Master motivator Tony Robbins, profiled in a new Fortune cover story, has reached countless strivers over the years with his blockbuster bestsellers Unlimited Power (1986) and Awaken the Giant Within (1991). Now the giant of the self-improvement genre—literally, he’s six-seven—is rousing people to conquer their finances with his first major book in two decades: Money: Master the Game (Simon & Schuster, Nov. 18). Here’s a brief history of personal development literature’s greatest hits.

新一期《财富》杂志（Fortune）的封面人物是激励大师托尼•罗宾斯，多年来，他的两本超级畅销书《激发心灵的潜力》（Unlimited Power，1986）和《唤醒内心的巨人》（Awaken the Giant Within，1991），激励了无数奋斗者。最近，这位自我提高领域的大师（他已经六十七岁），推出了他在近20年来出版的首部重要作品《金钱：掌控游戏》（Money: Master the Game）【西蒙与舒斯特出版公司（Simon & Schuster），11月18日】。现在让我们回顾一下史上最畅销的自我发展类图书：

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie (1936)

《人性的弱点:如何赢得朋友并影响他人》（How to Win Friends and Influence People），作者戴尔•卡耐基（1936年）

Carnegie’s classic self-help book counts people as diverse as oracular investor Warren Buffet and murder-mastermind Charles Manson among its acolytes. The book, which comprises a recipe for getting ahead, has sold more than 15 million copies since it was first published. Transcribed with help from a stenographer (at the suggestion of a Simon & Schuster exec who heard Carnegie speak), this likeability manual spawned from a popular lecture course taught by Carnegie. Here’s a nugget of Carnegie’s counsel: “You can't win an argument. You can't because if you lose it, you lose it; and if you win it, you lose it.”

这是卡耐基经典的自我帮助类著作，股神沃伦•巴菲特和杀人魔王查尔斯•曼森都是本书的信徒。书中包含一系列取得成功的秘诀，自首次出版以来已卖出超过1,500万本。这本人际关系手册的出版得益于一名速记员的帮助（根据一位听过卡耐基演讲的西蒙与舒斯特出版公司高管的建议），内容取自卡耐基颇受欢迎的演讲课程内容。卡耐基有一句名言：“你不可能赢得争论。因为如果你输了，你当然也就输了；如果你赢了，可你还是输了。”

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill (1937)

《思考致富》（Think and Grow Rich），作者：拿破仑•希尔（1937年）

Urged by steel magnate Andrew Carnegie to research what underpins the fortunes of the world’s most powerful people, Napoleon Hill spent more than 20 years studying well-known financial front-runners. Inside he bottled “the Carnegie secret,” distilling knowledge from such captains of industry as Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, John D. Rockefeller, and, of course, Carnegie. Among those influenced by Hill’s “philosophy of achievement” is boxer Ken Norton, who cited Hill as inspiration after defeating and breaking the jaw of Muhammad Ali. As an L.A. Times sportswriter once wrote of the match: “The credit belongs to a famous man of the past named Napoleon. Not the Emperor of France; this one is Napoleon Hill.”

拿破仑•希尔受美国钢铁大王安德鲁•卡内基鼓励，对是什么支撑着全世界最有权势者的财富进行调查，他用20多年时间研究了最知名的富翁。他在书中总结了多位行业领袖的经历，包括托马斯•爱迪生、亨利•福特、约翰•D•洛克菲勒和卡内基，破解了“卡内基的致富秘诀”。受希尔“成功哲学”影响的名人包括肯•诺顿，他在击败默罕默德•阿里并击碎他的下巴后，表示自己受到了希尔的启发。一位《洛杉矶时报》(L.A. Times)的体育记者曾这样描述这场比赛：“诺顿的胜利要归功于一位已故的名人拿破仑。他并非法国的皇帝；他是拿破仑•希尔。”

The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale (1952)

《积极思考的力量》（The Power of Positive Thinking），作者：诺曼•文森特•皮尔（1952年）

Turn that frown upside-down: In the relentlessly upbeat world of post-World War II America, where everything seemed like it was on the rise and always would be, Peale optimistically codified simple procedures for “mastering the problems of everyday living.” Don’t be defeated, he counsels. The book “is written with the sole objective of helping the reader achieve a happy, satisfying, and worthwhile life.”

不要眉头紧锁：二战后的美国一片繁荣，一切似乎都蒸蒸日上，并且会一直持续下去，皮尔乐观地编写出一套旨在“解决日常生活难题”的简单程序。他忠告读者：不要被击败。这本书“只有一个目的：帮助读者获得幸福美满、有价值的生活。”

I’m OK—You’re OK by Thomas Anthony Harris (1969)

《我好！你也好！》（I’m OK—You’re OK），作者：托马斯•安东尼•哈里斯（1969年）

In the 1950s, psychiatrist Eric Berne expanded on Freud’s theories of psychoanalysis to develop his own system of diagnosis and therapy called Transactional Analysis. Rather than speculating about the unconscious mind to explain human behavior, Berne schematized social interactions—aka his “transactions.” Harris, one of Berne’s close disciples, took Berne’s ideas and ran with them, promoting the methodology in his pop-psych paragon I’m OK—You’re OK. Harris’ book became even more influential than Berne’s own and has made a host of pop cultural cameos, including in sitcoms like The Odd Couple, Taxi, and Seinfeld. The child, a transactional analyst might say, surpassed the parent.

