Sometimes the best books to inspire you in your career choices aren't career books. They can simply be inspirational or motivational books with a message that speaks to you at whatever stage you're at with your career transition or development. Here are 10 great reads that bear a message relevant to work and careers, yet are more than just career advice books.
1.Jonathan Livingston Seagull: A story
by Richard Bach: Although ostensibly a story about seagulls, this small fable has something to say about breaking free from stagnant routines. The eponymous seagull dreams of flying faster and more freely than the rest of the flock. When he achieves some of his goals he is distraught that other gulls do not congratulate him on his success. Instead he is exiled from the flock. He eventually gets in with an elite group of gulls that doesn't believe in limits. If you're wondering if you should break free from the constraints of a job you're unhappy in or you just need encouragement to apply a new way of thinking to your career, give this book a try.
2.The Turning Point
by Fritjof Capra: In 1982, academic physicist Capra published a book in which he stipulated ways in which science and philosophy were moving towards a more holistic view of nature. When it comes to career transitions, such as career change, a more holistic approach is also to be welcomed. At Position Ignition, we believe a crucial part of the process of choosing what you want to do next is to consider every aspect of your life--both your past and present as well as your vision for your future.
3.The Alchemist: A Fable About Following Your Dream
by Paulo Coelho: This novel tells the story of a shepherd boy called Santiago and his journey in pursuit of treasure. Although the treasure doesn't turn out to be what Santiago initially imagined, he still appreciates the values of his journey in itself. This teaches us to realise the value of journey down our career path and to treasure that as much as our career goals and achievements themselves.
4.Man's Search for Meaning
by Viktor Frankl: This book is a Position Ignition favourite and its original German title can be literally translated as "Saying 'Yes' to Life, Regardless". This effectively reflects Frankl's attitude to life throughout the book, which is the founding text of Frankl's school of psychotherapy, usually known as 'logotherapy'. At the core of logotherapy is the concept that life has meaning even in the midst of intense suffering. The book, set during the Second World War illustrates this perfectly. Reading this book will inspire you to look and work towards the future even if you're currently deeply unhappy at work.
5.The Man Who Planted Trees
by Jean Giono: Although this story is fewer than 5000 words, it packs a powerful punch. In 1910, the narrator is hiking through Provence when he comes across a treeless valley and a shepherd called Elzeard Bouffier. Bouffier has decided to revive the barren land by planting thousands of trees. Over the decades the narrator returns occassionally to the valley and witnesses its astonishing transformation. At Bouffier's death, almost four decades after he met the narrator, the once desolate valley is now a green and pleasant land. No matter how barren your career currently seems, you can transform your situation with the right amount of dedication and patience.
6.Emotional Intelligence: Why it Can Matter More Than IQ
by Daniel Goleman: This book argues that good emotional skills are more important to success than traditional concepts of IQ. Whatever the value of conventional intellect in the world of work, the value of emotional intelligence certainly can't be discounted. This is becoming especially the case for employers and managers. As the labour demographics start to dramatically shift, bosses need to learn how to manage their workers with emotional intelligence in order to retain their best employees.
7.Godel, Escher, Bach
by Douglas Hofstadter: In this work, Hofstadter uses the examples of J.S. Bach's music, M.C. Escher's art and Kurt Godel's mathematical theories to examine the power of human creativity. In career terms, this power is not to be underestimated. When we get creative with career change ideas or ways to develop our current careers, we open up innumerable doors of opportunity.
8.Freedom from the Known
by J. Krishnamurti: This record of Krishnamurti's most profound thoughts emphasises the importance of self-knowledge and also the challenges to attaining it. Even though it's tough, we must work to get know ourselves fully if we are to work out where we want to be in our career and how to get there.
9.The Drama of the Gifted Child: The Search for the True Self
by Alice Miller: Miller's most famous book also contains a message about the importance of self-knowledge and includes the quote, "how inconceivable it is really to love others (not merely to need them) if one cannot love oneself as one really is. And how could a person do that if, from the very beginning, he has had no chance to experience his true feelings and to learn to know himself?" You could say that we also have no chance of finding a career we love, as opposed to a job we need, if we don't know ourselves and what we want.
10.The Road Less Travelled
by M. Scott Peck: Unlike many self-help books, this work refuses to tell you there are easy ways "to change your life". Indeed, the opening sentence is "Life is difficult". Peck goes on to explain that our acceptance of the difficulty of life actually makes it no longer difficult. Similarly, once we accept that career transitions such as career change or returning to work can be challenging, we can start to properly prepare ourselves for the transition.
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Thu, April 21, 2011 at 12:00 
Reader Comments (1)
Great post. Thanks so much for sharing this. Several of these I had not heard of before. I'll definitely be adding those to my library in the future.
Make it an awesome day!