Did you know?  Jessica Simpson loves going to Barnes and Noble to buy self help books.  She feels it’s important to always be bettering yourself.

Self help books help individuals to improve their economic, emotional, physical, and intellectual foundations, with a significant psychological and spiritual influence.

Self-help books are written with the intent to educate it’s readers on countless methods to improve their personal challenges or problems. Most self help books are written by individuals who have overcome personal challenges in their own lives. The authors share tips and resources so that the readers can experience the same success.  Self improvement is the category that most bookstores and online retailers use to identify self help book material.  (Self improvement is a modernized word for self help.) Self help books often cover modern psychology, or aspects of the mind and personal behavior which readers feel can be controlled or influenced with effort. Self help books are usually advertised as being able to improve self-awareness and success, including satisfaction with one’s life. The authors often mention that they can help you accomplish this more quickly than with conventional methods.

Dale Carnegie (1888-1955) is widely recognized as one of the original self help books authors, and to have created the self help books movement during the 20^th century, with his famous book,  How to Win Friends and Influence People. After failing in multiple business ventures,  Carnegie became interested with personal success and its correlation to self-confidence.  He studied the subject for years.  Dale Carnegie’s writings have generated over 50 million self help book copies worldwide.

Another self help book author, Napoleon Hill, wrote, Think and Grow Rich (1937).  Hill wrote about the importance of positive thoughts and its link to attracting wealth, joy, and happiness through reaching deeply in to an “Infinite Intelligence” who gives freely to all.

With the beginning of the 21^st century, self-help books are a common place within any bookstore.  The authors of these books are now frequent speakers on major networks such as Oprah, PBS, The Discovery Channel, and more.

Currently, the most popular and best self help books is The Secret, by Rhonda Bryne. It reveals the truths used by many of the greatest minds in history to accomplish the desires of their hearts.  In my opinion one of the best self helps books to start with.

Samuel Smiles – Self Help

Repetition:

1)      What do self help books help you do?

2)      What do they focus on?

3)      Summarize in your own words Samuel Smiles description of self help.

Application:

1)      Buy a few self help books.  I recommend Rhonda Bryne’s The Secret. Rhonda Bryne’s book became a top selling self-help book in only two years.  It discusses the widely popular principle called, “The Law of Attraction” which is the leading self improvement material, being frequently broadcasted on PBS.

2) Set a goal to read a couple self help books within 2-4 weeks.  Feel free to read your self help books faster than that.  If you’ve already read The Secret, I recommend Wayne Dyer’s The Power of Intention.

3)      Once done with your first book, don’t stop there.  Continue reading self help books, learning new areas of interest.  I recommend that you work on topics that are related to any poor habit patterns existing in your subconscious.

Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere.  – Chinese Proverb