40 of the best books about success

As a former Google executive and top career coach – who chased an attractive stranger off the train and later married him – Jenny Wood knows her way around courage. In this book, Wood shatters conventional wisdom about achieving your goals. She gives you permission to ditch your fear and chase after what you want, unapologetically. Wood reclaims nine traits from their negative shackles and teaches you how to apply them in a savvy and compassionate way to supercharge your success, whether you’re trying to snag a promotion, launch a company or land a life-changing deal.

For years we've been told that becoming an expert in your field is the key to success. In Range, David Epstein argues that this idea is entirely wrong. After reading this groundbreaking book, you'll understand how to solve problems better, how to learn more effectively and why developing broad interests and skills, rather than siloing yourself, is the key to succeeding in a complex world. 

In The Psychology of Money award-winning author Morgan Housel reveals that our success with money isn’t necessarily about what we know, but how we behave. Through nineteen short stories, Housel explores the way we think about our finances in the real world, helping us understand more about our strange relationship with money and teaching readers how to make better sense of one of life’s most important topics. This is a vital read for anyone looking to redefine their relationship with their finances.

Hidden Genius is not just another self-help book; it's a compendium of the mental frameworks employed by some of the world's most successful and intriguing individuals. Gleaned from years of studying high performers for her acclaimed book, The Profile, Pompliano guides you to unlock your inherent genius. Through the insights of prominent figures featured within, you will acquire a unique mental toolkit to solve complex problems, manage relationships, and harness creativity and resilience in tumultuous times.

A prospective client asking unexpected questions during a sales pitch, a teacher singling you out for an answer during a class, a high-pressure meeting with senior executives at work, or even a heartwarming toast to deliver on the spot. Matt Abrahams, Stanford University lecturer and creator of the hit podcast, Think Fast, Talk Smart, reveals the secrets to finding the right words when it counts. This invaluable books provides a six-point methodology that will enable you to cut through the anxiety arising from stressful, impromptu circumstances to create and deliver crisp, compelling and calm communication.

In The Learning Game, Ana Lorena Fábrega, fondly known as Ms. Fab, challenges long-standing norms and provides a refreshing perspective on the current education system. With experience as both a teacher and an 'edupreneur', Ms. Fab questions if making kids master the school game truly equips them for life. This thought-provoking book offers actionable strategies to enhance kids' learning experiences while addressing fundamental issues. It prompts us to ponder if we should feed information or stimulate independent thought, whether risk-taking should be fuelled, and how we can ignite a love for learning beyond grades. 

A legendary performance coach shares his simple, proven and fun methods for cultivating motivation – and keeping it. Doing something for its inherent satisfaction – rather than external rewards – is the key to success in any endeavour. Motivation is the essential and comprehensive guide to how you can achieve this. Filled with practical methods and techniques from Stefan Falk, an internationally recognised executive coach and human performance expert, learn how to satisfy your psychological needs in today’s professional world. 

Recently named by Bill Gates as one of his 'all-time favourite books', this book is about more than just tennis – 'its profound advice applies to many other parts of life,' Gates affirms. Rather than concentrating on how to improve technique, Gallwey deals with the 'inner game' within ourselves as we try to overcome doubt and maintain clarity of mind when playing. This timeless million-copy phenomenon provides not only the key to peak performance in tennis, but the secrets to success in life itself.

Based on extensive research and real-world examples, Pattern Breakers upends accepted wisdom about how to achieve breakthrough success, and provides a playbook for anyone launching a startup or creating a new product. With intriguing and entertaining storytelling based on a lifetime of experience, it vividly illustrates what differentiates breakthrough ideas from those that initially seem promising but that meet with mediocre results, and why others that may initially seem unworthy end up radically changing how people live.

