Here are 100 books that The Power of Pause fans have personally recommended if you like The Power of Pause. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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

Book cover of A Thousand Brains: A New Theory of Intelligence

Jennifer Hancock Author Of Mastering the Five Managerial Superpowers

From my list on help you master your mind and live life fully.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve spent my career exploring how people think, learn, and respond to challenges. I was raised as a Humanist, but my journey into behavioral psychology began in college while training dolphins in Hawaii. I learned firsthand how behavior is shaped through reinforcement and response. It’s easy to see how my humanism combined with behavioral psychology has fed a lifelong passion for understanding how to master our minds so we can navigate life with clarity and purpose. As an author, speaker, and behavioral science expert, I teach people how to manage change, deal with difficult people, and lead with integrity. I’m excited to share these books to help you live life fully.

Jennifer's book list on help you master your mind and live life fully

Jennifer Hancock Why Jennifer loves this book

I love this book because it is the first brain theory book I’ve read that specifically explains what the neocortex is and does and how it creates consciousness. Understanding the brain is a pattern recognition organ explains so much about what we know in behavioral psychology and how humans learn and adapt to change.

Understanding how our brains function and learn and how they can get hijacked is essential for both personal growth and professional leadership. This knowledge is so important to who we are as human beings that I believe it should be standard education for every thinking person on earth. 

By Jeff Hawkins ,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked A Thousand Brains as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

For all we hear of neuroscience's great advances, the field has generated more questions than answers. We know that the brain combines sensory input from all over your body into a single perception, but not how. We think brains "compute" in some sense, but we can't say what those computations are. We believe that the brain is organized as a hierarchy, with different pieces all working collaboratively to make a single model of the world. But we can explain neither how those pieces are differentiated, nor how they collaborate.

Neuroscientist and computer engineer Jeff Hawkins argues that it's so hard…


If you love The Power of Pause...

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…

Book cover of You Learn by Living

Jennifer Hancock Author Of Mastering the Five Managerial Superpowers

From my list on help you master your mind and live life fully.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve spent my career exploring how people think, learn, and respond to challenges. I was raised as a Humanist, but my journey into behavioral psychology began in college while training dolphins in Hawaii. I learned firsthand how behavior is shaped through reinforcement and response. It’s easy to see how my humanism combined with behavioral psychology has fed a lifelong passion for understanding how to master our minds so we can navigate life with clarity and purpose. As an author, speaker, and behavioral science expert, I teach people how to manage change, deal with difficult people, and lead with integrity. I’m excited to share these books to help you live life fully.

Jennifer's book list on help you master your mind and live life fully

Jennifer Hancock Why Jennifer loves this book

Eleanor Roosevelt’s wisdom is both practical and profound.

This book is full of life lessons I use every day. Her examples of how she handled difficulties and difficult people while balancing family and friends and leadership are inspiring to me as a woman. Her approach to lifelong learning and being fully human is one I think can benefit everyone to improve themselves personally and professionally. 

By Eleanor Roosevelt ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked You Learn by Living as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From Eleanor Roosevelt, one of the world's most celebrated and public figures, comes this wise and intimate book on how to get the most out of life-now available in a limited Olive Edition. One of the most beloved figures of the twentieth century, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt remains a role model for a life well lived. At the age of seventy-six, Roosevelt penned this simple guide to living a fuller life. You Learn by Living is a powerful volume of enduring common sense ideas and heartfelt values. Offering her own philosophy on living, Eleanor takes readers on a path to…


Book cover of Some Reflections on Ethics

Jennifer Hancock Author Of Mastering the Five Managerial Superpowers

From my list on help you master your mind and live life fully.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve spent my career exploring how people think, learn, and respond to challenges. I was raised as a Humanist, but my journey into behavioral psychology began in college while training dolphins in Hawaii. I learned firsthand how behavior is shaped through reinforcement and response. It’s easy to see how my humanism combined with behavioral psychology has fed a lifelong passion for understanding how to master our minds so we can navigate life with clarity and purpose. As an author, speaker, and behavioral science expert, I teach people how to manage change, deal with difficult people, and lead with integrity. I’m excited to share these books to help you live life fully.

Jennifer's book list on help you master your mind and live life fully

Jennifer Hancock Why Jennifer loves this book

This is my favorite book on Humanism, and I consider Ramendra the best Humanist writer alive today. He explains concepts in a way I wish I could!

This book is a brilliant exploration of how and why to choose to be ethical, even in difficult situations. It offers a clear, rational approach to ethical decision-making that aligns with my core values as a fellow humanist. This is the first book I recommend to people interested in learning about humanism. 

