Editor’s note: This article was first published in October 2017. The description of The 7 Habits as written more than 20 years ago reflects the text as written in 2015/2017.
In our article “9 things you can do every day to become smarter” we included the habit of reading daily, so what better than to add some books that serve exactly that purpose: to make us smarter, open our minds and make us think.
Our minds often sabotage our good intentions and even the choices we make in life, in business, with our partners, and even when we shop at the supermarket or in the property market.
Continuing with our book recommendations, these are the ones that will help us turn our lives around by making us question our choices and the reasons behind them.
1. Thinking, Fast and Slow, by Daniel Kahneman
I already included this book in a previous article. Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman talks about the two very different ways of thinking that define us. After reading it you will discover that many of the decisions you have made were not as rational as you thought, and you will learn how to master your mind so you can make decisions more wisely.
“Our comforting conviction that the world makes sense rests on a secure foundation: our almost unlimited ability to ignore our ignorance.”
Kahneman explains how our brain works through two systems of thought: System 1 is fast, intuitive and emotional, while System 2 is slower, apparently more deliberative and supposedly more logical. The author explains how your brain makes decisions that seem reasoned when in reality our thinking is biased, leading us to make the wrong decisions.
2. Think Like a Freak, by Levitt and Dubner
Probably the best book the authors of Freakonomics have written, and it still carries their trademark approach to analysis.
Without a doubt, an excellent book for retraining your brain, where you will learn to think differently and see situations from other points of view. Highly recommended, and 100% instructive and productive.
3. The Wisdom of Psychopaths, by Kevin Dutton
There is a very fine line between a successful neurosurgeon and a serial killer. Can psychopaths teach us life lessons? They certainly can. Working from a scientific basis, the author takes us inside the psychopath’s brain, starting from the premise that a psychopath is not always a serial killer.
Some psychopathic traits are even very positive, and necessary to succeed in business and in your career today: being bold, charismatic, ruthless, focused, cool-headed and self-confident are some of the ingredients that mean there are more psychopaths running companies than sitting in prison.
4. Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes, by Maria Konnikova
Combining neuroscience and psychology, journalist and psychologist Maria Konnikova gives us guidelines for thinking like the fictional character Sherlock Holmes, developing our creativity, mindfulness and logical deduction along the way.
Most of the skills discussed in the book can be developed with practice and dedication, and they will certainly make you smarter.
5. The Black Swan, by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Many readers agree that it is not an easy book to read. Let’s say it helps if you have already read plenty of other books.
But if you are someone who questions everything that happens around you, this is probably your book. As the author himself explains, a “black swan” is an improbable event whose consequences are explained in a way that ignores chance, and for which we try, in hindsight, to find a logical explanation.
In other words, for the author, the success of Google and YouTube, like many other successes, are black swans. One way or another, it will change the way you think.
6. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen R. Covey
This book, written more than 20 years ago, has literally changed many lives. It has also inspired numerous courses built on Covey’s teachings. It is usually included in lists of the best self-help books, although it is really less a book than a course divided into seven lessons or stages.
Whether you are an employee, a manager, a salesperson or an entrepreneur, it is a book that will open your mind, change your character for the better and make you, as the title says, much more effective at whatever you do.
7. Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness, by Richard H. Thaler
How do we convince an overweight teenager to swap pastries for an apple? How can we convince people that they should save and learn about investing so they can enjoy a comfortable lifestyle later on?
Put another way, how can we get people (ourselves included) to do what is good for them when they don’t do it even though they know it is good for them? You need a nudge, and in the book the authors explain how to make those challenges a piece of cake thanks to subtle pushes that let inertia do the rest.
Recommended above all for people with very little willpower.
8. Freakonomics, by Steven Levitt
From how to raise your children to online dating or buying a flat, our lives are full of choices that look elementary at first glance, yet we are often influenced by other factors or prompts that shape the way we choose.
I was surprised by this book, which, with a few doses of humor, answers many questions that have probably never crossed your mind. For example, why do drug dealers often live with their mothers?
The book was a bestseller, so the sequel was not long in coming: SuperFreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes, and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance.
I think the title says it all, but you certainly learn from it.
Further reading
- 7 classic business books everyone should read
- 5 books on investing and the stock market to read this summer
- The best books on financial education
Featured image: Nenad Stojković, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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