10 Books You Got to Read for Professional Development (5 minutes read)

J K Rowling, the famous British writer said “I do believe something magical can happen when you read a good book.” Really, it holds absolutely true when you are looking for professional development, as the books are the best guides which can create a magical future for you. The right book at the right time can change your life.

Nowadays, we all have easy access to an infinite amount of resources which we can use for our professional development. There are online tutorials, podcasts and much more than that what you can ask for or look for. Still, books are our favourite medium for an in depth learning. Here, we introduce you to top 10 books which would help you immensely in your professional development and building a successful career.

If you’re looking for a book to change your perspective, look no further than this below list of the top 10.

1. How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie

Originally published in 1937, this book will tell you about the techniques of handling people, which are don’t criticize, condemn or complain. Give people an honest and sincere appreciation. Arouse an eager want in the other person. It will tell you about the various ways of how to make people like you and win people to your way of thinking. On how to be a good leader and change people without giving offence or arousing resentment. How to deal with people and ways to influence them. Lastly, it tells you about the secrets of success.

2. Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

Think and Grow Rich was written by Napoleon Hill in 1937 and promoted as a personal development and self-improvement book. This book provides the reader with 13 principles in the form of a "Philosophy of Achievement". The book asserts that desire, faith and persistence can take one to great heights, if one can suppress negative thoughts and focus on the long-term goals.

3. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey

First published in 1989, this book is a classic of personal and professional development literature. The book continues to be a best seller for the simple reason that it ignores trends and focuses mainly on timeless principles of fairness, integrity, honesty, and human dignity. Covey teaches you an effective method to achieve goals that are based on your internal values. By aligning yourself to what Covey calls “true north” – your personal ethics – you greatly improve upon your productivity. The book is focused on three themes: independence, interdependence and continual improvement. It’s an absolute must read for anyone looking to improve their own life and grow professionally as well.

4. Choose Yourself! Be Happy, Make Millions, Live the Dream by James Altucher

Podcaster and serial businessman James Altucher brings a unique and refreshing perspective with this work. In it, he highlights why traditional institutions can’t be trusted to guarantee your safety, and why investing in yourself is the most reliable way forward in a constantly changing world and economy. With dozens of case studies, interviews and examples - including story of the author, investor and entrepreneur James Altucher's himself, which is a heartbreaking and extremely inspiring story - Choose Yourself illuminates your personal path to building a bright, new world out of the wreckage of the old.

5. The Four by Scott Galloway

The title of this book is for the ‘big four’ players in the tech world – Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google. For all that’s been written till now about the Four, no one has captured their power and staggering success as insightfully as Scott Galloway. Whether you want to compete with them, do business with them or simply live in the world they dominate, you need to understand the Four. Over and above being an interesting read, The Four can teach you a lot about what it takes to run a successful startup. After all, even the big four were also little before they turned into giants.

6. Unshakeable by Tony Robbins

For this book, Tony Robbins interviewed fifty of the most successful economists and investors in the world. In this book, he teams up with Peter Mallouk, financial advisor in the US. Together they reveal how to become unshakeable—someone who can not only maintain true peace of mind in a world of immense uncertainty, economic volatility, and unprecedented change, but who can profit from the fear that immobilizes so many. This book is full of all the financial wisdom you need on how to build and protect your assets.

Although, it deals more with gaining the financial stability than it does with career advancement, still we’d suggest that if you want to become truly successful at your job, you need to master the fundamentals of financial management, irrespective of whatever field you are from.

7. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain

In Quiet, Susan Cain argues that we majorly undervalue introverts and shows how much we lose in doing so. Although, most personal development books encourage extroverted personalities, this work goes against the grain by highlighting the admirable traits in introverts. This book is an essential read as it’s an eye opener for many people who undervalue the introverts and their talents go wasted by a culture which is looking to celebrate and promote only one type of personality. If you’re an introvert and want to know how you can appreciate and hone your strengths, then this book is for you.

8. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

The Alchemist focuses on the individual and the pursuit of individual dreams as making a positive contribution towards the good of the whole world. It shows that the obstacles for an individual are merely obstacles, not blockades. It challenges you to think about your own personal obstacles. It explores the meaning of “living your dream”. If you love to learn strong messages through stories rather than the facts, then this is a classic personal development book. The book follows the plight of a young Andalusian shepherd who embarks on a heroic journey to find a treasure he’s been dreaming about all the time. It’s a simple story, but the tale will resonate with all who gives it the time of the day.

9. The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle

The Power of Now shows you that every minute you spend worrying about the future or regretting about the past it’s a minute lost, because all you have to do is to live in the present and now. This book provides the actionable strategies needed to start living every minute as it occurs. It’s a perfect introduction to the world of non-duality and meditation. Although, it’s over 20 years old, the book still remains one of the best sellers as it’s easy to absorb the lessons and understand the message it sends.

10. The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg

Honestly, we all have some bad habits which we know are detrimental to our personal and professional growth. This book helps one to recognize and take the small steps needed to change the mindsets, which lead to these bad habits. Like most disciplines, you stand to gain the most by reading this book and implementing the strategies while you're still young. “The Power of Habit” is an enjoyable book and readers will find many useful advice about how to change at least some of their bad habits.

Summary:

To sum it up, these 10 professional and personal development books can change your lives. It’s better to read one book and spend time digesting the lessons and trying to apply them in your life, rather than to read as much and as many possible without any reflection. It’s true that if you access the internet, there’s no doubt that you can learn anything you want and whenever you want. However, books are still the favourite medium for learning. Thanks to the sheer amount of information, you can pack in even hundred pages or less. Our recommendation is to pick at least one book at a time from the list above and dive deep in it