of a skill.
In short, deep work is a superpower in our progressively distracted and competitive economy.
What’s in it for you:
- How to achieve mastery using deep work
- An essential guide for anyone seeking focused success in a distracted world
5. Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink
Everything you know about how to motivate people is wrong.
As Daniel Pink explains, in today’s world, the secret to peak performance and satisfaction is the profound human need to control the direction of our lives, to acquire knowledge and create new things, and to improve ourselves and our world.
What’s in it for you:
- Insights from 40 years of scientific research on human motivation
- The three elements of true motivation: autonomy, mastery, and purpose
6. Ego Is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday
It’s upended the promising careers of young geniuses. It’s decimated large fortunes and bankrupted companies.
It’s made difficulties untenable and shameful. Great philosophers have warned against it, and it’s been mentioned throughout history.
Ego—that’s its name—and it is the unrelenting foe of success, ambition, and resilience.
In this book, Ryan Holiday explains why ego is a great opponent to be wary of at every stage of our lives and careers. He emphasizes that we can only produce our best work when we recognize and avoid the pitfalls of ego.
What’s in it for you:
- A phenomenal meditation on the nature of ego and its dangers
- Resonating life lessons that will inspire and uplift
7. Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown
We’ve all struggled with information overload, feeling both overworked and underutilized.
In fact, we always feel busy but never productive enough.
If you always feel like this, the way out is to turn to Essentialism.
In this book, Greg McKeown introduces you to the disciplined pursuit of less. He shows you how to regain control of your time, energy, and effort by being selective about what’s essential.
What’s in it for you:
- Insights from leaders of the most innovative companies in the world
- How to achieve more with less
- How to focus on what’s truly essential
8. Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
People find fulfillment in their work when they can achieve an optimal state of consciousness called flow.
During flow, people usually experience deep satisfaction, creativity, and complete engagement with their work.
In this groundbreaking book, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi shows you how to control flow states to achieve true happiness, discover your potential, and significantly improve your life.
What’s in it for you:
- Illuminating research on consciousness, psychology, and spirituality
- The key to unlocking creativity, meaning, peak performance, and true happiness
9. Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth
In this mindset book, Angela Duckworth investigates the true qualities that lead to phenomenal success.
She discovers an eye-opening truth—that success is not about talent or luck. Instead, it’s about passion and persistence, a blend she calls “grit.”
What’s in it for you:
- The secret to outstanding achievement
- Fascinating insights about peak performance
- The rewards of the Hard Thing rule
10. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
This classic title will revolutionize your life and relationships.
Dale Carnegie’s time-tested advice will teach you to make people like you, influence their thinking, and change them without arousing resentment.
What’s in it for you:
- The most prominent confidence-boosting title ever published
- How to make friends easily and increase your popularity
- How to influence people’s thinking and win more friends
11. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini
In this bestseller, Dr. Robert Cialdini investigates the psychology underlining why people say yes and how to leverage these principles ethically.
You’ll learn about the principles of reciprocation, commitment and consistency, social proof, liking, authority, and scarcity.
What’s in it for you:
- The six principles of influence
- How to become a skilled persuader
- How to defend yourself against dubious persuasion tactics
12. Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
Viktor Frankl’s memoir has captured the attention of generations with its vivid descriptions of life in Nazi concentration camps, distilling from the gruesome experience lessons for spiritual survival.
Frankl developed a theory called logotherapy, which argues that our main drive in life is not pleasure but the pursuit of a meaningful life.
What’s in it for you:
- A book that will make a difference in your life
- How to find meaning in life in the face of inevitable suffering
13. Mastery by Robert Greene
In this mindset book, Robert Greene argues that the secret to mastery is already within us.
Inside us, we all have the potential to be a Master: learning the ropes of our profession, undertaking a painstaking apprenticeship, gleaning the hidden knowledge of experts, surpassing competitors, and creating our own path to success.
What’s in it for you:
- Learn from the lives of historic legends, such Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein, and Leonardo Da Vinci
- The secret path to outstanding mastery
14. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck
It took decades of research for Carol Dweck to come to a simple yet revolutionary idea: the power of our mindset.
In this groundbreaking book, she illuminates how success in any aspect of our lives can be inherently influenced by our perception of our talents and abilities.
What’s in it for you:
- Invaluable insights into the growth mindset
- How to achieve outstanding accomplishments
15. Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell
In this highly engaging book, Malcolm Gladwell sets out to investigate the lives of the most successful, most famous—the best and the brightest.
He asks, what makes high achievers unique?
Along the way, he reveals the secrets behind the success of software billionaires, what great soccer players have in common, why Asians excel at math, and what catapulted the Beatles to unrivaled fame and success.
What’s in it for you:
- The characteristics that set high achievers apart
- A brilliant and entertaining read
16. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
In this life-changing book, Stephen Covey offers a comprehensive, principle-centered strategy for solving professional and personal problems.
Covey details a step-by-step guide for living with principles—integrity, fairness, human dignity, and service—that give us the wisdom and power to adapt to change and leverage its advantages.
What’s in it for you:
- Illuminating insights and anecdotes
- Timeless wisdom to live a great and meaningful life
17. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
This masterpiece follows the life of Santiago, a shepherd boy in search of worldly treasure.
Santiago’s story teaches us the importance of listening to our hearts, paying close attention to life’s omens, and chasing our dreams.
