These books show you how to bet on yourself

7 March 2024

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Today is World Book Day, an opportunity to celebrate the works that have had an impact on our lives, and as we’re Working Options we’re focusing on those that have influenced our career journeys.

Reading is a personal experience. What you find in a book can be very different to another, what you read today might resonate in a different way tomorrow. Our needs change and alongside them so does the support we take away from our favourite titles. So we asked our team to share the ones that have had the greatest effects on their journeys.

The Journey by James Norbury, the choice of Sue our Chief Executive

I read this beautiful short, illustrated book recently. It’s about taking risks, embracing change, and how everything you need is already within you. Tiny Dragon represents the vulnerable and afraid aspect of our psyche, and Panda the steady, patient influence encouraging us to hold our nerve when trying new things or setting out on a new challenge. It is a moving telling of the journey we go through when we are uncertain about how something will turn out. And it really speaks to the times I’ve taken a leap of faith, not knowing whether everything will turn out okay. Careers certainly have their share of risks, change, and unknowns, and having the courage to embrace them is really important. Browse.

And if I am allowed to sneak in two other books, which have genuinely influenced my career but maybe on the face of it seem a little dull in comparison to Tiny Dragon, I’d choose How to Win Friends and Influence People and Lead Like Mary. Although How to Win Friends and Influence People was written in 1936 and therefore occasionally refers to leaders in the masculine, it gives a useful take on having positive interactions with others to help you achieve your ambitions. Lead Like Mary was recommended to me by a colleague a few years ago. It inspired me because it suggests that everyone in an organisation can practice leadership skills, which I find very empowering.

Heidi by Johanna Spyri, the lifelong favourite of Susanna our Marketing Manager

At a glance Heidi might be written off as another pastiche children’s story, but inside its covers is held the secret to a great career ­– making the best of who you are, finding the positives in every situation, and working hard. Browse.

It might be one story now, but the publishing history of this book says everything you need to know:
Book one, Heidi: Her Years of Wandering and Learning,
Book two Heidi: How She Used What She Learned.

Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins, picked by Claire our Head of Programme

In sharing his astonishing life story, David Goggins reveals that most of us tap into only 40% of our capabilities. By reading his story, you learn what the body and mind are capable of when they’re driven to maximum capacity and even taking in just a bit of what he shares made me reflect on how much more I could do if I didn’t live in my comfort zone! Browse.

This is ‘an original story of a hero. The hero is you.’

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