Aristotle’s Guide to Self-Persuasion

Brought to you by Penguin.

Show yourself who's in charge using the original art of persuasion, backed by contemporary pop culture examples that make transforming your habits and achieving goals easy, even fun—from the New York Times bestselling author of Thank You for Arguing

Rhetoric once sat at the centre of elite education. Alexander the Great, Shakespeare and Martin Luther King, Jr. used it to build empires, write deathless literature and inspire democracies. Here, Heinrichs shows us how these persuasive tools, honed over more than three thousand years of use persuading others, can be turned on our most difficult audiences – ourselves. Using techniques invented by the likes of Aristotle and Cicero and deployed by some of history’s most persuasive characters, we see how rhetoric can convert the gloomiest of situations into positive ones.

Illustrated with examples from history and pop culture – Winston Churchill, Iron Man, Dolly Parton, and the woman who serendipitously invented the chocolate chip cookie – Aristotle’s Guide to Self-Persuasion tests the tools of self-persuasion and asks: Can the same techniques that seduce lovers, sell diet books and overturn governments help us achieve our most desired goals?

Filled with entertaining and scientific studies that showcase the life-changing power of language, Aristotle's Guide to Self-Persuasion will teach you how to be the most successful person you can be, just by talking to yourself.

© Jay Heinrichs 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025