What content can help you develop personally and professionally?
Resources to harness the power of your mind, be productive, network effectively, decide on a career path or create a business from scratch. A list of favourites and why I love them.
I’m sharing the go-to resources I’ve used in my own career.
Generally speaking, this is professional and personal development advice — I’ve left out domain-specific content (e.g about coaching or recruitment) and only listed universally-applicable resources I’ve enjoyed over the years ranging from books, podcasts, blogs, and more.
Let’s get into it.
The content you want to consume when it comes to career planning, personal growth and all-round nailing it at work…
The resources below are the ones I’ve personally benefited from and are not intended to be an exhaustive list.
My career has spanned hiring for startups, building accelerator programmes for entrepreneurial people, creating my own business, and working in a freelance capacity as well as coaching so they gear towards these themes.
Resources to help you use the power of your mind to your advantage
Ness Labs — Newsletter/Blog — For anyone interested in neuroscience, productivity, and cutting edge research for creators. Huge business crush on Anne-Laure Le Cunff Ness Labs Founder and writer!
Mindset — Book — Author, Carol Dweck. Overcome limiting beliefs about your capability by adopting a growth mindset.
Grit— Book — Author, Angela Duckworth. Become great by putting in the work, not through talent.
Daily Stoic— Book — Author, Ryan Holliday. Daily (366) Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living; how to reframe negative situations or generally put things into perspective
The School of Life — Resources range from workshops, books, talks etc. YouTube is a great place to start. How to be a better human and live in this world generally.
Resources to be more productive & create systems that support you
Getting Things Done — Book — Author, David Allen. Key principle: our brains are for having ideas not holding them. It’s important to create a system you can trust to store information and remind yourself to do the tasks when the time is right. Don’t have time to read the book/want a summary? This is great.
Superorganisers — Newsletter — an exploration into how the smartest and most creative people in the world organize their lives to do their best work
The Organised Mind — Book — Author Daniel Levetin — Understanding how the mind organizes information and deploying tactics to make the most of it and get more done.
The Ask productivity post — This is me! I explained more about how I think about productivity and the different tools I use here.
How to decide what to do with your career
Designing Your Life — Book — Author, Bill Burnett — Using design principles this helps you figure out what is and isn’t working in your life and career and test out the different hypothesis
What Colour is Your Parachute — Book, Author, Richard Nelson — Each year Nelson publishes an updated version of how to tap into the jobs market and figure out the work you are meant to do. I use a lot of these exercises in my coaching.
The Squiggly Career — Podcast & Book — One of the eminent career development duos, Amazing If founders Helen Tupper and Sarah Ellis teach how to “Ditch the Ladder, Discover Opportunity, Design Your Career”
Know Your Why — Book — Author, Ken Costa — As a Christian I loved this book a few years ago when changing up my own career, tapping into the spiritual side of work and how God wants to use me. Atheists, this may not be one for you ;)
The Multi-Hyphen Method — Book — Author, Emma Gannon — Gannon coined the term ‘multi-hyphenate’ which is about having hyphens in what you do. I’m a coach — recruiter — writer — workshop facilitator — what are your hyphens and can you build a career around them?
How to Pick a Career (that actually fits you) — Blog Post — Author, Tim Urban. The struggles and competing desires of work in the modern world are outlined in this brilliant piece about choosing. See his yearning Octopus below for an illustration of these competing desires we all have!
PS are you seeking a change in career path? I recommend you read some of these, but you can save a lot of time working with someone who has read them all and knows how to create a bespoke solution for you through coaching. Get in touch to inquire how to work with me 1-1.
How to maximize creativity, tap into your subconscious, and listen to that still voice within you. You don’t need to be a conventional ‘artist’ to take value from these gems.
The Artists Way — Book — Author, Julia Cameron — Everyone is creative. Cameron helps you remember and tap into your creativity and really break the cycle of negative thoughts. This book is something you ‘do’ more than just read. I quit my job, ended a relationship, and started a company after reading it (you’ve been warned!)
The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles — Book — Author, Stephen Pressfield — How to quiet your voice of resistance and have confidence in your ideas enough to pursue. Hint: most of the greatest works of art were a matter of inner battle. Those who succeed push past the negativity and work with it.
Big Magic — Book — Author, Elizabeth Gilbert — Tune into your creativity and learn the hacks of a world-renowned author. Gilbert delves into the universal fears people have about putting their work out there, and how forcing your genius to also be highly profitable can be detrimental.
Using other people to tap for networking & inspiration
How to win friends and influence people — Book — Author, Dale Carnegie — In print since the 1950s for a reason. This breaks down how to be liked, memorable, and get along with people full stop. Important to any career if you ask me.
The Tim Ferriss Show — Podcast — Tim Ferriss (funnily enough), Tim interviews world-class performers, entrepreneurs and thinkers to learn their habits and routines
Tribe of Mentors — Book — Author, Tim Ferriss — Kind of the podcast in book format, here’s long-form interview notes with Tim’s guests. Get ready for some inspiring quotes.
Never Eat Alone — Book — Author, Keith Ferrazzi — How to network, think about networking and maintain your network. A little cheesy but some great principles.
For starting a company or building a brand
The Mom Test: How to Talk to Customers and Learn If Your Business is a Good Idea when Everyone is Lying to You— Book — Author, Rob Fitzpatrick — The title says it all. Don’t assume people will be honest about your idea, you have to test it out.
Creative Rebels — Podcast — Hosts, David Speed & Adam Brazier. The podcast for anyone trying to make money doing what they love. The ratings on this podcast are great for a reason. Having met Adam I can attest to how lovely the pair are and how much they care about what theydo.
This is Marketing — Book — Author, Seth Godin. The godfather of marketing, you can count on Seth for the latest and greatest. More strategic than tactical this book outlines the way any brand builder should be setting up. I’m glad I read this before I started The Ask and not after but get to it when you can!
Poke the Box — Book — Author, Seth Godin. Seth again… this one is short but sweet and is basically an encouragement to give it a go, whatever it is you’re working on.
Women on Top — Podcast — Host, Frankie Cotton. Interviews with female entrepreneurs and executives to inspire you and show you the ropes of starting and scaling a business.
Follow more of The Ask over on Instagram or download some career planning resources on the website here.
