If you’re getting to know us, then you may have picked up on the fact that we love a good “self-help” book, on any topic. But career motivation and inspiration is among our favorite topics.

One of the reasons is because while a lot of these principles seem to be about career motivation, they can be applied to all areas of our lives. Whether it’s about “discovering your why” or “putting first things first”, you can learn a lot from these resources.

**Please Note: This post contains affiliate links and we will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on our links. However, we only recommend products that we truly love. Amazon prices are as of 1/18/22.

Dianne’s Career Motivation Recommendations

“The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen R. Covey

Have you ever been a part of something that you had an inkling might be something special, but didn’t know it for sure until years later? That’s been my experience with this amazing book. “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” was first published in 1989. I was working at the Saturn Corporation, a new division of General Motors at the time.

Part of what made Saturn so special is that they really invested in their team members in all aspects, but especially training. When this book was first published they thought it would a great idea to have the author coming and teach a class on the seven habits to everyone.

So, I had the tremendous privilege of being introduced to these seven habits by THE Stephen R. Covey directly. I thought it was cool at the time, but now that the book has sold over 40 million copies, it’s really special to me. The introduction was followed by a seven-week course teaching the seven habits and they have stuck with me for over 30 years.

There’s a good chance that you’re one of the 40 million people that have read this book, so I won’t go into anymore detail other than to say that the principle I’d lived with the most is “Begin with the end in mind”. It’s my favorite and in all honesty, it’s how I approach almost everything I do.

“By keeping that end clearly in mind, you can make certain that whatever you do on any particular day does not violate the criteria you have defined as supremely important, and that each day of your life contributes ina meaningful way to the vision you have of your life as a whole.”

Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

“Start with Why” by Simon Sinek

I took a training class in 2021 in which we had to determine our “why” for our business. In my case, it was my why for this blog. This book has been out for over 10 years, but I just recently discovered it. I think finding your “why” is extremely powerful – in business and in life. It’s very easily tied to “begin with the end in mind” as talked about above.

You may be familiar with Simon Sinek’s Ted Talk which went viral back in 2009. (You can watch it here, it’s only 18 minutes). Again, it’s a concept that’s driven towards business, but can be applied in everyday life.

“People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it. The goal is to do business with people who believe what you believe.”

Simon Sinek, Start With Why

I love that quote and the sentiment behind it. It’s another example of a business concept that really applies to everyday life.

“Believe It” by Jamie Kern Lima

Coincidentally (or not), this book was published a little over a week after we launched “The Harper Girls”. Jamie is the founder of It Cosmetics. So many of the things that Jamie she talks about in the book really relate to what our blog is all about, especially when we talk about “Conquering the Comma“. The subtitle of the book is “How to go from Underestimated to Unstoppable”.

I love this opening paragraph from her book:

“It’s a no. We’re going to pass on investing in your company. If you want the truth, I’m not sure women will buy makeup from someone who looks like you. You know, with your body and weight”.

Jamie Kern Lima, Believe It

Isn’t that unbelievable, yet believable at the same time? These are the voices that we need to get out of our heads. Jamie struggled with those viewpoints for a while, but kept on believing in herself…..and all the way to the bank. She sold It Cosmetics to L’Oreal after eight years in business for 1.2 billion dollars in cash.

This book is not just for entrepreneurs or someone trying to grow their business. It’s not just about career motivation. It’s about feeling underestimated and how to keep going. It applies to so much more.

The High Five Habit by Mel Robbins

I love Mel Robbins’ attitude. She really just tells it like it is. I follow her on social media and her messages are always spot on and inspirational. They also seem to always come at the right time. So I decided to pick up her latest book, “The High 5 Habit”.

I love that when Mel comes up with a concept, she always looks to the science behind it. Believe it or not, there is science behind the “High Five”. We may think of the high five mostly in sports, but it goes way beyond that.

“The high five is not just for sports. We need to be seen, supported and celebrated at work too. Just look at research from Google. They conducted a three-year study called “Project Aristotle,” which set out to determine what makes for the best teams. The finding was the same: the high-performing teams, in work and in life, are ones where every team member feels seen, heard, and can trust their teammates. The best teams create “psychological safety.” Feeling like other people have your back and will cheer you on makes you more resilient and optimistic. It creates an atmosphere of trust and respect.”

