When I get caught up with the busy schedule in my daily life, I find it can be hard to find the motivation I need for self-improvement. Thankfully, there are many ways in which you can get your daily dose of inspiration from the world’s top development experts. In this blog post, I’ve put together the best audiobooks to listen to in 2023, where you can hear tried and tested books along with a few new entries.
1. Big Magic
Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear tells the amazing story of how ideas can float all over the world until it finds the right person. In this audiobook, Elizabeth Gilbert shares some of the most intimate experiences she’s had using creativity and magic to live a meaningful life. This is a great read for everyone, including; parents, entrepreneurs, and anyone else who wants to find a bit of magic in their life.
Stephen R. Covey’s The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People & The 8th Habit is one of the best modern self-improvement books you can pick up.
I say modern, even though it was published in 2004. The reason I make that claim is due to Covey’s overall approach. He doesn’t indulge in pop psychology or common trends. He doesn’t say what so many people in this industry talk about.
The latest version has a foreword and afterword where Covey explains the relevance of these habits in the modern world and answers questions he’s been asked over the years since.
3. The Power of Self-Discipline
Do you find it hard to escape the same routine and excuses you tell yourself when you find that you’re not achieving your goals and dreams? I find that this is because of a lack of willingness or self-discipline to do what you need to do when you don’t have the motivation.
In The Power of Self-Displine, Brian Tracy introduces readers to exercises and activities that helped me to get out of my comfort zone to reach my goals and achieve overall happiness.
4. Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind
Another one of the books to listen to is Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind. Written by Shunryu Suzuki, this 2011 book is one of the most beloved American Zen books.
To give you a taste here is the first line of the book: “In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s there are few.” It is an immensely powerful line and it is filled to the brim with these particular nuggets of wisdom.
5. Change Your Schedule, Change Your Life
If you’re looking to learn more about Ayurvedic wisdom, Change Your Schedule, Change Your Life by Dr. Suhas Kshirsagar is the best source of information. This book will help you to sleep better, lose weight, reduce stress, and exercise longer, while effortlessly improving your overall wellbeing. Through the power of chronobiology, this self-help book can create a daily routine that will support you.
6. The Power of Now
The Power of Now explains a journey—a journey that encourages you to dismiss your analytical mind and set aside your ego as well. Already, you can tell that journey is difficult, but the author, Eckhart Tolle, guides you through these transitions with easy to understand words and phrases.
The purpose of this book is to help you through living in the current moment—the “now.”
7. Daring Greatly
Over one million copies sold, Daring Greatly by Dr. Brené Brown is among the list of best and most famous audiobooks. The premise of the book is the idea that we all experience vulnerability in our lives and Brown argues that it’s alright that these happen.
Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead is the result of years of research. Brené Brown shares her findings of shame and vulnerability while providing practical strategies to help you work through them. With this book, you can face anything in life and live an existence full of happiness.
8. The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work
If you’re looking for a good read that will bring a positive new outlook in life, The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work is the book for you. Shawn Anchor has packed great research into how you can live a life full of joy that’s also applicable to your work. If you wish to become happier in your current situation, no matter what it may be, listen to this audiobook.
9. Good Morning, I Love You
Good Morning, I Love You is another zen-related book, but Shauna Shapiro’s approach is a bit different from others’.
Most people encourage meditation, but Shapiro pushes for something different. Instead, she brings up the science and explains why we feel what we feel instead rather than trying to “empty your mind with mindful meditation.”
10. The Third Door
Alex Banayan takes readers on a journey to find out the truth about how some of the world’s richest started their careers. The Third Door is filled with incredible stories of some of the most effective entrepreneurs, where you can learn many of their trade secrets. You’ll also be treated to his journey which will inspire you to take action in your life to find the third door.
11. The Four Agreements
Written by don Miguel Ruiz, The Four Agreements covers the sources of limiting beliefs. Using Toltec wisdom, this is one of the audiobooks that uses ‘the four agreements’ as a powerful code of conduct to transform your life and thrive.
12. When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing
If you’ve ever struggled with getting tasks done at specific times of the day, When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing will help you. Daniel Pink knows all there is about your circadian rhythms, which allows him to provide you with details on when you should do certain kinds of tasks such as emailing, exercise, or general work. With this fascinating book, you’ll be able to better plan your day.
13. Practicing Mindfulness
Practicing Mindfulness by Matthew Sokolov is a good option for anyone who is trying to practice mindfulness in life. The audiobook provides 75 exercises that are backed by science to help you bring calmness and compassion into your daily life.
14. The Alchemist
Written by Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist has inspired a following all across the world. It presents a simple—and yet dazzling—story. It is one of the best audio stories you’ll hear.
In short, it talks about the journey of a boy named Santiago who travels from Spain to Egypt in search of riches. Along the way, he meets three characters, a gypsy woman, a man who thinks he’s a king, and the alchemist. These characters help guide Santiago to his goal, but over time that goal changes. It moves away from worldly riches to something deeper and more profound. I’ll let you figure out what that is.
16. Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
James Clear provides readers with an easy and proven way to break bad habits and build good ones through this inspired piece Atomic Habits. He truly believes that significant changes in our lives don’t just come from a big decision made one day, but in small choices that compound every day. For the drive and motivation to make these changes, be sure to give this book a read.
17. The Power of Habit
Written by Charles Duhigg, The Power of Habit talks about the power behind habits using various cases and scenarios to present Duhigg’s points. In the book, Duhigg distills complex systems and methods into easily digestible stories that people and businesses can relate to.
These stories bring us to what goes on behind the doors at Proctor & Gambles and bring us to the sidelines of NFL team tactics. All in all, it presents valid arguments when it comes to habit building and explains it in a way you have never seen before.
18. The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success
Written by Deepak Chopra, Chopra uses all his years of teaching and distills them into seven simple principles or laws that you can apply to see success in The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success.
Beyond that, the book aims to shatter the myths surrounding success and gives the reader a peek at what it’s really all about.
19. Outliers: The Story of Success
Written by Malcolm Gladwell, Outliners is the book that popularized the idea that practicing 10,000 hours total will make you an expert in that area. There is that factoid, but it also covers other aspects that many of today’s billionaires and successful people use—things that stretch beyond traditional methods.
20. The Seven Most Effective Methods of Self-Hypnosis: How to Create Rapid Change in your Health, Wealth, and Habits.
One of the easiest ways to make drastic changes in your life is the idea of self-hypnosis. Over the years, many great books have pushed the importance of this, from Napoleon Hill’s ‘Think and Grow Rich’ to Tony Robbins ‘Awaken the Giant Within’. The idea behind The Seven Most Effective Methods of Self-Hypnosis is to expand on those ideas and give you seven of the best methods that you can use and how to use them.
21. Don’t Keep Your Day Job: : How to Turn Your Passion Into A Career
This is one of my favorite reads — Don’t Keep Your Day Job written by Cathy Heller talks about how you can turn your dreams into a reality. By creating a vision to monetize your favorite things to do, whether this is writing, drawing, or other crafts, you can be sure to live a life where you never have to work again.
22. Becoming
Written by the former First Lady of the 34th US President, Michelle Obama’s Becoming is one of the many powerful audio autobiographical books you can get this year. It’s a powerful and inspiring memoir from her that explains in vivid detail the events that helped shape who she is today.
23. Close Your Eyes, Get Free
Close Your Eyes, Get Free drives home three main points: What hypnosis is and isn’t, how powerful your subconscious mind really is, and simple practices you can use to improve various emotional aspects—things like boosting confidence, self-esteem, and calming anxiety, amongst others.
The book is simple in its direction, but you know precisely what you are getting into with this book, and I love it.
24. I’ve Decided to Live 120 Years: The Ancient Secret to Longevity, Vitality, and Life Transformation
One of the biggest problems in life is that it’s relatively short. While we have made leaps and bounds to prolong life, the average life expectancy of someone is about 79 years old. It’s still good considering how far we’ve come, but clearly, people have lived longer.
In I’ve Decided to Live 120 Years, the author Ilchi Lee challenges us to radically think differently about life, longevity, and other ideologies. It’s also been praised by several famous authors, some of whom I’ve mentioned in this list already.
25. Finding Your Own North Star: Claiming the Life You Were Meant to Live
If you’re looking for guidance on how to live your best life, Martha Beck’s self-help book, Finding Your Own North Star tells you all you need to know. As a firm believer in magic, science, and life coaching, she explains the importance of having fun. It also helps readers to find their path through the maze of life to help them reach their dreams.
26. Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life with the Heart of a Buddha
If you’re like millions of other people in the world and you sometimes struggle with depression, anxiety, or other mental illnesses, you’re probably looking for a way to cope better. Reading Tara Brach’s Radical Acceptance will lead you towards a better state of mind and will also help to heal you with a bit of self-compassion. Through mindfulness, you’ll be able to find peace and live with purpose.
27. The Top Five Regrets of the Dying: A Life Transformed by the Dearly Departing
I’ve always wondered to myself about the biggest regrets that people have. The Top Five Regrets of the Dying by Bonnie Ware takes readers on a journey through the lives of those nearing death. It explores how you can still change your life in the time you have left and explains that anything can be achieved as long as the choices you make are aligned with your beliefs.
28. 12 Rules For Life: An Antidote to Chaos
Humorous, surprising, and informative are three words that aptly describe 12 Rules For Life. Dr. Jordan B. Peterson explains in great detail the rules of life from easily relatable scenarios—from why we should pet the cat that’s been walking down the street to why we the skateboarding boys and girls ought to be left alone.
This book brings in unusual examples to explain fundamental principles that we could all use in our lives. It is both comical and truly insightful.
29. The Four Hour Workweek
This big is perfect for the aspiring entrepreneur — but you need to be up for the challenge to make serious changes in your life. If you’re looking forward to making real money and are willing to change your lifestyle, then this is a great listen. The Four Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss contains everything you need to get out of the 9 to 5 trap and become part of an elite group. Be sure to absorb as much as you can and implement the lessons you learn.
