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Recommend a book

skyboxskybox Registered User regular
edited September 2008 in Help / Advice Forum
Hey, I have a few things I'd like to change about myself starting with my self-discipline. Can anyone recommend a few good self-help books that aid me in this endeavor?

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Posts

  • asparagusasparagus Registered User regular
    edited September 2008
    The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand.

    Read it ;3

    asparagus on
  • mad4drpeppermad4drpepper Registered User regular
    edited September 2008
    Gandhi’s autobiography actually helped me out a lot.

    mad4drpepper on
    Making the world taste better one can at a time. :winky:
  • Raiden333Raiden333 Registered User regular
    edited September 2008
    It's rather short, so you should also squeeze in Siddhartha, by Herman Hesse.

    Raiden333 on
  • spacerobotspacerobot Registered User regular
    edited September 2008
    I don't have any specific recommendations for you, but I would advise against buying your average "self-help" book at B&N. Any Joe Schmo can write those, and they often have very little influence from behavioral psychology (at least from what I've found).

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  • skyboxskybox Registered User regular
    edited September 2008
    spacerobot wrote: »
    I don't have any specific recommendations for you, but I would advise against buying your average "self-help" book at B&N. Any Joe Schmo can write those, and they often have very little influence from behavioral psychology (at least from what I've found).
    So, would you agree with everyone else in picking up something with some substance and meaning?

    skybox on
  • GrizzledGrizzled Registered User regular
    edited September 2008
    Stuff that was worthwhile for me:

    Confucius - Analects
    Miyamoto Musashi - Book of Five Rings
    Robert Heinlein - Starship Troopers
    Marcus Aurelius - Meditations

    Now, a lot of stuff in those books is outmoded, doesn't speak well to modern problems, or I plain didn't agree with it. But the point is all of those authors had something interesting to say on the point of self-discipline (and lots of other stuff besides). Like spacerobot said, don't buy a book that will tell you what to do; do some reading and think a little about what you have read, how useful you think it is, and what parts of it are going to work for you.

    Grizzled on
  • TexiKenTexiKen Dammit! That fish really got me!Registered User regular
    edited September 2008
    Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke. Short book, but has some very good advice and just entertaining perceptions about life.

    TexiKen on
  • TokyoRaverTokyoRaver Registered User regular
    edited September 2008
    The Complete Idiot's Guide to Overcoming Procrastination

    Isn't all some Tony Robbins guy

    TokyoRaver on
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  • skyboxskybox Registered User regular
    edited September 2008
    Thank you all so much. My first instinct was to reach for one of the stupid fucking self-help books, but I'll shy away from them. I'm sure I'll give all of these titles a try. Thanks again.

    skybox on
  • spacerobotspacerobot Registered User regular
    edited September 2008
    skybox wrote: »
    spacerobot wrote: »
    I don't have any specific recommendations for you, but I would advise against buying your average "self-help" book at B&N. Any Joe Schmo can write those, and they often have very little influence from behavioral psychology (at least from what I've found).
    So, would you agree with everyone else in picking up something with some substance and meaning?

    I imagine you'll get more inspiration from the ones with substance like what everyone is recommending. You might be able to pick something up on behavior modification authored by someone who knows what they're talking about. But I don't have any suggestions for those other than textbooks.

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  • ThanatoidThanatoid Registered User regular
    edited September 2008
    Anything except Ayn Rand.

    Thanatoid on
  • DalbozDalboz Resident Puppy Eater Right behind you...Registered User regular
    edited September 2008
    TokyoRaver wrote: »
    The Complete Idiot's Guide to Overcoming Procrastination

    I'll pick that up tomorrow...
    Maybe next week...

    Recommendation:
    7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
    While the stuff he says in there may seem blatantly obvious, it's interesting how much if it we don't do when we actually pay attention.

    Dalboz on
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  • winter_combat_knightwinter_combat_knight Registered User regular
    edited September 2008
    Ayn Rand is good. Helps your imagination a lot.

    winter_combat_knight on
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