10 Best Personality Development Books for Students for Professional Success

College is the introduction to adulthood and making your own life decisions. You may have taken a high school class about cooking, sewing, or how to balance a checkbook, but what about building soft skills like communicating with a team, confidence to present your findings to a classroom, and emotional intelligence to work with personalities that don’t match your own? These skills greatly impact your academic and future success in the workforce. We dug deep to find you a list of the top 10 best self-help books for students so you can prepare for college life and step into the workforce as a professional, confident adult.

The Reading Rainbow for Successful Young Adults

For those of us who grew up in the ’90s, the Reading Rainbow TV show was more than just a show. It was a tool that shaped our personalities, boosting our self-awareness, reading skills, and confidence to work with kids from other cultures. It prepared us to overcome the nervousness and shyness to meet and work with new friends. The book list below does the same for college students today. It helps you build leadership skills and motivational habits to succeed beyond graduation. Take a look at the list and pick one or two, or read them all to see what grabs your attention. Any of the listed books, alongside your academic studies, will help you build your personal development skills. We added an array to help boost confidence, productive habits, and understanding your abilities to stand out in the crowd and take the lead with confidence in your future.

Crack yourself Open like an Egg and Ooze Confidence!

There’s an old saying, “Fake it ’til you make it,” but instead of faking it and being called out for not knowing something, why not learn from the professionals who’ve already been through that experience and walk into class with your head held high, ready to present your findings with confidence. Scared? Rightly so. Getting up in front of a group is scary when you aren’t prepared, even if you know the project inside out. The books listed below aren’t just self-help books to skim and copy 10 things to do when you graduate. These life lessons help prepare you for anything that comes your way. So, crack yourself open like an egg and see what comes out! You may find the “why” to your future ambitions or learn that small daily tasks like making your bed can make seemingly mundane soldiers lead their battle buddies into success when facing their greatest fears.

Make Your Bed- by Admiral William H. McRaven

Sounds simple, right? But do YOU make your bed every morning? Do you have a routine that helps you start the day? This book is the epitome of what it’s like to face hard things in life and come out the other end for the better. This retired Navy Officer recounts points of his military career that led to people impacting others in ways you may think are mundane. Still, in the face of fear, it’s the little things like a song that keep the team afloat…literally and figuratively. Even if you know nothing about military life, you WILL find help and hope within these pages. The Admiral shares life stories and how men pushed past their fears and insecurities to survive one more night, one more day of grueling effort to trudge on to graduation. This short book lists 10 lessons in life to help build courage, leadership, and personal growth that should be on every college student’s bookshelf.

Atomic Habits- by James Clear

There is a starting point for most college kids where they look around at their classmates and have to choose- fit in with the crowd or stand out and be themselves, no matter what. If you are at this crossroads right now, stop and pick up this book. Knowing who you are as an individual is the first step in discovering how you communicate and work with other personalities later in life. Right now, you’ll eventually need to work on a group project, and you might need to lead that team. You may need to present and exude self-confidence in a crowd. James Clear takes the big questions and breaks them down into 4 easy to answer questions, then guides you into small habits that bring to life the true person you’re meant to develop into: confident, organized, and ready to conquer anything.

You Are a Badass- by Jen Sincero

Building confidence comes in many forms. Jen wrote a book that shows you how to look deeper inside yourself to discover how much of a badass you truly are. You are strong. You are smart. You are beautiful. You just need to find that inner strength to escape any situation life throws your way, and Jen’s book can help you find it. If you get handed life lemons, Jen doesn’t suggest making lemonade; she goes deep into what you can really do with those lemons. Be warned, though, Jen’s words of wisdom aren’t for the faint of heart. Based on the title alone, you can tell she is ready to serve up some tough love and real-life anecdotes that will have you laughing and relating to her mistakes, but also realizing that your true potential lies somewhere deep down. All you need to do is reach up and grab that confident self by the horns.

Start with Why- by Simon Sinek

People tell others what to do, and people listen and follow those others. But WHY do some people lead and some follow? Why does one person get further than the other? Why you do things and why one thing inspires you while another drags your motivation through the wringer is the answer to your leadership development and personal growth. Simon walks you through a breakdown of why you want to do something and why you’re motivated by one thing and not the other. Many of our great leaders, past and present, tell you to follow a golden rule, but Simon’s book will surprise you with his direction. He points you in the direction of understanding your why, your true motivation for what drives you to be the person you’re truly meant to be. He does it in a way that is easy to follow and inspiring to learn and share with others.