上世纪50年代，精神病学专家埃里克•伯恩进一步阐述了佛洛依德的精神分析理论，并形成了自己的诊断与治疗体系：交互分析(Transactional Analysis)。伯恩并非通过推测潜意识来解释人类行为，而是将社会互动系统化——也就是他的“交互”。伯恩的爱徒哈里斯继承了他的理论，并将其付诸实践，在其大众心理学经典作品《我好！你也好》中宣传了交互分析方法。哈里斯的图书在影响力方面甚至超越了伯恩的作品，并曾在许多流行文化作品中出现，包括情景喜剧《单身公寓》（The Odd Couple）、《出租车》（Taxi）和《宋飞正传》（Seinfeld）。按照交互分析师的说法，伯恩可谓青出于蓝而胜于蓝。

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey (1989)

《高效能人士的七个习惯》（The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People），作者史蒂芬•R•柯维（1989年）

Managerial magician Stephen Covey became a much sought-after exec-whisperer after publishing his seven-maxim wisdom. Offering sharp saws like Be Proactive (Habit No. 1), Think Win-Win (No. 4), and, well, Sharpen the Saw (No. 7), the book delivers succinct, memorable advice. Covey, a onetime teacher at Brigham Young University’s School of Management and co-founder of its Department of Organizational Behavior, eventually set up a consulting business to market his insights. While Covey’s axioms may come as no surprise to some, it’s the book’s digestible structure that wins him converts—including former President Bill Clinton, who once invited Covey to Camp David for personal guidance.

这部管理学经典之作出版后，管理学大师史蒂芬•柯维成了极受欢迎的高管导师。书中为读者提供了简洁但令人记忆深刻的建议，如积极主动（习惯1）、双赢思维（习惯4）和不断更新（习惯7）。柯维曾任杨百翰大学（Brigham Young University）管理学院讲师，也是该校组织行为学系的联合创始人，他后来成立了自己的咨询公司，宣传自己的理论。柯维的理论虽然对有些人而言并不新鲜，但本书易于理解的结构却为他赢得了大批拥护者，美国前总统比尔•克林顿曾邀请柯维前往戴维营对他进行个人指导。

Chicken Soup for the Soul by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen (1993)

《心灵鸡汤》（Chicken Soup for the Soul），作者：杰克•坎菲尔德与马克•维克多•汉森（1993年）

Conceived of as a collection of 101 inspiring stories more than two decades ago, the book begat a mega-franchise. Motivational speakers Canfield and Hansen took on the original project after their audience members solicited them to compile anecdotes from their talks. Snowballing into more than 250 titles and selling more than 110 million copies in the U.S. and Canada, the series has become a fixture of bookshelves across the world. Sold in 2008 to three new owners, the franchise has not lost steam. It has since launched a YouTube Channel and comfort food lines for both pets and humans.

20年前构想本书时，作者只是希望编撰一本由101篇鼓舞人心的故事组成的合集，未曾想“心灵鸡汤”最终演变为一个巨大的特许经营品牌。励志演讲家坎菲尔德与汉森当初着手这个项目的原因是，有听众请求他们将演讲中提到的故事编辑成册。如今，该图书系列已经超过250种，在美国与加拿大的总销量超过1.1亿本，在世界其他国家也大受欢迎。2008年，该图书的特许经营权被出售，但其热度不减，先后推出一个YouTube频道，以及针对宠物和人类的安慰食品系列。

The Secret by Rhonda Byrne (2006)

《秘密》（The Secret），作者：朗达•拜恩（2006年）

Echoing the language of Hill and “the Carnegie secret,” Byrne produced a Da Vinci Code-esque video documentary claiming to reveal life-changing arcana in 2006. Her book of the same name quickly followed, receiving a major popularity boost from The Oprah Winfrey Show. Byrne’s premise is based on the “law of attraction”: positive thinking begets positive results. Cosmic magnetism and will power bring health, wealth, and happiness, Byrne says. She cites Einstein, Edison, and Galileo as famous possessors of this secret knowledge. Building on her own success, Byrne has continued to spread the word in soulful sequels such as The Power and The Magic.

2006年，拜恩制作了一部类似《达芬奇密码》(Da Vinci Code)的视频纪录片，与希尔和“卡内基致富秘诀”使用的语言遥相呼应。这部纪录片声称解开了能够改变生活的奥秘。她很快便推出了同名图书，并因《奥普拉脱口秀》（Oprah Winfrey Show）的大力推荐而畅销一时。拜恩的理论基于“吸引力法则”：积极的思考会带来积极的结果。拜恩表示，宇宙吸引力和意志力能够带来健康、财富和幸福。她认为爱因斯坦、爱迪生和伽利略等都掌握了这一奥秘。借助这本书大获成功的东风，拜恩随后又推出触动灵魂的续篇《力量》（The Power）和《魔力》（The Magic），继续宣传自己的理论。