10 Must-Read Books on Business & Personal Growth to Keep You Thinking Big

Every year, I put out a list of books that I’ve read that have significantly impacted me.

These are books that keep me thinking big and help me drive growth in every area of my life.

That’s why this year I’ve compiled a list of the top 10 must-read books on business and personal growth books that have influenced my decisions and perspectives.

The Top 5 Must-Read Books on Business

These are the books on career, business, and entrepreneurship that have transformed my thinking.

1. Blitzscaling by Reid Hoffman

This book talks about the shift of mentality that happens in a company that’s growing really, really fast. This is an incredible book for understanding rapid growth.

And this year was one of the best years for Mindvalley in terms of growth — this book was an amazing manual to help us deal with the inevitable chaos of this fast growth.

2. Utopia For Realists by Rutger Bregman

Twenty years from now, the world will be very different. Robots and AI will take over most jobs. Working hours will drop to 15 hr/week. And with Universal Basic Income, work will essentially be optional.

In that world, I believe that the No. 1 thing we’ll be doing with our abundance of spare time is personal growth. Productivity is no longer just what you build — YOU become the product. Your soul, your body, your mind become the focus of your human drive to build, create and invent.

And we are striving to be the company that provides the best tools for this future.

3. In the Plex by Steven Levy

The story of Google from its founding years.

I graduated from the same engineering college at the University of Michigan as Larry Page and attended some of the same leadership programs he did.

Even though he was 5 years ahead of me, I see him as a mentor I never actually got to meet. In the Plex is a glimpse of the mind of this brilliant man running Google.

4. Measure What Matters by John Doerr

This book talks about using OKRs (objectives & key results) in a unique way that helped companies like Google and Intel grow.

We introduced OKRs in Mindvalley this year and it had a massive shift on how we operate.

5. Powerful by Patty Mccord

Patty Mccord says that what makes a company great is that it gives the opportunity to its people to be great. In short, give smart people a way to become POWERFUL.

This idea shifted a lot of how I ran Mindvalley. We insist that our key people in Mindvalley take up bold, game-changing projects and we create a space where people know that failure is OK, too. But what’s NOT acceptable is thinking small.

The Top 5 Must-Read Books on Personal Growth

I strongly recommend that you add these books to your bookshelf.

6. Evolving Ourselves by Juan Enríquez & Steve Gullans

The latest science on human biology that you probably never learned in school — including why Darwin’s evolution theory was incomplete.

We human beings are far more complex and evolving way more rapidly than Darwin would ever have guessed. This book will open your eyes to a whole new way of thinking about biology.

7. Food by Mark Hyman

Everyone should read this, ESPECIALLY if you have kids — to inoculate them against the false advertising of food companies that train us to eat things that help their bottom line but actually screw up our health for good.

This book is a manual that everyone should read and these ideas should be integrated into the schooling system.

8. Body by Science by Doug McGuff & John R. Little

This book is so good I reread it. It’s the best read on exercise, fitness, and strength training out there, and it changes the way you think about the gym.

If you read this book, you’ll understand why I say that running a marathon is bad for your health but running a Spartan race is great. Mindvalley’s new 10X muscle development program coming out in 2019 was built on this research. This book is the bible of exercise.

9. Game Changers by Dave Asprey

Confession: I’m featured heavily in this book. But it’s not why I recommend it.

It’s because it’s a fast-paced manual on how to be your best self. It will teach you countless ways to hack your mind, body, and spirit from the guy who practically coined the term biohacker.

10. Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins

This is by far one of the most powerful books of our time on understanding the meaning of suffering and moving beyond it.

Written by the extraordinary man, ultramarathoner, and former Navy Seal, this book will change the way you think about pain, strength, and motivation.