James Phu

A very practical book on how the brain actually works and what we can all do to live a happier and more peaceful life. The information in here is backed by the latest neuroscience and showcases how with just a bit of dedication, you can literally see the world differently.

This is a follow up book to the Buddha’s Brain, where Rick digs a level deeper into how we can all change our mindset to become more positive, grateful, loving, kind, compassionate, strong, etc. The method that Rick teaches is something I have implemented in my life.

One of the classic self-improvement books that is a must read by everyone.  Napoleon Hill interviewed many of the most successful people of his time in order to write this book. It also contains a secret. Can you solve it?

Written by the "Father of Positive Thinking". This classic book is filled with real life stories of people who used positive thinking to get over hurdles in their lives. This book redefined the self-help genre back in the 1950's and it's lessons are still very relevant for living in the present.

Hugely practical book that is jammed packed with advice and tips that help make your entire life better.

The chapter about how to "Cure yourself from Excusitus (aka Excuses)" is worth the price of this book.

This book was given to me as a gift from a rock star business coach.  I asked him if he could think of any books I could use to coach myself to become a better person.  One week later this book arrived at my office. This book is highly practical and such an easy read.  I now keep this book in my nightstand just in case of emergencies.

Written in the early 1900’s, this book is a timeless classic on how to use the power of thought.  This book can be read in about 1 hour and is a book that I will re-read each year.

There is something to be said about how successful people truly become successful.  Don’t get mesmerized by the smoke and mirrors that things came easy to them or that they were lucky.  There is something else that inevitably leads to their success.

Life can definitely get crazy as there is a lot of distractions and chaos around us all the time.  How can you refocus yourself so you achieve big things in life?  Focus on BIG ONE thing...

This is a fantastic, to the point book to about how to become an Essentialist. This book will teach you concepts such as “How to say No” and “How to build a great routine.” I have recommended this book multiple times to colleagues that I work with who are just overloaded.

I read this book after I published my Morning Routine blog, and I still learnt so much.  My morning routine is constantly evolving and reading this book gave me invaluable tips on how to wake up refreshed and as well a few things I could add to spice up my routine.

Have you ever met someone for the first time and knew right away that he or she had a ton of charisma? Ever wonder why? In today’s world, people with charisma seem to be more successful, have more friends and be happier.  There is no reason why you can’t become more charismatic. I have always been interested in body language and how it plays are part in communication.  What I personally love about this book is that it left me with a variety of practical tips that I now use in my every day life.  

The key to building habits are: 

1. Define a cue or trigger for the habit
2. Create the routine
3. Define the reward
4. Cultivate the craving that drives the habit loop

This book talks about how one can break bad habits such as nail biting or smoking and also how to create good habits such as eating well and exercise. 

This book also extends to what entrepreneurs can do to drive good habits in their business.

Written by the creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series. Jack breaks this book up into 60+ different principles that you can use to improve your life.  My favorite principles were: "Take 100% responsibility for your life", "Release the brakes", and "Practice Persistance".

I love how this book breaks up his ideas into chapters so you can always go back and refer to them.

PS: This is a very long book (~600 pages)

This book takes you through a summary of many research studies that have been conducted to help improve your:

• Happiness
• Confidence
• Stress levels
• Parenting skills
• People skills

What I liked about this book was that the author gave quick exercises that could be performed in under one minute in order to quickly enhance something.

Many self-help books tell you to do this without any proof that works their advice actually works.  Richard does the opposite. He uses research studies to back up his statements and as well as disprove common myths about the self-help industry.

This is how a book should be written.  Short, concise and straight to the point.

Essentially this book talks about the inner battle that all creative types face when they start to work. 

Steven calls these inner demons - "Resistance".  

How can you defeat the Resistance?  

How can you actually get to work?

How do you ignore all the negative self-talk that will inevitably happen when you release your creative child into the world?

This book is a must read for any creative person, birthing creations into the world.

Must read book for everyone.  

For introverts it teaches you more about...you.

For extroverts it teaches you how you should be more like an introvert at times because there are many qualities that an introvert has that are better.  This book also teaches you how to better understand an introvert.

