Success & Motivation: 8 Books recommended by Highly Successful People

Reading is one of the habits shared by all highly successful people. High-achievers are always keen on learning and self-improvement and that is why they’re often insatiable readers. We sifted through dozens of reading lists and titles to compile a list of 8 amazing books recommended by highly successful entrepreneurs and leaders. These books will give you a peek inside the world’s top minds and will help you learn valuable lessons to greatly improve your life and career.

1. The Charisma Myth by Olivia Fox Cabane

Recommended by: Marissa Mayer, Laura Lang

Olivia Fox argues that anyone can master the art of personal magnetism by applying simple techniques in The Charisma Myth. The book is a powerful blend of science, humor, and practical suggestions that can make a real difference in your life and instantly improve your charisma.

2. Good to Great: Why some companies make the leap and others don’t by Jim Collins

Recommended by: Jeff Bezos, Rand Fishkin, Simon Sinek

Good to Great is a summary of years of research that Jim Collins and his team carried out to examine why some companies make the leap from good to great and others languish in mediocrity forever. The book has been recommended by over 50 Fortune 500 and INC 500 CEOs and some have even called it the best business book they have ever read. 

3. Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose by Tony Hsieh

Recommended by: Maartje Frederiks, Eytan Levit, Ev Williams

Tony Hsieh is the CEO of Zappos, an online shoe and clothing retailer based in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. In Delivering Happiness, he shares the incredible story of how Zappos placed happiness, customer service and employee development on top of their priority list and how this helped them become a billion-dollar brand in less than 10 years. The book discloses the formula behind the meteoric success of the brand and reveals the several mistakes made along the way so that aspiring entrepreneurs can learn how to avoid these mistakes. 

4. Business Adventures by John Brooks

Recommended by: Warren Buffett, Bill Gates

From the catastrophic failure of Ford Edsel to the incredible success of Xerox, this book analyzes 12 distinct cases of failures and success in business. Bill Gates has called Business Adventures the best business book he’s ever read and this anthology of business stories comes strongly recommended as one of the best business books by Warren Buffett.

5. The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz

Recommended by: Mark Zuckerberg, Michael Dell

Venture capitalist Ben Horowitz outlines the pitfalls and difficulties of starting a new business and explains how these challenges can be overcome. Mark Zuckerberg has called The Hard Thing About Hard Things “an incredibly valuable resource for anyone interested in building, growing or leading a great company,” adding that the book is “as funny as it is insightful”.

6. The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham

Recommended by: Jamie Dimon, Bill Ackman, Warren Buffett

This is easily one of the best books ever written on how to make sound financial decisions and invest profitably. Warren Buffet claims this book helped him learn the art of shrewd investment and has claimed it is indispensable for anyone willing to learn how to invest without losing money.

7. The Innovator's Dilemma: The Revolutionary Book That Will Change the Way You Do Business by Clayton Christensen

Recommended by: Steve Jobs, Mark Cuban

Clayton Christensen is a Harvard Business School professor and business consultant. In his book The Innovator’s Dilemma, Christensen explores why some companies fail even though they do everything right and describes ways to turn these failures into success. The book is a formative and enlightening guide that has helped leaders like Steve Jobs and Mark Cuban understand why certain strategies work and others don’t in the technology business.

8. The Lean Startup by Eric Ries

Recommended by: Sheryl Sandberg, Tim O’Reilly

In The Lean Startup, Eric Ries draws inspiration from lean manufacturing to illustrate why nine out of ten startups fail and how these failures are easily preventable in most cases. The Lean Startup discusses strategies and approaches that can help entrepreneurs build a successful startup from scratch under conditions of extreme uncertainty.