Top 7 audiobooks to level up
One of the best decisions I ever took was to listen to audiobooks while I drive to and from work three and a half years ago. It started when I had to rest my eyes due to a migraine 😩 . I got the 30 day trial of Audible so I could do something at the same time (I’m a little bit unusual like that). It has probably been the biggest impact on my self awareness and personal development thus far in my life.
So here are my top 7 picks for anyone want to improve themselves and take yourself to a whole new level.
If you’re just starting out, I recommend reading them in the order suggested. The last two are my personal favourites, but you shouldn’t start with those as they are full on!
1. Drive: The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us
This book was a wonderful breakdown of how we are motivated. I’ve learned about autotelic work and ‘flow’ which as a programmer is something that I find extremely rewarding. This book will teach you about intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.
My takeaway point here is that you can use it to find value in the smaller pieces of work which creates a longer term habit. I use it to write for Bebril as each piece of content is rewarding onto itself, even if no one ever read it.
For an insight into this, check out my YouTube video: What you may not realise about your motivation.
Audible link: https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Health-Personal-Development/Drive-Audiobook/B004N1UIAY
2. The Achievement Habit: Stop Wishing, Start Doing, and Take Command of Your Life
I’m a true believer that if you want real change in life you first need to break the bad habits and then set new habits. This book will give you a great insight into having a habit of achieving.
Audible link: https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Health-Personal-Development/The-Achievement-Habit-Audiobook/B014VCB6NC
3. Will It Fly? How to Test Your Next Business Idea So You Don’t Waste Your Time and Money
This was a delightful read and my first introduction to Pat Flynn and his work. What I liked most about this book was the honest nature of setting a future of what he needed to be happy, and he goes out to achieve it. I highly recommend it if you are thinking about levelling up over the next 5 years.
4. Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World
As you start to do more you start attracting chaos where too much is happening at once. This book will give you the framework to focus on the valuable work and get it done and handle the shallow work in the most appropriate way. This is a really great book that applies to pretty much anyone who has a desk job.
Audible link: https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Business/Deep-Work-Audiobook/B01D0E32T8
5. Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance
This one I wish I understood a long time ago. People who are successful aren’t the most talented in their field, or the most passionate, but they have grit. Since reading this book I’ve looked at what it takes to be gritty and combining it with my understanding of what motivates us in Drive: The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us I’ve been able to give myself permission to do gritty work and enjoy it. Great for taking on long term challenges.
Audible link: https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Non-fiction/Grit-Audiobook/B01E4L76K2
Now we need to take a pause here because the next two books are very deep and impactful and you’ll end up acting impulsively. I highly recommend these books, but please have a good understanding of the motivation and end goals first.
6. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life
This book will leave you in a bit of a daze and have a more detached emotion to things. This is good. What I absolutely love about this book is that it really tells us what makes us happy.
You can get a glimpse of this book in my video What pain makes you happy.
Audible link: https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Health-Personal-Development/The-Subtle-Art-of-Not-Giving-a-F-ck-Audiobook/B01MG9416Z
7. Be Obsessed or Be Average
This is my personal favourite and literally after reading this book I’ve seen the world differently. I’m now not accepting average as a good answer and want to make the most of what I’ve got. Dream big and do it.
Audible link: https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Health-Personal-Development/Be-Obsessed-or-Be-Average-Audiobook/B01K9YWNPQ
Now this will sound like a bit of an advert (it’s not). But I really want to introduce this content to you. If you’re new to Audible then I’d highly recommend you give it a go on their trial. Stick with it and forget the radio or music in the car and stick these on instead. You wont regret it.
If you’re interested in becoming brilliant, subscribe to this publication and follow Bebril on Twitter or me (or both).
Now start being brilliant by going here: Welcome to your brilliance journey
Bebril is run by myself, Martin Adams. It is a publication to guide you to be brilliant, but it also gives me first hand insight so I can create a social platform to allow anyone to share their brilliance journeys and become brilliant.
