The top 5 books I've read in 2023

When 2023 started, I set an intent to read more self-help books. From reading History and Politics in 2022, I determined that it would be great learn more practical knowledge that I can use to navigate my adult life better.

As I conclude my readings this year, one of my critical realization is that: I should have read self-help books earlier. All of the books I've read helped me greatly, but if I'll choose which ones I'll consider most influential to my growth, I'll pick the following 5 books.

These are the top 5 books I've read in 2023:

1. Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz (published: 1960)

Psycho-cybernetics is a termed coined by American plastic surgeon and author, Maxwell Maltz to describe how our psychology functions like a cybernetic system that helps us in accomplishing our goals. The only caveat is that this system can serve us either in good or bad ways depending on our relationship with it.

Maltz shares that the link where we can influence this built-in servo mechanism lies in our self-image. He derived this conclusion from years of observing patients before and after their plastic surgeries. He asked, "why are there people who remained unconfident, unhappy, and unsatisfied even when their operation succeeded?" He concluded that it was people's self-image that made them feel this way. Their appearance may have improved but it was their psychology that ultimately determined their personal fulfillment.

Psycho-cybernetics provide a slew of techniques that help us craft better self-images. With techniques ranging from visualizations, affirmations, relaxation, and hypnosis; it breaks personal development down into actionable steps, and makes us realize that how we see ourselves decide our capacity to be happy and successful.

2. The Science of getting rich by Wallace D. Wattles (published: 1910)

In this short book, Wallace D. Wattles professes what he claims to be pragmatic steps to getting rich. Published during the rise of new thought movement of early 20th century, the Science of getting rich draws upon Wattle's lifetime reading of various sacred texts to explain that being rich is a foundation for personal and spiritual development.

In a perspective altering way, Wattles explains that all wealth are mediums of value, in which a person can only get wealth by providing value in return. He encourages people to take creative professions instead of those built upon competition. Stating that in competition, wealth can be ours today but it may be in the hands of another tomorrow. While in creative professions, value is created for universal benefit.

The Science of getting rich gives readers the necessary mindset shift to go from thinking of scarcity into thinking in abundance. In a concise way, it provides us a metaphysics of wealth acquirement that can prove helpful in our modern, creativity driven society.

3. The 7 habits of highly effective people by Stephen Covey (published: 1989)

If I'll recommend a first book to read in a self-help journey, this would be it. The 7 habits of highly effective people has been one of the most influential personal development book in the last 30 years. A culmination of Stephen Covey's work in the management field, this book presents a simple, yet highly effective paradigm for personal growth in the form of 7 hierarchical habits.

The first 3 habits are action steps that secure private victory:

Habit 1: Be proactive (choosing to be engaged with our life)

Habit 2: Begin with the end in mind (having a clear vision of what we want to to accomplish)

Habit 3: Put first things first (Arranging tasks into priorities)

Private victory means securing for ourselves a purpose that our life will be built upon, thus ensuring that our life is moving in our chosen direction.

The next habits are concerned with public victory:

Habit 4: Think win-win (thinking in mutual benefit)

Habit 5: Seek first to understand, then to be understood (effective communication)

Habit 6: Synergize (interdependence)

Habits 4 to 6 helps us gain public victory by improving our relationships with other people, whether it'd be in our professional or personal lives.

Habit 7 is sharpening the saw. It is the act of self-renewal that Stephen Covey considers to be the overarching concept encircling all the habits. In order to execute on the first 6 habits, we must continuously sharpen ourselves in four areas of life: Spiritual, Mental, Social/emotional, and Physical.

Aside from the 7 habits, Stephen Covey also talk about concepts like emphatic listening, productivity capability balance, and maturity continuum.

The 7 habits of highly effective people provides an effective map for personal change; a manual that has changed people's lives, and will continue to do so in the years to come.

4. The big leap by Gay Hendricks (published: 2009)

In the big leap, psychologist Gay Hendricks introduces readers to the concept of zone of genius, an activity that an individual is uniquely suited to do, and that which makes use of his greatest strengths and talents.

Hendricks shares that there are consequences when we are not living in accordance with our own genius. One such problem he calls, the upper limit problem: the occurrence of being accustomed to living below our potential that we negate opportunities to grow or be happy.

The book is filled with exercises that helps us identify our zone of genius. Helpful for the search is a diagram where Hendricks share our four zones of activities:

Zone of incompetence: activities which we have low to zero aptitude.

Zone of competence: activities that we can do with minimal effort but does not yield any significant fulfillment.

Zone of excellence: activities that we are great at, yields us wealth, or makes us professionally stable but does not make use of our unique strengths.

Zone of genius: activities that makes full use of our unique potential and also gives us fulfillment.

Throughout the book, Gay Hendricks encourages each one of us to take a big leap into our zone of genius, and claim the creative freedom, abundance, fulfillment and happiness that we all deserve.

5. Mastery by Robert Greene (published: 2009)

The path to mastery is a painstaking process. In mastery, Robert Greene give readers the principles to make it as efficient and compelling as possible.

Drawing from his personal experience, interviews, and research of historical and contemporary masters, Greene describes in great detail the traps, the joys, and the hardships of the master's journey.

Aided with quotes and life stories of masters such as Charles Darwin, Leonardo Da Vinci, Bobby Fischer, and Martha Graham, mastery gives readers a peek of the master's mindset and turns our mere pursuit of excellence into a process of personal transformation.

The topics discussed include strategies in identifying our life's task, the concept of 10,000 hours, the importance of social intelligence, finding a mentor, techniques for staying creative, and principles for completely mastering a field of knowledge.

Filled with practical wisdom, Mastery is an important book to take on our professional and personal development journeys.

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Conclusion

The short reviews I gave doesn't do enough justice to describe the full message of the books I mentioned. As such, I may do separate reviews of them in the future. For now, I hope you had an idea of the importance of studying self-help concepts. At the least, I hope I motivated you enough to read the books as well. I'll be including their buy links below.