7 Best Books about Taking Action to Empower You in Everyday Life

Ever had so much to do that you end up doing nothing at all? I’ve been there, and I’m sure you have too. Here are the best books about taking action.

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There are a hundred and one reasons why avoid doing the things we know we must do.

Distractions, fear of failure, unpreparedness, listening to the opinions of others, the list goes on…

No matter what’s causing your current feeling of inertia, here are the best books about taking action to get you back on your feet.

These books will help you break free from the chains that are preventing you from reaching your goals, whether mental, physical, or situational.

They'll also remind you of all the beautiful things that tend to happen when you start showing up consistently, so you can finally turn that “one day” into “day one”.

FYI: If you're struggling with taking action, I created something to help you out. It's called the 21-Day Goal Execution Challenge, you can sign up for the challenge here.

What are the Best Books About Taking Action?

Here are 10 awesome books about taking action and doing hard things:

1. Eat That Frog!

There’s an old saying that if the first thing you do each morning is eat a live frog, you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing you’re done with the worst thing you’ll have to do all day.

Eat That Frog! by Brian Tracy is a book that shows you how to organize each day so you can zero in on your most challenging tasks and accomplish them efficiently and effectively.

You'll learn how to harness three keys to better time management: decision, discipline, and determination.

After all, successful people don’t try to do everything. Rather, they prioritize and pursue what is most important, while protecting themselves from what is least important.

Read this book: get hard copy on amazon | get the free audiobook

2. Relentless: From Good to Great to Unstoppable

If you're feeling lethargic and uninspired, Relentless by Tim Grover is a book that will most definitely get you back into the zone.

For more than two decades, Tim Grover has trained hundreds of relentless competitors in sports and business, including famous athletes such as Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade.

In this book, he shows you how to take action - relentlessly - to adapt to any situation and achieve whatever you desire.

Direct, blunt, and brutally honest, Grover breaks down what it takes to be unstoppable, providing you with the same advice he gives his world-class clients.

Read this book: get hard copy on amazon | get the free audiobook

3. The Power of Habit

When you understand how habit formation works, it becomes a lot easier to set up the systems needed to reach your goals.

In The Power of Habit, award-winning business reporter Charles Duhigg takes us to the thrilling edge of scientific discoveries that explain why habits exist and how they can be changed.

He distills vast amounts of research into captivating narratives that take us from the boardrooms of Procter & Gamble to the sidelines of the NFL to the front lines of the civil rights movement.

Many of us try to make plans without first getting a grasp of our innate human tendencies...and then we get disappointed when things don't go as we had hoped.

However, as Duhigg shows, by tapping into the science behind habits, we can transform our businesses, our communities, and our lives.

Read this book: get hard copy on amazon | get the free audiobook

4. The 10X Rule: The Only Difference Between Success and Failure

The 10X Rule by Grant Cardone is one of my personal favourite books about taking action.

Most people desire success and have great ideas but they come up short on the amount of action required to get real results.

However, in this book, Grant Cardone teaches you to do things differently, by establishing the amount of effort needed to guarantee your success, and ensuring that you can continue operating at this level throughout your life.

Ultimately, you will discover how to remove luck and chance from your business equation, use fear as fuel to move you into action, and adopt the frame of mind that all incredibly successful people share.

Read this book: get hard copy on amazon | get the free audiobook

5. Finish What You Start

Do you ever feel like your life is series of unfinished tasks and intentions? If so, this book was made for you.

Finish What You Start is a unique deep dive into the psychology and science of accomplishment, productivity, and getting things done.

As you read, you will learn about:

The surprising motivations that push us past obstacles

Focus and willpower pitfalls you are probably committing at this very moment

How to beat distractions, remain focused, stay on task, and get to what matters consistently

How to transform your life by developing productive habits and avoiding mental traps

As a peak performance coach, author Peter Hollins has worked with dozens of individuals to unlock their potential and path towards success.

In this book, he shares the insights he's gathered over the years to help you stop self-sabotaging and finally create the life you want.

Read this book: get hard copy on amazon | get the free audiobook

6. Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted

As we mentioned at the beginning, one of the greatest obstacles to taking action is distraction.

In fact, in our competitive 21st-century economy, the ability to focus deeply on a task from start to finish has become like a superpower.

In Deep Work, author and professor Cal Newport flips the narrative on impact in a connected age. Instead of arguing distraction is bad, he instead celebrates the power of its opposite.

First, he establishes the case that in almost any profession, cultivating a deep work ethic will produce massive benefits. Then, he presents a series of four "rules" that will help you adjust your habits to support this skill.

Read this book: get hard copy on amazon | get the free audiobook

7. Making Ideas Happen: Overcoming the Obstacles Between Vision and Reality

Thomas Edison famously said that genius is 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration.

In other words, great ideas are ubiquitous, but great execution is rare.

According to Scott Belsky, author of Making Ideas Happen, the capacity to make ideas happen can be developed by anyone willing to develop their organizational habits and leadership capability.

After interviewing hundreds of successful creatives, he has compiled their most powerful-and often counterintuitive-practices, such as:

Generate ideas in moderation and act without conviction
Reduce all projects to just three primary components
Encourage fighting within your team
Seek competition and share ideas liberally

While many of us obsess about discovering great new ideas, Belsky shows why it's better to develop our capacity to execute on existing ideas, and why this strategy stands the test of time.

Read this book: get hard copy on amazon | get the free audiobook

Final Thoughts

Thanks for checking out this post on the best books about taking action. Hopefully you've found a couple of books that address the kind of obstacles you're currently dealing with.

The great thing about these books is that they're more than just motivational - rather, they provide you with concrete examples and suggestions that can help you start making progress right away.

At the end of the day, the important thing is getting started.

It doesn't matter how slowly you go, so long as you do not stop!

All the best,

Roli