We’ve all been there: You’re sitting around watching TV, and you think to yourself, “There’s gotta be something better I could be doing with my time!” Sure, maybe you should do something productive, like going for a run or cooking dinner. But why not curl up with a good book instead?
Here are ten books that we’ve found particularly inspiring and motivating for men:
Make Your Bed (Author: William McRaven).
This book is based on the incredible graduation speech by Admiral William on May 17, 2014, to the graduating class on their commandment day. The author tells stories about his life and the people he met in the army who dealt with hard times and made hard decisions with a lot of determination. He shares the lessons he has learned from his time in the Navy and in civilian life. He also includes speeches and stories from leaders like King David, Winston Churchill, Abraham Lincoln, and others. It is a book for men who want to live with courage and conviction.
Man’s Search For Meaning (Author: Viktor E Frankl).
Believe it or not, your most essential values in life will NOT be inspired by a gorgeous woman with a great figure. Instead, you’ll find them through suffering and overcoming adversity. Author Viktor Frankl uses the backdrop of his experience in the Nazi concentration camps during World War II to illustrate his theory of logotherapy, which urges individuals to put forth meaning in all they do.
The Slight Edge (Authors: Jeff Olson & John David Mann).
It is a self-help book that concentrates on small daily efforts which eventually lead to success. For instance, a slight daily improvement of 1% in your health will be better than a 100% improvement once every few months. This way, it guarantees that the effects will accumulate over time, and you would be much more likely to reap the benefits. As per this book, if you want to attain a goal, you should move towards it each day. Even a walk around your neighborhood counts as your workout for the day.
The Alchemist (Author: Paulo Coelho).
This book is a remarkable story about an inspiring journey toward self-discovery. This classic masterpiece, which has sold millions of copies around the world, is both wise and spiritual. The tale outlines the whole journey of a young boy who desires to travel the entire world in search of a treasure, but in the end, he discovers a vastly different sort of riches than he initially imagined. All in all, The Alchemist inspires each of us to listen to our hearts, recognize opportunities in life, and chase our passions.
The Four Arrangements (Author: Don Miguel Ruiz).
Don Miguel uses his work to show us how our limiting beliefs keep us from being happy and cause us to suffer needlessly. The Four Arrangements give an intuitive code of conduct that conveys its perceptions to its readers. The book encourages self-reflection and inspires us to do better in our regular lives. This is why the book has sold over six million copies in the United States alone and has been a New York Times bestseller for over eight decades.
The Checklist Manifesto (Author: Atul Gawande).
This book might well bring inspiration and comfort to you for two reasons: First, it might help you better your life, helping you achieve further than you thought possible by eliminating perceived hurdles and clearing clutter, both psychic and physical. Second, it might just help you realize how good you can compete with the achievers out there, people who’ve stumbled for the bare absence of organization and who’ve excelled in huge part thanks to it.
Choose Yourself (Author: James Altucher).
Choose yourself is one of the most inspiring books for men. James Altucher argues that the most valuable asset we’ve and the one which we’d be investing the most time, resources, and effort into it is – ourselves. The entire book is about how we can achieve success quickly by selecting to invest in ourselves and our development. This Choose Yourself Book will motivate and inspire you to develop talents and be an excellent resource for anybody with an entrepreneurial mindset.
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (Author: Robert Pirsig).
This is an odd book; it is part memoir, part philosophy, and it is all quite exciting and deeply inspiring. Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is based on a road trip a dad and son took in the middle years of the latter half of the twentieth century, yet it spreads out to all, from metaphysics to motor repair to music madness. Nearly every reader will see at least a piece of himself in these unparalleled, strange pages.
How to Win Friends and Influence People (Author: Dale Carnegie).
This bestseller has sold over 15 million copies worldwide. How to win friends is a timeless book published in 1936, during the Great Depression era. The book teaches you the fundamental techniques for dealing with people, making people like you, and winning people over your way of thinking. These are skills everyone should learn because they are critical for success in all areas of life, whether at work, school, or even socially. This self-help book will help you achieve your personal and professional goals through simple techniques for interacting with others.
Bearing the Unbearable (Author: Joanne Cacciatore).
It takes some time to grieve when you lose a loved one, but many people feel pressured to be okay sooner than they want. Bearing the Unbearable will assist mourners in learning to stop seeking permission or approval from others in their grief, and it’ll help redefine their life without someone in it. The chapters are small – 2 to 3 pages – to help make it simple to focus on during your darkest times.
Takeaway
Take a pick from our list of the best inspiring books for men and make it your journey to becoming a better man. Furthermore, these books are quite affordable as compared to the benefits they will bring to your life. All you need is a little self-discipline and commitment to start reading one book after another.
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Matthew Mansour is a professional life coach, fitness trainer, health coach, a blogger with over 800 articles published to date. He enjoys reading and researching books that are reflective of the nature of who we are as humans, understanding the complexity of our minds, and using it as an advantage to propel us forward in life.
He is a self-help enthusiast and he is not ashamed about it! He’s always looking for his next fix of inspiration, motivation, insight, and wisdom from those who have been there before him!
He also does a lot of courses and research on the latest and greatest in the area of self-help, life coaching, and health.
He likes to share his discoveries with anyone who is interested in listening! His personal goal is to help people achieve great results in their lives, that is why he also has a blog about self-improvement.
He loves animals and he currently lives in New Jersey with his loving wife and his recently born child.