Understanding what distinguishes the triumphs from the failures has been the life’s work of Oxford professor Bent Flyvbjerg. In How Big Things Get Done, along with bestselling author Dan Gardner, he reveals the errors that lead projects to fail and the principles that make them succeed. Think of how Apple’s iPod went from a project with a single employee to an enormously successful product launch in eleven months. But such successes are the exception. Exploring case studies across a broad spectrum of technologies and businesses, discover why this is an exception, and how to be one of these exceptions. 

In Braintenance, neuroscientist and science communicator Dr Julia Ravey explains how you can take charge of your brain with methods based on science to change habits, achieve your goals and lead the life you want. Your brain likes to keep you safely in your comfort zone. And that is what holds you back. We have no trouble imagining the goals we would like to achieve – a healthier lifestyle, passing exams or embarking on a new career ­– but turning them into reality is far harder. Change is good. Your brain just needs some convincing.

Having interviewed some of the world's most accomplished people on his podcast, Guy Raz knows a thing or two about starting a successful venture. In this book, Raz distils everything he's learnt into a practical guide for entrepreneurs who want to realise their big ideas. He shares tips for every business's journey: from the early days of formulating your idea, to raising money and recruiting employees, to finding your market and, finally, to paying yourself a real salary. This is a must-read for anyone who has ever dreamed of starting their own business or wondered how trailblazing go-getters made their own dreams a reality.

Ditch your day job or set up your side project with this ultimate guide to starting and running your own creative business. The Art of Starting guides you from the first step right through to the everyday running of a successful creative business. Whether your passion is in craft, photography, food, fashion or design, this book is full of indispensable advice. Iona Mathieson and Romy St Clair are two entrepreneurs who learnt the hard way and are here to share everything they wish they’d known at the start. 

Essential reading for managers, business owners and entrepreneurs alike, Blue Ocean Shift offers insights and practical examples for inspiring confidence in your teams and helping your organisation to grow. In this book about leadership, professors W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne draw upon more than a decade of research to share proven techniques that will set you and your teams up for future success. 

In Think Like a Breadwinner, financial expert Jennifer Barrett reframes what it really means to be a breadwinner by dismantling the narrative that women don't – and shouldn't – take full financial responsibility to create the lives they want. Featuring a wide variety of case studies from women at all stages of their careers and financial lives, Barrett shares the secrets of women who already think like breadwinners. Barrett reveals not only the importance of women building their own wealth, but also the freedom and power that comes with it.

Not all words are created equal. But how do we know if we are using the right ones? In The Power of Words, neuroscientist Mariano Sigman offers a practical toolkit for how to improve our ability to communicate by changing the words we use. Examining the impact of how we describe ourselves and others limits us and shapes our decisions, The Power of Words will teach you how to improve your conversations and communicate more openly, effectively and empathetically with those around you – and yourself.

Why do we think we’re better prepared for job interviews than we are? Why does no one act on climate change? Renowned psychologist Professor Woo-kyoung Ahn devised a course at Yale called 'Thinking' to help students examine the biases that cause people so many problems in their daily lives. It quickly became one of the university’s most popular courses. Now, for the first time, she presents key insights from her years of teaching and research.

TED Talks have redefined the elements of a successful presentation and become the gold standard for public speaking around the world. And yet the techniques that top TED speakers use are the same ones that will make any presentation more dynamic, fire up any team, and give anyone the confidence to overcome their fear of public speaking. Talk Like TED will show you how to create presentations around the ideas that matter most to you – presentations that will energize your audience to spread those ideas, launch new initiatives, and reach their highest goals.

You end a team meeting and can’t recall a single thing that was said. You leave a conversation with a friend feeling disconnected and unfulfilled. You think you and your boss are on the same page, only to find out you haven’t been meeting expectations. Does this sound familiar? Fortunately, listening, like any communication skill, can be improved, and Ximena Vengoechea can show you how. As a user researcher, she has spent nearly a decade facilitating hundreds of conversations to uncover the truth behind how people use, and really think about, her company’s products. In Listen Like You Mean It, she reveals the tips and tricks of the trade.

