Treasure Trove of 50 Free Classic Personal Development eBooks

There are hundreds of excellent books which were written in the late 19th century, as well as during the early or mid-20th century, which form the basis for the personal development books, seminars, and e-courses that are so popular today. Many of these are in the public domain, which means that they can be downloaded from the Internet, free of charge.

Below you’ll find a treasure trove of 50 of the best classic personal development eBooks, with a link to where you can download each of them for free. They range in topics from peace to money, and from personal magnetism to health.  I hope you find these books helpful in your quest to reach your full potential.

1. “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill:  This book is based on Hill’s interviews with a large number of individuals who achieved great success during their lifetimes.

2. “As a Man Thinketh” by James Allen:  James Allen’s thin volume, first published in 1902, has had a profound impact on the lives of countless people. The book’s basic message is the following: “You are what you think.”  You can read my review of the book here.

3.  “Above Life’s Turmoil” by James Allen: “Surrounded by noise, we can yet have a quiet mind; involved in responsibilities, the heart can be at rest; in the midst of strife, we can know the abiding peace.”

4.  “Byways of Blessedness” by James Allen:  Allen leads us through the thought processes that lead to happiness and success.

5. “The Way of Peace” by James Allen: The book is essentially a treatise on the importance of meditation. Whatever we meditate upon, Allen explains, we become.

6. “The Path to Prosperity” by James Allen:  “It matters everything what you are within, for everything without will be mirrored and colored accordingly.”

7. “Acres of Diamonds” by Russell H. Conwell: This book  indicates that opportunities abound in our own backyard, and we are all capable of finding them if we just take the time to look for them.

8. “It Works” by R. H. Jarrett: This short little book states the following – “If you know what you want, you can have it.”

9. “The Master Key System” by Charles F Haanel: The Master Key System was originally published as a correspondence course in 1912. Along with “The Science of Getting Rich”, by Wallace D. Wattles, the Master Key System is the source of Rhonda Byrne’s inspiration for the book and the film “The Secret”

10. “The Science of Getting Rich” by Wallace D. Wattles:  Wattles makes a bold claim in this self help classic: “”There is a science of getting rich, and it is an exact science, like algebra or arithmetic. There are certain laws which govern the process of acquiring riches, and once these laws are learned and obeyed by anyone, that person will get rich with mathematical certainty.”

11. “The Science of Being Well” by Wallace D. Wattles: “Health is the result of thinking and acting in a Certain Way, and . . . every person can attain perfect health.”

12. “The Science of Being Great” by Wallace D. Wattles: In this book Wattles notes that you can become what you want to be by virtue of your thoughts.

13. “The Richest Man in Babylon” by George Samuel Clason: “The Richest Man in Babylon” dispenses financial advice through a collection of parables set in ancient Babylon.

14. “The Art of Money Getting” by P.T. Barnum: P. T. Barnum (July 5, 1810 – April 7, 1891) was an American showman, businessman, and entertainer, who founded what became the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. He became a very wealthy man and he shares some advice on how to acquire wealth in his book “The Art Of Money Getting”.

15. “The Fundamentals of Prosperity” by Roger W. Babson: “The time has come when in our own interests, in the interests of our communities, our industry, and of the nation itself, for a while we must strengthen the foundations upon which American business rests.”

16. “The Power of Concentration” by Theron Q. Dumont: “To make a success of anything you must be able to concentrate your entire thought upon the idea you are working on.”

17.  “The Art and Science of Personal Magnetism” by Theron Q. Dumont: “It is a strange and almost amusing fact that there should be at the same time, on the part of the general public, such a general acceptance of the existence of personal magnetism, on the one hand, and such an ignorance of the nature of this wonderful force, on the other hand.”

18. “Character-Building Thought Power” by Ralph Waldo Trine: “Your every act . . .  is preceded by a thought.  Your dominating thoughts determine your dominating actions.  In the realm of our own minds we have absolute control . . . ”

19. “The Greatest Thing Ever Known” by Ralph Waldo Trine: “The majority of people are not awake; it is only here and there that we find one even partially awake.  Practically all of us, as a result, are living lives that are unworthy almost the name of lives, compared to those we might be living, and that lie within our easy grasp.”

