Recommended Resources for Corporate Professionals
Tools, books, and resources that actually help you leverage your corporate superpowers to build income streams.
Look, I'm not going to recommend a bunch of garbage just because someone offered me an affiliate commission.
Every resource on this page is something I've actually used, read, or tested. If it's here, it's because it provides real value for professionals leveraging their corporate skills to build supplementary income.
No fluff. No "passive income" fantasy products. No courses promising you'll make $10k in 30 days.
Just practical tools and honest guidance for people who understand their superpowers and need to monetize them.
Career & Self-Assessment
Get Clear Career Assessment
by Ken Coleman
Why it matters: Most career books are garbage. This one isn't. Coleman helps you understand how you're actually wired—your talents, passions, and mission—so you can stop wasting time on income opportunities that will drain you.
Who it's for: Corporate professionals who've identified their superpowers but need deeper clarity on WHY they're wired that way and WHAT fulfills them.
What I like: It's 160 pages, not a 400-page doorstop. Takes 15 minutes to complete the assessment. No rah-rah "follow your passion" nonsense—just practical clarity about who you are and what will actually work for you.
How it connects: Your Corporate Superpowers tell you WHAT executive capabilities you bring. Coleman's assessment tells you WHY you're wired that way. Together, they create a complete picture.
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Consulting & Advisory
Million Dollar Consulting (6th Edition)
by Alan Weiss
Why it matters: Most consultants bill hourly and stay broke. Weiss teaches value-based pricing—charging for the transformation you deliver, not the hours you work. This is the book that turned consulting from a side gig into a legitimate seven-figure business model.
Who it's for: Corporate professionals who want to monetize their executive experience through consulting but don't want to trade hours for dollars like a contractor.
What I like: Weiss has been consulting for 30+ years and built a $2M+ practice. He doesn't theorize—he shows you exactly how to position yourself, set fees that reflect your value, and attract clients who pay premium rates. No fluff, just the playbook.
How it connects: You've identified your Corporate Superpowers. Now Weiss shows you how to package and sell that expertise to command fees that actually close your retirement gap.
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The Win Without Pitching Manifesto
by Blair Enns
Why it matters: Most people monetizing their Corporate Superpowers chase clients and compete on price. Enns shows you how to position yourself so premium clients come to you asking "when can you start?" instead of "how much do you charge?"
Who it's for: Corporate professionals who hate "selling" and want to attract premium clients through expertise-based positioning of their superpowers instead of pitching and competing on price.
What I like: It's 128 pages—short, punchy, no filler. Twelve proclamations that flip conventional consulting wisdom on its head. Enns has been there, built a successful agency, and distilled it into a framework that makes premium fees possible through positioning your Corporate Superpowers alone.
How it connects: Weak positioning means competing on price ($75-100/hour, 15+ years to close retirement gap). Strong positioning of your Corporate Superpower means commanding premium fees ($150-200/hour, 7-10 years to close gap). That's a 5-8 year difference from positioning alone.
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Professional Development
Never Split the Difference
by Chris Voss
Why it matters: Whether you're negotiating consulting fees, client scope, or partnership terms, you need to know how to navigate high-stakes conversations. Voss was the FBI's lead hostage negotiator—if his techniques work with terrorists, they'll work in the boardroom.
Who it's for: Professionals who need to get comfortable negotiating their worth, setting boundaries with clients, and closing deals without leaving money on the table.
What I like: No academic theory here. Every technique comes from real hostage situations where lives were on the line. Tactical empathy, mirroring, calibrated questions—these aren't cute tricks, they're battle-tested strategies that actually work.
How it connects: Your Corporate Superpowers get you in the door. Voss's negotiation framework helps you command the fees and terms that reflect your actual value.
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Business Development & Sales
Books and resources coming soon in this category.
Personal Branding & Marketing
The 1-Page Marketing Plan
by Allan Dib
Why it matters: You don't need a 40-page marketing strategy to get 3-5 consulting clients. Dib shows you the simplest path: identify your ideal client, craft a clear message, and reach them through direct channels. No social media circus required.
Who it's for: Corporate professionals who need clients to monetize their superpowers but don't have time for daily social media posting or complex funnels.
What I like: The framework is visual and actionable. Fill out a one-page canvas in an afternoon and have a complete marketing plan. Dib explicitly argues against tactics that waste time and money—refreshing in a field full of elaborate funnel salespeople.
How it connects: The Corporate Superpowers Assessment tells you what expertise you have. The 1-Page Marketing Plan tells you how to get clients who will pay for that expertise. Direct, simple, effective.
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Financial Planning
The Simple Path to Wealth
by JL Collins
Why it matters: The financial services industry wants you confused and dependent on their fees. Collins strips away the complexity and shows you the straightforward index fund strategy that actually builds wealth. Over 1 million copies sold, foundational to the FIRE movement.
Who it's for: Professionals who want to understand investing without getting fleeced by financial advisors charging 1-2% annually to underperform the market.
What I like: Collins doesn't sell anything. No courses, no coaching, no affiliate schemes. Just honest guidance on low-cost index funds, the 4% rule, and how to achieve financial independence. It's the antidote to financial industry BS.
How it connects: Building supplementary income through your Corporate Superpowers is one side of the equation. Collins shows you what to do with that money so it compounds and gives you actual freedom.
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Productivity & Time Management
Atomic Habits
by James Clear
Why it matters: Motivation fades. Systems last. Clear shows you how to build the habit of investing 6-8 hours every week on monetizing your Corporate Superpowers—not through willpower, but through systems that make consistency automatic.
Who it's for: Professionals who've tried to leverage their superpowers, worked hard for 2-3 weeks when motivation was high, then quit when life got busy. If that's you, you don't have a willpower problem—you have a system problem. Clear fixes it.
