Book cover of It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want to Be

Book description

It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want to Be is a handbook of how to succeed in the world: a pocket bible for the talented and timid alike to help make the unthinkable thinkable and the impossible possible.

The world's top advertising guru, Paul Arden, offers…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

2 authors picked It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want to Be as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

The only time my old agency gave everybody a book it was this one. It was incredibly popular because it was so short, punchy, and beautiful. It was the book that inspired me to write my second about how to survive and thrive in work.

Paul Arden was the creative director at Saatchi's, and he has the most wonderful gift of communicating. The book has no wasted words or square millimeters of design space. It really was created magnificently.

Yes, the content is clear and accessible, but the way it's presented is beyond sublime. The advice that I got from…

From Chris' list on get your energy right.

Paul Arden’s book teaches you how to be an optimist—an essential trait for meeting your milestones. He writes: “You must develop a complete disregard for where your abilities end.” Focus on who you want to be, not who you are. 

This is a tool called positive visualization, one I’ve harnessed in my career path as a creative director, an author, and a professor. By envisioning who I want to be, I take the necessary steps to achieve success.

If you love It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want to Be...

Ad

Book cover of Aggressor

Aggressor by FX Holden,

It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.

The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…

Want books like It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want to Be?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want to Be.

Browse books like It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want to Be

Book cover of Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance
Book cover of On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
Book cover of Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration

Share your top 3 reads of 2025!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,211

readers submitted
so far, will you?

Ad

📚 If you like It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want to Be, you might also like...

Book cover of Old Man Country

Old Man Country by Thomas R. Cole,

This book follows the journey of a writer in search of wisdom as he narrates encounters with 12 distinguished American men over 80, including Paul Volcker, the former head of the Federal Reserve, and Denton Cooley, the world’s most famous heart surgeon.

In these and other intimate conversations, the book…

Book cover of Lane and the Inventor

Lane and the Inventor by Amy Q. Barker,

A grumpy-sunshine, slow-burn, sweet-and-steamy romance set in wild and beautiful small-town Colorado. Lane Gravers is a wanderer, adventurer, yoga instructor, and social butterfly when she meets reserved, quiet, pensive Logan Hickory, a loner inventor with a painful past.

Dive into this small-town, steamy romance between two opposites who find love…

5 book lists we think you will like!