Self-Help Books, Reviewed Honestly

38 books, read with one question: what still holds up? Not what inspires — what survives contact with the evidence published after the book came out.

Read it the book does the work · Notes a few ideas, buried in padding · Skip misleading or superseded — the review says why. Every book links out, including the ones we tell you to skip.

SkipRich Dad Poor DadRobert Kiyosaki · 1997SkipWhy We SleepMatthew WalkerNotesGetting Things DoneDavid AllenSkipThe 8th HabitStephen CoveyNotesFlowMihaly CsikszentmihalyiRead itHow to Win Friends and Influence PeopleDale CarnegieRead itThe Willpower InstinctKelly McGonigalSkipTribesSeth GodinRead itReworkJason Fried & David Heinemeier HanssonRead itSolving the Procrastination PuzzleTimothy PychylSkipSoaring with EaglesBill NewmanSkipMaking the Brain Body ConnectionSharon PromislowRead itLosing My VirginityRichard BransonNotesPersonal Development for Smart PeopleSteve PavlinaNotesMatsushita's Principles of SuccessKonosuke MatsushitaSkipThe Power of FocusJack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen & Les HewittSkipMaking TimeSteve TaylorSkipScrew It, Let's Do ItRichard BransonNotesThe Personal Efficiency ProgramKerry GleesonNotesGet Out of Your Own Way at WorkMark GoulstonNotesFive Minds for the FutureHoward GardnerSkipThe Rules of WealthRichard TemplarNotesNotes from a FriendTony RobbinsNotesCatching the Big FishDavid LynchSkipThe Rules of LifeRichard TemplarSkipToxic PeopleLillian GlassNotesManagingHenry MintzbergSkipEveryone Communicates, Few ConnectJohn C. MaxwellNotesHow to Read a BookMortimer AdlerNotesYour Brain at WorkDavid RockNotesHappierTal Ben-ShaharNotesThe Now HabitNeil FioreSkipBrain MakerDavid PerlmutterNotesJust ListenMark GoulstonNotesThe Introvert AdvantageMarti Olsen LaneyNotesTotal ImmersionTerry LaughlinSkipSecrets of the Millionaire MindT. Harv EkerRead itThe Dhammapada