Books that will help you figure out what to expect from your professional career (not only as a leader)

Books that will help you figure out what to expect from your professional career

Sometimes you start wondering what you really should expect from your professional life. And you do want to make the most of it, don’t you?

These questions haunt people of all ages. They are asked by those who are considering their university choices and by those who have quite impressive professional experience. And it, indeed, is a fundamental question. It determines whether you will spend the upcoming years content, or whether you will want to scream your lungs out each morning. It is worth spending some time on.

Here is a list of my favorite books to help you establish the direction you want to take.

The 4-Hour Workweek (Tim Ferriss)

Ferriss’s book has sold over a million copies all over the world since it was published in 2007, giving the author the reputation as a “Lifehacker.”

The 4-hour workweek of the title should not be taken literally – it is a reflection of Ferriss’s goal – assembling a way of functioning to let you maximize your effectiveness across all levels of your personal and professional life.

The Hard Thing About Hard Things (Ben Horowitz)

If some of you are tired of the pushy optimism pulsating from the biographies of businessmen, Horowitz’s book will be a relief.

Horowitz is a co-founder of the well-known venture capital company called Andreesen Horowitz (whose investments include, among others, Business Insider), and his book provides us with one fundamental rule: there is no magical recipe for success, as some like to believe; the only option we have is full determination and establishing what works – and what doesn’t.

So Good They Can’t Ignore You (Cal Newport)

In his sobering book, Cal Newport undermines the concept according to which “dedicating yourself to your passion” is good professional advice. It is, unfortunately, a flawed approach – already existing passions are quite rare in people and often have nothing to do with the later enjoyment of one’s profession. This assumption can also be dangerous, leading to chronic fear and the constant hope of finding a job.

After dealing with the issue of passion, Newport decides to show the reader that, in reality, people more often start to love what they do than do what they love.

Mindset  (Carol Dweck)

According to Dweck (a psychologist at Stanford University), the main propeller of success in our personal and professional life is the belief that we can succeed.

In this book, Dweck brings up research pointing to an essential difference between a “stiff” approach (the belief that talent and ability are something you are born with) and a “growing” approach (the belief that one can learn to act better).

At around 20 years old, we need to shift to the other mentality. This way, your road to success in your industry will be open for decades to come.

Choose Yourself (James Altucher)

Altucher is the manager of a hedge fund, an entrepreneur, a productive writer, and a podcaster. Using his unbreakable and personal vocabulary, he wrote a book called Choose Yourself. It is a guide to professional liberation, which can assist in not abandoning your long-term dreams.

You might currently not be under the impression that abandoning your safe workplace and founding an economic activity would be a good option. However, Altucher suggests that today, even employees working for somebody else can be more independent than they used to.

Presenting elements of his own and other entrepreneurs’ biographies, Altucher shows that the only way of reaching large-scale success is by becoming independent – choosing yourself.

Give and Take (Adam Grant)

There is something encoded in our culture that makes us think that to develop professionally, we need to be inhumane and commit treason.

However, in Give and Take, Grant (a psychologist from Wharton) shows why such a view is completely wrong. Researchers have shown that people who help others and create value for them are, at the end of the day, the ones who achieve the most in their industries. Grant explains why that is the case.

The Power of Habit (Charles Duhigg)

In The Power of Habit, award-winning business reporter at The New York Times Charles Duhigg presents exciting, scientifically proven facts regarding the phenomenon of habit and suggests how to challenge it. Duhigg shows off his intelligence and ability to build an engaging narration, thanks to which he grants the reader a new view of human nature and its potential to change.

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