This book digs into topics such as:

• Does group brainstorming work?
• How to raise an introverted child?
• Why are Asians more likely to be introverted than Americans?
• Why did Wall Street have a massive crash?
• Nature vs Nurture
• Extroverted vs Introverted leadership.

A poetic book that argues the fact that we have all been trained to become cogs in a machine.  

Because the world has changed so much in the last century, we no longer need people who can follow instructions well.  Rather we need people can be use their uniqueness and creativity to make art that changes people. 

This is a fantastic read.

I didn't know what to expect when I first picked this book up, but it was a great surprise to see that this book dug into topics such as Buddhism and Stoicism.

The premise of the book is simple, you don't always have to think positive to be positive, in fact thinking positively can cause you to become more negative. 

I highly recommend this book.

There are two types of mindsets.

1. A fixed mindset - You don't believe you can change who you.  In a way you believe you are born the way you are.
2. A growth mindset - You believe that much of who you become you can control.  You believe in hard work and effort rather than innate talent.

This book can change the way you live you life and raise children.

Read it!

How to come back back from adversity and shame?

This book is filled with stories from Brene's life that showcases how she has managed to go through her ongoing difficulties of shame.

Throughout your life, you will run into many obstacles.  You can allow the obstacles to stop you, to stunt you, to laugh at you, or you can choose to go through or around it.

This book is written in very Stoic manner, and can be used to be a reference guide when you run into obstacles in life.

This is the best self-coaching book I have read to date.  Triggers provides an easy to use template of how you can improve your life.

This is a great book that goes deeply into self-coaching and changing personal behaviours for the better.

 A classic guide to mental peak performance.  This book was a mixture of zen life philosophy and tennis.

It talks about not allowing your thinking mind to get in the way of your performing mind.

If you ever wonder why you choke during big moments? Or why you never improve over time? Or how to better coach people? Read this book.

Daniel Coyle also wrote a book called The Talent Code where he talks about how to build talent.  

In this book, Daniel summarizes his learnings that has taken him all over the world during his search for the worlds most successful talent hot beds.  

This book is best used a reference and can be finished in a couple of hours. 

A classic book on how to unleash your creative self.  This book talks about two powerful methods to help unblock a blocked artist.  Morning pages and Artist's Dates.

If you are looking for a book to help you deal with your fears, perfectionism, and other emotional issues holding you back, this will be a great book for you.

Using design thinking methodologies to help design your life.  Those of you familiar with design thinking will absolutely love this book. As this book takes you through the entire life cycle of redesigning your life. 

If you feel stuck, choose this book to help you get unstuck.

This book inspired me to change my entire workout routine and get into the best shape of my life. Exercise has so many benefits including keeping your brain super healthy. Find out why everyone needs to exercise in this book.

I read this book because I wanted  to pick up some secrets of what makes an ultra-marathoner a super resilient machine.  It turns out this book is a story that contains much more information then just running.  This is a great little book to learn more about why humans are built the way we are built.  It also digs into lots of human history.

We all can be our own worst enemy. Our minds tend to blow up situations that are relatively minor into large issues.  We constantly worry, and constantly put ourselves down.   This book is a toolkit on how to battle back against… your own mind.

This is considered to be the most important marketing book ever written. Have ever wanted to know what sales tactics are being used on you?  How would you like to have more confidence walking into a store with commission based salesmen 

I picked up this book to see how I could help my children unleash their “gifts” to the world.  This book goes into deep details about intelligence.  What I love about this book is it goes through different areas of intelligence and provides examples of how to obtain more of it. 

Written by the grandfather of Flow.  Flow is the state of mind you are in when you are completely focused and engaged in the activity you are currently doing.

Learn how to cultivate Flow in this book. 

What does it takes to become great?

What I love about this book is that it gets into the biological details of how myelin is involved creating pathways to allow for "muscle memory"

If you have not read a book by Robert Greene, you must!  Robert Greene intertwines stories of past historical figures such as Einstein, The Wright Brothers and Henry Ford to describe what it takes to become a Master of any domain.

A historical account of the best Seducers to ever grace this Earth. Robert Greene also talks about the different types of seducers and how you can use these skills to better persuade and influence others. Learn about seducers such as Cleopatra, Casanova, and Marilyn Monroe. 

