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Hello and welcome to the Achieve your goals podcast. The show that empowers you to wake up to your full potential and achieve your biggest goals and dreams. I am your host, Hal Elrod and I invite you to join us each week as we share actionable strategies to take your life to the next level, as well as interview world class experts and entrepreneurs who have achieved extraordinary goals themselves. And we ask them to give you a peek behind the curtain and teach you exactly what you need to do to do the same. Ready? Here we go. Foreign. Elrod and I'm going to share with you these six books that will change your life this year. I've got them sitting right in front of me. I'm going to go through them one at a time for you and I'm going to save my favorite for last, so make sure you watch until the end. First book, your Best Year Ever by Michael Hyatt. You may or may not know this, but I ran a live event for six years called your best year ever Blueprint before I knew about Michael Hyatt's work. And so that was my whole world. For six years it was studying how do you set yourself up to win in the next 12 months. This is the best book I've ever read on the topic and it doesn't matter what part of the year you're in, if it was, it could be June. Read this book and apply this to the next six months of your life. 12 months of your life. It's the most effective book at setting you up in terms of not just the logistics. Like here's how you set goals and here's how you make a plan. That's crucial. And this book does it better than any other. But what it does is it handles the internal limitations, the self imposed limitations, the obstacles that we encounter, the psychological, mental, emotional. It helps you deal with all of those. It does all the pre work so that you move through all the things that can hold you back and really hit the next six to 12 months running again. Whatever time of year it is, this is the best book on setting your goals, making your plans, setting yourself up for success. I read this last year and I read it again this year. All right, your best year ever by Michael Hyatt. Highly recommended. Next book, Love Dare. The Love Dare. This is my favorite book on relationships, on marriage. What I love about it is there's 40 days and 40 dares. So essentially it's set up where every single day you read like a 2 to 3, 2 to 4 page chapter with a really profound lesson. And then you're given a dare, which is essentially an action step. It's do something in alignment with this lesson for your spouse so that they actually get to experience the benefits of what you just learned. And so do you because you're putting it into practice. So, for example, one chapters is on thoughtfulness. And so the dare is simply, hey, at some point today, send your spouse a message letting them know that you're thinking about them just so they feel that love from you. Nothing fancy, but it's actionable. And then at the end of the chapter after the dare is a journal prompt so that you can journal what impact that lesson and that action made in your life, in your relationship, on your significant other, et cetera. So my favorite book, in fact, it's so good that I just bought this morning, I bought another book by the same author called the Love Dare for parents. So it's 40 things that you do for your kids over the course of 40 days. So I'm excited about that. So this is my favorite book, literally, I've ever read on marriage. It's called the Love Dare and it is by, I don't know, but it's the only book called the Love Dare. So go find out. Wealthy and well known. This is my favorite book on personal branding. And it's, you can see how this thing is so folded up. But favorite book on personal branding and favorite book, really, if you're an entrepreneur, because you might think, well, I do. I need a personal brand. What's a personal brand? I don't know if you, if you are a professional, even if you work at a company, or if you're an entrepreneur, especially your personal brand is how you're perceived by other people through how you show up, through the value that you add, the knowledge that you bring, so on and so forth. This is the bible, if you will, on personal branding. It's by Rory and AJ Vaden. They run the company Brand Builders Group and they work with some of the biggest personal brands in the world. And I've been working with them for many years and love these two wealthy and well known, highly recommend it if you struggle to fall asleep or stay asleep. I have a supplement that I take that I've taken for about three years now, virtually every single night. I highly recommend it. It's called Nightcaps by Cured Nutrition. It is a CBN and CBD oil supplement. And CBN supports your body's natural sleep rhythms throughout the night for deep restorative sleep that leaves you feeling refreshed and ready to Rise in the morning. Highly recommended. I book in my days with Cured Nutrition. I take their flow gummies in the morning, I take nightcaps at night, and you can get 20% off of both of those products. As a listener of the Achieve your goals podcast, head over to curednutrition.com HAL that's curednutrition.com HAL and use the discount code HAL for 20% off your entire