THE BLOG

5 Essential Books for Your Cisco Career

career success May 12, 2016

When I was around 20 years old, I used to go into bookstores and look for a book (something on a technical topic, a business biography, or on personal development) that I could afford. However, I recently went into a book store, and it occurred to me that I’m never going to be able to read all the books I’d like to read in my lifetime. So, now my book selection is less about getting a bargain and more about which books will have the biggest impact in my life.

In this blog post, I want to give you my recommendation for five books that have been significant to me and that I think will help you in your career as a Cisco networking professional. Interestingly, only one of the recommended books is a Cisco Press book. That’s because the specific Cisco Press books best suited to you greatly depend on your particular technology focus. So, the assumption is, you’ll have your own personalized collection of Cisco Press books in addition my five book recommendations. Alright, here we go!

1. Cisco Networking Simplified (2nd Edition), by Jim Doherty, Neil Anderson, and Paul Della Maggiora

This Cisco Press book introduces you to a ton of technologies, from VPNs, to VoIP, to Data Centers, and on and on. What happens many times is that we get so focused on our particular slice of the Cisco pie (which has been Collaboration for me as of late), and we don’t keep up to date with all of the other great things happening. That’s where this book really shines. In a very introductory style, you’re taken through a sampler platter of Cisco technologies.

2. The Success Principles, by Jack Canfield

I remember reading this book a few years ago and thinking to myself that this was possibly the best book on success I had ever read. It has 67 concise lessons, each teaching a different success principle.

3. Awaken the Giant Within, by Tony Robbins

The first time I heard of Tony Robbins was on an infomercial that I was watching just after midnight on New Year’s Day of 1990. Something about his message really resonated with me, and since that time I’ve bought just about every product he has. I’ve also attended three of his seminars (including doing two fire walks), and I currently have a Tony Robbins coach I work with on a regular basis. Tony’s message is about how to make massive change in all areas of your life, and if you could read only one of Tony Robbins’ books, this is the one.

4. The Automatic Millionaire, by David Bach

Money management is one of those things that can easily slip through the cracks of our lives. However, if you practice some basic money disciplines (the younger you start, the better), you can get to the point where your money is working for you, instead of the other way around. I’ve bought lots of finance books over the years. In fact, one of my daughters used to joke that I’d be rich if I hadn’t spent so much money on those books. However, if you’re only going to read one book on personal finance, this is the one I recommend.

5. The Charge, by Brendon Burchard

In this book, Brendon examines what he’s identified as the “10 Human Drives” that make you feel alive. Just this year, I’ve purchased over $2,000 in training materials from Brendon (including his High Performance Academy, Experts Academy, and Achievement Accelerator video training products). What’s unique about Brendon’s teaching is his use of “frameworks” to take seemingly challenging goals (both personal and professional) and simplify them down into very actionable tasks. There’s much I’m continuing to learn from Brendon, and if you want to learn from him too, this is the book I recommend.

Well, there you have it, my list of 5 Essential Books for Your Cisco Career. Happy reading!