Personal Development Books for German Learners
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My Wage
I bargained with Life for a penny,
And Life would pay no more,
However I begged at evening
When I counted my scanty store;For Life is a just employer,
He gives you what you ask,
But once you have set the wages,
Why, you must bear the task.I worked for a menial’s hire,
Only to learn, dismayed,
That any wage I had asked of Life,
Life would have paid.— J. B. Rittenhouse
Here at Authentic German Learning, we love personal development! It is the key to having a better future and also one way how we can make language learning interesting.
See also the category:Category: Personal Development Books
Mindset, Productivity and Success
Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck
Do you see problems as an obstacle or a challenge? Are certain abilities innate or a matter of practice?
Depending on how you answered these questions, you either have a fixed mindset or a growth mindset.
Someone with a fixed mindset is more likely to give up because they believe certain things won’t change.
Someone with a growth mindset, on the other hand, believes they can always improve in certain areas.
Almost everyone has both attitudes, but in different areas.
Often the growth mindset is more helpful and this book really helped me develop that mindset even more.
Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
With the right mentality you can become rich! This is one of the messages of Napoleon Hill’s book Think and Grow Rich.
Napoleon Hill had the rare opportunity to interview the richest man in America, then Andrew Carnegie.
This interview left a deep impression on Hill, and he set out to research and put to paper the principles that bring wealth.
Wealth is not just meant in the financial sense. I can also be emotionally rich or rich in friends.
I can be rich by touching many people and making a significant difference in the world.
Some of Hill’s ideas seem a bit mystical and irrational.
But at second glance they make sense: we often give up too quickly; But if we firmly believe that we can achieve a certain goal and act accordingly, then it is almost always just a matter of time.
Even if you didn’t believe a word Napoleon Hill said, you would still benefit from reading this book.
It’s full of inspiring stories of people who have achieved amazing things that seemed impossible to everyone else - but not to themselves.
I was very inspired by this book and it still inspires me because I read it again and again.
The Miracle Morning: The Not-So-Obvious Secret Guaranteed to Transform Your Life (Before 8AM) by Hal Elrod
You deserve an extraordinary life. You can live such a great life by investing time in yourself every day.
This is the inspiring message of Hal Elrod’s book.
But when should you invest this time? You look at your calendar and realize that, like all of us, you are very busy. Around midday? No, you have other things to do. In the evening? No, you don’t have enough energy. In the morning? Please not in the morning!
Even if you are a morning person - or especially if you are - you will benefit a lot from the miracle morning, because the morning often determines how the rest of the day will go.
The Miracle Morning is a morning routine consisting of six activities that promote an energetic, conscious and extraordinary life: meditation, affirmations, visualization, exercise, journaling and reading. Each activity is presented and explained in more detail in the book.
Hal Elrod describes the routine that helped him. Of course, everyone is free to create and modify their own miracle morning. How about making learning German part of your morning routine?
I do this routine every morning and it helps me a lot! I get up happy and get a lot of energy and inspiration from the miracle morning.
Mastery: The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment by George Leonard
To be a learner, you’ve got to be willing to be a fool.
How do you master an area of knowledge? How do you learn a skill? How do you become one of the best in a sport? In short: How do you become one of the best in your field?
How do you achieve long-term success? There are many obstacles that can arise. It often happens that we get stuck and feel like we are not progressing. Or we give up.
George Leonard gives very, very good advice on this. The book helped me a lot. I particularly liked his tips about homeostasis (the urge not to change), how to get energy, and what to do when you feel stuck.
Our preoccupation with goals, results, and the quick fix has separated us from our own experiences.
The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan
The focusing question is:
What’s the ONE Thing I can do such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?
According to Gary Keller and Jay Papasan, we should ask ourselves this question every day in order to lead a productive and successful life.
We lose a lot of time and concentration when we want to do several things at the same time. And how often do we waste time on activities that aren’t that important?
I really liked the book. Although you might think that you would have understood the main message after the first few pages, you will always find new wisdom and sources of inspiration. Funny drawings make the message clear.
(Unfortunately there is currently no German version available.)