What I like: Every concept is backed by research from psychology and behavioral economics. Clear also provides the 10-year perspective corporate professionals need: consistent application of your superpowers compounds into substantial supplementary income.
How it connects: Your Corporate Superpowers are valuable. But they only generate income if you consistently apply them. Atomic Habits gives you the systems to make that consistency automatic instead of dependent on motivation.
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Deep Work
by Cal Newport
Why it matters: You don't have 60 hours a week to monetize your Corporate Superpowers. You have 6-8. Newport shows you how to make those hours produce work worth $100-150/hour by focusing intensely on what matters.
Who it's for: Professionals who need to produce premium-quality deliverables in limited time—the kind of work that justifies $125-175/hour fees for your superpowers, not $50-75/hour contractor rates.
What I like: Newport backs everything with research from psychology and neuroscience. No motivational fluff. Just evidence that deep, focused work is becoming rare and valuable—which means if you can do it with your Corporate Superpowers, you have a massive competitive advantage.
How it connects: Shallow work in 8 fragmented hours produces mediocre results. Deep work in 6 focused hours applying your Corporate Superpowers produces exceptional results and closes your retirement gap in 8-12 years instead of 20.
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Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less
by Greg McKeown
Why it matters: You can't monetize your Corporate Superpowers by adding more to an already full plate. McKeown shows you how to eliminate the non-essential so you can invest focused time on the ONE superpower that actually closes your retirement gap.
Who it's for: Busy professionals who've been trained to say yes to everything and now realize that trying to monetize all their superpowers means monetizing none of them effectively—like closing a $300K-$900K retirement gap.
What I like: McKeown doesn't sell productivity hacks. He's making a philosophical argument about living deliberately in a world of infinite options and limited time. The book is honest about the social cost of saying no, but clear about why those costs are worth it if your priority is financial security, not popularity.
How it connects: Non-essentialists spread 10 hours across trying to monetize all their superpowers, generate $15K-20K annually, and quit. Essentialists focus 6-8 hours on ONE Corporate Superpower, generate $60K-100K annually, and close their retirement gap in 10 years. Less but better.
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Entrepreneurship for Professionals
Built to Sell
by John Warrillow
Why it matters: Most consultants become slaves to their clients—available 24/7, custom work for everyone, no systems. Warrillow shows you how to build processes around your Corporate Superpowers so your consulting doesn't own you.
Who it's for: Professionals who want to monetize their superpowers in 6-8 hours per week, not 20+ hours. Whether you ever sell is optional. Building it right from the start? Essential.
What I like: The book is refreshingly honest about what makes a business sustainable: documented processes, recurring revenue, proven results. Same things that make it sellable if you ever want that option.
How it connects: Your Corporate Superpowers are the expertise. Warrillow shows you how to systematize the delivery of that expertise so you can serve 4-5 clients comfortably instead of burning out with 2-3.
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Company of One
by Paul Jarvis
Why it matters: The online business world pressures you to scale, hire, and build an empire. Jarvis makes the case for staying small, profitable, and sane. This is the anti-hustle manifesto for corporate professionals who want to monetize their superpowers, not quit their job.
Who it's for: Professionals who want to build $60K-$100K in part-time income using their Corporate Superpowers while keeping their corporate job, not gambling their career on a startup.
What I like: Jarvis doesn't just theorize—he's built a successful one-person business and shows you why "better before bigger" is the strategic path. No team. No office. No VC pressure. Just profitable, sustainable part-time income.
How it connects: You don't need to scale to seven figures to close your retirement gap. You need 3-5 premium clients who value your Corporate Superpowers. Jarvis shows you why staying small is your advantage, not your limitation.
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Profit First
by Mike Michalowicz
Why it matters: The whole point of monetizing your Corporate Superpowers is closing your retirement gap. Michalowicz shows you how to structure your finances so profit actually gets set aside for investing instead of disappearing into expenses.
Who it's for: Professionals generating revenue from their superpowers but somehow ending the year with nothing invested—the money came in but also went out through expense creep and lifestyle inflation.
What I like: Michalowicz uses behavioral psychology, not willpower. Simple bank account system that makes profit automatic. You allocate every dollar from your Corporate Superpowers immediately: 15-20% profit (investing), 40-50% owner's pay, 15-20% tax, 15-25% operating expenses. Nothing gets lost in "I'll invest what's left over."
How it connects: Traditional accounting leaves you busy but broke. Profit First ensures revenue from your Corporate Superpowers actually builds wealth: $75K annual income with Profit First allocation = $11K-15K invested automatically every year = $300K-400K built over 10 years.
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More Coming Soon
I'm constantly testing tools, reading books, and evaluating resources that might help corporate professionals leverage their superpowers to build income streams.
When I find something worth recommending, I'll add it here.
No spam. No junk. Just honest recommendations for things that actually work.
Start With Your Superpowers
Haven't taken the assessment yet? Discover your three core professional superpowers and see exactly which income opportunities align with your strengths.
Take the Assessment (Free)Calculate Your Freedom Number
Know your superpowers. Now calculate the exact monthly income gap you need to close in retirement. It takes 5 minutes and gives you your target number.
Calculate Your GapA Note on Affiliate Links
Some links on this page are Amazon affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you purchase through them (at no additional cost to you).
Here's my promise: I only recommend products I've personally used or thoroughly researched. I don't recommend garbage just because someone's paying me.
If it's on this page, it's because I genuinely believe it provides value for corporate professionals building Encore Income.
Your trust matters more than any commission.
Fortune favors the bold. But fortune also favors those who invest in the right tools and knowledge.
— Scott Fulbright