Dive deep into history for a story telling adventure of the most powerful men and woman to ever exist.  This book takes us into the stories of how people such as Napoleon, Julius Caesar and Franklin Roosevelt obtained and maintained power.

James Altucher is one of my favorite bloggers as his stories are so raw. This book lays down the essence of what you need to do to be successful in the new economy and as well provides insight into how to become a better person.  This book dives deep into humiliating experiences that James had to overcome to become a successful author and blogger.

There is plenty of scientific proof now that says that Internet is physically changing our brains.  Throughout evolution we went from a species that primary used speaking to communicate, to one that used reading to share knowledge. Today we still speak and read but in a much different way than previous generations.

The Internet has allowed us to look anything up quickly.  With this ability we spend less time learning things with depth.  We are training our brains to be better multi-taskers but we are also losing the ability to think deeply.

This book takes us through what the Internet is doing to our brains.

The latest research on raising kids of all ages.  Some of the topics that this book tackles are:

• Why kids lie and how often?
• What is the link between sleep and obesity in children?
• How to predict whether siblings will get along when they are older?
• Can you teach your kid to enhance their self-control?

In the past couple of decades, we have seen human performance increase at levels like we have never seen before.  This primary takes place in the little known world of action and adventure sports, where athletes put their lives on the line everyday just to see how far they can push their minds and body.

This book talks about how these athletes get into the FLOW state and how we too can learn how to get into FLOW.

Written by a Roman emperor back in ~150 AD. One of the most powerful men of his time. This book inspired me so much that I structure myTwitter Posts based on the format of this book. Meditations takes you deep into Stoicism which is a form of philosophy founded in the 3rd century BC.

A spiritual book that is jammed pack full of stories about different types of concepts such as The Law of Expectancy and Forgiveness

This is a book that if you read at the right time in your life, it could change everything! The fact is we all spend more time living in the past through our memories or daydreaming about a future that is yet to occur.  However the past and the future doesn’t exist, only the present time does.

The “sequel” to the Power of Now. Eckhart Tolle dives deep into how to find life meaning through the spider web of personal problems such as anxiety and selfishness.  

A great introduction book to meditation for those who have not meditated before.. It is a collection of stories told by those who use meditation to help their lives.  Click this link to see my blog about mediation.

This book was  the starting point of my meditation practice.  In fact, when i first started, I watched plenty of videos and used guided meditations from Jon Kabat-Zinn. Without this material I don't think I would have been able to keep up with it.

Live the life that you were meant to live. Don’t try to be anyone else other than yourself.  Once you realize who you should be, focus all your attention and goals towards becoming the best version of you possible.

An easy read book with many life lessons from one of the world’s greatest motivational speakers.  This book contains great information on how to master your own mind and respect time.

Part two of the book series which dives into topics such as how to deal with your fears and how you can live with kindness.  This is an easy read book which weaves lessons into a simple story line.

This is a classic book about a boy who goes on an adventure to look for “treasure.”  The boys learns many life lessons on the way.  This is a fantastic book which I will read over and over.

Robin Sharma once again uses the art of storytelling to share his big ideas around how everyone of us can lead without a title. These ideas can really make a difference in everyone's life.  No doubt about Robin is my favorite motivational speaker.

This book is loaded facts about human beings throughout different stages of life.  It narrates the story of 2 fictitious characters from birth until death showcasing their struggles and triumphs from a scientific viewpoint.  I highly recommend reading this book.

Here is a quote from the book that sums up why it is worth the read.

"It’s about how some people have cultivated strong character. It’s about one mindset that people through the centuries have adopted to put iron in their core and to cultivate a wise heart. I wrote it (this book), to be honest, to save my own soul"

A collection of three short stories from a man who knew he had months to live due to terminal cancer.

This book is about 50 pages long and gets you thinking about life and how grateful we all should be for it.

If you could find a way to live life with the idea that death is near, how much more wisely would you spend your time?

The father of the IMac, IPod, IPhone, IPad.  Steve Jobs arguably is the most important and influential genius of our generation.  He was also a hippie!  This is my favorite biography I have read yet.

