Mark Twain once said “The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who can’t read”

And he was right! The ability to read and write is the most common definition of literacy. It helps students transform into socially active citizens. They are able to keep up with current affairs, understand the problems that our society faces and also communicate with ease. 

In this article, we will cover the top 5 books that are going to help you transform from an average, procrastinating student to the A-star, exceptional student that you are within; someone who has mastered the effective techniques of studying, discipline and good habits. This awe-inspiring list of books will help you no matter what age you are or which type of student you are. It does not matter whether you are in high school, college, university, or whether you are just a lifelong learner, these books will certainly help you. 

These books have been chosen to help you with the everyday difficulties you all face; procrastination, laziness, low energy and distractions. 

Here is the list of books that will help you improve your productivity in order to activate and unleash that potential within you: 

1. Mastery: The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment by George Leonard

George Leonard’s book Mastery is a must read for anyone who is eager to learn about personal development and the process to master ANY skill. He draws on Zen philosophy and his mastery of Aikido in order to help people master anything they want to. If you want to get better grades, lose weight or gain weight, get better at any sport, or any other struggles you might be going through, this book will help you see the ‘bigger picture’ and will allow you to understand the journey you will have to take to get there. Once you understand the path that you are going to be taking, you will be able to navigate the pitfalls and escape the traps that other people might fall into. A journey to success is not always a smooth ride but this book is a start.

2. Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear

“Success is the product of daily habits—not once-in-a-lifetime transformations.” – James Clear

Atomic Habits is like an encyclopedia for the most effective ways to change your bad habits into effective ones. James Clear presents a simple, straightforward and proven way to build good habits with the least amount of effort and the highest amount of reward. One of the key principles that he talks about is to focus not on what you want to achieve, but on who you wish to become. First of all, find out what your minimum viable habit is. For example, when you are trying to wake up at 7 am every morning and exercise or study, do not go for the most complex activities first. Instead, focus on what the simplest starting point could be, what is the minimum viable habit? What is something that you could do right now that is so easy and does not take a lot of time and effort? And then from there, keep adding to it, keep graduating those habits, just like you graduate in the classroom. Do it until you go from two push-ups a day to a thousand!

 3. The Secret to Success by Eric Thomas

The next book is by the motivational master, Eric Thomas. The Secret to Success is a pretty straightforward book; it is punchy and motivating. It is everything that you would expect from the world-renowned speaker. This book is going to help you understand the journey that Eric Thomas took to go from a high school dropout to an internationally renowned, critically acclaimed author. It is also going to help you understand the steps and principles that the author took and used to become the person that he is today. 

4. Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert

Being a student, on the surface seems easy but in practice can be quite difficult. When you are sitting there, in the library, and you are flicking through your phone, one extra time, looking at Tiktok or any other social media, how do you not get distracted and stay focused? In this book, Elizabeth Gilbert goes through the process of how fear and creativity work. She gives you the strength you need to push past obstacles and pursue your creative interest. This life-changing book will show you how to deal with your fears and act upon your amazing ideas towards an inspired and successful life. 

5. The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield

In this book, Steven Pressfield talks about the difference between the part-time player, the amateur, who shows up when they feel like it, which some of you are. You study when you feel like it, you give 110% when you feel like it, you put your hand up in class when you feel like it. In between the amateur and what Steven Pressfield calls the pro, is RESISTANCE. Now, you can use the word resistance or the word procrastination or even the word distraction. But it all references the same obstacle. How do we get past that? This book is for YOU!

Ultimately, let’s think about why you should even read in the first place? Why is it something that is going to help you? Keshav Bhatt says ‘Try not to think of reading as a chore. Think of it as having a meeting with the author. So, whether you admire Eric Thomas or James Clear or any of the other self-help gurus, imagine when you are reading, you are spending one-on-one time with that author.’ Yes, this might not be real but think about how that person has sat down over decades, taking notes on the most vital things that they have learnt during their lifetime and then structured it in a way in order to help you, so that you can take that shortcut. 

For that reason, the question is not why should you read? The real question is which books should you read? The problem is that there are so many books out there and they are not all created equally. You could be reading but are you reading productively? That is something to think about! Take this article as a starting point to your productive reading journey and see the change within you! 

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Related Links:

You can also find these amazing books on Audible :

Mastery: https://www.audible.ca/pd/Mastery-Audiobook/B07D1B5MK9?

Atomic Habits: https://www.audible.ca/pd/Atomic-Habits-Audiobook/B07GBGQJSW?

The Secret to Success: https://www.audible.ca/pd/The-Secret-to-Success-Audiobook/B0716LSMKM?

Big Magic: https://www.audible.ca/pd/Big-Magic-Audiobook/B07259PXBV?

The War of Art:  https://www.audible.ca/pd/The-War-of-Art-Audiobook/B07PRDNRNN?

YouTube Video : 5 Books EVERY Student Should Read That Will Change Your Life

Spoken by Keshav Bhatt : http://www.keshavbhatt.com

Motivation2Study Podcast (Study Motivation)

Sources:

https://www.amazon.ca/Mastery-Keys-Success-Long-Term-Fulfillment/dp/0452267560

https://jamesclear.com/atomic-habits

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13191925-the-secret-to-success

https://medium.com/@mirita/12-quotes-from-big-magic-to-live-by-84e7bcce97c3

https://bookfifty.com/2017/05/30/the-war-of-art-by-steven-pressfield/

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