Do you know the thing nearly all world’s most successful, self-made businesspeople have in common?

They all read books.

Almost every single person that has become successful and rich learned from self-help books.

It’s because they know that all skills are learnable.

If you take the time to learn a new skill every week, you will have 52 new business skills by the end of this year.

Imagine the difference it would make to your business and your life if you learned 52 new skills by this time next year.

Then 52 new skills the next year, and so on….

Many of these new skills fall into the category of “self-help” and there is no shortage of books from which to choose.

So, how do you choose the self-help books that are going to give you the tools that you need to become successful?

In this article, we’ll cover some strategies that will help you choose the best ones.

1. Research the Person That Wrote the Self-Help Book.

One of the things that you’ll realise when you get into the self-help world is that anyone can write a book.

There is no qualification or even the requirement that someone know what they are talking about to write a self-help book.

Make sure that the person that you are taking advice from has achieved and can show real success in the field that you are considering.

2. Keep Things as Simple as You Can.

You don’t need to read a hundred self-help books and formulate your own plan that incorporates all of the advice that is given in them.

Find something that works for you and then use it to reach your goals.

The simpler your plan the more chance you will achieve success.

3. Don’t Change Horses Midstream

In other words, don’t allow yourself to get caught up with the “new” skill.

Don’t let yourself get so distracted by the current book you are reading, that you neglect or abandon what is already working for you.

Think of each new skill you learn as incremental to what you are already doing.

The completion of a book is not the start of a brand new journey.

The new skill should incremental.

Use it to improve your existing efficiency, quality, motivation and so on.

Wait until you are sure that your current method isn’t going to work before you replace it with a new one.

4. Get Recommendations From Others.

People are always happy to give you a recommendation on which books they think you should read.

If you can’t talk to someone you admire face-to-face, look for an interview where they shared a list of the books they recommend.

Many of the biggest entrepreneurs out there like Elon Musk and Bill Gates are happy to share with people the books that have helped them on their journey.

Of course, if you can get a personal recommendation, then all the better.

To start you off, these are my current top-five recommended self-help books for solopreneurs.

• Deep Work by Cal Newport
• Build a Brand in 30 Days – with Simon Middleton
• Key Person of Influence by Daniel Priestley
• The Four Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss
• Book Yourself Solid by Michael Port & Jocelyn Wallace

Don’t just buy these books and add them to your shelf.

Books are not ornaments.

Books are meant to be read.

I have a golden rule I follow.

I try to read one book a week and do now allow myself to buy a new book until I am over halfway through the one I am reading.

Then I always have my next book ready to go, without creating an ever growing pile.