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About a year ago, I decided to devote 30 minutes of my day to reading personal development books, after being inspired by some of the world’s top entrepreneurs. Keep reading to find out some of the best personal development books for women that I’ve read.

A while ago, I read an article on the reading habits of ultra-successful people. The article found that top business leaders and entrepreneurs make reading a major part of their lifestyle.

An example of someone who takes this to the extreme is Warren Buffet, who reportedly devotes 80% of his day to reading. Let’s be honest, most of us don’t have the luxury of devoting 80% of our time to reading (and would you really want to?) but devoting at least some of your day to reading personal development books is a wise decision.

Personal Development Books vs Books That Entertain

While it might be fun to occasionally escape reality with a fiction book, the majority of successful entrepreneurs focus their reading on personal development books or books that educate, as opposed to entertain.

Successful entrepreneur and motivational speaker, Jim Rohn, was told by his mentor Earl Shoaff:

'If you want to be wealthy and happy, learn to work harder on yourself than you do on your job.' Click To Tweet

Personal development is one of the keys to success in all aspects of life, and as such, I’ve made it a point to devote at least 30 minutes a day to reading from my library of great self-development books (this equals 2.08% of the day devoted to reading some of the best personal growth books I can find. Substantially less than Warren Buffet’s 80%, but something that I feel is more achievable at this point… I’m sure you can aside 2% of your day to read, right? )

I started this habit of devoting 2% of my day to reading personal development books about a year ago now, and it’s now become a regular part of my daily routine. If you’re interested committing yourself to reading, I’ve compiled a list of what I believe are some of the best books to read on personal development.

Short on Time?

If you don’t have time to read through the list, click here to be taken to Amazon where I’ve compiled all 20 books together for easy (and cheap) purchasing.

Audiobooks – Yay or Nay?

So, here’s the thing. I have always been SO aversive to the idea of audio books. I actually enjoy reading, and I kinda felt like listening to someone read aloud to me would be annoying, right?

But recently, I’d been hearing a ton of people rave about Amazon Audible, so I decided to sign up for the free 30-day trial. I figured the worst case scenario would be that I hated listening to audio books and I’d just cancel before the 30-days were up.

As it turns out, I don’t hate audio books as much as I thought. In fact, I’m actually loving listening to personal development books while I work out and when I’m stuck in traffic.

Audio books are definitely not going to replace reading for me, but I’m keeping my Audible subscription!

If you want to give Audible a try, I definitely recommend it. They’re currently offering a free 30-day trial plus 2 free audio books. You can sign up right here.

20 Best Personal Development Books for Women

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

Think and Grow Rich is one of the best personal development books of all time, so it’s only fitting that it’s first on this list. While the title and cover of the book suggest that it’s solely about acquiring monetary riches, the teachings found in Think and Grow Rich can be applied to all aspects of life.

Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert

You might be familiar with Elizabeth Gilbert from her bestseller, “Eat, Pray, Love.” If you’re a creative of any kind, then you’ll love Big Magic. Fear is usually one of the biggest factors that holds us back from achieving greatness, and in Big Magic, Elizabeth helps you break down those barriers.

Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy

If you’re the type of person that has a million brilliant ideas and things you want to get done, but you end up procrastinating and find yourself crawling into bed at night annoyed that you got basically nothing done, then you.need.this.book. Check out the price of Eat That Frog here.

Girl, Wash Your Face

Girl, Wash Your Face was written by Rachel Hollis, the blogger behind The Chic Site and her book has pretty much taken the internet by storm – aka it’s a New York Times bestseller. Girl, wash your face is motivating, funny and inspiring and will help you break down any barriers that you’ve self imposed. Get Girl, wash your face here.

You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero

This book is awesome. Honestly, Jen Sincero is one of my favorite writers and her book is crazy good. Jen is hilarious, and her personality really shines through in You Are a Badass. She weaves funny stories, exercises, advice and some swear words into an awesome book that helps you start seeing yourself as the badass that you really are. Get You Are a Badass here.