Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill is the Grandfather of every self-improvement book out there. While the planet is filled with brilliant works of fact and fiction, you
must read that book before all others.
The Prophet by Khalil Gibran is another favorite of mine. In it, a prophet describes every facet of the human experience in a way that speaks to the Great Unknown within your soul. This is a non-religious book that gives its readers a religious experience, I feel tiny in the shadow of its genius.
As a Man Thinketh by James Allen is another necessity. This book really brings home the message Christ and every other religious, spiritual, and philosophical leader have tried to send us time and time again, "
As you believe, so shall it be done unto you."
There are many others. In college I loved
Catch-22 and it was my favorite book for awhile. As a veteran, I have seen no other book capture the thoughts of the American fighting man the way that book did.
Also, books on history contain all the knowledge we need. We are not doing anything the Romans were not doing 2,000 years ago. I love to read about Julius Caesar and Alexander the Great, their lives are all the "blueprints" I need.
Mutual Funds for Dummies worked fer me