Buy the Book (English Version)*
Self-Study
How to Read a Book: The Classic Guide to Intelligent Reading by Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren
Of course we all know how to read a book: open it and read!
However, there are many techniques to get more out of a book. Reading a book is almost an art!
This book not only helps you understand challenging books, but also helps you enjoy novels better.
I also wrote a longer review and summary if you have the stamina for it. 😉
(Important note: The German version is rare and may be too expensive in some countries.)
Self-Knowledge
The Books of Alice Miller
It’s hard for me to name a specific book. I took something away and learned something from every book by Alice Miller.
Alice Miller talks about uncomfortable topics that have enormous consequences for our society. It addresses widespread child abuse and its effects.
Unfortunately, the truths about child abuse are still denied or ignored by many people.
I had many aha moments while reading Alice Miller’s books. I now understand my fellow human beings and their motivations much better.
But most importantly, I understand myself better. Alice Miller’s help is a gift that I cannot express in words.
See also: A Dance to Freedom by Sylvie Shene
The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem by Nathaniel Branden
Your life is important. Honor it. Fight for your highest possibilities.
What is self-esteem? Where does it come from? How do you recognize real self-esteem?
And most importantly: How do I increase my self-esteem?
I think a lack of self-esteem is one of the main reasons why so many people fail to achieve their goals and are unhappy with their lives. They believe they don’t deserve a better life.
The truth is that they deserve a better life. We all deserve a better life. YOU DESERVE A BETTER LIFE!
Even if you think you have good self-confidence, I highly recommend the book. I learned very, very much from this book. Nathaniel Branden doesn’t just cover the topic superficially, but goes very, very deeply.
This book will change your life and how you see yourself.
On Truth: The Tyranny of Illusion by Stefan Molyneux
This book is dangerous. In the first paragraph, the author warns that the book will mess up your life.
In the short term, the book will only bring you disadvantages: as you read it, you will be forced to confront many truths that are unpleasant. You will question many things that previously seemed obvious to you.
As someone who has read the book, I can recommend this book to you without a guilty conscience. In the long run, it was one of the best books I’ve ever read. It improved my life tremendously, but I didn’t realize this until a year later.
The Road Less Traveled: A New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values and Spiritual Growth by M. Scott Peck
Most people want peace without the aloneness of [spiritual] power. And they want the self-confidence of adulthood without having to grow up.
This book gave me a lot of new insights. I find the English title more appropriate: “The Road Less Traveled”, i.e. the path taken by few people.
If you are interested in self-knowledge and personal development, you must, for better or worse, take a path that few take. It’s a lonely road sometimes, but it’s definitely worth it.
The path of spiritual growth is a path of lifelong learning.
The author explains love in a very wise way, especially how to recognize real love and distinguish it from fake love. The author believes that love requires effort - a very interesting thesis that is well substantiated in the book.
The book is also about how you can grow and what you need to do so. He shows this through arguments and through several moving stories from his own practice as a psychotherapist.
Self-discipline is self-caring.
A Dance to Freedom by Sylvie Shene
This book is a fascinating book about the life of a woman who freed herself from lies and illusions with the help of Alice Miller’s books.
If you don’t know Alice Miller yet, I recommend this book. The book is like a foreword to Alice Miller’s books.
Using herself as an example, the author explains how we are influenced by our past - and how we can free ourselves from the negative effects.
This book shows that Alice Miller’s theses are not an abstract theory, but actually work. This book gave me a lot of inspiration and a positive perspective for the future. I hope it can do the same for you.
(Unfortunately there is currently no German version available.)
Buy the Book (English Version)*
Communication and Relationships
Real-Time Relationships: The Logic of Love by Stefan Molyneux
Always be honest with yourself and the people who deserve your honesty.
That’s easier said than done. It takes a lot of courage to be really honest. It was only after reading this book that I realized how many things I was keeping quiet about.
Not everyone can tolerate honesty, but there are enough people in the world. The harder I try to be honest, the more intimate the relationships I have.
The book helped me be more honest with the people I care about. In my opinion, love is only possible if you are completely open and honest.
(Unfortunately the book is currently not available in German.)
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This page is also available in: German