An inventor, diplomatic, postmaster, writer, among many other things.  This is a story of a man who no one thought would amount to anything but became one of the most important people during Americas fight for Independence

A man who believed so much in equality for his people that he was willing to sit in jail for 27 years for his cause.  This is just simply an amazing book about suffering for a cause, personal hardships, and happiness.  

From rags to riches, a story of a man who had a dream to one day become a CEO. Recently, it was announced that Bill had a major accident and lost an eye.  In true winning fashion, Bill announced “I feel hopeful in part because of something a friend reminded me: true insight doesn’t come from what we see, but from what we know and feel. I have lost an eye, not my curiosity or my compassion. I am no less capable of leading SAP, or any less committed to the audacious goals we’ve set for the company.

To learn compassion you must understand compassion. Gandhi’s dedication to non-violence when fighting for freedom for his country is the greatest showing of human compassion I have ever seen.  The human heart is capable of so much love if we so choose to show it.

I wanted to find out what it was like to live in the shoes of a father whose son was extremely successful at a young age.  I wanted to learn how to teach dedication and perseverance to my own boys.  This book is a page turner that I couldn’t put down.

MLK needs no introduction.  This powerful and thought-provoking speeches in this book was enough to bring me to tears. Every man alive should read this book to understand what it means to build a legacy and to fight for something you truly believe in.

Malcolm X was a man who was continuously able to reinvent himself over the course of his life.  He went from being a low level drug dealer to become one of the most influential men in the Civil Rights movement.  Sadly his life was cut short when it seemed that he was about to have his biggest impact.. 

It is truly amazing how Abe Lincoln was able to pull together a team of political rivals to be able to accomplish so many things during his term.  Read this book to find out first-hand the amazing rise of a man that literally came out of nowhere to become Americas greatest president. 

The first part of an epic trilogy of Winston Churchill's life. This is an amazing book that gives you great insight on how to persevere even through the toughest of times.

This book gave me tremendous insight into how some of the most prolific artist's that have ever lived produced their craft.  This is very interesting for the sake of seeing what their daily rituals were.

What an amazing story.  

No other description is needed.

Argubly bigger and better then Steve Jobs.  Elon is working on things that people couldn't even fathom years ago. 

Colonizing Mars... Solar powered cities... re-imagining the electric car.

This is a story of a man who is dedicated to a life mission.

When Steve Jobs was asked by a reporter, "What books do you carry around with you on your IPad?".  Steve Jobs opened up his IPad and showed the reporter the only book Steve had on his IPad... Autobiography of a Yogi.

A deeply spiritual book that takes us deep into the realm of meditation and Yogic principles.  Many of the stories in here are hard to believe based on the scientific world, but I couldn't help but wonder while reading the book, "What if all this was true?"  

Really... what if?

Here is a story of a man who rose to the top of the world in tennis, but deep down inside he was burdened by the fact that hated the sport.  

How does a man become the best in the world, but have such torment?

This was one of the best written autobiographies I have ever read as the writing style is very engaging and the story brings us deep into the world of sports. 

This book is not like a typical biography.  Instead Josh, embeds the theories he has learnt over his lifetime about how to learn.

This book is simply amazing because so few of us get to perform at a world-class level for so long. Josh has down if for his entire life in multiple different adventures.

The techniques that Josh speaks about resonate with me deeply.

Malcolm Gladwell takes a look at successful people from a different angle.  Why are Asian students better at Math? What is the 10,000 hour rule and could it be the secret to becoming a superstar in a certain area of life?

A collection of articles by Malcolm Gladwell compiled in a way that is easy to read.  I read this book because I was a fan of Malcolm’s writing and how his books always got me thinking differently about topics I previously had an opinion on.

I love this book.  It talks about how people can make very intuitive decisions based within a blink of an eye.  How does someone predict whether a marriage will last within seconds of seeing a couple? Or how does a tennis coach know that a serve will be a double fault even before the ball is hit?

Just reading the chapter names in this book tells you that it is a must read! “What Do Schoolteachers and Sumo Wrestlers Have in Common?” and “Why Do Drug Dealers Still Live with Their Moms?”

The sequel to Freakonomics.  Here are some more awesome chapter titles. “What Do King Solomon and David Lee Roth Have in Common?” and “The Three Hardest Words in the English Language”

What does it take to be a Trustworthy Leader?  This book dives into the 6 virtues of what makes a trustworthy leaders. In each virtue this book provides multiple examples of real life people who exhibit these types of qualities.

