Titles to help you achieve your self-improvement goals
If September were a feeling, it would be the feeling of stepping out of a morning shower. No longer bathed in warm water, you get that first chill down your neck. It feels refreshing. You look at yourself in the foggy bathroom mirror, utter a small pep talk underneath your breath and greet the day.
September is a get-up-and-go kind of month. Maybe that’s because, no matter how old we get, September still feels like a back-to-the-classroom month – a transition to action and self-development at the end of a slow, relaxing summer. Or maybe it’s because, as the weather starts cooling off, we feel naturally inclined to hunker down and focus inwards.
As you focus on you this fall, Audible can help you stay inspired and motivated with the latest best-selling self-improvement audiobooks. Develop your fitness routine, communication skills and personal hobbies with inspirational titles and slow things down with meditation audiobooks and podcasts.
Get into the groove. Get out of the groove. Or create an entirely new groove. In this article, we’ll explore over 25 titles available at Audible to help kickstart your journey toward self-improvement.
Back to School Means Something Different for Everyone
For those without kids, back-to-school is still a push/pull of emotion. As mentioned above, no matter how long it’s been since you were in a classroom, September still feels like the beginning of a new school year. It feels like a time of intellectual, social and physical rebirth. You may feel inundated with an accelerating work schedule or you may feel the humdrum of heading back to a typical Monday to Friday.
And for parents, September quite literally means back-to-school. After a summer spent playing with your kids – spending quality family time, breaking up the occasional sibling fight and kissing the occasional bee-stung knee – back-to-school is a return to routine.
It’s okay to be ambivalent about your kids going back. On the one hand, the return to routine is comforting. But on the other hand, the school year carries its own unique stressors and obligations.
With the chaos of back to school, you may find yourself craving peace and quiet, seeking meditation and mindfulness amid the September bustle.
So why not lean into the fall? If you’re feeling ambitious, take moments in the day to explore motivational audiobooks and podcasts. If you’re itching to discover a new hobby, use Audible to dive into instructional resources. You can also find a quiet space, cross your legs and press play on a meditation title.
Start Your Motivational Journey with Mel Robbins, James Clear and Kevin Hart
In this post, we’ve divided our self-improvement titles into four neat categories: Exercise & Diet; Communication & Social Skills; Meditation; and Self-Improvement & Personal Transformation.
But before we get into the nitty-gritty, we need some basic motivation. Consider these titles like a locker room warm-up before we hit the ice. For the finest motivational tips, there are few better places to start than with Mel Robbins, James Clear and Kevin Hart (yes, that Kevin Hart).
Mel Robbins’ The 5 Second Rule is a perennial favourite on our list of best-selling motivational audiobooks and it’s easy to see why. It takes all the cornerstones of how to get motivated – becoming confident, ditching procrastination and self-doubt, curbing uncertainty and finding the courage to express your ideas – and teaches you how to do it all in just five seconds. With a swift, one-size-fits-all motivational ace up the sleeve, Mel Robbins can jumpstart your journey toward self-improvement.
You can’t discuss bestselling motivational audiobooks without nodding to James Clear’s ultra-popular Atomic Habits. Clear is one of the world’s leading experts on habit formation. Atomic Habits is his practical, actionable playbook for forming good habits and kicking bad ones. It’s evident from the rave reviews on Atomic Habits’ Audible page that this resource has helped a great deal of people. If you’re looking to get motivated this September but feel like there’s a bad habit holding you back, see if you belong in Atomic Habits’ chorus of rave reviewers.
Lastly, if you prefer your motivational tips with a splash of humour, spend time with the always-energetic, always-funny Kevin Hart. In his Audible Original, The Decision, the actor and comedian offers his roadmap for “Overcoming Today's BS for Tomorrow's Success” in a process he’s dubbed the Kevin Hart Mental Fitness Bootcamp. The motivational audiobook, available only from Audible, is a light-hearted introduction to the serious world of motivation.
With your sleeves rolled up, your game face on and your favourite motivational title pumping you up for September success, it’s easier than you think to get started on self-improvement.
Exercise & Diet
Summer tends to spotlight crash diets and quick-fix fitness regimes. But this September, take a holistic look at exercise and health with these titles. Find fad-free audiobooks that empower you to get in shape your way.
