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Productive Flourishing's Recommended Reads

Books are usually the most nourishing diet of information we consume, but they’re not all created equal. This page presents the best books from the many hundreds I’ve read. (I read 5-15 books a month, depending on what I’m up to.)

I’ve chosen the top books based on what’s going to give you the greatest summary of the field or give you key information that you can put into practice. I’ve favored accessibility over profundity in the top books because a seminal but too-dense-to-get-into book isn’t going to do you much good.

This list will be updated every quarter to include new books and topics, so check back often on the topics you love most. The links go to Amazon so you can see reader reviews and learn more about the books. If you purchase the books from Amazon, we get a small commission; thanks for supporting the work it takes to provide this resource to our community.

Last but not least, a list of Best Books wouldn't be complete without my two books 🙂

Start Finishing: How to Go From Idea to Done: Hardcover | Audiobook | Kindle

The Small Business Lifecycle: Paperback | Kindle

Recommendations of books for productivity, finance, self-care, creativity and communication. #productiveflourishing #entrepreneur #mindset

Productivity + Effectiveness

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Stephen R. Covey
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

The Power of Full Engagement: Managing Energy, Not Time, Is the Key To High Performance and Personal Renewal by Jim Loehr
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World by Cal Newport
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

More Books on Productivity and Effectiveness Expand

Strengths Finder 2.0 by Tom Rath
Hardcover | Kindle

Show Your Work!: 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered by Austin Kleon
Paperback | Kindle

Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel H. Pink
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

Do More Great Work: Stop the Busywork. Start the Work That Matters. by Michael Bungay Stanier
Paperback | Kindle

Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard by Dan Heath
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

Making It All Work: Winning at the Game of Work and the Business of Life by David Allen
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

Your Brain at Work: Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day Long by David Rock
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

Books on Career Development Expand

Body of Work: Finding the Thread That Ties Your Story Together by Pamela Slim
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

Pivot: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One by Jenny Blake
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

The Art of Work: A Proven Path to Discovering What You Were Meant to Do by Jeff Goins
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

Do Over: Rescue Monday, Reinvent Your Work, and Never Get Stuck by Jon Acuff
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

Dig Your Well Before You’re Thirsty: The Only Networking Book You’ll Ever Need by Harvey Mackay
Paperback | Audiobook

Career Renegade: How to Make a Great Living Doing What You Love by Jonathan Fields
Paperback | Kindle

What Color Is Your Parachute? 2016: A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers by Richard N. Bolles
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

Self-Help + Personal Growth

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

The Big Leap: Conquer Your Hidden Fear and Take Life to the Next Level by Gay Hendricks, PhD
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead by Brené Brown
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom by Don Miguel Ruiz
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

More Books on Self-Help and Personal Growth Expand

Uncertainty: Turning Fear and Doubt into Fuel for Brilliance by Jonathan Fields
Paperback | Audio | Kindle

Finding Your Own North Star: Claiming the Life You Were Meant to Live by Martha Beck
Paperback | Kindle

What Got You Here Won’t Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful by Marshall Goldsmith
Paperback | Audio | Kindle

The Wisdom of the Enneagram: The Complete Guide to Psychological and Spiritual Growth for the Nine Personality Types by Don Richard Riso
Paperback

The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom by Don Miguel Ruiz
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

How to Live a Good Life by Jonathan Fields
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

What You Can When You Can: Healthy Living on Your Terms by Carla Birnberg and Roni Noone
Paperback | Kindle

First Things First by Stephen R. Covey
Paperback | Audio | Kindle

Talent is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else by Geoff Colvin 
Paperback | Audio | Kindle

Rising Strong by Brené Brown
Paperback | Audio | Kindle

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom by Don Miguel Ruiz
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

Books on Philosophy Expand

The Tao Te Ching by Derek Lin
Paperback | Kindle

A Guide for the Perplexed by E. F. Schumacher
Paperback | Kindle

The Complete Works of Plato
Hardcover | Kindle

On Liberty by John Stuart Mill
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

The Metaphysical Club: A Story of Ideas in America by Louis Menand
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

Noteworthy Philosophy Books

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values by Robert M. Pirsig
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

The Nicomachean Ethics
Paperback | Kindle

The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius
Paperback | Kindle

The Problems of Philosophy by Bertrand Russell
Paperback | Kindle

The Examined Life: Philosophical Meditations by Robert Nozick
Paperback

Spheres Of Justice: A Defense Of Pluralism And Equality by Michael Walzer
Paperback | Kindle

A Theory of Justice by John Rawls
Paperback | Kindle

One World: The Ethics of Globalization by Peter Singer
Paperback | Kindle

Business + Entrepreneurship

Breakthrough Advertising by Eugene M. Schwartz
Hardcover

The 100 Best Business Books of All Time: What They Say, Why They Matter, and How They Can Help You by Jack Covert
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

