
The Art of Self-Improvement
Ten Timeless Truths
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy for $17.19
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Rachael Beresford
About this listen
A brilliant distillation of the key ideas behind successful self-improvement practices throughout history, showing us how they remain relevant today
Self-help today is a multibillion-dollar global industry, one often seen as a byproduct of neoliberalism and capitalism. Far from being a recent phenomenon, however, the practice of self-improvement has a long and rich history, extending all the way back to ancient China. For millennia, philosophers, sages, and theologians have reflected on the good life and devised strategies on how to achieve it.
Focusing on 10 core ideas of self-improvement that run through the world's advice literature, Anna Katharina Schaffner reveals the ways they have evolved across cultures and historical eras and why they continue to resonate with us today. Reminding us that there is much to learn from looking at time-honed models, Schaffner also examines the ways that self-improvement practices provide powerful barometers of the values, anxieties, and aspirations that preoccupy us at particular moments in time and expose basic assumptions about our purpose and nature.
©2021 Yale University (P)2021 HighBridge, a division of Recorded BooksListeners also enjoyed...
-
The Happiness Trap
- How to Stop Struggling and Start Living
- By: Russ Harris
- Narrated by: Russ Harris
- Length: 12 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Dr. Russ Harris provides a means to escape the epidemic of stress, anxiety, and depression, unlocking the secrets to a truly fulfilling life. Updated and expanded by 50 percent in its second edition, this empowering book presents the insights and techniques of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), covering more topics and providing more practical tools than ever before.
-
-
Good book for people with anxiety and depression
- By Jagdeep S Sandhu on 01-19-22
By: Russ Harris
-
Barking up the Wrong Tree
- The Surprising Science Behind Why Everything You Know About Success Is (Mostly) Wrong
- By: Eric Barker
- Narrated by: Roger Wayne
- Length: 9 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
By looking at what separates the extremely successful from the rest of us, we learn what we can do to be more like them - and find out, in some cases, why it's good that we aren't. Barking up the Wrong Tree draws on startling statistics and surprising anecdotes to help you understand what works and what doesn't, so you can stop guessing at success and start living the life you want.
-
-
Teaching to live a life, but how?
- By Medgeniva on 09-02-17
By: Eric Barker
-
Someday Is Today
- 22 Simple, Actionable Ways to Propel Your Creative Life
- By: Matthew Dicks
- Narrated by: Matthew Dicks
- Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Are you good at dreaming about what you’re going to accomplish “someday” but not good at finding the time and getting started? How will you actually make that decision and do it? The answer is this book, which offers proven, practical, and simple ways to turn random minutes throughout your days into pockets of productivity, and dreams into accomplishments. In addition to presenting his own winning strategies for getting from dreaming to doing, Matthew Dicks offers insights from a wide range of creative people on how to augment inspiration with motivation.
-
-
The hustle culture daily routine meme in book form, but the author is serious
- By Grant on 03-19-23
By: Matthew Dicks
-
The Intentional Father
- A Practical Guide to Raise Sons of Courage and Character
- By: Jon Tyson, David Kinnaman - foreword
- Narrated by: Jon Tyson
- Length: 4 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Self-initiation is killing our young men. Without strong mentors, boys are walking alone into a wilderness of conflicting messages about who they should be as men. It's no wonder that our sons are confused about what the world expects from them and what they should expect of themselves. The Intentional Father is the antidote. This concise book is filled with practical steps to help men raise sons of consequence—young men who know what they believe, know who they are, and will stand up against the negative cultural trends of our day.
-
-
powerful, insightful, best of all, applicable!
- By Brian on 07-13-22
By: Jon Tyson, and others
-
Courage Is Calling
- Fortune Favors the Brave
- By: Ryan Holiday
- Narrated by: Ryan Holiday
- Length: 6 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Almost every religion, spiritual practice, philosophy and person grapples with fear. The most repeated phrase in the Bible is “Be not afraid.” The ancient Greeks spoke of phobos, panic and terror. It is natural to feel fear, the Stoics believed, but it cannot rule you. Courage, then, is the ability to rise above fear, to do what’s right, to do what’s needed, to do what is true. And so it rests at the heart of the works of Marcus Aurelius, Aristotle, and CS Lewis, alongside temperance, justice, and wisdom.
