Years ago, like many other people, I became an Amway distributor. Even though we never got rich, or even sold very many products; one of the best things about Amway, was the mental attitude that they worked hard to inspire in people. We were encouraged to read PMA (positive mental attitude) books, put posters with PMA saying up around our house, and tape our goals in life to the front of the refrigerator.

Ever since then, it seems like I have attracted those same sort of philosophies into my life.
For several years, I sold life insurance for Combined Insurance, which was started by W. Clement Stone, one of the more famous motivational speakers and writers.
I have sat and listened to Zig Ziglar, and read many of the books that have come out to inspire and motivate people; and I really believe that this positive inspiration to always search for the best in every situation that life gives you, is a good thing. 
My motto became  "when there is nothing to lose, and everything to gain by trying; by all means, TRY ! "

My most favorite motivational writer is definitely Og Mandino. He writes from his mind, and also from his heart, and the stories that he tells makes the truths that he teaches very easy to understand and assimilate into your life.
Og has written some several books, but I would recommend starting with the trio of the "greatest" series. They are "The Greatest Salesman in the World", "The Greatest Secret in the World", and "The Greatest Miracle in the World".
Even the story of Og Mandino himself is inspiring, and should be read so that you have a better understanding of where this man has been, and then what he became.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Og_Mandino

The only one of that sort of type of book I ever read was The Secret.  It is a very excellent basic intro to how to work magick. . While me mate and I haven't gotten super rich, we aren't going hungry or homeless. Things continue to get better and we continue to attract positive things into our life.

I went through a dark period in my life, some years ago, where I was very negative. Attracting bad ju-ju into my life. Read The Secret and it woke me up to get back to the basics and snap out of it...and things got better.

" The Secret" is an awesome book ! My daughter gave me a copy of it recently, and I am reading it now.
I also watched the video for the book, and then I went to the webpage and signed up for the motivational emails, and also follow the Facebook page.
I really like the motivational emails she sends me, and it always gives me an extra lift for the day. I am working on putting the law of attraction to work in my life now, as well, Hoodoo, and I am so glad to hear that you like the book, and have also found it to be helpful for you.

I think that most of the motivational books  talk about how important it is to focus on what you want, and not what you don't want; and setting goals has always helped me in achieving them. Not that I have achieved all of my goals in life; but the things I have wanted, and did get done, were the ones where I set goals and followed through.

Here is the video for The Secret, in case other people may not be familiar with the book.

Here is a wonderful short video of Og Mandino speaking about making your life worthwhile, and worth remembering.


 Whomever recorded it, didn't get the sound and picture synchronized very well, but if you just listen to him talk and ignore the video problem, the message will touch your heart.

I think I already read one motivational book in my life. It was The Purpose Driven Life. My aunt gave this book to me because I was feeling really down during that time. I really enjoyed it, and it lifted me up somehow.

I believe that reading motivational and inspirational books can make a big difference in anyone's life, and it helps us to use our God-given abilities better than we have been doing. Of course, just reading the book, or listening to the tape, doesn't do anything unless we then apply that information to our daily life and make the changes we need to become more productive and happier people.

I have also been listening to subliminal motivational tapes at night lately, to see if that helps, too. it seems like our subconscious (which is, after all, about 70% of our brain usage) does make a big difference in how we think and feel about things. It regulates so many of our body's activities, and does affect our thinking.
I downloaded several of them unto my iPhone, and then I just use the little headphones at night when I go to bed to listen to a tape or two.
Has anyone else tried this, and if so; did you find it helpful ?

I don't primarily because they don't motivate me.  I find that most motivational speakers/writers come from a philosophy and perspective that I don't agree with because it self centered and contrary to what the Bible teaches about our purpose in life.  I need to get my motivation from God, knowing that I am doing what is pleasing to Him, otherwise at the end of the day, no matter how successful I might seem in the opinions of others, everything I have accomplished is pointless and no one can talk me into thinking otherwise.

Gettiing your motivation from God is a very good thing, Dancing; and just having a positive outlook , regardless of how you achieve it , helps us a lot in making it through the stressfull times that we all have in our lives.
Personally, I also believe in God, and think that there are many things in the Bible that were put there to inspire us to become better people.
However, that being said, I also believe that he granted wisdom to other people to write books that help us reach our full potential in life, and I have found them to be very helpful to me when climbing life's mountains, and needing encouragement.