What’s in it for you:
- A universally admired modern classic
18. The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy
The premise of this book is that decisions determine our destiny.
Tiny, everyday decisions will either bring you the life of your dreams or inevitable failures.
In The Compound Effect, Darren Hardy distills the essential principles behind exceptional achievements in all aspects of life—work, relationships, and more.
What’s in it for you:
- A step-by-step guide to multiply your success and achieve your desires
- How to eliminate the bad habits that impede your progress
- Lasting keys to building and sustaining motivation
- The secrets of superachievers
19. The Four Agreements by Miguel Ruiz
One of the best books on mindset, The Four Agreements expels self-limiting beliefs that steal our happiness and inflict unnecessary pain.
Infused with ancient Toltec wisdom, this book offers an essential guide to quickly transform our lives to one of true happiness, love, and freedom.
What’s in it for you:
- A roadmap to enlightenment, inner peace, happiness, and freedom
20. The Magic of Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz
This timeless classic book on mindset will teach you how to create a belief system to achieve the life you desire.
Offering easy-to-implement strategies, you’ll discover how to overcome your fears and set goals that put you on the path toward success.
What’s in it for you:
- How to live a happier, more fulfilling life
- How to sell and earn more, manage better, and lead fearlessly
- How to harness the magic of thinking big
21. The Obstacle Is the Way by Ryan Holiday
Drawing its inspiration from stoicism, this mindset book emphasizes the philosophy of facing adversity with resilience and perseverance.
Stoics zero in on things within their control, relinquish everything else, and transform obstacles into opportunities to improve themselves.
The Obstacle is the Way teaches you how to transform your most significant problems into your biggest advantages.
What’s in it for you:
- A classic to become more successful at whatever you do
- True stories of great men and women from every age and era
22. The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
In The Power of Habit, Charles Duhigg takes us on a thrilling journey to understand habits and how to change them.
At its core, this book presents a fascinating argument: The key to achieving success, losing weight, and improving personal productivity is understanding the mechanism of habits.
What’s in it for you:
- An essential guide for business and life
- A fascinating look at the science of habit formation and change
23. The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
In this book, Eckhart Tolle encourages us to leave behind our analytical mind and its pseudo self—the ego—to embark on a journey into the Now, where we connect with the unassailable essence of our being.
What’s in it for you:
- A rare book on mindset that encourages us to live in the present
24. The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Peale
In The Power of Positive Thinking, Norman Peale uses a biblical approach to make a case for positive thinking to help you achieve a lasting optimistic attitude.
Peale attests that positive techniques—such as affirmations and visualizations—would help you live a more fulfilling and meaningful life.
What’s in it for you:
- How to believe in yourself and your actions
- How to develop the power to attain your goals
- How to worry less and live a more relaxed life
- And so much more!
25. The Richest Man in Babylon by George Clason
The Richest Man in Babylon uses parables to offer you financial wisdom. These fascinating stories will put you on a path to prosperity and its joys.
What’s in it for you:
- A phenomenal guide filled with time-tested principles to build and retain personal wealth
- The importance of gradually building wealth
26. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson
In this phenomenal book on mindset, Mark Manson upends the classic self-improvement advice that positive thinking is the key to a happy life.
Drawing from research and real-life experience, Manson explodes this myth and argues that the key to a good life is to understand that sometimes bad things happen and we have to deal with it.
Manson encourages us to stop distracting ourselves from life’s inevitable failures by chasing money, success, or worldly pleasures.
Instead, he tells us to reevaluate what it means to be happy and focus our attention on the things that really matter.
What’s in it for you:
- A practical guide to living with integrity and finding happiness in the face of suffering
- An antidote to the “let’s-all-feel-good” mindset of modern society
27. The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
The War of Art will teach you to recognize and defeat resistance and silence the negative patterns that block you from achieving your dreams.
The book identifies the enemy you must face, creates a battle plan to defeat this inner foe, and then details how to attain the most enormous success.
- A compelling, smart guide on the psychology of creation
- An excellent guide for artists who struggle with the blank page or canvas
28. Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
Napoleon Hill wrote this excellent mindset book after spending two decades interviewing the most successful people in the 1900s, such as Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and Andrew Carnegie.
Hill distilled the knowledge and insights of these successful people into concise principles for attaining wealth.
What’s in it for you:
- Concepts and ideas for attaining outstanding success in all areas of your life
- Engaging anecdotes of some of history’s most successful people
29. Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
In this groundbreaking mindset book, Daniel Kahneman takes us on a journey through the mind, explaining the two systems that control how we think.
System one is quick, intuitive, emotional. System two is slow, deliberative, logical.
By understanding how these two systems work, we can make better decisions and judgments, avoiding the pitfalls of unconscious biases and overconfidence.
What’s in it for you:
- Practical, illuminating insights into how we make decisions in both business and our personal lives
- How to guard against mental flaws that often lead us into trouble
30. You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero
Filled with candid humor, motivation, and sage advice, You Are a Badass is a book on mindset that promises to help you improve your life without getting busted.
Jen Sincero offers inspiring stories and simple exercises to get you started on your journey to a more rewarding life.
What’s in it for you:
- How to recognize and change self-sabotaging beliefs and habits
- How to understand and accept yourself completely
- How to create an extraordinary life you completely love
- And so much more!