-
-
Not his best effort
- By Amazon Customer on 09-30-21
By: Ryan Holiday
-
Plays Well with Others
- The Surprising Science Behind Why Everything You Know About Relationships Is (Mostly) Wrong
- By: Eric Barker
- Narrated by: Roger Wayne
- Length: 6 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Plays Well With Others, Eric Barker dives into these questions, drawing on science to reveal the truth beyond the conventional wisdom about human relationships. Combining his compelling storytelling and humor, Barker explains what hostage negotiation techniques and marital arguments have in common, how an expert con-man lied his way into a twenty-year professional soccer career, and why those holding views diametrically opposed to our own actually have the potential to become our closest, most trusted friends.
-
-
Truly a phenomenal Book! Listen again!
- By Edmund W. Cheung on 07-05-22
By: Eric Barker
-
The Happiness Trap
- How to Stop Struggling and Start Living
- By: Russ Harris
- Narrated by: Russ Harris
- Length: 12 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Dr. Russ Harris provides a means to escape the epidemic of stress, anxiety, and depression, unlocking the secrets to a truly fulfilling life. Updated and expanded by 50 percent in its second edition, this empowering book presents the insights and techniques of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), covering more topics and providing more practical tools than ever before.
-
-
Good book for people with anxiety and depression
- By Jagdeep S Sandhu on 01-19-22
By: Russ Harris
-
Barking up the Wrong Tree
- The Surprising Science Behind Why Everything You Know About Success Is (Mostly) Wrong
- By: Eric Barker
- Narrated by: Roger Wayne
- Length: 9 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
By looking at what separates the extremely successful from the rest of us, we learn what we can do to be more like them - and find out, in some cases, why it's good that we aren't. Barking up the Wrong Tree draws on startling statistics and surprising anecdotes to help you understand what works and what doesn't, so you can stop guessing at success and start living the life you want.
-
-
Teaching to live a life, but how?
- By Medgeniva on 09-02-17
By: Eric Barker
-
Someday Is Today
- 22 Simple, Actionable Ways to Propel Your Creative Life
- By: Matthew Dicks
- Narrated by: Matthew Dicks
- Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Are you good at dreaming about what you’re going to accomplish “someday” but not good at finding the time and getting started? How will you actually make that decision and do it? The answer is this book, which offers proven, practical, and simple ways to turn random minutes throughout your days into pockets of productivity, and dreams into accomplishments. In addition to presenting his own winning strategies for getting from dreaming to doing, Matthew Dicks offers insights from a wide range of creative people on how to augment inspiration with motivation.
-
-
The hustle culture daily routine meme in book form, but the author is serious
- By Grant on 03-19-23
By: Matthew Dicks
-
The Intentional Father
- A Practical Guide to Raise Sons of Courage and Character
- By: Jon Tyson, David Kinnaman - foreword
- Narrated by: Jon Tyson
- Length: 4 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Self-initiation is killing our young men. Without strong mentors, boys are walking alone into a wilderness of conflicting messages about who they should be as men. It's no wonder that our sons are confused about what the world expects from them and what they should expect of themselves. The Intentional Father is the antidote. This concise book is filled with practical steps to help men raise sons of consequence—young men who know what they believe, know who they are, and will stand up against the negative cultural trends of our day.
-
-
powerful, insightful, best of all, applicable!
- By Brian on 07-13-22
By: Jon Tyson, and others
-
Courage Is Calling
- Fortune Favors the Brave
- By: Ryan Holiday
- Narrated by: Ryan Holiday
- Length: 6 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Almost every religion, spiritual practice, philosophy and person grapples with fear. The most repeated phrase in the Bible is “Be not afraid.” The ancient Greeks spoke of phobos, panic and terror. It is natural to feel fear, the Stoics believed, but it cannot rule you. Courage, then, is the ability to rise above fear, to do what’s right, to do what’s needed, to do what is true. And so it rests at the heart of the works of Marcus Aurelius, Aristotle, and CS Lewis, alongside temperance, justice, and wisdom.
