5 Best Books To Read To Get Smarter

best books to read to get smarter

Do you ever feel overwhelmed or confused which book to read?

With thousands of books, it’s frustrating to determine which books will actually make you smarter. You don’t want to waste your time. Yet you feel ambitious because you want to improve yourself. The sad truth is that most “Top 10 Books to Get Smarter” articles are written by content factories with authors who don’t actually read. They don’t like reading and they pull random books out of their butt to get traffic for their site.

From someone who has read hundreds of books, I want to provide you a solid list of actual books you can read to get smarter.

In today’s podcast episode, I want to share the best books to read to get smarter with commentary. You’ll also learn about healthy and unhealthy motivators on getting smarter, and why obscure, historical, niche books like The Prince and The Art of War are not good books to read to get smarter or demonstrate your intelligence.

Subscribe to the podcast:

Will's Personal Development Podcast

Will's Personal Development Podcast

Here is a list of 5 other books you can read to get wiser. This list is different from the books mentioned on my podcast episode:

  1. Thinking, Fast and Slow by Dan Kahneman – Concisely explains some of the biggest fallacies in our decision making process we should look out for.
  2. The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg – Our habits govern our lives. The older we get, the harder it is to break habits. Therefore, the sooner you develop good habits and break bad habits, the better.
  3. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck – Recommended by Bill Gates, the book covers how our attitude and mindsets are a better predictor success over rigid models, like IQ. Backed by scientific research, she explains how you have the ability to improve your mindsets, which will change your success.
  4.  Sapiens: A Brief History Of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari – This book was turned down by many publishers but now, it’s a best-seller and recommended by countless high achievers on Tim Ferriss’s podcast. The truth is that most people are doomed to repeat the mistakes of history since they never study history. This book gives you much-needed wisdom on our origins and the behaviors of humankind.
  5. The Top Five Regrets of the Dying by Bronnie Ware (affiliate link) – One of the biggest pains of human life is lying on your deathbed with regret about what you didn’t do, accomplish, or experience because you were too shy, scared, or put others’ goals over your own. Read this as early as possible so you don’t make the same mistakes as others.

Once you’ve had a chance to listen, I’d love to hear from you:

  1. Which book did you like best and why?
  2. Why do you want to be smarter?

Leave a comment below and let me know.

Remember, give as much detail as possible. Many ambitious people come here every day for knowledge and your input could be just what they need to change their lives.

Thanks so much for your positive vibes. I am thankful for your presence.

Oh, and if you’re a helpful person, share this. It can help a friend change their lives and reach their potential.

Stay ambitious,

Will

I Spend 20+ Hours A Week Studying Successful People
I share my insights every week in my free newsletter.
I agree to have my personal information transfered to ConvertKit ( more information )
We respect your privacy

By Will Chou

I am the the founder of this site and I am grateful you are here to be part of this awesome community. I help hard-working Asian American Millennials get rich doing work they love.

2 comments

  1. There’s an ad right below your post entitled ” 5 Best Books To Read To Get Smarter”…so below that ad, you have a little message, P.S. I see you are new here. Get my best advice emailed you to (the 2 words you & to should swop places) immediately by subscribing to my email newsletter now..(1 extra period). Just wanted to let you know of the 2 grammar errors.

    Cheers,
    KB

    1. Thanks for pointing that out KB!

      Those are not ads. Those are links to my own stuff. I know ads have a bad connotation and I’m definitely not letting others pay to put ads on there.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *