MUSIC HISTORY

ESSENTIAL READING LIST

Here is a list of essential books that deal with personal development. Reading about the piano is not enough. You also need to maintain your sanity as you face challenges in your personal and professional life. The following list includes amazing books dealing with issues such as habit formation, willpower, learning strategies, motivation, talent, productivity, time management, etc. Please contact me if you have written a review on any of these books and would like to share it as a guest blog post.

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The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg.

Atomic Habits by James Clear.

The Productivity Project: Accomplishing More by Managing Your Time, Attention, and Energy by Chris Bailey.

Hyperfocus: How to Manage Your Attention in a World of Distraction by Chris Bailey.

Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth.

The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of It by Kelly McGonigal.

Learning How to Learn: How to Succeed in School Without Spending All Your Time Studying; A Guide for Kids and Teens by Barbara Oakley, Terrence Sejnowski, and Alistair McConville.

A Mind for Numbers: How to Excel at Math and Science by Barbara Oakley.

Mindshift: Break Through Obstacles to Learning and Discover Your Hidden Potential by Barbara Oakley.

Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise by Anders Ericsson.

The Talent Code: Greatness Isn’t Born. It’s Grown. Here’s How by Daniel Coyle.

This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession by Daniel Levitin.

Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World by Cal Newport.

Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport.

The Motivation Myth: How High Achievers Really Set Themselves Up to Win by Jeff Haden.

Make Time: How to focus on what matters every day by John Knapp and Jake Zeratsky.

The Elephant in the Brain: Hidden Motives in Everyday Life by Kevin Simler and Robin Hanson.

Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman.

Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink.

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari.

Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow by Yuval Noah Harari.

Crushing It!: How Great Entrepreneurs Build Their Business and Influence-and How You Can, Too by Gary Vaynerchuk.

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