If you want to succeed in your career and life, learning is a never-ending process.  For black professionals, this includes setting aside time daily for reading.  A recent study conducted by Black at the Office determined that only 45% of black professionals with at least a bachelor’s degree read for pleasure or continuing education consistently.  In 2022, we want to change this statistic, as we believe that reading is fundamental to career success.

So, what should you be reading if you are a black professional looking to make a big career move in 2022?  Here is a list of our Top 5 Books for 2022 if you are ready to take your career to another level.

The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth About Extraordinary Results  By: Gary Keller

The amount of time we waste trying to multi-task is absurd.  The vast majority of people trying to complete goals and get important things done every day that they never complete is astounding.  People try to do too much and never dedicate the time and energy to what is most important.

As you prepare to make your goals for the coming year, you will probably notice that the number of items on your list might begin to look overwhelming.  There is a good chance you have a lot of things you want to accomplish, but if you truly want to execute and meet your goals, you will have to identify the ONE THING that is most important to you and give it your undivided attention.  By focusing your energy on one thing at a time, you will experience a more rewarding life by building the career you desire while strengthening your finances.

Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? By: Seth Godin

Wow!  Do you want to talk about a book that will get you moving in the right direction in 2022?  This book is it!  A significant theme for those who want to experience career success in 2022 is focusing on producing brilliant art.  We aren’t talking about taking beautiful pictures or painting portraits (although if that is your art, go for it). We are talking about anything you produce that you want and need to share with the world.  Are you a hairstylist?  Then your art is created in the form of brilliant and innovative hairstyles.  Design websites?  Your art might be the creative way you make websites pop on the screen, making people want to spend their money.

Whatever your art is, producing that thing and not being afraid to make it available to the public and get human feedback will be vital for your success.  As Godin writes, “Every day I meet people who have so much to give but have been bullied enough or frightened enough to hold it back. It’s time to stop complying with the system and draw your own map. You have brilliance in you, your contribution is essential, and the art you create is precious. Only you can do it, and you must.”

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones  By: James Clear

Want to know the secret to success?  Habits.  Good Habits.

How do you create good habits?  This book gives you the run-down on how to become a consistent performer and use the power of small changes in your life to produce remarkable results.  

You don’t become a success overnight.  It takes time and consistent work to meet, exceed, and maintain a certain level of success over time.  Want to lose weight?  Popular diets might drop the pounds quickly, but those results won’t last long.  However, learn to eat less daily and create a consistent exercise program, and the weight will stay off.  Getting to the point of being consistent is where people have the most difficulties.  This book will help you identify blockers and assist you in creating the types of habits that will propel you to career success.

Never Eat Alone, Expanded and Updated: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time    By: Keith Ferrazzi

It doesn’t matter the year or how much technology has changed our society. If you want to get ahead and have the career success you desire, it’s all about who you know. Your network and how you cultivate that network will open doors for you and allow you to move in and out of favorable environments quickly and effectively. Don’t have a network? Things will be much more challenging. So in 2022, especially after the last few years of non-stop Covid-19, lockdowns, social distancing, and the like, make it a goal of yours to get back out in the world and connect.

As the online description of this book highlights, “The secret, master networker Keith Ferrazzi claims, is in reaching out to other people. As Ferrazzi discovered in early life, what distinguishes highly successful people from everyone else is the way they use the power of relationships—so that everyone wins.”

“In Never Eat Alone, Ferrazzi lays out the specific steps—and inner mindset—he uses to reach out to connect with the thousands of colleagues, friends, and associates on his contacts list, people he has helped and who have helped him. And in the time since Never Eat Alone was published in 2005, the rise of social media and new, collaborative management styles have only made Ferrazzi’s advice more essential for anyone hoping to get ahead in business.”

The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles  By: Steven Pressfield

There is a theme to our Top 5 Books Black Professionals Should Read for Career Success in 2022.  That theme is around creating art and getting that art out into the world. Linchpin focused on what you need to do to be indispensable and push out work that matters. The War of Art focuses on getting your mind right to create that unique art in the first place.

We all have old tapes playing in our minds from past experiences, people doubting us, past failures, etc., that usually keep us in our comfort zones. We don’t want to step out and create great art for all the world to see because we are afraid of what people might say. We don’t want to hear criticism, get laughed at, or have our ideas and art seemingly tossed aside by the world. We are protective of our craft, and we don’t want to deal with the emotional pains that can come from having our work ridiculed in any way.

This book teaches you how to get past the emotional blocks that keep you from creating good art. It helps you recognize and overcome the obstacles of ambition and then effectively shows how to reach the highest level of creative discipline so you can finally become the person you have always wanted to become. If you can break the chains that hold most of us back in life, all the other suggestions on this list will flow with ease. This book is a MUST READ.

Happy Reading, Friends!