order. And if you do a subscription, which I do, a monthly subscription for both of those products, you get an additional 20% off that stacks on top of the 20% as a listener, so you can save a bunch of money and it'll help you fall asleep and stay asleep again. Cured Nutrition nightcaps in the evening and I start my day with flow gummies every single morning. And I hope these products will help you and enhance your life as they have for mine. Enjoy the rest of the episode. Third book this is if you are a parent. Building Better Families by Matthew Kelly. This is again, literally maybe the best book. Literally maybe. Do those go together? I don't know the best book that I've read on building a better family, on really creating your culture, your values, how you show up for your kids, for your significant other. So Love DARE was just about your spouse. This is really about the family dynamic and how to make sure that your family is thriving. Building better Families by Matthew Kelly. Highly, highly recommended. All right, we got two more. I'm saving the best for last. At best being subjective, but you know. The AI Driven Leader by Jeff Woods. There are so many books out there on AI. Jeff woods maybe wrote the best one. I haven't read them all, so I can't really say it's the best one, but it's my favorite. It's the AI driven leader harnessing AI to make faster, smarter decisions. What I love about Jeff woods and I had Jeff on the podcast a year or so ago talking about this book when it first came out. And that's how I discovered it. And I actually was not into AI at that time. I was like, I don't like AI. I think it's going to do more harm for good, for humanity. I was in that camp, actually. I'm still in that camp. But it's not going anywhere, right? AI is not going anywhere. So Jeff really breaks down some first principles, some fundamentals of how to utilize AI not to replace your thinking, which a lot of people, too many people are doing. But as a leader, how do you use AI to complement your thinking, as your thought partner, to bring out the best in you to get more done, to leverage your team, so on and so forth. I highly recommend if you are a leader or a business owner, an entrepreneur, whatever you define yourself as the AI driven leader. One of the greatest books out there on AI. You're ready. My favorite book, my favorite book that I read in 2025 that will set you up for a great 2026. It is the Illusion of Money by Kyle Cease. Now, this is one. If you're like me, do you buy more books than you can possibly read? My wife loves this, by the way, but I buy on Amazon. I'm like, oh, I need that one. I need that one. I need that one. Right? Like every week I'll have, like, three books arrive. And I read, like, a book a month. So I got three books coming a week. So 12amonth. I'm reading one a month. You can do the math, right? So this is a book that I bought a few years ago. I've actually been a fan of Kyle ceases for since 2007. If you don't know who Kyle is, he's one of my favorite thought leaders out there. He was a standup comedian. He was actually rated the number one standup comedian on Comedy Central, like, in 2009, I think. And I discovered him back then. I bought his dvd. That's how, like, he had a dvd, right? I bought his comedy dvd. I loved it so much. I gifted it to my sister, I think, some friends. And then Kyle had a profound shift where he went from being a standup comedian and he was in some big Hollywood movies to feeling like he was best suited to use his gifts of humor and his insights and communication abilities to bless people spiritually in their life. And so he made a huge, profound shift. It's called the Illusion of Money. Why chasing money is stopping you from receiving it. But this is really a spiritual book disguised as a book on money. It's really about doing the inner work. And I'm telling you, I actually recommend the audiobook on this one. So I. I read the physical book that I'm holding in my hands. But my friend who I recommended this to, Jeremy Reisig, you know Jeremy probably, he's our chief growth officer at Miracle Morning. I recommended this book to him, and he got the audiobook. And we were talking, he goes, hey, did you do the physical book for Kyle's Illusion of Money or did you listen to the audiobook? I said, I have the physical book. He goes, dude, he's a standup comedian. Like, how are you not listening to the he goes, it's so funny. You have to listen to audio. And so this book is as profound, it's actually more profound than it is humorous. But listen to the audiobook. So I've read the book and I'm listening to the audiobook and I'm actually re listening to it again. So my third time through this book that I'm telling you, I love this book by Kyle Cease the Illusion of Money. Highly, highly recommend it. All right, let me ask you a question. How many apps are you using for your personal development? Maybe a meditation app like Calm or Headspace, an affirmation app like I Am, or Think Up a book summary app like Blinkist, a journaling app like 5 Minute Journal, a visualization app like Envision, an exercise app like 7 Minute Workout, and maybe even a habit tracking app to keep it all together. That is a lot to manage and a lot to pay for. What if you could replace