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Best Inspirational Books: For When You Need to Get Inspired

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There have been many moments in my life when I reached a crossroads, and I felt like the entire world was caving in around me. Where do you go when you aren’t sure that there is a reason to keep moving at all?

Finding inspiration in those dark hours can be very difficult, and everyone comes to these moments in their life when they feel like they cannot move forward ever again. I’ve wasted a lot of time in these time traps, remaining stagnant and learning nothing.

Inspirational books cover a vast array of topics, and there’s nearly always a book that I can pick up to help me when I’m feeling trapped, overwhelmed, sad, or just simply lost. Inspiration isn’t always about becoming some popular or huge figure in the world; often, it’s about just finding and becoming yourself again.

Reading inspirational books more frequently brings lots of benefits in your life, including:

  • Re-learn that hard work pays off, but you have to do the work.
  • It’s easier to remember that you’re not alone when you find an inspiring story that connects with your own story.
  • You can learn not only from your own mistakes but from someone else’s as well.
  • You can more easily cope with failure and use each failure as a fresh place to grow from.
  • You have a better outlook on life and your purpose in general.

Are you interested in bringing some of those benefits into your life just as I brought them into mine?

Start by reading some of the best inspirational books! The following books are all recommended as great sources of inspiration when you need something more.

Best Inspirational Books

The Million-Dollar, One-Person Business: Make Great Money. Work the Way You Like. Have the Life You Want

The Million-Dollar, One-Person Business: Make Great Money. Work the Way You Like. Have the Life You Want

I tend to jump from book to book and may switch if I am interested in some new topic. This is a pleasure for me (which I also do benefit work wise from too). It’s quite a random list because I have eclectic interests (or just scatterbrained most likely) on tech business, AI, general global economy, geopolitics, rising Biotech economy & history. I'm basically 15% to 50% into all these books.
Marvin Liao
Partner/500 Startups
The Leader Who Had No Title: A Modern Fable on Real Success in Business and in Life

The Leader Who Had No Title: A Modern Fable on Real Success in Business and in Life

The book is all about self-development, building a strong mindset that helps you to conquest problems and obstacles. We can’t be successful until we keep on learning and implementing new techniques to make them strong skills for us. The book is not only ideal to read just but also epitome enough for practical implementations.

The idea to change begins from thoughts. When you start anything from scratch, you follow a thought process to give practical execution to your idea and for that, you need strength, wisdom, power, courage, inspiration, and guidance.

This book is not only for entrepreneur or marketer instead it’s for everyone who loves to develop themselves to achieve heights in life. It has tons of practical knowledge on leadership; easy to put into practice in your life and career. Read this book and charismatically feel the change inside you.

Haris Siddique
Co-Founder/Artimization
The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of The Learning Organization

The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of The Learning Organization

After working at many startups and now running my own company, the one difference I have observed between good and great companies (and products) is how oriented the org is toward learning, The more people in an organization learn, the more value they create for the whole company.
Josh Brewer
Co-founder/Abstract
Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future

Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future

On the other side of things, which is a bit more like inspirational and a bit more tactical, it would probably be Rise of the Robots. Focuses all on the rise of artificial intelligence. Has some really interesting pieces on how people are disrupting in a bunch of different verticals for like ED Tech, health, 3D printing, and a bunch of other areas, and the impact that that has on jobs in the future. I love those two books at the moment.
Matthew Barby
Global Head of Growth and SEO/HubSpot
Very Good Lives: The Fringe Benefits of Failure and the Importance of Imagination

Very Good Lives: The Fringe Benefits of Failure and the Importance of Imagination

Harry Potter nerds and business buffs alike will devour J.K. Rowling's Very Good Lives. The story draws from a commencement speech Rowling gave at Harvard University, and inspiration from her own life and failures. Entrepreneurs will love how she explains the benefits of failure and the crucial importance of imagination.

This is the book for those who are facing the grim realities of being broke and failing, and those graduating from college. Her main point is the importance of perseverance. Even someone who is on welfare and feeling hopeless could still turn that great idea into a business that launches the next Harry Potter franchise.

Sujan Patel
Co-Founder/Web Profits
Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Life and Love from Dear Sugar

Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Life and Love from Dear Sugar

It was wonderful to read these two provocative books of essays by two incredibly wise and compassionate women. Cheryl Strayed, also the author of Wild, was the anonymous columnist behind the online column, Dear Sugar and boy, are we better off for it. This is not a random smattering of advice. This book contains some of the most cogent insights on life, pain, loss, love, success, youth that I have ever seen. I won’t belabor the point: read this book. Thank me later. [...] Both will make you think and both made me a better person this year.
Ryan Holiday
Founder/Brass Check
Crush It!: Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion

Crush It!: Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion

Gary Vaynerchuk is one of those entrepreneurs who has discovered the secret to combining passion with business. He is always an inspiration and always entertaining. You owe it to yourself to read this book!
Tony Hsieh
CEO/Zappos
The Pumpkin Plan

The Pumpkin Plan

Here are some that might help:

(...)