This book digs from beginning to end of how to create your own business.  The key thing about this book is that it isn’t just a business book, but the author also goes a lot into the mindset of an entrepreneur. 

Do you want to know how millionaire's really live? Or maybe you want to know what millionaires buy, wear and drink?

Can money really buy happiness?

This book could be a life changer if you believe you need to be rich to be happy.

I got very interested in reading the book when I listened to a podcast featuring Nassim Taleb.

Reading allows you to learn and implant in your mind different and new thoughts to help make you more creative. This book does just that.

I am thoroughly amazed with how the SEALs become so mentally and physically tough.  This book is so good. 

It talks about both the mental and physical game to success.

I wanted to find out how people could become so productive that they only had to work for 4 hours a week to earn a living.  This book was really an eye opener for me as it showcased a new generation of self-made entrepreneurs that we are now seeing all around the Internet today.  This book is truly a cult classic.

Have you ever met someone for the first time and knew right away that he or she had a ton of charisma? Ever wonder why? In today’s world, people with charisma seem to be more successful, have more friends and be happier.  There is no reason why you can’t become more charismatic.

I have always been interested in body language and how it plays are part in communication.  What I personally love about this book is that it left me with a variety of practical tips that I now use in my every day life.  

This book goes deeper into the idea that everyone is connect by the 6th degree.  Meaning a person you directly know is your first degree and someone they know that you don't know is your 2nd degree. 

The interesting thing about this book is that it argues that human connection is really what drives happiness, wealth, habits and even you weight.

I had this book on my work drawer for years and never took the chance to read it. 

I kept looking at the title and didn't get it.

Finally I took the chance to read the book and the stories in this book at heart-warming.  This book is about social innovation and the people who had to make tough choices in life to try to make a difference in the world.

Warning: Reading this book will motivate you to get out and volunteer your time to help people in need.

A book about human behaviours and how we make choices.  I love these types of books that dig into how the average human thinks. Each time I read one of these books I feel I understand why I make some of the decisions I do. 

Once you understand the context of your decisions you can begin to wilfully change your behaviour. 

If you just look at the book cover you will see why I read this book.  Named the Globe and Mail's Best Book.

This book takes you deep into human psychology and into how the human mind thinks.

We have the ability to think quickly or the ability to think intuitively.  Which one is better?  Find out in this book.

Can the abundance of choice be making our lives more miserable?

According the Barry there are two types of people in the world - Maximizers and Satisficers   

Maximizers try to pick the best choice whenever possible whereas Satisficers pick things that are good enough.

This is a very thought provoking book and explains why we struggle so much with choice and how to overcome this issue.

I never went to business school.  Never even thought about it.

But I have always been curious about what is learned while going after a MBA. 

Based on the reviews of this book, this is one of the best books to learn about what business school students learn.  

What I liked about this book was that it was written in a way so that you don't have to read straight through. Instead, you can jump to a particular section you want to know more about it.

Ground breaking book that changed my thoughts on what it means to do work that truly matters.

This book was the inspiration for my blog "Do Work That Matters"

Don't follow your passions.  Learn to love your work by excelling at it and doing things people did not think was possible.

I love how this book takes a new age principle (Follow your dreams) and flips it completely on its head.

One of my favorite books that I read in 2015.  This book provides deep insight into the entire history of humankind. I am not just talking about 3000 years, we are talking about hundreds of thousands of years. 

This book talks about culture, religion, money among many other things.

I have recommended this book to almost everyone I talk to who is interested in history.

Start with the book Sapiens than move onto this book.  This book takes us into the future of humankind and talks about our pursuit of happiness and eternal life. 

It gives us a chilling look into what is in store for humans by looking  at what happened in our past.

How will machines treat humans in the future?

Why we are coming close to the end of liberalism?

Marshall Goldsmith is one of the top business coaches in the world and this book talks about his methodology he uses with his clients.

It goes into details about what it takes to be successful by talking about the mistakes people make knowing or unknowingly that stops them from becoming even more successful.  Here are a couple of examples:

• Bringing too much value
• Winning too much