Steven Pressfield's Book Recommendations (Updated for 2026)

1

Everything is Figureoutable

Marie Forleo

4.4

Do you ever have trouble finishing what you start? Do amazing ideas come to you all the time but after the initial excitement wanes you struggle to follow through? If you're creative and ambitious, the answer is likely yes.

The problem isn't you. It's not that you're not hardworking, intelligent or deserving, but that you haven't yet installed the one key belief that will change everything: Everyth

Recommended by Oprah Winfrey, Tony Robbins, Arianna Huffington, and 10 others.

Steven Pressfield

Most of us think of Marie Forleo as a performer, mentor, role model for a generation of young women and men, and hostess of MarieTV. Everything Is Figureoutable will change that. The lady can write. Everything Is Figureoutable is a dazzling manifesto on self-belief and self-empowerment. Perhaps her greatest contribution yet. [source]

Oprah Winfrey

CEO/O Network

Millions of young women look to Marie Forleo as their inspiration for empowerment and achievement. [source]

Tony Robbins

Life Coach

Making the impossible possible has little to do with talent and almost everything to do with massive action. Everything Is Figureroutable turns you into the powerhouse you were born to be. This book will make you think, laugh and leap into action — often on the same page. If you ever wonder what separates those who dream from those who achieve, this book is your answer. [source]

2

The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph

Ryan Holiday

4.4

Preview Summary

“The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.” — Marcus Aurelius

We are stuck, stymied, frustrated. But it needn’t be this way. There is a formula for success that’s been followed by the icons of history—from John D. Rockefeller to Amelia Earhart to Ulysses S. Grant to Steve Jobs—a formula that let them turn obstacles into opportunities. Faced with impossible si

Recommended by James Altucher, Marvin Liao, Alok Kejriwal, and 19 others.

Steven Pressfield

Follow these precepts and you will revolutionize your life. Read this book! [source]

James Altucher

Founder/StockPickr

My life has been beset with obstacles. It takes practice (and pain) to surmount them and achieve success. This author’s book is a how-to guide for just that. [source]

Marvin Liao

Partner/500 Startups

My list would be (besides the ones I mentioned in answer to the previous question) both business & Fiction/Sci-Fi and ones I personally found helpful to myself. The business books explain just exactly how business, work & investing are in reality & how to think properly & differentiate yourself. On the non-business side, a mix of History & classic fiction to understand people, philosophy to make sense of life and Science fiction to picture what the future could be like (not always utopian). [source]

3

Stillness Is the Key

Ryan Holiday

4.5

Preview Summary

In The Obstacle Is the Way and Ego Is the Enemy, bestselling author Ryan Holiday made ancient wisdom wildly popular with a new generation of leaders in sports, politics, and technology. In his new book, Stillness Is the Key, Holiday draws on timeless Stoic and Buddhist philosophy to show why slowing down is the secret weapon for those charging ahead.

All great leaders, thinkers, artists, athletes,

Recommended by Angela Duckworth, Arianna Huffington, Cal Newport, and 10 others.

Steven Pressfield

Ryan Holiday is a national treasure and a master in the field of self-mastery. In his most compelling book yet, he has mined both the classical literature of the ancient world and cultural touchstones from Mister Rogers to Tiger Woods, and brought his learnings to us in terms that the frantic, distracted, over-caffeinated modern mind can understand and put to use. Highly recommended. [source]

Angela Duckworth

Author

Ryan Holiday is among the most psychologically wise writers I know. I'm a fan of all of his work, including this new gem, Stillness is the Key. If you struggle—as I do—to find your center in the increasingly noisy and frenetic world we live in, then this book is for you. [source]

Arianna Huffington

Founder/The Huffington Post

Whether you are an athlete, an investor, a writer or an entrepreneur, this little but wise and soulful book will open the door to a healthier, less anxious and more productive life and career. [source]

4

Ego is the Enemy

Ryan Holiday

4.4

Preview Summary

As in the Obstacle is the way, Ryan holiday delivers practical and inspiring philosophy, this time exploring a powerful concept that runs back centuries, across borders and schools of thought: Ego. Ego is our biggest enemy. Early in our careers, it can prevent us from learning and developing our talents. When we taste success, ego can blind us to our own faults, alienate us from others and lead to

Recommended by Charlamagne Tha God, Robert Greene, Jason Fried, and 23 others.

Steven Pressfield

Ryan Holiday is one of his generation's finest thinkers, and this book is his best yet. [source]

Charlamagne Tha God

Radio Presenter/The Breakfast Club

This is one of my favorite authors on the planet @ryanholiday one of his many books is titled “Ego Is The Enemy.” So if you want more from him on the subject of ego than what’s in this 60 second clip that’s the book… https://t.co/0QDe9V69KV [source]

Robert Greene

Author

Inspiring yet practical... teaches us how to manage and tame this beast within us so that we can focus on what really matters - producing the best work possible. [source]

5

History of the Peloponnesian War

R. Warner Thucydides,M. I. Finley

4.3

Written four hundred years before the birth of Christ, this detailed contemporary account of the long life-and-death struggle between Athens and Sparta stands an excellent chance of fulfilling its author's ambitious claim. Thucydides himself (c.460-400 BC) was an Athenian and achieved the rank of general in the earlier stages of the war. He applied thereafter a passion for accuracy and a contempt

Recommended by Satya Nadella, Ryan Holiday, and Steven Pressfield.

Steven Pressfield

It is loaded with hardcore, timeless truths and the story it tells ought to be required reading for every citizen in a democracy. [source]

Ryan Holiday

Author

This book – of a long forgotten war – really functions as a biography and strategic analysis of some of the greatest minds in the history of war. We have Pericles, Brasidas, Alcibiades and many others. The anecdotes and the stories in this book are timeless. If you make your way all the way through it, I promise you will not forget it. Because the war was so long, involved so many different countries and was so varied (sea, land, siege, politics), it basically covers every type of situation you can think of. Think of this book as a textbook. Read it. [source]

Cover unavailable

6

There's No Plan B for Your A-Game: Be the Best in the World at What You Do

Bo Eason

4.5

The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestseller!

Do you want to change the course of your life?

Do you want to be the best?

The best manager, the best athlete, the best artist, the best speaker, the best parent?

In There's No Plan B for Your A-Game, former pro athlete, playwright, and acclaimed leadership coach Bo Eason shows you exactly what it takes to be the best. His proven to

Recommended by Laila Ali and Steven Pressfield.

Steven Pressfield

Bo Eason offers a revealing testimony on what it takes to succeed in any field. Whether you’re an artist, an athlete, or an entrepreneur, this book will put you to work. [source]

Laila Ali

Bo Eason knows what it means to fulfill on your greatness and be the BEST. In There’s No Plan B for Your A-Game, Bo gives you the play-by-play on how to embrace your obstacles and thrive in the face of any adversity. If you’re looking for a Champion Mindset approach to a better you, this is a must read. [source]