I'm not sure I'd say I find books inspirational, but biographies are fun to read. Arnie's one (as in the bio he titled Total Recall. He also has a much earlier one that is half bodybuilding manual: not as interesting, though still fun) is pretty good. He's a flawed man, but also an impressive guy, in terms of what he's achieved (so possibly has some crossover with that one in the OP).

Closest to inspiring for me might be Jiu Jitsu University, as that's been directly useful for conversations with my students. Particularly the way Kevin Howell and Saulo tie belt progression to specific areas (i.e., white belt = survival, blue belt = escapes, purple belt = guard, brown belt = passing and black belt = submissions).

I guess travel guides can be inspiring, in that they've sometimes made me book trips to places I wasn't originally intending to visit in a country. My favourite are Rough Guides, as they are usually much better than Lonely Planet for historical, cultural etc info. The one I got for Angkor Wat years ago was really good too: it's by Dawn Rooney, a rare non-Rough Guide purchase for me.

Travel writing in general can also make me want to go to places: there was a cool one covering several places in South East Asia, can't remember the title now: I think 'electric' or 'neon' or something was in the title, pretty sure it talked about 80s Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand etc. John Freely has some excellent books on Turkish history and culture, I enjoyed his Inside the Seraglio (especially as my father is Turkish and we used to go annually, so I love learning more about Topkapı).

Also general national histories, those are often awesome for helping to inspire and/or greatly enhance a trip. E.g., Hugh Thomas' massive Cuba: A History. That massively added to my trip out there a few years ago.

Wow - Sounds like you've travelled a lot.

I see what you mean about the Jiu Jitsu University book - my copy has been well read and continues to be a book I refer back to time and again, along with "Drill to Win".

I found "Angry White Pyjamas" by Robert Twigger an interesting insight into an English speaker living in Tokyo.

Fight Club.

I'm not kidding. Long story.

Sounds like a good story to be told over a beer or two. :-)

Yeah, Twigger's book was an entertaining read, though I did get a bit irritated by his obvious lack of knowledge about MMA and BJJ (to be fair, it was a while back when he wrote it, so I guess info was less widely known).

I've been lucky to travel a fair bit, but yeah, nothing compared to some of the people on this site. ;)

Read this at least once a year.

Once a year? That's impressive dedication, I would be bored of a book if I read it that often. I've got books I'll read maybe once every five years, as that's normally long enough to no longer remember it in super detail. E.g., I'm currently re-reading one of my favourite books of all time, *Rip It Up And Start Again* by Simon Reynolds. It's a book about the post-punk period, from 1978-1984. Superbly written and full of insightful stuff about the music, plus I happen to be a huge fan of 80s music in general. :D

It’s a pretty quick read and my memory sucks.

I found Extreme Ownership really interesting and prompted me to take a look at my own habits and motivations

Ha - now there's an unusual title! Makes it sound like some dude from the 90s with bleached hair doing a skateboard trick while discussing the intricate financials of his bank account or something. I'm guessing it is more insightful than that?

Just got a copy of Discipline Equals Freedom - feels like the abridged notes of "Can't Hurt Me"

Haha to the extreme bro! Cowabunga!

Nah this one is much more insightful

"two U.S. Navy SEAL officers who led the most highly decorated special operations unit of the Iraq War demonstrate how to apply powerful leadership principles from the battlefield to business and life."

Subtile are of not giving a f#@$

Unf@#$ yourself

Both are good. For a different vibe, i read Shakespeare, i have a huge book with everything he s written.

I like to read history books. Mainly war books. The last one I read was Stalingrad by Anthony Beevor. The mount of suffering and death that the men on both sides (Axis and Soviet) went through is sad and on a scale we cant comprehend today. It makes me realize how lucky we are to be alive today and not in that time period.

Two of my favorite books for Inspiration.

Stoicism changed my life and improved my professional performance hand over fist.

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius (countless translations, find one that speaks to you.)
The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday
Ego is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday
Resilience by Eric Greitens
The Art of Living by Sharon Lebell
How to be a Stoic by Massimo Pigliucci

Aside from Stoicism, I've also found inspiration from the following:

Barbell Buddha by Chris Moore
Mastery by Robert Greene
The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker
On Combat by Lt. Col. Dave Grossman
Dichotomy of Leadership by Jocko Willink
Discipline Equals Freedom Field Manual by Jocko Willink

Some of the books I found motivating (off the top of my head)....
- Relentless by Tim Grover
- A Champion's Mind by Jim Afremow
- A Champion's Comeback by Jim Afremow
- Michael Jordan: The Life by Roland Lazenby
- Undisputed Truth by Mike Tyson
- Discipline Equals Freedom by Jocko Willink
- A Fighter's Heart by Sam Sheridan
- The Way of the Fight by Georges St Pierre

I guess I found these books inspirational in that they were really helpful:

*The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up* by Marie Kondo
*Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No, to Take Control of Your Life* by Cloud and Townsend

I have a book of English translations of the poetry of Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz that I like for mellowing out. I also like history and (if I'm just reading for fun) usually history of badass women. *The Girls of Murder City,* *The Radium Girls,* *Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy,* and *The Secret History of Wonder Woman* are some of my favorites.

In the fiction/fantasy category, *Circe* and *Spinning Silver* are both amazing and quite inspirational.

Yeah, the Gene LeBell bio is cool. I haven't read the Chuck Norris one: could be interesting, depending how much he talks about BJJ/acting alongside Bruce Lee/old school 80s films etc, as opposed to religion/his political views etc. I'd be very interested in the former, not at all interested in the latter ;) .

The LeBell one is my favorite. I grew up watching Chuck Norris so I enjoyed it. It cracked me up that he devoted some of the book to the total gym. That’s the only part I didn’t really care for.

What about Action Jeans? Please tell me there is at least one chapter on those. :D

have found striking thoughts to be an interesting read,....maybe halfway through....not something i necessarily read every day but gives you different perspectives and views on different situations in life and if youre going through a rough patch sometimes youll find a phrase or perspective thatll help you find the positive from it.

No! I read the notification before I clicked it. I had that same add in my head! lol

Dude, my half brother was always having people say he looked like Chuck Norris. This is him at a comic con in Lexington Kentucky. So funny!

Two mangas I would recommend to everyone (including those that don't like manga/comics) - Berserk and Vagabond. Never fails to inspire.

Started the new year with David Goggin’s book Can’t Hurt Me, enjoyed it very much, now onto David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell

I forgot I even read David and Goliath until I read your post. Now that I'm thinking about it, I remember it being pretty good. Malcolm Gladwell is usually an intriguing read.

The Bible (but not The Message).

Rickson has a book coming out this summer. I’m going to go ahead and add it to this list now.