30. The ONE Thing
For the extremely busy folks, this book is for you. If you want less on your plate and more for your life and career, this is the book to pick up.
The ONE Thing is a book that’s written to bring your life and work into focus. It teaches you how to cut through the clutter, achieve better results in less time, master what matters most to you, and ease yourself from stress all at the same time.
31. The Friendship Formula: Add Great Friends, Subtract Toxic People and Multiply Your Happiness
Unfortunately, everyone has dealt with someone toxic and is probably something that we encounter in our daily lives. What if you never have to again? I’ve often thought of this myself, and The Friendship Formula can help you navigate the people around your life and find real friendships. With this book, you can take control of your relationships while keeping happiness in your life.
32. How To Win Friends And Influence People
I sometimes find myself struggling to get people to hear what I have to say — luckily, How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie has all the right things. If you, like myself, have a hard time developing meaningful connections, this is a great book to get started. It can also help readers who might find it difficult to maintain friendships.
33. The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth: Live Them and Reach Your Potential
The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth focuses on the overall guiding principles of growth. According to John C. Maxwell, there is such a thing as laws of growth. For over 50 years, he’s built up his knowledge of growth and has written a book to share what those particular laws he has established are.
34. Mindset
Written by the university psychology professor Carol Dweck PhD., Mindset explains in detail how success in everything that we do can be dramatically enhanced by how we view our own abilities and talents. In short, the book explains the major differences between a growth mindset and a fixed mindset—a topic that I’ve talked about many times before.
35. 100 Days to Brave: Devotions for Unlocking Your Most Courageous Self
If you prefer a shorter audiobook to listen to, Annie Downs’ 100 Days to Brave is a great place to get started. Through her book, readers can get a range of short devotions and personal stories that can uplift the new month ahead. For a bit of light reading, you can get guidance on how to work through your fears and become a braver person.
36. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing
Despite all your efforts to keep your home clean, do you still find an accumulation of things from papers to clothes? The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo is a great self-help book for people who find it hard to declutter around their homes, and opened my eyes to a thing or two! Built on the foundation of the popular Konmari Method, it has become a #1 New York Times best-seller that will take you on a step-by-step journey to simplifying everything in your home.
37. Everything Is Figureoutable
New York Times bestselling author Marie Forleo created a book of pure inspiration to encourage anyone who wants to chase their passion or expand their business. Everything Is Figureoutable will provide you with all the tools you need to take on anything in your professional or personal life. Her huge digital empire is just a glimpse of what you can do if you focus on accomplishing your goals.
38. Declutter Your Mind: How to Stop Worrying, Relieve Anxiety, and Eliminate Negative Thinking
While everyone’s so focused on decluttering around their homes, have you ever thought about decluttering your mind? Declutter Your Mind has plenty of lessons to teach, and S.J. Scott has all the right advice when it comes to clearing the mind. No matter what’s causing your mental clutter, you’ll find all the right strategies to rid your mind of unproductive things.
39. Blink
Written by Malcolm Gladwell, Blink is a book that gets you to be thinking about all kinds of things. From our rapid-fire choices to even something as meta as thinking itself, this book brings people from all manners of life and how they can use unique abilities in an instant.
From a psychologist who can predict if a couple is doomed or not to a tennis coach who can tell whether a player will double-fault before the racket hits the ball, this book will challenge a lot of aspects of people and our thought process.
40. Thinking Fast and Slow
Written by Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman, Thinking Fast and Slow is based on his seminars revolving around behavioral psychology, behavioral economics, and happiness studies. This book provides a convenient summary of all of these aspects in his first-ever public book.
This is a big deal as the discoveries that Kahneman uncovered revolutionized the cognitive psychology world and sprung several industries from these concepts.
41. The Universe Has Your Back: Transform Fear into Faith
The Universe Has Your Back taught me that if you want real change in your life, you need to have two very important things in your life: optimism and faith. If you don’t already believe, Gabrielle Bernstein will change your mind — this book will cleanse your mind and body of any emotional blocks. At the same time, it will provide you with a better mindset so you can live a happier and more meaningful life.
42. Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard
Switch talks about the struggles to make long-lasting changes in various environments. From companies and communities to our very own lives, ‘Switch’ provides some insight into what are the leading causes and help us to “make the switch”.
The solutions presented are based on something that psychologists have uncovered. It presents two types of mindsets: the rational mind and the emotional mind. The premise of the book establishes these things and how we can use them to our advantage.
43. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
I found that while other books will have me focus on positive thinking or how I can become successful, this laid-back self-help book encourages readers to focus on one thing. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck shares how people need to let go of things that don’t deserve attention, and instead focus on the problems that you and I have the power to solve, which starts within ourselves. Mark Manson believes that we’re responsible for our happiness, and you deserve to find it.
Final Thoughts
All of the books above are some of the best audiobooks for 2023, where they all inspire and motivate us to take some form of action. Whether you want to get ahead with your business, create a better version of yourself, or simply survive the ongoing pandemic, there is something on this list for everyone.
Featured photo credit: Henry Be via unsplash.com