By Ramendra Nath ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Some Reflections on Ethics as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"The aim of a rational ethics should be to maximize freedom and avenues of happiness and to minimize avoidable suffering." In this highly thought provoking and stimulating book, the author, Dr. Ramendra, has briefly and critically discussed the ethical ideas of G. E. Moore, Bertrand Russell, Lokayat, Buddha, Epicurus and John Stuart Mill before expounding his own ideas in a logical manner. The author has convincingly advocated a rational ethics based on human needs and desires.


If you love Nance Guilmartin...

Ad

Book cover of Trusting Her Duke

Trusting Her Duke by Arietta Richmond,

A Duke with rigid opinions, a Lady whose beliefs conflict with his, a long disputed parcel of land, a conniving neighbour, a desperate collaboration, a failure of trust, a love found despite it all.

Alexander Cavendish, Duke of Ravensworth, returned from war to find that his father and brother had…

Book cover of The Unheard Cry for Meaning

Jennifer Hancock Author Of Mastering the Five Managerial Superpowers

From my list on help you master your mind and live life fully.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve spent my career exploring how people think, learn, and respond to challenges. I was raised as a Humanist, but my journey into behavioral psychology began in college while training dolphins in Hawaii. I learned firsthand how behavior is shaped through reinforcement and response. It’s easy to see how my humanism combined with behavioral psychology has fed a lifelong passion for understanding how to master our minds so we can navigate life with clarity and purpose. As an author, speaker, and behavioral science expert, I teach people how to manage change, deal with difficult people, and lead with integrity. I’m excited to share these books to help you live life fully.

Jennifer's book list on help you master your mind and live life fully

Jennifer Hancock Why Jennifer loves this book

This book by Frankl is one that has probably had the most impact on me. I quote him all the time in my work. It weaves together humanism, psychology, and philosophy to explore our search for meaning as humans and the impact this search has on our mental health.

I love how he approaches life’s struggles with deep compassion, insight, and science. I found it to be a powerful guide to understanding myself and to help explain why seeking meaning and purpose through ethics is so important to...everything and everyone. I think this is one of the most important psychology/philosophy books ever written. 

By Viktor E. Frankl ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Unheard Cry for Meaning as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

[This is the Audiobook CASSETTE Library Edition in vinyl case.]

In our age of depersonalization, Frankl teaches the value of living to the fullest.

Upon his death in 1997, Viktor E. Frankl was lauded as one of the most influential thinkers of our time. The Unheard Cry for Meaning marked his return to the humanism that made Man's Search for Meaning a bestseller around the world. In these selected essays, written between 1947 and 1977, Dr. Frankl illustrates the vital importance of the human dimension in psychotherapy. Using a wide range of subjects--including sex, morality, modern literature, competitive athletics, and…


Book cover of Talk Like Ted: The 9 Public-Speaking Secrets of the World's Top Minds

Jose Ucar Author Of Global Influence: How business leaders can simplify, improve, and amplify their international impact

From my list on supercharging your communication skills.

Why am I passionate about this?

When I first started traveling at 16, I struggled. It's not always easy to learn a new language, adapt to a different culture, and build connections. But as I got more comfortable and confident navigating through my new environment, things started to improve. I know what it’s like to start from scratch, to move to a new country, to develop and use my communication skills to move up the business ladder. This is why I now use my experience to speak, train, and coach people from a variety of countries and cultures on how to become impactful communicators, and have written a book on the importance of global communication skills. 

Jose's book list on supercharging your communication skills

Jose Ucar Why Jose loves this book

This book has added great value to my public speaking career. Gallo's insights into TED speakers' techniques have improved my presentations into engaging, memorable experiences. Particularly impactful were the strategies on storytelling and the 18-minute rule, which have empowered me to connect with audiences more effectively.

This book is more than about speaking; it's a guide to making your ideas resonate. Gallo's practical advice has given me more tools to deliver presentations that spark interest and inspire action. It is an essential tool for anyone looking to elevate their communication skills.

By Carmine Gallo ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Talk Like Ted as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Learn the public-speaking secrets of the world's top minds

Ideas are the currency of the twenty-first century. In order to succeed, you need to be able to sell your ideas persuasively. This ability is the single greatest skill that will help you accomplish your dreams. TED Talks have redefined the elements of a successful presentation and become the gold standard for public speaking. TED―which stands for technology, entertainment, and design―brings together the world's leading thinkers. These are the presentations that set the world on fire, and the techniques that top TED speakers use will make any presentation more dynamic, fire…


Book cover of Speak Influence Sell: Winning The Hearts and Minds of Your Ideal Clients Through Public Speaking

Jose Ucar Author Of Global Influence: How business leaders can simplify, improve, and amplify their international impact

From my list on supercharging your communication skills.

