5 best books on success: How to get what you want now

Your definition of success will determine your happiness in life.

For many years, I felt like I was always coming up short because I didn't realize my destination was someone else's goal. I see a lot of people in similar situations. They're climbing ladders others have convinced them to climb, or sacrificing their lives for wins they care nothing about.

Don't be that person. Instead, be someone who not only knows what they want but also understands why they want it. Choose your definition of success. Get specific. Then, ignore everything else.

The books listed below each helped me clarify what I wanted (and what I needed to do to get there). I hope they can do the same for you.

Choose Yourself

“The idea that we need to 'pay our dues' is a lie told to us by people who wanted our efforts and labor on the cheap.” ― James Altucher

Altucher is a master at self-transformation. He's a self-made millionaire many times over who's lost everything (multiple times) and built it back up again, usually in an entirely new industry.

He's able to keep finding success because he understands the principles that create it. In Choose Yourself, James explains what these guiding ideals are and how we can start using them to carve our own path forward.

This is one book I revisit every time I feel myself getting stuck, or like the goal I'm pursuing is just too big for me. Don't limit your own success. Before anyone will support you, pay you what you're worth, or see the value of what you make — you must become your own biggest believer.

The Compound Effect

"In essence, you make your choices, and then your choices make you." ― Darren Hardy

If you've spent any time in the self-help world or online business space, chances are you've already stumbled upon this title. Even though most hyped-up business books rarely stand up to their reviews, Hardy's work is the rare example of one that surpasses its.

The Compound Effect is a simple concept in theory: if you do the right small things consistently, over a long period of time, the results grow at an exponential rate. However, it's the last part that stumps people, exponential.

It's hard to visualize how saving a few hundred dollars in our twenties will lead to millions in our sixties. In the same way, we undersell the importance of the everyday because we can't see the enormous impact those tasks could have long-term.

Hardy's book is a call-to-action. If you want to transform your life, the small, daily actions most people ignore are what will get you there — not the rare, one-off, grand gestures.

The 10x Rule

"Success tends to bless those who are most committed to giving it the most attention." ― Grant Cardone

Grant Cardone is a larger-than-life character. This causes some readers to discount the value of his work. But, I 100% believe this book is a must-read for any success-driven person.

Cardone's main idea is that most people set goals that are too small. As a consequence, they then underestimate what's required (time, skills, grit) to reach them. A better strategy is to pursue oversized goals (10 times your original desire).

By chasing BIG wins, people are more motivated which leads them to invest more energy, time, and resources. And because of these increased efforts, they're more likely to achieve something, even if it isn't the full 10x result.

If you can, I highly recommend picking up the audiobook version. It's impossible to replicate Grant's passion for the concept, so it's worth hearing him explain it in person.

Mindset

"We like to think of our champions and idols as superheroes who were born different from us. We don’t like to think of them as relatively ordinary people who made themselves extraordinary." ― Carol Dweck

If you've ever heard the discussion of a fixed vs. growth mindset, this book is where those ideas came from. Dr. Carol Dweck isn't your average success writer. She's an award-winning psychologist with a Ph.D. from Yale and a membership in the National Academy of Sciences.

Because of her background in academia and research, her book packs a different kind of punch. Whereas many authors rely on personal stories and evocative language, Dweck lets her expertise and the data speak for themselves.

This 320-page book is a manual for reshaping your mental approach to life. Once you understand not only what the growth mindset is, but what it looks like in day-to-day practice, suddenly goals that seemed out of the question will look doable, even likely.

I know how that may sound; I don't write that last sentence lightly. But so much of what it takes to be successful is an internal game, and once you learn how to play, anything is possible.

Tribe of Millionaires

"Life will give you whatever you decide to demand of it." — David Osborn

We've all heard that we are the average of the five people we spend the most time with. This book takes that sentiment and dives in many levels deeper.

Told through a quasi-fictional story, the main character learns how relationships impact our success through six "effects": The Influence Effect, Multiplier, Accountability, Authenticity, Purpose, and Connection.

It's one thing to understand that our social circles color our success; it's a much different thing to understand how we can leverage those to get results beyond anything we're capable of alone.

Success is available

More than anything else, my biggest takeaway from this collection of books is that success is abundant. It's available to anyone who's ready to go after it and willing to put in what's required.

If you've made it this far, don't let another day go by where you're not in the driver's seat of your own life. Grab whichever one of these books spoke most to where you are right now and dive in. The future you want begins today.