-
-
Not his best effort
- By Amazon Customer on 09-30-21
By: Ryan Holiday
-
Plays Well with Others
- The Surprising Science Behind Why Everything You Know About Relationships Is (Mostly) Wrong
- By: Eric Barker
- Narrated by: Roger Wayne
- Length: 6 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Plays Well With Others, Eric Barker dives into these questions, drawing on science to reveal the truth beyond the conventional wisdom about human relationships. Combining his compelling storytelling and humor, Barker explains what hostage negotiation techniques and marital arguments have in common, how an expert con-man lied his way into a twenty-year professional soccer career, and why those holding views diametrically opposed to our own actually have the potential to become our closest, most trusted friends.
-
-
Truly a phenomenal Book! Listen again!
- By Edmund W. Cheung on 07-05-22
By: Eric Barker
-
Persuasion Mastery
- Dark Psychology Techniques to Persuade Other People
- By: Mac Samuels
- Narrated by: DMS3
- Length: 3 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
About 2400 years ago, the Greek philosopher Aristotle wrote one of the most important pieces of logic. Within his treatise rhetorical, he showed that the claims are more persuasive when articulated within three distinct but inseparable dimensions: ethos (credibility), logos (reason,) and pathos (emotion). Over the subsequent 125 years, attitudes have generated considerable interest in social sciences because of the widespread perception that they have a strong influence on actions, decisions, and judgments.
By: Mac Samuels
-
Sacred Nature
- Restoring Our Ancient Bond with the Natural World
- By: Karen Armstrong
- Narrated by: Karen Armstrong
- Length: 5 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Since the beginning of time, humankind has looked upon nature and seen the divine. In the writings of the great thinkers across religions, the natural world inspires everything from fear, to awe, to tranquil contemplation; God, or however one defined the sublime, was present in everything. Yet today, even as we admire a tree or take in a striking landscape, we rarely see nature as sacred.
-
-
More of a political piece than a spiritual one
- By Amazon Customer on 01-26-23
By: Karen Armstrong
-
Stoicism
- Stoic Principles for Modern Life. A Beginners Guide to the Art of Happiness, Mindfulness & Self Discipline. Daily Meditations of Great Such as Marcus Aurelius & Seneca. A Must for Entrepreneurs
- By: Handmade Publishing
- Narrated by: Lee Goettl
- Length: 3 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Listening to this book, you will learn the basic principles of stoicism and its origins, plus how to apply those principles to our lives today.
-
The Power of Unwavering Focus
- By: Dandapani
- Narrated by: Dandapani
- Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Anxiety, stress, worry, and fear—these are the mental maladies that literally plague us, contributing not only to our growing unhappiness, but also to physical ailments such as heart disease and obesity when left unmanaged. As Hindu priest and renowned speaker Dandapani shows in this eye-opening and enriching new book, it is only through mastering one skill—the skill of focus—that we can permanently lay these mental roadblocks to rest.
-
-
Word tricks are for the lost not the found.
- By Amazon Customer on 06-06-23
By: Dandapani
-
Happiness, Philosophy, and Life: Two in One
- Happiness: Essays on the Meaning of Life + The Five Great Philosophies of Life
- By: Carl Hilty, William DeWitt Hyde
- Narrated by: Lynnda Nelson, Douglas Wilkin
- Length: 9 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Are you tired of chasing happiness and only to find it elusive and temporary? Do you yearn for a deeper understanding of the true meaning of life? Look no further than Happiness: Essays on the Meaning of Life, a book that will send you on a transformative journey toward lasting joy and fulfillment.