Why am I passionate about this?

When I first started traveling at 16, I struggled. It's not always easy to learn a new language, adapt to a different culture, and build connections. But as I got more comfortable and confident navigating through my new environment, things started to improve. I know what it’s like to start from scratch, to move to a new country, to develop and use my communication skills to move up the business ladder. This is why I now use my experience to speak, train, and coach people from a variety of countries and cultures on how to become impactful communicators, and have written a book on the importance of global communication skills. 

Jose's book list on supercharging your communication skills

Jose Ucar Why Jose loves this book

This book provides great insights into speaking, turning it into a powerful tool for business growth. Kay's "Speakers’ Method" has equipped me with effective strategies to engage audiences and increase my influence. His practical advice is easily applicable, making public speaking a valuable asset for enhancing my profile and boosting sales.

This book is a must-read for anyone aiming to leverage speaking opportunities to their business advantage and establish themselves as an authority in their field.

By Elliot Kay ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Speak Influence Sell as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Imagine if every time you spoke in public, be it at a conference, event, webinar or zoom presentation, you had people queuing up to do business with you. With the right tools, public speaking can help you to increase your influence, grow your business and get you an ROI every time you speak. Beyond this, speaking helps you to be seen as a leading authority and go-to in your industry, becoming highly in demand as an individual, brand or company. Having successfully built various businesses, won awards and delivered over 7000 hours of speaking internationally, Elliot Kay understands in great…


If you love The Power of Pause...

Ad

Book cover of The Duke's Christmas Redemption

The Duke's Christmas Redemption by Arietta Richmond,

A Duke who has rejected love, a Lady who dreams of a love match, an arranged marriage, a house full of secrets, a most unneighborly neighbor, a plot to destroy reputations, an unexpected love that redeems it all.

Lady Charlotte Wyndham, given in an arranged marriage to a man she…

Book cover of Communicate with Mastery

Denise Brosseau Author Of Ready to Be a Thought Leader?

From my list on build more influence for your best ideas.

Why am I passionate about this?

After an early career in the technology industry, I co-founded a trade association for women entrepreneurs who were seeking venture capital funding for their businesses. As a nonprofit CEO, I had a powerful bully-pulpit advocating for what I believed was an important cause, but I didn’t have much of a strategy to build a following for my ideas. Later, a friend called me a "thought leader, " which shifted my worldview. Soon, I helped my first client go from being invisible in her field to becoming a recognized expert—testifying in front of the US Senate, recognized by the White House, and asked to lead a state-wide initiative in her field. 

Denise's book list on build more influence for your best ideas

Denise Brosseau Why Denise loves this book

I had the privilege of teaching a class together with JD Schramm at Stanford Business School, where he was a longtime instructor and pioneered some groundbreaking classes and programs. Schramm is without a doubt one of the most effective communicators that I have ever met. He is also a great teacher. 

In this book, Schramm brings together a wide variety of frameworks and tools for leadership communication that he taught at Stanford, and he addresses some of the biggest challenges that business leaders face when speaking and writing to influence their most important audiences. He distills what it takes to journey from uncertainty to competence, to expertise, and ultimately to mastery, and along the way, he invites us to think deeply about our audience and the intention behind our communications.

If you follow his step-by-step guide, I can assure you that you’ll be more confident and more effective in any…

By JD Schramm , Kara Levy ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Communicate with Mastery as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Develop your leadership communication

Communicating with Mastery provides readers with a rich treasure trove of frameworks and tools for leadership communication as developed and taught over the past decade at Stanford's Graduate School of Business. Designed for the business leader on the go, it provides you quick access to helpful approaches to vexing communication problems leaders face today in speaking and writing to various audiences.

Projects often fail not because of the vision, but in the articulation of that vision. With the help of this book, you'll learn how to ensure you get the results you desire as a leader…


Book cover of The Infinite Game

Tissa Richards Author Of Rethinking Resilience

From my list on reimagining resilience for modern leaders.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve founded companies, shut them down (then rebuilt my life), and coached hundreds of executives and founders through their own turning points. Those experiences taught me that resilience isn’t about bouncing back after hard things happen to you. It’s about being open to what can happen through you, including growth, clarity, curiosity, and conviction. That’s why I wrote Rethinking Resilience and why I return to these books often. Each one has helped me see strength, adaptability, and curiosity as intentional and sustainable traits—not something we summon only after crisis. I’m passionate about helping leaders move from reaction to intention and turn pressure into power, and I think this list captures that shift perfectly.