Mel Robbins, “The High 5 Habit”

If you’ve noticed a theme with me, you’ll see that most of my career motivation and inspiration recommendations could be just motivational books for every day. That’s not an accident. While there are certain principles and resources that can be specific to work, almost everything applies to life.

Treating both yourself and others with respect is something that helps us in every facet of our lives.

Jen’s Career Motivation Recommendations

Regardless of what you do for a living, you can always benefit from learning more about different topics that can apply to your career. 

The more you learn about things, and find ways to incorporate them into your day-to-day life, you’ll speak more confidently. 

This is a great way to Conquer the Comma too – when you can speak confidently, you’ll feel and act more confidently too.

Ego is the Enemy – by Ryan Holiday

Everyone has an ego, but if we’re not careful it can be an impediment in our lives. We can’t be blind to our faults and where we fall short if we want to continue to grow. 

Ryan Holiday gives examples of famous people in history, like Eleanor Roosevelt and Howard Hughes, who conquered their egos to be successful in their lives. 

When we care less about our ego and the recognition we want to receive from others, we’re liberated to accomplish bigger and better things without being worried what others have to say. 

“When we remove ego, we’re left with what is real. What replaces ego is humility, yes—but rock-hard humility and confidence. Whereas ego is artificial, this type of confidence can hold weight. Ego is stolen. Confidence is earned. Ego is self-anointed, its swagger is artifice. One is girding yourself, the other gaslighting. It’s the difference between potent and poisonous.” 

― Ryan Holiday, Ego Is the Enemy

Ryan Holiday has written a lot of really great books, including the Daily Stoic. Read one passage a day and learn more about the wisdom surrounding stoicism. 

Naturally, I tend to be somewhat stoic and calm in times of stress. I do get stressed, but it’s on the inside! I do believe in being vulnerable (see the next book below!) and being open with my team, but not in excess. 

As a leader, it’s important to be cool and collected when others are going to follow your lead. Throughout my career there’s a big difference between “I’m worried about this project, but we’ll figure it out” and “the sky is falling!!”. 

Dare to Lead – Brené Brown

This was one of the first books I read when I started wanting to learn more about leadership. I appreciate her emphasis on vulnerability and how it isn’t a weakness. And the importance of, in her worlds, empathy, connection and courage. 

It’s about not pretending to know the answers to everything, but being willing to admit when you don’t know and therefore building a connection with others. 

“The courage to be vulnerable is not about winning or losing, it’s about the courage to show up when you can’t predict or control the outcome.” 

― Brené Brown, Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts.

She also has a lot of resources on her website, like a leader assessment and workbooks to do alongside the book. 

Patrick Lencioni 

I would recommend any and all books by Patrick Lencioni for leadership development and overall growth in your career. 

If you only want to read one, read The Advantage, as it covers multiple of his books. But his other books like The Ideal Team Player, are written as a fictional story. So you’re learning, while also being engrossed in this story and invested in the outcome. 

The concepts he talks about in his books are easy to understand, and easy to conceptualize how they can be incorporated into your career. 

Personally, I’ve taken a lot of the concepts in these books and developed process improvement initiatives for my day-to-day job. 

At the bottom of everything is trust, and is imperative for organizational health. 

“every organization must contribute in some way to a better world for some group of people, because if it doesn’t, it will, and should, go out of business.” 

― Patrick Lencioni, The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else In Business

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The Ride of a Lifetime – Robert Iger

It’s no secret that I’m a fan of Disney, so I was really excited to read his book. I really enjoyed all the insights into the world of Disney, but I also really enjoyed his insight into business and leadership. 

I also listened to this book, and considered buying a hard copy for the chapter of insights at the very end. 

Around the same time, I signed up for Masterclass and took the Bob Iger course. The course provided a workbook with a lot of similar info that I found really helpful. 

“Optimism. One of the most important qualities of a good leader is optimism, a pragmatic enthusiasm for what can be achieved. Even in the face of difficult choices and less than ideal outcomes, an optimistic leader does not yield to pessimism. Simply put, people are not motivated or energized by pessimists.” 

― Robert Iger, The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company

Bob shares a lot of insights about how important it is to be optimistic and treat other people with kindness and respect, which are some of my personal core values. 

There’s a lot of similarities between some of my favorite books that have helped to define my personal leadership style. I don’t subscribe to any one method, but take different pieces that resonate with me, and find ways to incorporate them into my daily life, both at work and outside!

Do you have resources that you like to use for your own career motivation and inspiration? Please share them with us in the comments below!