Separate Weight Loss Fact from Fiction with Dr Giles Yeo and Olly Mann
Unfortunately, diet culture has left many of us with all sorts of misinformation. Eat this. Don’t eat that. Eat as much as you want. Don’t eat very much, etc. The problem with these pithy dieting maxims is they all try to tell you the what without ever explaining the why. Enter Dr Giles Yeo and Olly Mann.
One's a scientist and the other's a podcaster and columnist – together, they debunk dieting myths and offer science-based explanations for why some diets work and others don't in this informative Audible Original podcast. Guided by contemporary research surrounding genetics, brain chemistry and nutrition, the pair embarks on a quest to answer those age-old dieting questions: what should I believe and why is dieting so damn hard sometimes?
If you’re starting your fall on a health kick, looking for sensible advice and trustworthy explanations to guide you, Tip the Scales is a fantastic title to explore.
Discover a No-BS (No Body Shaming) Guide to Getting Healthy with Oonagh Duncan
Oonagh Duncan’s Healthy as F* ck is one of those rare health audiobooks that manages to be both motivating and non-judgmental. Sarah Knight put it best in her blurb for the audiobook: “A no-BS guide to looking and feeling your best that doesn’t make you want to cry into a salad? Hell yes!”
Healthy as F* ck is as much about shedding pounds as it is about shedding the judgment surrounding weight loss. An award-winning trainer, Duncan understands that staying healthy isn’t just about tracking calories, chasing ketones and doggedly demanding that six-pack set of abs – it’s about creating good habits.
In this frank, refreshing discussion of health and fitness, Duncan explores how small, daily changes to our habits can have a big impact on our health and happiness. If you’re tired of health audiobooks that promise the world but deliver disappointment or just need a no-BS voice in your ear this September, get Healthy as F* ck.
The 40% Rule is simple: when you think you’ve reached the limits of your capacity, you’re only at 40%. Push yourself, slowly but surely, to tap into that remaining 60% potential.
This revelatory rule helped David Goggins transform his life. After an upbringing marred by poverty, prejudice and abuse, Goggins was aimless. He was overweight, depressed and nearly illiterate. He knew something needed to change. Overcoming the traumas of his childhood wasn’t easy, but Goggins tapped into his potential with urgency and determination, eventually beating the odds to become a Navy SEAL and one of the world’s top endurance athletes.
Throughout the audiobook, he shares his astonishing life story as an example of how everyone – you included – can overcome the odds and tap into your full potential. Goggins wasn’t born an endurance athlete; he became one.
His underdog story, coupled with a no-nonsense approach to wellness, has made Can’t Hurt Me a regular fixture on our Personal Development best sellers list. Check out this fitness audiobook today, only from Audible, and discover how to get motivated to work out at home.
For the follow-up to his best-selling audiobook How Not to Die, Michael Greger MD simply added a "t." How Not to Diet cuts through all the fad diet noise to offer listeners a glimpse into the latest research on the causes – and remedies – of obesity.
If you prefer your self-improvement with a strong backbone of science and research, here’s the audiobook for you. In How Not to Diet, Dr. Greger examines the key ingredients in successful health and wellness. He discusses calorie density, the insulin index, our gut microbiome and other topics pertinent to staying healthy and offers actionable advice for living a fit, sustainable lifestyle (spoiler: it involves a plant-based diet).
If you’re sensing a theme in the above titles, it’s probably this: most people’s problem isn’t a lack of fitness and dieting resources; it’s an overabundance. How do you cut through the noise, separate the wheat from the chaff, determine what’s helpful and what’s hype?
Here’s one way: you can start with the basics. Shaun Francis’ Eat, Move, Think breaks down wellness into three basic components: physical activity, nutrition and mental health. With that basic foundation established, he tackles a range of popular questions. Should I spend my time on cardio or pump those weights? Is this fourth cup of coffee really a good idea? And is my sleep schedule affecting my mental health?
If fall rolls around and you aren’t sure where to start your health and fitness journey, start here. With tips for getting more exercise, eating healthier and taking care of your mental health, it’s a handy 101 guide to have in your back pocket.
Communication & Social Skills
Especially with the recent increase in video calls and online meetings, communication and patience are more important than ever. But here's something few people discuss: no one has a perfect grasp on communication.
