Discovering your purpose – 4 books to help you find your career path

When it comes to deciding the next step in our career paths, many of us feel overwhelmed, confused, and a little bit intimidated by what lies ahead. So the next time you’re contemplating the direction you want to take, reference any of these good reads for guidance and inspiration.

by Anna Jozwiak

Reinvention Roadmap: Break the Rules to Get the Job You Want and Career You DeserveFearless as Possible (Under the Circumstances) by Liz Ryan

As the title suggests, Reinvention Roadmap applies out of the box thinking to career-building strategies. Rebelling against the old ways of landing a job, Liz encourages her readers to approach career-planning like running a business, and to add creativity to their search. Her expertise comes from a long career in human resources — she’s a former Fortune 500 HR SVP — which is evident in the practical tips and how-to strategies that she shares to help you put her fresh perspectives into practice.

Mindshift: Break through Obstacles to Learning and Discover your Hidden Potential by Barbara Oakley

In a time of new technologies, industry disruption, and ever-evolving job descriptions, our professional success and longevity is reliant on our ability to embrace change. Dr. Oakley, a Professor of Engineering at Oakland University, teaches you how to awaken your hidden potential and welcome change, from a neuroscientist’s perspective. Using inspiring profiles as examples, Mindshift outlines how perceived weaknesses can be strengths, and explains how to recognize transferable skills to effectively modify your skill set. It proves changing paths is possible — regardless of age, background, or career stage.

Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert

After the wildly successful Eat Pray Love and Committed, Big Magic is another of Elizabeth Gilbert’s well-received celebrations of self. She writes how openness and creativity can lead us to a higher understanding of ourself, teaches how to embrace curiosity in life, and how to replace fear with a more creative approach. It’s a comprehensive guide to awareness and creativity in both career and life, using Gilbert’s own path to professional success (and everything that comes along with it) as empowering inspiration.

How to be Everything: A Guide for Those Who (Still) Don’t Know What They Want to Be When They Grow Up by Emilie Wapnick

After her TED Talk on the subject went viral, Emilie Wapnick expanded on her multipotentialite concept to create a guide for those of us with endless curiosity and no desire to pick one thing to be about. Emilie explores the traits of people who change their career paths frequently throughout their lives (multipotentialites) and dubs them the new Renaissance People rather than aimless wanderers. Wapnick then navigates the reader through four possible work models, which can lead “someone with many interests and creative pursuits” to a fruitful career, where all skills and passions are equally utilized.