- The Pumpkin Plan for differentiation

Jacqui Pretty
Founder/Grammar Factory
Running with the Giants: What the Old Testament Heroes Want You to Know About Life and Leadership

Running with the Giants: What the Old Testament Heroes Want You to Know About Life and Leadership

Learning the different characters of the heroes of faith in the bible and learning how God sees us as who we are in Him and who we will become and not who we were affirmed my identity in Christ and helped me to see the promises of God in the scripture.
Lilian Ong
Founder/Class Living
Rich Dad Poor Dad

Rich Dad Poor Dad

The funny thing is that the books that had the biggest impact (like my Verne’s favourite) are not necessarily the best books, objectively speaking. They were good enough to present a new worldview that I was not aware of. Timing probably was more important than their intrinsic literary qualities. They “managed” to fall into my lap at the right time. Such a book was Robert Kiyosaki’s “Rich Dad Poor Dad”, a mediocre book by my standards of today, but deeply inspirational by the ones from yesterday.

Vladimir Oane
Founder/UberVU
Networking Is Not Working: Stop Collecting Business Cards and Start Making Meaningful Connections

Networking Is Not Working: Stop Collecting Business Cards and Start Making Meaningful Connections

I hate business books. They are full of wishy-washy inspirational stuff and rarely of anything actionable. And even when actionable, it's from the context of that founder and the story they've spun, not the reality that most people face. So if anything, I'd have people read books such as Jayson Gaignard's Mastermind Dinners; Derek Coburn's Networking is Not Working; Shane Snow's Storytelling edge; Keith Ferrazzi's Never Eat Alone.
Sol Orwell
Co-Founder/Examine.com
Like a Virgin: Secrets They Won't Teach You at Business School

Like a Virgin: Secrets They Won’t Teach You at Business School

I would recommend any biographies of business people, but definitely I would have on the list any of Richard Branson's books. That should cover a better business and mentality understanding.
Madalina Uceanu
Managing Partner/CareerAdvisor
How Will You Measure Your Life?

How Will You Measure Your Life?

Clay’s Innovator’s Dilemma was important. Also, about 10 years later, he had another which really had a profound impact on me and on my belief systems – How will you measure your life.
Dragos Novac
CEO/Nordic 9
The Art Spirit

The Art Spirit

The first book is a book called The Art Spirit by Robert Henri, who was a painter and I know there’s a lot of affinity for painters in these parts. This is about creativity through the lens of an art student. [...] What he means by this is purely you have to be a master of your own tools. That mastership is not a destination, it is a process and it’s constant practice that gets you there.
Jack Dorsey
CEO/Twitter
Assume the Worst: The Graduation Speech You'll Never Hear

Assume the Worst: The Graduation Speech You’ll Never Hear

I started with a short book by Carl Hiaasen. I’m a fan of his fiction, so this caught my eye in Explore Booksellers (the local Aspen bookstore where we always load up whenever we come here.) It was cynically wonderful, and great advice.
Brad Feld
Co-Founder/Foundry Group
Startup Evolution Curve From Idea to Profitable and Scalable Business: Startup Marketing Manual

Startup Evolution Curve From Idea to Profitable and Scalable Business: Startup Marketing Manual

Currently, as I'm focused on marketing for my startup, I’m using “Startup Evolution Curve” by Dr. Donatas Jonikas, which is a marketing study full with real-world examples of startups and how they tackled specific marketing issues. I’m using this book as an inspiration, as five minutes into reading from it, I’m full of new ideas and committed to trying them.
PS: Proud to say that my startup, Echoz, it’s also featured in the book.

Nicolae Andronic
Founder/Echoz
Man’s Search for Ultimate Meaning

Man’s Search for Ultimate Meaning

Frankl is one of the most profound modern thinkers on meaning and purpose. His contribution was to change the question from the vague philosophy of “What is the meaning of life?” to man being asked and forced to answer with his actions. He looks at how we find purpose by dedicating ourselves to a cause, learning to love and finding a meaning to our suffering. His other two books on the topic, Will To Meaning and Man’s Search for Ultimate Meaning have gems in them as well.
Ryan Holiday
Founder/Brass Check
Peak: How Great Companies Get Their Mojo from Maslow

Peak: How Great Companies Get Their Mojo from Maslow

Rarely has a CEO bared his soul in a book...this powerfully authentic story and the resulting emotional building blocks that define how we can understand our internal weather make for a compelling read and an invaluable operating manual for life.
Tony Hsieh
CEO/Zappos
Man's Search for Meaning - The Classic Tribute to Hope from the Holocaust

Man’s Search for Meaning – The Classic Tribute to Hope from the Holocaust

Frankl is one of the most profound modern thinkers on meaning and purpose. His contribution was to change the question from the vague philosophy of “What is the meaning of life?” to man being asked and forced to answer with his actions. He looks at how we find purpose by dedicating ourselves to a cause, learning to love and finding a meaning to our suffering. His other two books on the topic, Will To Meaning and Man’s Search for Ultimate Meaning have gems in them as well.
Ryan Holiday
Founder/Brass Check
The Best We Could Do

The Best We Could Do

This gorgeous graphic novel is a deeply personal memoir that explores what it means to be a parent and a refugee. The author’s family fled Vietnam in 1978. After giving birth to her own child, she decides to learn more about her parents’ experiences growing up in a country torn apart by foreign occupiers.
Bill Gates
CEO/Microsoft

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