You might have a firm grasp on public speaking, but fumble when it comes to expressing your emotions with those closest to you. You might wear your heart on your sleeve among loved ones, but, placed in front of a packed boardroom to deliver a presentation, you clam up. You might have the gift of gab, but flounder in the listening department.
We're all trying to become better talkers, better listeners and better partners. Explore these titles to help you communicate better, whether it's with your boss, your partner or the world at large.
“Rubberneck the Room,” “Bare Their Hot Button,” “The Big Baby Pivot”…
No, these aren’t episode titles from an early 2000s sitcom, nor are they entries from a particularly wild Mad Libs game. They’re just a few examples of the 92 techniques you’ll find in Leil Lowndes How to Talk to Anyone. They should also give you an indication of the breezy, buoyant style of the audiobook.
Over nearly nine hours, Lowndes walks you through a smattering of effective, solidly researched communication tips, from icebreakers to deal makers. Created with a bent toward business communication, How to Talk to Anyone nevertheless has nuggets of wisdom for other social situations (as the catch-all name implies), including mingling at a party, or crossing cultural barriers on vacation.
About How to Talk to Anyone, Larry King says, "You'll not only break the ice, you'll melt it away with your new skills." Coming from a guy who made his living talking to people, that’s pretty high praise!
It’s easy to let our overriding sense of social decency dictate how we deal with others. “Oh, I shouldn’t push the topic of a salary increase – I don’t want to get too confrontational." But sometimes, our deference gets in the way of us getting what we want, need and deserve.
In Never Split the Difference, Chris Voss teaches you communication tips for becoming a more persuasive negotiator. Voss enjoyed a lauded career as FBI's lead international kidnapping negotiator, and in Never Split the Difference, he shares the nine effective principles – counterintuitive tactics and strategies – that you can employ to persuade others.
Whether you’re buying a car, selling a house, pitching an idea to your boss or trying to convince your reluctant husband to take you for a nice dinner this Friday – whatever “negotiations” you’re undertaking, learn to communicate better with this candid resource.
Do you show love with Acts of Service or Words of Affirmation? Do you prefer receiving love in the form of Quality Time, Gifts or Physical Touch? Together, these are the five love languages at the core of Gary Chapman’s titular audiobook. And understanding your relationship with them – which ones you give and which ones you desire to receive – can help you grow your personal relationships.
The Five Love Languages is a certified megahit. It has spawned global events, numerous spinoff audiobooks (which you can find at Audible) and has spent over 300 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List. It has helped countless couples grow closer together.
But it’s not just for couples. To paraphrase one Audible reviewer, The Five Love Languages can be applied to any human connection. The thrust of its argument is that we all express and desire affection in unique ways. Understanding what you want can help you advocate for your own happiness. And understanding what others want can help you become a more caring individual and partner.
Overcome Shyness and Social Anxiety with Dr. Aziz Gazipura
For shy or socially anxious people, communicating with others (especially strangers) can feel like a Herculean task. Even if you don’t consider yourself shy, you can probably relate to feelings of self-doubt or self-criticism when speaking with others.
You might be carrying on a perfectly normal conversation with a colleague, but your brain is having an entirely separate conversation: “Did I really just say that?” “Is my laugh weirding everyone out?” “Why can’t I just speak the way I think?”
To help silence that negative self-talk and overcome a fear of social situations, check out The Solution to Social Anxiety, by Dr. Aziz Gazipura PsyD. If its confidently worded title doesn’t convince you, hopefully its contents can. In it, you’ll find dozens of clinically proven techniques to help increase your self-esteem, overcome a fear of rejection and tap into the qualities that make you special and strong.
If your goal this fall is to connect with others – whether it’s colleagues, prospective friends or potential romantic partners – explore this highly rated communication and social skills audiobook, only from Audible.
Have you ever got someone completely wrong? You pegged them for a bit of a jerk, but they turned out to be a lovely person? Or vice versa? If so, Malcolm Gladwell would like a word.
In his latest hit audiobook, Talking to Strangers, Gladwell looks at miscommunication and the assumptions we make when dealing with strangers. Using case studies ripped from the headlines (the Bernie Madoff Scandal, the Amanda Knox trial, Neville Chamberlain’s first, positive meetings with Adolf Hitler, etc.) he makes a case for our inability to size up outsiders properly.
