Admit it, that student life were some of the best years of your life. You make friends, learn, explore new things, fall in love for the first time and most of the times do things that are utterly stupid but fun nonetheless.
If you are a student now then you are in the formative years of your development as an individual. This is the time when you are juggling around with lots of things still unsure about what you want to do with your life or who you want to become?
There is always somebody who has faced similar situations and dealt with the same problems you are facing now. It is always wiser to draw lessons from the lives of individuals who have been there and done that.
As a student, you already have a bunch of books squirrelled away in your desk-drawer to read, but those books might make you good technically but what about your personality and other areas of your life?
After listening to a ton of audiobooks, we have compiled a list of 10 Great Audiobooks to listen to in your student life that will help you to be the best version of yourself and reach your fullest potential.
I wish I had listened to some of these books during my high school or college years but nonetheless now that I’ve read them I can guarantee you one thing and that is, even if you listen to anyone book on this list and apply what you’ve learned from it, then you have what it takes to be a successful person.
So, Let’s dive right into it.
Here’s a list of 10 Great Audiobooks to listen to in your student life
Mindshift
If you see the definition of a student on Wikipedia it says “A person enrolled in a school or an educational institution and who is under learning with goals of acquiring knowledge”.
The definition is spot on in every sense of the word. Although, no matter how old we get, we are always going to be a student learning from our life experiences. Considering the rapid transformation, the world has gone through since the inception of the internet chances are you have to learn and adapt to changes more frequently than ever.
In Mindshift, Dr Barbara Oakley shows you how to overcome the preconceived notion about what is possible for you to learn and become. If you are a student who is struggling with his grades you might be saying to yourself “Maybe I am just not cut out for it”.
These misconceptions are a result of the stereotypes spread around as scientific facts. Dr Oakley through her neuroscience research, lays these myths to rest and teaches you the strategies that will equip you for life on a learning journey full of joy and new opportunities.
Also check out Barbara’s awesome online course on Coursera – Learning How to Learn.
The Power of Habit
Habits have an uncanny power to transform our lives for better or worse. Your habits can either make you or break you. According to research by the University of Stanford, 40% of the activities we do in a day are habitual. This means that a big part of your day is spent on autopilot mode.
In ‘The Power of Habit’, award-winning New York Times business reporter Charles Duhigg reveals the scientific discoveries that explain the mystery behind why habits exist and how they can transform your life.
With examples of people and organizations who have gone from being good to great, Duhigg reveals what makes these individuals perform good consistently.
If you want to achieve something extraordinary in your life then it’s your discipline you need to depend on and not your talent, and the best way to develop a discipline is by changing your habits.
Thinking Fast and Slow
Are most of your decisions intuitive or logical? Depending on how you react to a situation- intuitively or logically, can make a lot of difference in the outcome. If you are a college student you often find yourself in the doldrums pondering upon what subject to specialize in, which college to choose and how to manage your finances.
Nobel award-winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman in his book Thinking Fast and Slow tackles the question of intuition and rationality. Kahneman takes you on a ground-breaking journey and explains the two systems that drive our choices.
One is the intuitive and the other being the logical system, one is faster and instinctive while the other is slower and analytical. Kahneman through his experiments on hundreds of people shows us how these two systems come into play in different situations and how each of them can alter the outcome of a situation.
Thinking Fast and Slow will transform the way you make decisions and equip you to better deal with the mental glitches that often get you into trouble.
The Happiness Equation
What does happiness mean to you? Is it getting a degree from a good college, having a nice job or a successful business venture with good money and a lavish lifestyle? Whatever conventional wisdom you have about happiness often doesn’t work in real life.
In ‘The Happiness Equation’ NY times bestselling author Neil Pasricha debunks the common notion of what it means to be happy. Pasricha shows you ‘How to want nothing, do anything and have everything’ with nine secrets of happiness that will make you wiser in terms of setting up your goals and achieving them.
The calm and soothing narration by the author makes it an enjoyable experience to listen to the book. ‘The Happiness Project’ will change your perspective about everything- your time, your career, your relationships, your family and above all what it takes to be truly happy.
Spark
Time and again you have heard from your parents, teachers and the internet that how important exercise is for your mind and your body. No matter what you do you still find yourself procrastinating from hitting the gym or taking a walk in a park.
Prominent psychiatrist Dr John J. Ratey reveals the ground-breaking research behind the transformative effects of exercise on the human body and particularly the brain. Dr Ratey walks you through the unbelievable positive effects that exercise has on the growth of our brain and the importance of exercise in enhancing the mind-body connection.
