favorite self-help books?

I'm currently conducting some informal research (just among my friends, at the moment) about self-help books -- why people read them, which ones they read and like best, and whether or not people really implement the advice or 'get anything' out of reading them.

Do any of you have a favorite self-help book? Why is it a favorite? Did the book change your life in any significant ways?

The book can be in any of the self-help genres: relationships, diet/fitness, business/management, spiritual, whatever. The ones I've read are mostly in the business/management field (_Good to Great_, _Who Moved My Cheese_, and the like).

Feel free to FM instead of posting if you're more comfortable doing so... I look forward to hearing your ideas!

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Posted by reallybehind!

i don't know if it's really considered self-help, but i always feel really inspired by the stories in chicken soup for the soul. i think i have chicken soup for the woman's soul. reading about other people's problems just helps put things in perspective for me.

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oh me too. i used to have one a day emailed to me from their site. very nice.

Why Good Girls Dont Get Ahead But Gutsy Girls Do - Kate White
Who Moved my Cheese - Spencer Johnson
How to Win Friends and Influence People - Dale Carnegie

Dont Sweat the Small Stuff- and It's All Small Stuff by Richard Ph.D. Carlson

From Amazon.com
This grandfather of all people-skills books was first published in 1937. It was an overnight hit, eventually selling 15 million copies. How to Win Friends and Influence People is just as useful today as it was when it was first published, because Dale Carnegie had an understanding of human nature that will never be outdated. Financial success, Carnegie believed, is due 15 percent to professional knowledge and 85 percent to 'the ability to express ideas, to assume leadership, and to arouse enthusiasm among people.' He teaches these skills through underlying principles of dealing with people so that they feel important and appreciated. He also emphasizes fundamental techniques for handling people without making them feel manipulated. Carnegie says you can make someone want to do what you want them to by seeing the situation from the other person's point of view and 'arousing in the other person an eager want.' You learn how to make people like you, win people over to your way of thinking, and change people without causing offense or arousing resentment. For instance, 'let the other person feel that the idea is his or hers,' and 'talk about your own mistakes before criticizing the other person.' Carnegie illustrates his points with anecdotes of historical figures, leaders of the business world, and everyday folks. --Joan Price

Toxic Inlaws! I think a LOT of us could use that one!

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Posted by sweetadeline

Toxic Inlaws! I think a LOT of us could use that one!

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It was the only thing I could turn too!

I LOVE ALL the Chicken Soup Books

Now Reading for the Mother & Daughter & For the Bride

For relationships:

Light His Fire by Ellen Kriedman or anything by her for that matter. My DH read Light Her Fire before I met him & wore out the pages.