The most recommended books for success in life

Who picked these books? Meet our 314 experts.

314 authors created a book list connected to success in life, and here are their favorite success in life books.
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Book cover of Couples That Work: How To Thrive in Love and Work

Abby Davisson Author Of Money and Love: An Intelligent Roadmap for Life's Biggest Decisions

From my list on making big life decisions that involve money and love.

Why am I passionate about this?

My obsession with decision-making books began in elementary school, when I read tons of Choose Your Own Adventure books. When I realized they wouldnā€™t prepare me for life (turns out, dragons are rare), I began reading others. I got an MBA at Stanford, where I took a class taught by labor economist Myra Strober that changed my life by helping me navigate the money and love decisions I encountered while climbing the corporate ladder at Gap Inc. and raising two young kids with my husband. My former professor and I wrote Money and Love to empower more people to live more intentional lives and feel more confident about their big life decisions.

Abby's book list on making big life decisions that involve money and love

Abby Davisson Why did Abby love this book?

Dual-career couples are on the rise ā€“ chances are, if you plan on having a long-term relationship or even getting married at some point, you will have to navigate this two-person high-wire act. Jennifer Petriglieri offers a useful take on the three big questions all couples need to grapple with over time for their careers and relationship to flourish jointly: How can we make this work? (handling the logistics of combining two busy lives and often raising young kids); What do we really want? (navigating the inevitable questions that arise in mid-life); and Who are we know? (once our identities and bodies are much changed from the ones that first attracted our partners). I loved the data, stories, and exercises in this book, and have applied them to my own life. 

By Jennifer Petriglieri,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Couples That Work as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Every couple wants a happy relationship and a meaningful career but how do we balance both?

In Couples that Work, Professor Jennifer Petriglieri shifts away from the language of sacrifice and trade-offs and focuses on how couples can successfully tackle the challenges they will face throughout their lives--together. The book explores key questions like:

- Can you and your partner have equally important careers or must you prioritise one over the other?
- How can you juggle children or family commitments without sacrificing your work?
- Does every decision require compromise or can you find solutions that benefit you both?ā€¦


Book cover of Take Off Your Shoes: One Man's Journey from the Boardroom to Bali and Back

Meryl Davids Landau Author Of Warrior Won

From my list on conveying yogaā€™s deep teachings.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™m an award-winning author of novels and magazine articles. You can find my articlesā€”many on mind-body and spiritual topicsā€”in Oprah magazine, Prevention, National Geographic, and more. I started doing yoga back in my twenties when a woman almost-literally floated by me at the gym. When someone said she was the yoga teacher, I got off the spin bike and followed her into the class. Iā€™m now a certified yoga teacher and longtime meditator. Iā€™ve studied many classic yoga treatises, but itā€™s so much more fun to readā€”and to writeā€”books that deliver yogaā€™s deep philosophies in a lighthearted, easily digestible way. 

Meryl's book list on conveying yogaā€™s deep teachings

Meryl Davids Landau Why did Meryl love this book?

Most yoga memoirs and novels are written by women, so I was intrigued when I first stumbled on this book by a hard-charging CEO who picks up his family and moves to Bali.

While there, Feder takes up yoga, meditation, and painting. Like any good yoga memoirist, he details all the ways the sabbatical transforms him, his relationship with his kids and, upon returning to the U.S., his work life. But heā€™s also honest about how the mind tries to sabotage his efforts at every turn.

I very much enjoyed this book and think itā€™s especially valuable for men looking to take a similar inward spiritual journey (even if, like the protagonists of my yoga novels, they never leave home).  

By Ben Feder,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Take Off Your Shoes as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The Eat, Pray, Love for busy executives, Take Off Your Shoes invites the reader to join a journey of self-rediscovery.

If 10% Happier made you more mindful, and Wild more adventuresome, Take Off Your Shoes will ground you and help you find your soul.

"The magic of Ben Feder's narrative is that we see our own lives unfold as we travel alongside him on his journey. His poignant inner monologue touches us and emboldens us to make braver choices in our own lives. We are left richer for the voyage." Eric Langshur, author of the New York Times bestseller Startā€¦


Book cover of The Multi-Hyphen Life: Work Less, Create More, and Design a Life That Works for You

Lou Lomas Author Of The Bad Habit Kicker

From Lou's 3 favorite reads in 2024.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author

Lou's 3 favorite reads in 2024

Lou Lomas Why did Lou love this book?

As someone who's got lots of interests, and who's working on their own digital solopreneur business, I found this book extraordinarily helpful.

Life in the 21st Century is hard, and this was a book which gave me a lot of ideas and food for thought about how to navigate it.

Emma's writing style is like talking to a friend. If you're looking to start a business in 2025, you could do a lot worse than picking up this book!

By Emma Gannon,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked The Multi-Hyphen Life as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

If you've been itching to convert your craft into a career, your side-hustle into a start-up, or just want to think about work-life balance in a new way, then The Multi-Hyphen Life is for you.

In The Multi-Hyphen Life, award-winning British author-podcaster Emma Gannon explains that it doesn't matter if you're a part-time PA with a blog, or an accountant who runs an online store in the eveningsā€”whatever your ratio, whatever your mixture, we can all channel our own entrepreneurial spirit to live more fulfilled and financially healthy lives.

Technology allows us to work wherever, whenever, and enables us toā€¦


Book cover of Couples That Work: How To Thrive in Love and Work
Book cover of Take Off Your Shoes: One Man's Journey from the Boardroom to Bali and Back
Book cover of The Multi-Hyphen Life: Work Less, Create More, and Design a Life That Works for You

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