Tissa's book list on reimagining resilience for modern leaders

Tissa Richards Why Tissa loves this book

I love this book because it reframes leadership as a long strategic game instead of a transactional one.

Sinek’s concept of the “infinite mindset” mirrors how I think about Intentional Resilience: it’s not about surviving one hard moment, it’s about sustaining clarity and conviction over many moments. His writing reminds me to zoom out, focus on purpose, and lead with a sense of ownership and collaboration instead of competition.

It’s one of those rare leadership books that keeps getting more relevant every year.

By Simon Sinek ,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked The Infinite Game as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

The New York Times-bestselling author of Start With Why, Leaders Eat Last, and Together Is Better offers a bold new approach to business strategy by asking one question: are you playing the finite game or the infinite game?

In The Infinite Game, Sinek applies game theory to explore how great businesses achieve long-lasting success. He finds that building long-term value and healthy, enduring growth - that playing the infinite game - is the only thing that matters to your business.


Book cover of The Surprising Science of Meetings: How You Can Lead Your Team to Peak Performance

Joseph A. Allen Author Of Running Effective Meetings For Dummies

From my list on guidance for meeting and collaborating well.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve always wondered why meetings are so terrible. And, why we spend so much awful time in them. So, in my graduate studies, I decided to try to figure that out. What makes meetings good and what makes meetings bad? Then, over the course of a couple decades, I wrote what constituted about 25% of all the science on the topic of workplace meetings. It may be self-proclaimed, but I am the Meeting Doctor. Just like you go to a physician for an illness, I’m who people go to when their meetings are sick and need a cure!

Joseph's book list on guidance for meeting and collaborating well

Joseph A. Allen Why Joseph loves this book

So, you’re trying to make your meetings better, but every self-help book out there seems to fall short of your expectations. Well, try some science! This book is all about the science of effective meetings. What they are, what they look like, and how everyone can participate in and lead good meetings. Based on the best science by author, Steven Rogelberg, PhD, and his many colleagues, former students, and research collaborators, this book provides best practices that work. They’ve been tested and they really, actually, work!

By Steven G. Rogelberg ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Surprising Science of Meetings as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A recent estimate suggests that employees endure a staggering 55 million meetings a day in the United States. This tremendous time investment yields only modest returns. No organization made up of human beings is immune from the all-too-common meeting gripes: those that fail to engage, those that inadvertently encourage participants to tune out, and those that blatantly disregard participants' time.

Most companies and leaders view poor meetings as an inevitable cost of doing business. But managers can take heart: researchers now have a clear understanding of the key drivers that make meetings successful. In The Surprising Science of Meetings, Steven…


If you love Nance Guilmartin...

Ad

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 Illuminate: Ignite Change Through Speeches, Stories, Ceremonies, and Symbols

Pamela Slim Author Of The Widest Net: Unlock Untapped Markets and Discover New Customers Right in Front of You

From my list on to build a business worth running.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a 25-year business coach, I have often assigned clients the task of wandering through a book store and acting like a heat-guided missile, letting themselves notice what topics and books they are naturally drawn to. For me, even as a liberal arts major with no entrepreneurial experience when I started my consulting business 25 years ago, I was always drawn to the business, psychology, and entrepreneur section. The world of work is my playground, and I am fascinated by how to help people build a powerful body of work while sustaining themselves financially and having a deep quality of life. 

Pamela's book list on to build a business worth running

Pamela Slim Why Pamela loves this book

When your business begins to gain momentum and scale, you need to build both communication infrastructure and process to motivate your employees, partners, and customers. Drawing from decades of award-winning work at their firm Duarte, Nancy and Patti give creative, specific advice about how to be an inspiring and effective leader.

By Nancy Duarte , Patti Sanchez ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Illuminate as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'Change can be fear-filled in prospect but fearsome in effect. With Illuminate, Duarte and Sanchez light our path through that crucial transition dazzlingly' ROBERT B. CIALDINI, author of Influence

To envision the future is one thing, getting others to go there with you is another. By harnessing the power of persuasive communication you can turn your idea into a movement.

In Illuminate, acclaimed author Nancy Duarte and communications expert Patti Sanchez equip you with the same communication tools that great leaders like Steve Jobs, Howard Schultz, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. used to move people.

In this visual and…


Book cover of A Thousand Brains: A New Theory of Intelligence
Book cover of You Learn by Living
Book cover of Some Reflections on Ethics

Share your top 3 reads of 2025!

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

1,210

readers submitted
so far, will you?

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in communication, leadership, and attention?

Communication 84 books
Leadership 455 books
Attention 16 books