all of them with just one app? Yes, it is called the Miracle Morning app and it is essentially seven apps in one. Hundreds of guided meditations and Breathwork tracks a full library of affirmations, plus tools to create your own visualization prompts for 10 key areas of your life. Guided workouts from two to 10 minutes long, book and audiobook summaries of top personal and professional development books and a journaling tool with guided prompts. The Wheel of Life or a blank page to write freely. It simplifies your morning, saves you money, and helps you start every day with clarity and purpose and energy. And it's one of the only apps in this space with a 4.9 out of 5 star rating. Try it free for 7 days. Just search Miracle Morning in your app Store or go to miracle morningapp.com to get started. All right, back to the show. So real quick, I'm just going to go through the six one last time. Your best year yet by Michael Hyatt will set you up to really have a breakthrough in your personal and professional goals. And again, you don't have to wait till the end of the year or the beginning of the year to read this book. Whatever time of year it is, get this book and apply it to the rest of this year. And kicking off the new year. The Love Dare Favorite book I've ever read. For relationships. It's one page or one chapter a day. Short chapters followed by a dare followed by a journal prompt. Love the format, love the content. This is transformative in my marriage. The Love Dare. Wealthy and well known. If you want to become wealthy and well known. You want to build a personal brand. This book by Rory and AJ Vaden is the best one out there in my opinion. Building Better families. Phenomenal book for a mom or a dad. If you have kids, you have a family. This will set you up for success in your family. The AI Driven Leader My favorite first principles book on AI. So not the latest trend, the latest fad. It's how do you approach AI as a leader? To get the most out of it and have it amplify your abilities, not replace them. And last but not least, the Illusion of Money by Kyle Cease. Love it. Recommend it. Can't recommend this enough. I've been texting people this audiobook saying you got to get this, you got to listen to audiobook. So if you want to get the print book you can. But I highly recommend getting the audiobook of the Illusion of money. Again. I'm on my third read through that is it. What are your favorite books that you read either this last year or previously? And you want to share them because you feel like they will make a big impact in my life or anybody listening. So if you're watching this and there's comments, if you're on YouTube, please in the comments below let me know if you've read any of these books. And if you haven't, let me know what your favorite books are that you recommend that I read and I'll read all these comments and get back to you. So last but not least, please subscribe to the podcast on your favorite platform, whether that is YouTube. But not all the episodes go on YouTube. YouTube or Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Wherever you listen to podcasts, please subscribe. And if you've been a listener for a while and you've gotten a lot of value from the podcast, please take a minute to leave a review. It would mean a ton. Rate the podcast Leave a review. I really appreciate you. Thank you so much. Sending you so much love and maybe one of these six books transform your life this year and beyond. Love you. Talk to you soon. Thanks for listening. To learn more about the Achieve your Goals podcast and to get access today's show notes, transcript and exclusive content from hal Elrod, visit hallrod.compodcast thanks again for joining us. Be sure to tune in next week for another episode of the Achieve your Goals podcast. Sam.
Episode 621: 6 Books That Will Change Your Life in 2026
Date: January 21, 2026
Host: Hal Elrod
In this episode, Hal Elrod shares his top six book recommendations for 2026, promising life-changing results for anyone looking to elevate their personal, professional, and family life this year. With his signature blend of warmth, openness, and actionable advice, Hal discusses why each book made his list, the impact it's had on him, and how listeners can apply the lessons within to their own journeys. Hal also includes brief insights into his own reading habits and invites listeners to share their own favorite transformative books.
[22:07–23:04]
[23:05–End]
| Segment | Timestamp | |-----------------------------------|---------------| | Your Best Year Ever | 02:00–04:06 | | The Love Dare | 04:07–07:08 | | Wealthy and Well-Known | 07:09–09:12 | | Building Better Families | 11:50–13:07 | | The AI Driven Leader | 13:08–15:10 | | The Illusion of Money | 15:11–20:20 | | Recap & Listener Call-to-Action | 22:07–23:40 |
Hal’s approach is friendly, upbeat, and deeply personal. He mixes humor, honesty, and practical advice—often referencing his own struggles and triumphs—with a clear focus on actionable steps and real transformation.
This episode serves as both a book lover’s guide and a roadmap for anyone who wants to supercharge their goals, strengthen relationships, build a legacy, understand new tech, and reevaluate their relationship with money in 2026.