Change Your Life By Reading These Five Motivational Books

On the fourth floor of the Bras Basah Complex here in Singapore, you’ll find the offices of Chinese Success Media.
It’s where my friend David holds his Aura Dating Academy classes, and amazingly, where you’ll find the walls lined with transcriptions of books from the likes of Tony Robbins, T Harv Ecker, and Richard Kiyosaki.
Amazing and amusing that in the far reaches of the globe (admittedly Westernized as this one may be), the leaders in self-help are near at hand. Chances are you’ve picked up a self-help book or twenty; I’ve read my share.
But as great as they are, not a single one has truly changed me.  And while my a larger reading list is on my bio, I find myself referencing these same five books over and over again in my conversations with clients.

The Emperor’s Handbook

It’s unbelievable to me that, 2000 years hence, the words of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius still carry so much truth.
Before there was self-help, there was stoic philosophy, and in this translation of the Emperor’s daily meditations and notes to himself, you’ll find a lifetime of wisdom – words in which you’ll find peace, solace, and inspiration.

Shantaram

The most unbelievable, almost-true account of a man’s life you’ll ever read.

“It took me a long time and most of the world to learn what I know about love and fate and the choices we make, but the heart of it came to me in an instant, while I was chained to a wall and being tortured.“

You’ll journey with the protagonist over the wall of a maximum security prison in Australia, through the slums of Bombay, and into the war-torn mountains of Afghanistan.
The author’s heroism is not merely in his actions of his adventure, but in his heart.

The 50th Law

Robert Greene (the 48 Laws of Power, the Art of Seduction) follows around Curtis Jackson aka 50 Cent for a year, and then writes a book.
If that sounds like the start of a bad joke, well… you probably haven’t noticed that 50’s net worth is about a quarter billion dollars. Not bad for a guy who started off life as a crack dealer and got shot in the face.
Deep, insightful and applicable for any man who wants more “power”.

The Way of The Superior Man

If you’ve ever screwed up with a woman, let her down, or just plain weren’t “the man,” then you failed to heed the advice of author David Deida.
Once you’ve read it, you’ll understand why everyone else who’s read it remarks on how profoundly it affected them.
Great truths about the masculine, the feminine, and relationships.

Wild At Heart

Ok, so it’s a deeply Christian book by a deeply Christian author.  Go in knowing that, and – if that’s not your faith – ready to skip past the Garden of Eden and “masturbation is sinful” stuff.
In fact, based on where I was in my life at the time, this book was more of an argument against Christianity, and remains so to this day.
But I read every word and loved it all the same, because it’s also one of the best books I’ve ever read on being a man.
Ok, your turn: what books should be included on here?