Throughout, Gladwell returns to what’s known as the “truth-default theory” – essentially, humans’ natural inclination toward trust. Often, he argues, it gets us into trouble. But the alternative – being fundamentally mistrustful – is worse.
Come for the story, but stay for the quality of the audiobook. Using sound effects, music and actor recreations of conversations, Gladwell crafts a dynamic and engaging listening experience. If you want to learn to communicate better, Talking to Strangers is a compelling entry point to the subject.
Expand, Augment and Aggrandize Your Vocabulary with Kevin Flanigan
Do you desiderate a more recondite, more erudite and more latitudinous lexicon? Ahem. In other words, is your September self-development goal to achieve a greater mastery of the English language? If so, check out Kevin Flanigan’s Building a Better Vocabulary, a fascinating look at the nuts and bolts of English.
In it, Flanigan walks you through the history and structure of words and explores the cognitive science behind memorizing new words. Over 36 elucidating lectures, he emphasizes that the measure of a great vocabulary isn’t the number of words you know, but your ability to employ and contextualize those words effectively.
For listeners eager to enhance their conversational skills, articulate their ideas at work, write the next great Canadian novel or just learn more about language, this is the title for you.
Meditation
Regret is just the past's way of bullying you. Fear is just the future's way of peer pressuring you. To live in the moment, free from fear, regret, stress and anger, many turn to meditation. If the autumn rat race is making you tense, or if you’ve always been interested in meditation but have never taken the quiet plunge, Audible has great meditation audiobooks and podcasts to get you started.
In this section, we'll introduce you to the practice and offer concrete tips for how to meditate – not just in the quiet of your living room, but in your day-to-day life as well.
Learn the Ropes of Meditation with Alice Fraser and Ash Ranpura
Even the most mindful monks started somewhere. If you’re just beginning your meditation and mindfulness journey, we recommend Ash Ranpura and Alice Fraser’s fun and informative Calm World: Introduction to Meditation.
This isn’t a guide to meditation (we’ll discuss those in a moment). Rather, it’s a primer – an accessible, entertaining intro to a complex and often misunderstood topic. Approaching the subject from different angles, the pair discuss the science behind meditation (it actually changes the wiring in your brain,) the history of the practice (hint: it’s older than you might think) and the cultural splash it has made (did you know Michael Jordan used to meditate before games?).
By turns chatty and explanatory, Calm World is ideal for meditators just starting out – or those still on the fence.
"You are not your thoughts: you are aware of your thoughts."
Michael A. Singer’s The Untethered Soul, a mere decade after its release, has become a classic of the meditation audiobook genre. Just check out the reviews at Audible: several listeners point to it as a life-changing moment, an audiobook that opened them up to an entirely new way of thinking (or letting go of thinking).
The audiobook begins by looking at our relationship to our own thoughts. What thought patterns, negative emotions, and reactions do we allow to define us, and in what ways are they holding us back from truly living in the moment? Singer implores listeners, instead of dwelling on thoughts and emotions, to bear witness to them. They are like leaves brushing past on a fall day.
By tapping into the traditions of meditation and mindfulness, Singer argues, we can let go of the painful thoughts and memories that hold us back from achieving happiness and self-realization.
Practice, Practice, Practice with Aaptiv's 21 Days of Meditation
Beyond the images we see in movies of someone sitting cross-legged with your arms on your knees, how does one actually meditate? Do you close your eyes or keep them open? Focus on your breath or repeat a mantra? If you’re an aspiring meditator looking for a practical guide to the practice, set aside time for 21 Days of Meditation.
Throughout 21 audio-guided sessions, tenured yoga and meditation teacher Jess Ray cycles through various meditative and spiritual practices and techniques designed to help you chill out, release negativity and set your ego aside.
At 10 minutes apiece, these simple sessions don’t require you to clear your schedule. Release some stress on your lunch break. Sneak in some mindfulness after you tuck the kids into bed. Find a shady spot at a local park and centre yourself. Few resources make meditation this easy and accessible.
