Build Your Career in 2009 - Part 1
This post is part of the New Year’s Resolutions series running for the first week of January
Before you start reading this, I’m going to make an assumption. I’m guessing that you’re not rich, that your parents didn’t hand you a bunch of money as an inheritance, and that you have to work to make a living. Does that describe you? Yes? Okay, then read on.
Eventually we would all love to be free from money, that point where we make enough money from our savings and investment that we don’t have to work anymore. But if you didn’t fall into the rich category above you are going to have to work for your money like the rest of us. It’s also very likely that your career is the biggest source of your income whether you work for someone else or you are self employed.
Even if you make your money from investments in the stock market or in real estate that you actively take care of, there is always something you could learn to make your income generation more effective. Building your career knowledge is all about income generation. If you can go to work and earn $30 an hour, or you can go to work and make minimum wage, which would you rather do? With a little bit of effort in your spare time you can make every hour at work that much more productive.
The key to a successful and growing career is learning. The best never stop learning. Warren Buffet is always completing analysis on new companies, Steve Jobs continuously comes up with new ideas for Apple. The top athletes all work to hone their skills and are always learning new ways to push themselves to a higher level.
So what’s the key to gaining more knowledge that you can put to work?
Read more
Picking up a book to read is probably the easiest and cheapest way to get started on improving your career, or getting you started in a new career. Think about this: if you read a book and get one good idea that translates to making more money from your career or from an investment, was it worth reading? If you picked up that book for free from the library, you have just made an infinite return on your investment.
There are many sources you can use to find a good book to read, but here are a few of my favorites.
Amazon
First is Amazon.com. Once you’ve found a book that you’ve found useful, Amazon can help you find other books to read a few different ways. Suppose you really enjoyed a book that I reviewed, like The Richest Man in Babylon, and you wanted to find books that are similar. Once you are at the Amazon product page, scroll down to the bottom to look for the listmania and So You’d Like to guides. These are lists of similar books that others have put together which can get you going in different directions, depending on the writer’s goals. Another way to find another book you might enjoy is to look for the “What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?” section on the page. This will give you some ideas on what other books people are looking at, and will probably give you a close match.
One thing about Amazon reviews, I try to look for books with at least 4 star reviews or higher. The larger the number of reviews, the more accurate the review should be (thanks to the law of large numbers). I have found the star rating system to be fairly accurate, so be careful between spending time and money on something below 4 stars.
Personal MBA
A site that I found that has a great list of business books is the Personal MBA website. Reading the books on that list could easily keep you busy for the next year or longer, and after completing any section of the reading list you will be much more knowledgeable in that area. There is also a healthy community revolving around the personal MBA at LinkedIn, so that could be an additional way to make contacts and increase your learning.
MIT Open Course Ware
One other good source for learning material is the MIT Open Course Ware site. MIT is considered one of the best learning institutions in the world, and now you can get access to the class materials and reading lists used by the best.
The cool thing about this site is that in addition to reading lists you can also download lecture notes, assignments, and other useful tools for learning the material.
So there are three great ways to find a good book to read. I highly recommend using the library to get your books. It’s free, and if you decide you really like the book you can purchase it later. So what have you got to lose? Start reading today!
