By February, most resolutions don’t fail because we stopped caring—they fail because willpower isn’t built to last on its own. These five nonfiction books go beyond motivation to offer ideas, systems, and mindsets that actually help good intentions become lasting practice for the rest of the year.
Intentional: How to Finish What You Start
By Chris Bailey
Most of us struggle with follow-through not because we lack discipline, but because we don’t understand what’s driving us and accommodate that which holds us back. When you clarify your core values, lower the friction to getting started, and align small intentions with bigger goals, action becomes more natural and meaningful. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Chris Bailey, or view on Amazon.
The Way of Excellence: A Guide to True Greatness and Deep Satisfaction in a Chaotic World
By Brad Stulberg
What if excellence isn’t about winning, talent, or perfect conditions? Lasting performance and real fulfillment live in our curiosity, resilience, and love of the process. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Brad Stulberg, or view on Amazon.
Big Trust: Rewire Self-Doubt, Find Your Confidence, and Fuel Success
By Shadé Zahrai with Fayçal Sekkouah
When you change how you see yourself, you change what’s possible for you. Big Trust doesn’t require becoming someone new; it requires you to finally trust who you already are. By strengthening the four drivers of Big Trust, you give power to back yourself when it counts. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Shadé Zahrai, or view on Amazon.
Flourish: The Art of Building Meaning, Joy, and Fulfillment
By Daniel Coyle
Everybody wants to flourish—to experience joyful, meaningful, shared growth. The problem is, we’ve been trained to approach the most important parts of our lives as if they are games to win, when they’re more like gardens to be grown. Flourishing isn’t about being smarter—it’s about taking simple actions that foster the ecosystem of your life. Not self-improvement, but shared improvement. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Daniel Coyle, or view on Amazon.
How Great Ideas Happen: The Hidden Steps Behind Breakthrough Success
By George Newman
Most of us think great ideas are conjured from within—some mysterious well of genius possessed by a special few. But if you listen closely to history’s most celebrated creators, you’ll hear something completely different. They describe their greatest work not as something they conjured or invented, but as something they found. Not creation, but discovery. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author George Newman, or view on Amazon.
The Key Ideas in 15 Minutes
“If you are going to get anywhere in life, you have to read a lot of books,” Roald Dahl once famously said. The only trouble is, reading even one book from cover to cover takes hours—and you may not have many hours to spare.
But imagine for a moment: What if you could read a groundbreaking new book every day? Or even better, what if you could invite a world-renowned thinker into your earbuds, where they personally describe the 5 key takeaways from their work in just 15 minutes?
With the Next Big Idea App, we’ve turned this fantasy into a reality. We partnered with hundreds of acclaimed authors to create “Book Bites,” short audio summaries of the latest nonfiction that are prepared and read aloud by the authors themselves. Discover cutting-edge leadership skills, productivity hacks, the science of happiness and well-being, and much more—all in the time it takes to drive to work or walk the dog.
Go Deeper with a Next Big Idea Club Membership
The Next Big Idea App is free for anyone to try—and if you love it, we invite you to become an official member of the Next Big Idea Club. Membership grants you unlimited access to Book Bites and unlocks early-release, ad-free episodes of our LinkedIn-partnered podcast. You also gain entry to our private online discussion group, where you can talk big ideas with fellow club members and join exclusive live Q&A sessions with featured authors.
For a more focused learning experience, we recommend a Hardcover or eBook Membership. Every few months, legendary authors and club curators Malcolm Gladwell, Susan Cain, Adam Grant, and Daniel Pink select two new nonfiction books as the must-reads of the season. We then send hardcover copies straight to your doorstep, or eBook versions to your favorite digital device. We also collaborate with the authors of selected books to produce original reading guides and premium e-courses, 50-minute master classes that take you step by step through their most life-changing ideas. And yes, it’s all available through the Next Big Idea App.
Learn Faster, from the World’s Leading Thinkers
Whether you prefer to read, listen, or watch, the Next Big Idea is here to help you work smarter and live better. Wake up with an always-fresh Idea of the Day, the perfect shot of inspiration to go with your morning coffee. Then dive into one of our Challenges, hand-picked collections of Book Bites that form crash courses in subjects like communication, motivation, and career acceleration. Later, watch the playback of an interview with U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, Stanford psychologist Jennifer Eberhardt, or philosopher John Kaag. And be sure to check the “Events” tab in the app, so that you can join an upcoming live Q&A and personally chat with the next featured thought leader.
If you’re hoping to grow as a person or as a professional, we hope you’ll join us and tens of thousands of others who enjoy the Next Big Idea. Get started by downloading the app today!
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