Napoelon Hill has been immortalized for his contribution to the self-help genre. This never-before-published work provides even more of the kind of wisdom that has changed the lives of millions. With straightforward, engaging language, Hill explains the fundamental rules that lead to a prosperous life. From the importance of having a definite purpose to the inexorable influence of the cosmic habit force, Hill’s principles offer a new way of thinking about intention, self-discipline, and the way we lead our lives.

The remote work revolution is here. Robert Glazer shares the principles, tactics and tools his company has developed in more than a decade of successfully working as a joined-up but 100 per cent remote workforce, as well as interviewing other leaders in the sector about what works for them. As founder and CEO of Acceleration Partners, Glazer has been recognized with dozens of awards for its industry performance and company culture. Here, he shares a step-by-step guide to building a culture of flexibility and trust, hiring and communicating effectively – both internally and externally – as a successful remote business.

Have you ever noticed how you have your best ideas when doing the dishes or staring out the window? It's because when your body goes on autopilot, your brain gets busy connecting ideas and solving problems. However in the modern world it often feels as though we have completely removed boredom from our lives; constant stimulation has become our default mode. In this easy to follow, practical book, award-winning journalist Manoush Zomorodi explores the connection between boredom and original thinking, and will show you how to ditch your screens and start embracing time spent doing nothing.

In a world increasingly shaped by New Power, this book will show you how to shape your future. For most of human history the rules of power were clear: power was something to be seized, and then jealously guarded. Under this 'Old Power' we lived in a world of rulers and subjects. Now, we all sense that something has changed. Jeremy Heimans and Henry Timms confront the biggest story of our age and trace how New Power is the key to understanding where we are and will prosper in the 21st Century.

Kick-start your motivation using gratitude, employ compassion to build your network, and take pride to maximise success. Using cutting-edge research, world-leading psychologist David DeSteno shows you how positive emotions are far more powerful than willpower and self-denial in achieving your goals. Willpower is quickly depleted, but our prosocial emotions become stronger the more we use them. Even better, they’re contagious.

In How to Have a Good Day, economist and former McKinsey partner Caroline Webb shows readers how to use recent findings from behavioral economics, psychology, and neuroscience to transform everyday working life. She provides step-by-step guidance to set better priorities, make hours go further, turn interactions into successes, strengthen personal impact, be resilient, and sustain energy. Filled with real-life stories of improved job satisfaction and performance, this book delivers on its promise, showing us how to have a lifetime of good days.

Arguments are everywhere, and everyone wants to win. Strong arguments, made in good faith, help us solve problems, uncover new ideas, and can be fun. In this guide, British-American journalist Mehdi Hasan reveals how to communicate confidently, rise above social media disputes, and triumph in productive debates. Whether presenting at work, conducting interviews, or debating political issues with friends, Hasan teaches you to sharpen your speaking skills to make a winning case.

Doing something for its inherent satisfaction, rather than external rewards, is the key to success and Motivation is your essential guide to achieving this. Filled with practical methods Stefan Falk developed through 25 years as a senior executive and performance coach, it teaches us to pursue our psychological needs consciously. The solution to becoming happier, healthier, and more productive is to become intrinsically motivated, finding pleasure in what we do and doing it well. This groundbreaking book will revolutionize your approach to success at work and beyond.

Leadership Strategy and Tactics is the essential and practical guide to leadership and how to excel at it. Leadership is challenging, often misunderstood, and frustrating. But it doesn't have to be that way. Willink, a retired Navy SEAL Officer offers a powerful leadership methodology to lead any team to victory. He teaches how to deal with egos, earn trust, instill pride, overcome a difficult boss, create a disciplined team, and use leadership to teach and mentor. This book is step one towards becoming the commander of your own life. The rest is up to you.

Each of us dreams of possibility in our careers and personal lives. But ‘The Myth of the Single Choice’ makes us believe one big choice stands between us and success, paralyzing us with fear. Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, a respected Silicon Valley leader, shows that thriving comes when the fear of missing out on opportunities overtakes the fear of failure, in turn compelling action. Learn how to take risks, thrive and build your dream career.