Carry Mindfulness into Your Everyday Life with Jay Shetty
We tend to think of mindfulness and meditation as a solitary and isolated practice. You clear a space, close the door and set a timer. But what about practicing mindfulness when you need it the most – when you’re stuck in traffic, discussing politics at Thanksgiving dinner or trying to meet a deadline at work?
According to Jay Shetty, the benefits of meditation needn’t be confined to a quiet room. You can practice mindfulness wherever you are when you Think Like a Monk. In his newly released audiobook, the social media superstar and host of the podcast On Purpose distils the timeless wisdom he learned as a monk into practical steps anyone can take, anywhere they are.
What we love about Think Like a Monk is how plainspoken and practical it is. Shetty takes all the abstract lessons he learned as a monk in India, and transforms them into actionable advice and exercises you can follow on-the-go – or, in the case of a traffic jam, not-on-the-go.
Even in Difficult Times, Find Peace with Pema Chödrön
Life’s a little like the fall weather. Yes, you get the crisp, sunny days stacked with gorgeous foliage. But you also get the dreary days – the days of perpetual rain and overcast skies.
Enduring the dreary days can be difficult. When we are overcome with fear, anxiety and pain, how do we pick ourselves back up and heal? Pema Chödrön’s When Things Fall Apart proposes an unexpected answer.
Drawing from traditional Buddhist wisdom, Chödrön shows that moving toward painful situations and becoming intimate with them can open up our hearts, transforming suffering and negative patterns into ease and joy.
It’s important to note that if you are suffering through depression or anxiety, or are the victim of trauma, it is best to reach out for professional help. They may well guide you back to Pema Chödrön’s work here, but you don’t have to bear the burden of helping yourself alone.
At the End of the Day, Rest Easy with Audible's Sleep Titles
If it’s calm you crave at the end of the day, let Audible’s Sleep tuck you into bed. Our collection of free, Audible Original audio experiences is designed to promote deep relaxation and restful sleep.
For Sleep, we’ve assembled a “dream team” of celebrity narrators – available at the tap of an app to help you chill out. Fall asleep to the dulcet sound of Nick Jonas talking about baseball in The Perfect Swing. Or join meditation leader to the stars, Jess Israel, as you synchronize your inhalations and exhalations to the relaxing sounds of vibrating crystal bowls in Crystal Bowl Breathing.
Between work goals and workout goals, running errands and running a tight ship at home, life’s busy. But that precious hour after the lights go off and those rejuvenating eight hours of sleep that follow – that’s pure you time. Free when you download the audible app, the Sleep titles help you make the most of your nights, so you can wake up feeling refreshed and ready to do it all again.
Self-Improvement & Personal Transformation
Personal transformation is all about you becoming you. What makes you happy, passionate, curious, fulfilled?
In this section, we'll offer a few titles that help you improve your life – whatever “improvement” means to you. Here we have an audiobook on learning languages, a resource on writing and titles on reshaping and re-prioritizing your life.
Take Up a Language – Any Language – with Gabriel Wyner
The subtitle for Gabriel Wyner’s Fluent Forever audiobook tells you everything you need to know: How to Learn Any Language Fast and Never Forget It.
It’s a bold statement, but Wyner backs it up with spectacular research. Taking what we know about neuroscience and linguistics, he tackles the single greatest obstacle between foreign language acquisition and us: our memory.
With the help of sophisticated spaced-repetition techniques, you’ll learn how to memorize scores of new words by putting in just a few minutes of work a day. You’ll also learn how to rewire your brain – and ears – to pronounce and understand foreign sounds with better ease.
Hacking your memory may seem like something ripped from a science fiction audiobook, but Fluent Forever makes a compelling case for its use in language learning. Spend a little time each day with this multilingual multivitamin, and you may be speaking a new language by winter!
Don't Be Scared to Take up Writing with Stephen King
The “King of Horror” is inarguably one of the most successful and prolific writers of the last two centuries. Every new Stephen King audiobook is an event. Every new Stephen King adaptation is a sure-fire box office smash. He’s made us think, laugh, gasp and grumble — but mostly he’s scared the living bejeezus out of us. How does he do it?
In On Writing, King welcomes you into his craft. Part memoir, part nuts-and-bolts dissection of writing and grammar, this audiobook is an indispensable resource for the aspiring writer.