20. “This Mystical Life of Ours” by Ralph Waldo Trine:  “Each morning is a fresh beginning . . . when the morning with its fresh beginnings comes, all yesterdays should be yesterdays, with which we have nothing to do.  Sufficient is it to know that the way in which we lived our yesterday has determined for us our today.  And, again, when the morning with its fresh beginning comes, all tomorrows should be tomorrows with which we have nothing to do.  Sufficient to know that the way we live our today determines our tomorrow.”

21. “The Man who Knew” by Ralph Waldo Trine: “Faith, in the sense that he used it, and the sense that we must understand it today if it is to become a force — a creative and moulding force — in life, is but a positive, clear-cut type of thought, which, clearly pictured, held to and kept watered with expectation, becomes creative in its action.”

22. “The Wayfarer on the Open Road” by Ralph Waldo Trine:  “A Creed of the Open Road”

23. “What all the World’s A-Seeking” by Ralph Waldo Trine: “There is no such thing as finding true happiness by searching for it directly.  It must come, if it comes at all, indirectly, or by the service, the love, and the happiness we give to others.”

24.  “In Tune with the Infinite” by Ralph Waldo Trine: “Everything is first worked out in the unseen before it is manifested in the seen, in the ideal before it is realized in the real, in the spiritual before it shows forth in the material. The realm of the unseen is the realm of cause. The realm of the seen is the realm of effect. The nature of effect is always determined and conditioned by the nature of its cause.”

25. “The Conquest of Happiness” by Bertrand Russell: “My purpose is to suggest a cure for the ordinary day-to-day unhappiness from which most people in civilized countries suffer, and which is all the more unbearable because, having no obvious external cause, appears inescapable.”

26.  “The Creative Process in the Individual” by Thomas Troward: “Well, the general direction in which we all want to go is that of getting more out of Life than we have ever got out of it–we want to be more alive in ourselves and to get all sorts of improved conditions in our environment.”

27.  “The Dore Lectures on Mental Science” by Thomas Troward: “[T]hough the laws of the universe can never be broken, they can be made to work under special conditions which will produce results that could not be produced under the conditions spontaneously provided by nature.”

28.  “The Edinburgh Lectures on Mental Science” by Thomas Troward: This book is based on lectures given by the author on how natural principles govern the relation between Mental Action and Material Conditions.

29.  “Your Invisible Power” by Genevieve Behrend: Behrend explains the “Law of Visualization”.

30.  “Attaining Your Desires” by Genevieve Behrend: Genevieve Behrend wrote her book as a complete seven-lesson course in the early 1920s. The writing is in dialogue form, between a “Sage” and a “Pupil.” The Sage is the famous author and teacher, Judge Thomas Troward; the Pupil is you.

31.  “The Power of Silence” by Horatio W. Dresser: “It is a revelation to many people who have sought to enter fully into the present to discover how largely their consciousness is ordinarily concerned with distant things. The attention is constantly turned here and there by thoughts that disturb one’s repose. The past is regarded with regret, the future with fear and suspicion. Neglected duties occur to consciousness, and there is a sense of uncertainty in regard to what the mind ought to be engaged in. The thought occurs that perhaps one ought to be elsewhere, instead of taking time for a quiet meditation. One has set aside precisely half an hour for thought and one watches the clock lest one overstep the limit. The nervous, hurrying tide of our modern life pulses through all one’s thinking, and not for one moment is the mind in repose.”

32.  “Common Sense: How to Exercise It” by Blanchard Yoritomo-Tashi: In this book Yoritomo-Tashi points out that common sense is a composite product consisting of the following – Perception; Memory; Thought; Alertness; Deduction; Foresight; Reason, and Judgment.

33.  “Within You is the Power” by Henry Thomas Hamblin: “The object of this little book is to help men and women to bring their inward powers of mind and spirit into expression, wisely and in harmony with universal law”.

34.  “The Life of the Spirit” by Henry Thomas Hamblin: “There is only one Life and this is Good. That there is only one Power in the Universe, and this is Good. That there is only one Purpose in the Universe, and this, too, is Good. That there is one great Law governing all, and this is Love. That there is no evil in the Cosmic Scheme and the Divine Purpose is infinitely kind and just. That man is the Author of his own troubles; that they are created in his own mind both conscious and subconscious; that the attitude of the mind and soul acts as a transformer changing the Good Force into seeming evil.”