Adulting:101- by Josh Burnette and Pete Hardesty

This book should be handed out with every high school diploma. Not only does it prep you for living alone after you move out of your parent’s house, but it also gives you guidance on communicating with others in class, on the job, and during presentations and interviews. It’s a worldwide view of adulthood about personal relationships, growth and development in the professional world and becoming self-aware of what you are capable of on your own. Pete and Josh have written the students’ survival guide on being on your own for the first time. There are chapters on everything and anything you may encounter as you venture into the next chapter of your life. You’ll find things you already know, like shopping for car insurance and how to fold a fitted sheet, but after reading this, you’re sure to be a step ahead of the game and can lead other new independent adults to success.

The Tipping Point- by Malcolm Gladwell

Did you ever do that thing in high school where you and your friends made up a word or phrase, hoping it would catch on, and by the next summer, you hear kids from another town using it like their own? THAT is the tipping point! Malcolm breaks down how motivational and impacting it can be to start something small by influencing others to use your idea or look at a concept from a different angle, and that, ladies and gentlemen, is how legends are made. This book helps you build communication, influence, and the confidence to put your ideas out there. Once you learn how to wield the tipping point concept, you hold great power of influence over others; be kind and respectful when you wield such power, or you might end up like Darth Vader and the Death Star.

Our Iceberg is Melting- by John Kotter

It’s a little unconventional when looking for a book on personal growth, but this book talks about changes in your life and how to succeed no matter the conditions. John teamed up with Holger Rathgeber and Spencer Johnson, MD, to put together this eye-opening, easy-to-digest collaboration of what happens in school, life, or the workforce when a situation takes a hard right turn, and you’re left wondering what the heck your next move is. Be prepared! Communicate with peers and teammates, confidently lead the charge, and have the emotional intelligence to seek assistance when needed. The best part about reading this book is how it’s written. It isn’t a stuffy 8-step program about how to roll with the punches. It’s written from the perspective of Emperor penguins who refuse to acknowledge the world around them is changing, and they need to either change with it or flounder in the deep, dark ocean full of danger.

Eat That Frog!- By Brian Tracy

What a concept, right? No one wants to eat a frog…unless it’s a Friday night frog leg special at the supper club. This is a completely different view of an old idea. Brian brings to light what we all need to do, whether or not we want to do it. You know there are daily tasks to complete, but we often procrastinate and wait until the last minute, then scramble and rush to get a half-assed paper turned in. By reading this book, you learn the hard lesson of “get it done now,” and doing the hardest task first. If it’s easy to put your outline together, but you hate looking up references, finish them first. Make a list, get the biggest task out of your way, and the rest is cake. Plus, they won’t taste like frog!

Failing Forward- by John C. Maxwell

What better way to improve in life than by learning, but did you know in order to learn you have to fail? John Maxwell has written so many inspiring books on how to improve various aspects of life. Where better to start than at the beginning. You go to class to learn; you try new foods to expand your palette, so why are we, as a general population, so afraid to fail? Many success quotes, such as “fall down 7 times, get up 8,” or Thomas Edison’s, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work,” remind us that failing is part of learning. Yet, it’s ingrained in our brains from childhood that failure is negative. Maxwell reminds us as educated adults that failure is not forever, and in order to develop and improve, we must fail to find our true direction.

The Power of Habit- by Charles Duhigg

Ever notice you ALWAYS do a certain thing without thinking about it? If you walk into the kitchen, do you open the fridge even if you aren’t hungry? WHY? Just habit, I guess, right? What if you were more conscious about those little habits? If you want something completely off the wall, captivating, and intellectual, grab this book now! Charles Duhigg gives you a peek behind the curtain of habit-building, breaking, creating, and keeping, all while showing you how that exact concept works in the business world. This is a must-read if you are studying any marketing or analytics. He breaks down your bad habits and shows you how to shift micro changes in your life to build your daily routine into something more spectacular than ever before. This book isn’t your typical step-by-step self-improvement book, but your self-confidence and life skills will grow 10-fold academically and professionally for your future.

Pikachu! I Choose You! Gotta Read’em All

Whether you pick one book off a shelf or from the list above, find a way to hone your skills now. You may think you know it all, but everyone falls, everyone needs help, and everyone can learn a thing or two from someone who already made plenty of mistakes. Your next few years in college will help you in your personal and professional future. Grow your visions, figure out WHY you want what you want, or do what you do, and have the knowledge and foresight to be prepared for anything that comes your way. Eat the frog and get the hard things out of the way.