-
-
Philosophy Brought to Life - A Beautiful Listen
- By Kim Vicki on 07-23-23
By: Carl Hilty, and others
-
Happiness
- Essays on the Meaning of Life: Finding Real Happiness in a World Obsessed with Pleasure
- By: Carl Hilty
- Narrated by: Lynnda Nelson
- Length: 3 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hilty draws on timeless biblical wisdom and presents a refreshing perspective on happiness that is still relevant today. His writing is clear, concise, and thought-provoking, and he emphasizes the importance of personal responsibility, self-awareness, and cultivating a positive mindset. This audiobook reminds us that true happiness comes from within and is not dependent on external circumstances.
-
-
Very happy to listen this great book.
- By James Jones on 06-28-23
By: Carl Hilty
-
The Daily Laws
- 366 Meditations on Power, Seduction, Mastery, Strategy, and Human Nature
- By: Robert Greene
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders, Robert Greene
- Length: 12 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the world’s foremost expert on power and strategy comes a daily devotional designed to help you seize your destiny.
-
-
Chapters are Busted
- By Colin on 10-12-21
By: Robert Greene
-
Stop Asking Why
- A Guide to Stoicism and Happiness: Break Free from Negativity, Self-Doubt and Useless Baggage, and Embrace a Life of Happiness (Daily Stoic Living for Beginners)
- By: Mark W. Mayhew
- Narrated by: Erik Stone
- Length: 3 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
By learning to ask the right questions and adopting a Stoic mindset, you will unlock the secret to a life filled with purpose, contentment, and profound joy. Your happiness is within reach, and Stop Asking Why is the guide that will lead you there. Take the first step toward a life of happiness, contentment, and inner peace. It's time to let go, ask the right questions, and embrace the transformative power of Stoicism.
-
-
Very happy to listen this great book.
- By Eddie Lambrecht on 08-22-23
By: Mark W. Mayhew
-
Power vs. Force
- The Hidden Determinants of Human Behavior
- By: Dr. David R. Hawkins
- Narrated by: Dr. David R. Hawkins
- Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The publication of Power vs. Force by Sir David R. Hawkins, M.D., Ph.D., reveals to the general public secret information heretofore only shared by the author with certain Nobelists and world leaders. Analyzing the basic nature of human thought and consciousness itself, the author makes available to everyone the key to penetrating the last barrier to the advancement of civilization and science and resolving the most crucial of all human dilemmas.
-
-
Good book – poor narrator
- By Greg on 06-28-07
-
Beyond Religion
- Ethics for a Whole World
- By: His Holiness the Dalai Lama
- Narrated by: Martin Sheen
- Length: 5 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Dalai Lama, at his most compassionate and outspoken, here elaborates and deepens his vision for the nonreligious way. Transcending the mere "religion wars", he outlines a system of secular ethics that gives tolerant respect to religion, those that ground ethics in a belief in God and an afterlife, and those that understand good actions as leading to better states of existence in future lives. And yet, with the highest level of spiritual and intellectual authority, the Dalai Lama makes a claim for what he calls a third way.
-
-
Excellent! Excellent! Excellent!
- By Mary on 12-20-11
-
Enneagram: The Definitive Self-Discovery Guide
- By: Lucas Roger
- Narrated by: John Griffith
- Length: 3 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Enneagram: The Definitive Self-Discovery Guide. Learn this ancient and powerful tool for self-awareness and compassion. Discover which of the nine types you have! If you're new to the Enneagram types, this audiobook will offer you a brief but concise understanding of what lies at the core of each type, it will also offer famous examples of each type for you to explore. The Enneagram is a powerful ancient tool used to help individuals recognize their personality types and thus, better understand their actions, thoughts, and feelings more intimately.
By: Lucas Roger
-
The Beginner's Guide to Stoicism
- Tools for Emotional Resilience & Positivity
- By: Matthew J. Van Natta
- Narrated by: Steve Rimpici
- Length: 3 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Being a stoic means embracing positivity and self-control through the ability to accept the uncertainty of outcomes. With this stoicism guide, the beginner stoic will learn how to take charge of their emotions on the path to sustained happiness and satisfaction. This easy-to-navigate stoicism guide gives you the emotional tools needed to let go of the things you can’t control and find joy in what you have.
-
-
fast start into pure self-therapy
- By RANDALL S WALKER on 04-28-21