35.  “The Power of Thought” by Henry Thomas Hamblin: “The world today is in its present state simply as a result of mankind’s collective thinking; each nation is in its present state of either peace and prosperity, or poverty, murder, and anarchy, simply as a result of its thinking as a nation; and each individual is what he is, and his life is what it is, and his circumstances are what they are, simply as a result of his thoughts.”

36.  “A Message to Garcia” by Elbert Hubbard: In 1895, Calixto García took command of the Cuban insurrection against Spanish rule. During the Spanish-American war, President McKinley composed a message of support to Garcia, and was advised that US Army lieutenant Andrew S. Rowan could be relied upon to deliver the message. Rowan accepted with a ‘consider-it-done’ attitude, completing the mission that arguably was key to the eventual outcome of Spain’s defeat. Hubbard argues that what the world needs are more people like Rowan, who will “Carry a message to García”.

37.  “The Science of Mind” by Ernest Holmes: The Science of the Mind teaches that, because God is all there is in the universe (not just present in Heaven, or in assigned deities, as believed by traditional teachings), Its power can be used by all humans to the extent that they recognize and align themselves with Its presence.

38.  “The Greatest Thing in the World” by Henry Drummond: In this book Drummond explains that the greatest thing in the world is love.

39.  “The Multiple Mentality Course” by Harry Kahne: “Now this course may not turn you into an Einstein or an Edison, but it will help you to think with more of what God gave you – Your brain.”

40.  “Your Forces and How to Use Them” by Christian Larson: ” . . . [T]ake a few moments every day and try to feel that you — the “I Am” — are not only above mind and body, but in a certain sense, distinct from mind and body; in fact, try to isolate the “I Am” for a few moments every day from the rest of your organised being.”

41.  “How to Find Your Real Self” by Mildred Mann: “Do you know who you are?  Do you really know who you are? You are a special enterprise on the part of God.”

42.  “Self Mastery through Conscious Autosuggestion” by Emile Coué: In this book Coué shows you how to help yourself through the power of autosuggestion.

43.  “Adventures in Contentment” by David Grayson: David Grayson was the pen name of turn-of-the-century, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ray Stannard Baker. Under the name of Grayson, Baker authored eight books of essays and observations on life’s simple pleasures.

44.  “Adventures in Friendship” by David Grayson: “But on such an afternoon as this no man could possibly remain long depressed. The moment I passed the straggling outskirts of the town and came to the open road, the light and glow of the countryside came in upon me with a newness and sweetness impossible to describe. Looking out across the wide fields I could see the vivid green of the young wheat upon the brown soil; in a distant high pasture the cows had been turned out to the freshening grass; a late pool glistened in the afternoon sunshine. And the crows were calling, and the robins had begun to come: and oh, the moist, cool freshness of the air! In the highest heaven (never so high as at this time of the year) floated a few gauzy clouds: the whole world was busy with spring!”

45.  “The Magic Story” by Frederick Van Rensselaer Dey:  It is claimed that many who read this story almost immediately have good fortune.

46.  “How to Live on 24 Hours a Day” by Arnold Bennett: Time management tips.

47.  “Just How to Wake the Solar Plexus” by Elizabeth Towne: Learn how to wake up the part of your life powers that will help you live a happier, healthier, more balance life.

48.  “Secrets of Mental Supremacy” by W.R.C. Latson M.D.: How to train your senses.

49.  “Practical Mental Influence” by William W. Atkinson: “When a Thought or Feeling is generated in the mind or brain of a person, the energy generated flows forth from the brain of the person in the form of waves of mental energy, spreading from the immediate neighborhood of the thinker to a distance proportioned to the strength of the thought or feeling.”

50.  “Thought-Force in Business and Everyday Life” by William W. Atkinson:  The purpose of this work is to acquaint the reader with the means of developing, and effectively using, the forces latent within him – Personal Magnetism and Psychic Influence.

Do you know of other personal development books that are now in the public domain?  Please share in the comments section.

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I Recommend:

My ebook “How to Be More Creative – A Handbook for Alchemists” explains that creativity is not the sole domain of the arts but is important in any field. Whatever you do, creativity helps you do it better. Discover practical advice on how to be more creative in every life endeavor by reading my ebook.

The Sedona Method is a simple, powerful, easy-to-learn technique that shows you how to let go of any negative, unwanted or painful feelings you may be experiencing at any particular moment. It consists of a series of questions you ask yourself that lead your awareness to focus on what you’re feeling in the moment and gently guide you toward letting it go. Read my review of the Sedona Method here.