Few writers can make grammar interesting, but that’s the wonderful thing about On Writing: even as he’s teaching you how to be a better writer, King is demonstrating the power of good writing. It the hands of a capable and probing writer, even “dry” subjects brim with life.
October is National Novel Writing Month, an event in which participants worldwide attempt to write a 50,000-word novel. To get into the groove and brush up on your skills, explore On Writing at Audible.
Somewhere along the way, vulnerability came to be seen as a weakness. But Brené Brown begs to differ.
Vulnerability – the experience of uncertainty, risk and emotional exposure – is at the core of so many of our challenging emotions. When we feel grief, fear and disappointment, there is vulnerability behind them. But vulnerability is also an opportunity for positive life influences, like love, community, acceptance and empathy.
In Daring Greatly, Brown draws upon extensive research and her personal biography to come up with a daring proposition: embrace your vulnerability. “When we shut ourselves off from vulnerability, we distance ourselves from the experiences that bring purpose and meaning to our lives.” In doing so, she exposes one of the paradoxes of wellbeing: to be strong, you need to possess the strength to show weakness. To be courageous, you need to be vulnerable.
If you are looking to add some courage and resilience to your fall self-improvement plan, but all those “stiff upper lip” resources aren’t working, try Daring Greatly.
Explore the Thorny and Confusing World of Marriage with Stephen Marche
Between work, chores, work, kids, work and sleeping, how do you find the time to cultivate your relationship? After all, marriages aren’t cacti – they can’t be left alone for months on end without nourishment.
This fall, take the time to listen to Stephen Marche’s hilarious and madcap investigation of modern marriage, How Not to F* ck Up Up Your Marriage Too Bad. In it, Marche asks the hard questions. Should we schedule sex? How do we stop fighting? How do two people live together harmoniously? And “Whose money is it anyway?”
Over ten podcast episodes, Marche tackles these thorny topics with his characteristic bluntness, humour and generosity. Listen with your partner or all by yourself, and make sense of the beautiful mess that is marriage.
Get the Fab Five Treatment with the Guys from Queer Eye
The Fab Five are no strangers to self-improvement. On each episode of their hit show, they venture to a new stranger’s house to offer a full-body, full-home, full-life makeover.
In this audiobook of the same name, the Queer Eye guys turn their attention to you. Together, Antoni Porowski, Tan France, Jonathan Van Ness, Bobby Berk and Karamo Brown walk you through how to create a happy and healthy life, rooted in self-love and authenticity. In addition to their individual areas of expertise (food, fashion, home decorating, culture and grooming), the guys offer tips on wellness, personal branding and entertaining.
Written and narrated by the Fab Five, Queer Eye is an encouraging, hopeful and practical guide both for fans of the show and the uninitiated.
Take a Long, Hard Look at Your Priorities with Mark Manson
“Turn lemons into lemonade!” “Look for a silver lining on every storm cloud!” “Be happy!”
These are precisely the kinds of aphorisms you won’t find in Mark Manson’s ultra-popular The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F* ck. Instead, he takes the opposite approach: "F*/ck positivity." The world is a difficult place and we have to live with it.
Backed by research (and a few off-colour jokes), Manson makes the case that being happy isn’t about turning lemons into lemonade. It’s about learning to stomach the lemons better. By understanding our limitations, confronting our fears and embracing our faults, we can stop trying to run from the world and start accepting it.
Don’t let the gruff exterior of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F* ck fool you. Contained within this self-improvement audiobook is a treasure trove of empathetic self-help tips and clear-eyed wisdom.
This September, Listen to Yourself
Everyone experiences September differently, and it's important you do whatever's best for you. Our advice? Listen. First, listen to yourself. Then, listen to some fantastic self-improvement audiobooks and podcasts to guide, advise, motivate and inspire you. Listen while you’re exercising, running errands, cooking, cleaning or simply relaxing on the couch.
If you need a pep talk, reach for a motivational title. When you hit the ground running, grab an exercise and diet audiobook to keep you going. To communicate better, listen to linguistic and negotiation experts for advice. For a retreat into relaxation and mindfulness, queue up a meditation title and start breathing. And to learn a new hobby or hone an existing skill, explore the numerous resources available at Audible for direction and instruction.
Whatever your September self-improvement plans are, listening can help.