This book reveals the communication and leadership secrets of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and how to master them. Jeff Bezos built Amazon. A dreamer who turned a bold idea into the world’s most influential company. A student of leadership and communication, he learned to elevate the way Amazonians write, collaborate, innovate, pitch and present. The communication tools Bezos created are so effective that former Amazonians who worked directly with Bezos adopted them as blueprints to start their own companies. Now, these tools are available to you. 

Make Brilliant Work is an inspiring guide to unlocking your creative potential, showing you the methods and techniques that will transform your efforts and help you achieve your best ever work. Whatever your creative endeavour, you might find it hard to produce something significant and important, but this book will show you how to make the transformation from ordinary to extraordinary. Many of the characters failed at school, lacked natural talent, were not especially gifted or were repeatedly sacked. But their methods produced brilliant work – and they will work for you, too. 

Launched out of Jeff Besoz's garage in 1994, Amazon is now one of the biggest and most profitable companies in the world. In Working Backwards, two Amazon executives lift the lid on how the company achieved such domination, and how products including Kindle, Amazon Prime, Amazon Echo and Alexa came to be. Sharing the secrets of the company's fourteen leadership principles, meticulous hiring process and rigorous business principles, this is a must-read book for entrepreneurs.

If there's one thing we've learnt from working from home, it's that a well-established routine is one of the keys to staying productive. In Daily Rituals, Mason Currey shares the practices of some of the world's most successful individuals. From Ernest Hemingway's 5.30am starts to Beethoven's morning brew (made every morning from precisely 60 coffee beans) you'll find inspiring ideas from more than 160 of the world's most accomplished leaders, thinkers, writers and creatives. 

A former superintendent of the US Army's West Point Academy and a psychologist explain why a strong character is an essential component of strong leadership. In a world where we’re bombarded by messages of ‘winning at any cost’, dishonest politicians, CEOs committing fraud, disgraced military commanders and cheating athletes, integrity matters more than ever. The Character Edge explains the powerful role character plays in trust, culture and leadership, and offers readers tools to exercise and strengthen their own. 

In The Formula, expert Albert-László Barabasi uses Big Data to explain the principles of success. From why persistence pays off, to why the last interviewee almost always gets the job, Barbasi shares the secrets of why some people always seem to succeed – and how you can too. 

In Hyperfocus, Chris Bailey offers a practical guide for how to work smarter in our distracting world. This book will teach you how to work fewer hours but achieve more, why sometimes tiredness is the key to creativity, and lots of ways to harness your attention span and be more productive with your time. 

In Growth IQ, Salesforce's Tiffani Bova shares ten strategies for how companies big and small can achieve sustainable growth. In this book about success, Bova explains that a purpose-led culture is at the heart of the world's most successful organisations and teams, and shares practical takeaways you can apply to your business.

Kim Scott outlines the reasons why, in all companies, some employees are consistently excluded and underestimated, while others are overestimated and promoted. Not only is this immoral and unjust, but it’s also bad for business. By revealing a practical framework for both respecting everyone's individuality and collaborating effectively, Just Work is the solution to this problem. This is a guide for how to recognise, call out and eliminate prejudice within your business, making it an essential read for leaders striving to create a fairer and more successful workplace.

In Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell asks: why do some people achieve so much more than others? Through studying some of the world's highest achievers – from rock stars to runners, tech-geniuses to scientists – Gladwell learns that success is just as much about where we come from as who we are. 

Discover how the right mindset can help you reach your goals with this bestselling book. Drawing on decades of research, psychologist Carol Dweck shares the idea that it's not just our abilities that determine whether we achieve success, but rather the mindset we have.  

Start small to achieve big things with James Clear's Atomic Habits. In his bestselling book about success, Clear explains how making tiny changes – like waking up five minutes earlier or doing two push-ups a day – can add up to life-changing outcomes.