Competing for the Future by Gary Hamel
Paperback | Kindle

TouchPoints: Creating Powerful Leadership Connections in the Smallest of Moments by Douglas Conant
Hardcover | Audiobook | Kindle

To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others by Daniel H. Pink
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

Books on Business Strategy Expand

The Art of War by Sun Tzu
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t by Jim Collins
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

Competing for the Future by Gary Hamel
Paperback | Kindle

Strategy: Create and Implement the Best Strategy for Your Business by Harvard Business Review Press
Paperback

The Art of the Long View: Planning for the Future in an Uncertain World by Peter Schwartz
Paperback | Kindle

Deep Dive: The Proven Method for Building Strategy, Focusing Your Resources, and Taking Smart Action by Rich Horwath
Hardcover | Kindle

Crossing the Chasm: Marketing and Selling High-Tech Products to Mainstream Customers by Geoffrey A. Moore
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance by Michael E. Porter
Paperback | Kindle

Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers by Alexander Osterwalder
Paperback | Kindle

Good Strategy, Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why It Matters by Richard Rumelt
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

The Lords of Strategy: The Secret Intellectual History of the New Corporate World by Walter Kiechel
Hardcover | Audiobook | Kindle

The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of the Learning Organization by Peter M. Senge
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

Ahead of the Curve: A Guide to Applied Strategic Thinking by Steven J. Stowell and Stephanie S. Mead
Hardcover | Kindle

In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America’s Best-Run Companies by Thomas J. Peters
Paperback | Kindle

The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses by Eric Ries
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

Books on Strategy Execution and Business Growth Expand

Know-how: The 8 Skills That Separate People Who Perform from Those Who Don’t by Ram Charam
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done by Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

The Balanced Scorecard: Translating Strategy Into Action by Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton
Hardcover

The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement by Eliyahu M. Goldratt and Jeff Cox
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

The Small Business Life Cycle: A Guide for Taking the Right Steps at the Right Time by Charlie Gilkey
Paperback

Ready, Fire, Aim: Zero to $100 Million in No Time Flat by Michael Masterson
Paperback | Audiobook

Predictable Success: Getting Your Organization on the Growth Track –and Keeping It There by Les McKeown
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

Growing Pains: Transitioning from an Entrepreneurship to a Professionally Managed Firm by Eric G. Flamholtz
Paperback | Kindle

No Man’s Land: Where Growing Companies Fail by Doug Tatum
Paperback | Kindle

Scaling Up Excellence: Getting to More Without Settling for Less by Robert I. Sutton and Huggy Rao
Paperback | Audiobook

 

Books on Marketing Expand

Breakthrough Advertising by Eugene M. Schwartz
Hardcover

Purple Cow by Seth Godin
Hardcover | Audiobook | Kindle

Marketing Outrageously:How to Increase Your Revenue by Staggering Amounts by Jon Spoelstra
Paperback | Kindle

The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing: Violate Them at Your Own Risk! by Al Ries and Jack Trout
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, Revised Edition by Robert B. Cialdini
Paperback | Audiobook

Zag: The Number One Strategy of High-Performance Brands by Marty Neumeier
Paperback | Audiobook

Winning the Story Wars: Why Those Who Tell (and Live) the Best Stories Will Rule the Future by Jonah Sachs
Hardcover | Audiobook

The Referral Engine: Teaching Your Business to Market Itself by John Jantsch
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip and Dan Heath
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

Books on Leadership and Management Expand

TouchPoints: Creating Powerful Leadership Connections in the Smallest of Moments by Douglas Conant
Hardcover | Audiobook | Kindle

The Effective Executive: The Definitive Guide to Getting the Right Things Done by Peter F. Drucker
Paperback | Audiobook

The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever by Michael Bungay Stanier
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable by Patrick Lencioni
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

AntiPatterns: Refactoring Software, Architectures, and Projects in Crisis 1st Edition by William J. Brown and Raphael C. Malveau
Paperback | Kindle

Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us by Seth Godin
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

The New One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

Hire With Your Head by Lou Adler
Paperback | Kindle

The 4 Disciplines of Execution: Achieving Your Wildly Important Goals by Chris McChesney
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

Read This Before Our Next Meeting: How We Can Get More Done by Al Pittampalli
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time by Jeff Sutherland
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

Books on Entrepreneurship Expand

Innovation and Entrepreneurship by Peter F. Drucker
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

Crossing the Chasm: Marketing and Selling High-Tech Products to Mainstream Customers by Geoffrey A. Moore
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

The Four Steps of the Epiphany by Steve Blank
Paperback | Kindle

The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses by Eric Riles
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers by Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur
Paperback | Kindle

Escape From Cubicle Nation: From Corporate Prisoner to Thriving Entrepreneur by Pamela Slim
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferriss
Hardcover | Audiobook | Kindle

The Automatic Customer: Creating a Subscription Business in Any Industry by John Warrillow
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