You already might have heard a thing or two about the importance of exercise from your peers, but this book goes beyond that and proves to you why it is so and why starting as early as possible might be the best thing you could do?
I promise you that after listening to this book you would take your gym membership very seriously. So please do yourself a favour and listen to this book and start exercising.
Deep Work
One of the most essential skills that are increasingly becoming rare and is the ability to focus deeply on the task at hand. With the advent of the internet, our lifestyle has changed at a rapid pace. Almost everything is at your disposal just a click away on your phone screen.
This luxury has come with its own disadvantage with our ability to focus and be patient dwindling day-by-day. With the rise in the use of social media and other digital platforms getting distracted has become way too easy than ever before. So, it won’t be wrong to say that these platforms feed on your distractions to grow.
In Deep Work, professor Cal Newport sheds light on how modern-day distractions are sapping our ability to focus for long on a task and how you can overcome them using four simple steps.
Cal talks about his own experiences of dealing with these distractions and provides actionable steps that you can take to up your productivity one day at a time. This is the reason why Deep Work also features on our list of 10 must-read books to curb mind wandering and improve concentration.
Why Didn’t They Teach Me This in School?
We all learn Maths, Science, Arts, Music and a bunch of other things in the school or college that are important for the discipline you want to get in the future. One thing which unfortunately isn’t taught in schools or even colleges is financial literacy.
In Why Didn’t They Teach Me This in School? Author Cary Siegel breaks down the often complex and overwhelming financial terms into easy-to-understand and implement 99 personal money management lessons that you can apply in your life.
Cary’s lessons will change the way you save, spend and invest money and will enhance your money management acumen. Listening to this book won’t just help students with their debts and personal finance but also help adults to break away from bad financial habits and inculcate good ones.
Fahrenheit 451
Chances are most of you might have already read or listened to this book, especially, the arts and literature students. It’s no surprise that Fahrenheit 451 is talked about in every intellectual circles around the world considering that it revolves around the most crucial part of this blog i.e. books.
Ray Bradbury’s epic dystopian novel is set in a nightmarish world without books. The story follows the life of a man Guy Montag, whose work is to burn every book that he might come across and along with the house that smuggles them. Montag isn’t somebody who questions the purpose of his work until he meets his enigmatic young neighbour Clarisse.
Fahrenheit 451 is a classic critique of censorship and complacency, and a celebration of individuality. The Academy Award-winning actor Tim Robbins (Andy from Shawshank Redemption) puts all his acting prowess to work to make the character of Guy Montag come alive in front of you.
This audiobook is a sure-fire hit for anyone who really knows the value of a good book.
Shoe Dog
If you are a sports enthusiast you might have already owned a sports accessory or at least thought about owning something made by Nike. Shoe Dog is the candid and riveting memoir by the founder and CEO Phil Knight of one of the most iconic sports brands in the world the Nike.
Phil makes you revisit the company’s journey starting from humble beginnings in the trunk of his car in 1962 to one of the most iconic and profitable brands in the world. Not to forget about the most recognizable logo and the company’s tagline: ’Just Do It’.
This audiobook takes you through the ups and downs, the failures, heartbreaks and betrayals that Phil had to go through to successfully build a brand that is recognized by everyone in the world.
A great listen for sports and business enthusiasts alike, Shoe Dog teaches you how to have faith in yourself when everything around you is falling apart. To top it all, the calm and soothing narration by Tony Award-winning actor Norbert Leo Butz makes it more engaging as the story unfolds.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk or the real-life Tony Stark (as most of the Marvel fans love to call him) is one of the most extraordinary and ambitious entrepreneurs of the 21st century. With his recent success in launching space vehicle with the reusable two-stage-to-orbit launch vehicle and fast electric cars, it’s no wonder why he is called the real-life Tony Stark by his fans.
With Ashlee Vance’s biography on Elon Musk, this is the first time that we get to learn about the genius behind Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink and the Boring Company. Vance has beautifully captured the full spectacle and the arc of the genius’s life and work, from his turbulent bringing in South Africa to travelling to the US and starting as a young entrepreneur.
Musk’s story is the story of a man with resilience, self-belief, patience and hard work to achieve something that is deemed impossible by the rest of the world. As a student, you will learn the importance of thinking out of the box and believing in your ideas even if the whole world goes against you.
So, which audiobook are you going to pick first on this list and how many of them have to already listen to? If you think we have missed something or you would like to add something to this list, we would be more than happy to listen to your thoughts in the comment section.