Books on Small Business Expand

Street Smarts: An All-Purpose Tool Kit for Entrepreneurs by Norm Brodsky
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

The Small Business Life Cycle: A Guide For Taking the Right Steps at the Right Time by Charlie Gilkey
Paperback | Kindle

The Bootstrapper’s Bible: How to Start and Build a Business with a Great Idea and (Almost) No Money by Seth Godin
Paperback

The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It by Michael E. Gerber
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

Small Is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered by E. F. Schumacher
Paperback

Hire Your First Employee by Rhonda Abrams
Paperback

Hire With Your Head by Lou Adler
Paperback | Kindle

Tax Savvy for Small Business by Frederick W. Daily
Paperback

The Job Description Handbook by Margie Mader-Clark
Paperback | Kindle

The Great Game of Business, Expanded and Updated: The Only Sensible Way to Run a Company by Jack Stack
Paperback | Audiobook

Ownership Thinking: How to End Entitlement and Create a Culture of Accountability, Purpose, and Profit by Brad Hams
Hardcover | Kindle

Growing Your Business! by Mark LeBlanc
Paperback

Duct Tape Marketing Revised and Updated: The world’s Most Practical Small Business Marketing Guide by John Jantsch
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

The One Hour Plan For Growth: How a Single Sheet of Paper Can Take Your Business to the Next Level by Joe Calhoon
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

Nolo’s Quick LLC: All You Need to Know About Limited Liability Companies by Anthony Mancuso
Paperback | Kindle

Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You by John Warrillow
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

Books on Personal Finance Expand

Financial Intimacy: How to Create a Healthy Relationship with Your Money and Your Mate by Jacquette M. Timmons
Paperback | Kindle

The Two-Income Trap: Why Middle-Class Parents Are (Still) Going Broke by Elizabeth Warren and Amelia Warren Tyagi
Paperback | Kindle

Your Money or Your Life: 9 Steps to Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence by Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

Your Money: The Missing Manual by J.D. Roth
Paperback | Kindle

Wild Money: A Creative Journey to Financial Wisdom by Luna Jaffe
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America’s Wealthy by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

Creativity + Innovation

The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

The Language of Man: Learning to Speak Creativity by Larry Robertson
Paperback | Kindle

Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

The Back of the Napkin (Expanded Edition): Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures by Dan Roam
Paperback | Kindle

Six Thinking Hats by Edward de Bono
Paperback | Audiobook

More Books on Creativity and Innovation Expand

The Mind Map Book: Unlock Your Creativity, Boost Your Memory, Change Your Life by Tony Buzan
Paperback

The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It For Life by Twyla Tharp
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

Where Good Ideas Come From by Steven Johnson
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

Little Bets: How Breakthrough Ideas Emerge from Small Discoveries by Peter Sims
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World by Jane McGonigal
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

Books on Writing Expand

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr.
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

100 Ways to Improve Your Writing by Gary Provost
Paperback | Kindle

Ensouling Language: On the Art of Nonfiction and the Writer’s Life by Stephen Harrod Buhner
Paperback | Kindle

Writing with Style: Conversations on the Art of Writing by John R. Trimble
Paperback

Write. Publish. Repeat. (The No-Luck-Required Guide to Self-Publishing Success) by Sean Platt and Johnny B. Truant
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content by Ann Handley
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within by Natalie Goldberg
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction by William Zinsser
Paperback | Kindle

Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

The Synonym Finder by J.I. Rodale
Paperback | Kindle

Roget’s Thesaurus by J.I. Rodale
Paperback

Books on Spirituality and Mindfulness Expand

Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior by Chogyam Trungpa 
Paperback | Kindle

Start Here Now: An Open-Hearted Guide to the Path and Practice of Meditation by Susan Piver
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

The Way of Chuang Tzu by Thomas Merton
Paperback | Kindle

The Art of Happiness A Handbook for Living by Dalai Lama
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment by Eckhart Tolle
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

The World’s Religions: Our Great Wisdom Traditions by Huston Smith
Paperback

Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth by Reza Aslan
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

Communication

Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life by Marshall B. Rosenberg
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

Fierce Conversations: Achieving Success at Work and in Life One Conversation at a Time by Susan Scott
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life by Henry Cloud
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts by Gary Chapman
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

The Power of a Positive No: Save The Deal, Save The Relationship and Still Say No by William Ury
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

More Books on Communication Expand

The Metaphors We Live By by George Lakoff
Paperback | Kindle

We Need to Talk: Your Guide to Challenging Business Conversations by Andrea J. Lee
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

Books on Positive Psychology Expand

The Upside of Your Dark Side: Why Being Your Whole Self — Not Just Your “Good” Self — Drives Success and Fulfillment by Todd Kashdan
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
Paperback | Kindle

Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

A Calm Brain: How to Relax into a Stress-Free, High-Powered Life by Gayatri Devi
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

Curious?: Discover the Missing Ingredient to a Fulfilling Life by Todd Kashdan
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle

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